Red Naptha from A/B

[MachineElf88]

Hey guys, I'm doing an A/B, following the DMT handbook. Only differences being that I used MHRB and I powdered my bark first.

Every single pull has resulted in Naptha that is either red or almost the same colour as the mimosa soup. Not something I was expecting from an A/B.

I've done some sodium carb washes but still most of my pulls have come out yellow. They are all in the freezer but I can see that only the first pull looks clear. One of them was so dark I had to do a mini A/B on it.

Is there something I've missed here or is this normal with powdered bark?

I have some activated charcoal coming so that might help to clear it up. A bit frustrated as I was expecting things to be plain sailing after the acid boils and filtering.

Other things of note - I didn't salt it as I would in an STB but would that really have made a difference? Also I tried the pulls hot and cold but it made no difference.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Was the red naphtha cloudy? Did you shake it too vigorously?

Yellow naphtha is not necessarily a bad thing.

Also, have you checked the MSDS for your naphtha? Some brands contain significant amounts of aromatics which will pull darker.

Natural materials such as root bark will exhibit variability of composition - perhaps yours has significant amounts of a red substance?

 

[MachineElf88]

Problem solved. Rookie mistake. pH not high enough. On my pH paper 11 looks a hell of a lot like 14.

I added more lye and saturated with salt and hey presto crystal clear naptha.

 

[Earthwalker]

Problem solved. Rookie mistake. pH not high enough. On my pH paper 11 looks a hell of a lot like 14.

I added more lye and saturated with salt and hey presto crystal clear naptha.

No I think you will find its not because of the PH being low or ( 11 ) you say , usually later pulls pull 6 + sometimes the colour carries over to the naps , its a very weird phenomenon that no one can answer , even trav in the FAQ section mentions this I'm not sure where but it is covered and it is more common in confusa then mimosa again not sure why ..

 

[Earthwalker]

Yes I also had this problem a lot of late and I think to its down to heat .... I know where taught that heat is best but remember heat the naps not the base soup :thumb_up:

 

[BringsUsTogether]

No I think you will find its not because of the PH being low or ( 11 ) you say , usually later pulls pull 6 + sometimes the colour carries over to the naps , its a very weird phenomenon that no one can answer , even trav in the FAQ section mentions this I'm not sure where but it is covered and it is more common in confusa then mimosa again not sure why ..

I think it's because DMT is more soluble in the naphtha than some of the other alkaloids. When most of the DMT has been extracted by early pulls, more of the other "colored" alkaloids will dissolve in the naphtha, thus leading to the color.

 

[DoingKermit]

I remember having the same problem, so this may be of help.