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Just started my first Extraction
- Thread starter Sour Beef Broth
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What TEK are you using? What solvent? When you leave the solution sit without mag-stirring it, does it not separate?
Sour Beef Broth
Esteemed member
Sorry I forgot to add the TEK and solvent used. I am using the Spiritveggie TEK and and for the solvent I am using is Alliance Chemical VM&P Naptha. Yes it does indeed separate I am just worried that I am not mix it properly cause in the TEK it says "When mixing, your solvent layer and the base layer will become one and then separate again after 2 minutes. You only want to mix the jar hard enough to make the top solvent layerdisappear, but you do not want to violently shake the jar." I just dont think I am shaking it hard enough and it doesnt look like the mag-stirrer is doing anything.
You could always hand-shake it if you suspect the mag stirrer is not enough. Just don't go overboard and emulsify the solution, as the tek mentions. I may have misunderstood your initial question. When you say:
Do you mean the problem is they're blending too much (i.e. emulsifying), or not enough (i.e. the mixture is not mixed well enough)?
Sour Beef Broth
Esteemed member
Sorry about that. I mean they're not blending enough. I am just worried Im going to emulsify the solution
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You don't need to go absolutely crazy on shaking the solution. 30 secs of gentle tumbling in your hands should allow the solvent to pick up as much spice as it can. I believe folk around here have a few techniques to deal with emulsions, should they occur, but in general you shouldn't need to shake or stir the mixture that vigorously as to reach the state of emulsification.
fractals4life
Established member
Blending too much is what causes emusions, how long it takes to separate is a function of how viscous the bark soup is, which in turn is affected by bark to water ratio and how powdered the bark is.
I find a little on the watery side works fine and starts to separate within seconds of stopping mixing, but will take a few minutes to finish the job. You can tell it's finished because interface between the layers becomes flat and smooth, before that it's disturbed by bubbles of NPS coming back out the soup and you get a bit of a frothy boundary.
If it's too thick then there will be a few minutes before any clear layer starts to show, and often the soup seems to hang on to 10ml or more of my NPS when it does that.
Repeating mild mixings, allowing full separation between repeats, is better than shaking it up vigorously in terms of emulsion risk.
I find a little on the watery side works fine and starts to separate within seconds of stopping mixing, but will take a few minutes to finish the job. You can tell it's finished because interface between the layers becomes flat and smooth, before that it's disturbed by bubbles of NPS coming back out the soup and you get a bit of a frothy boundary.
If it's too thick then there will be a few minutes before any clear layer starts to show, and often the soup seems to hang on to 10ml or more of my NPS when it does that.
Repeating mild mixings, allowing full separation between repeats, is better than shaking it up vigorously in terms of emulsion risk.
Sour Beef Broth
Esteemed member
Thank you Nydex and fractals4life for the wisdom I highly appreciate all advice. I have 9 more hours before I get my first pull as accustom I will update then