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Solvent requiring the least ventilation (geographical issues)

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JCRG

Rising Star
Hello, I'm pretty new here, and I've been cranking the search function a ton trying to research my answers, but haven't found decisive evidence.

I live in a place where even now in these days we are starting to hit 45-47°C in the day and about 27°C at night, which makes working without AC pretty much hellish.

I've tried working in the past with a normal fan besides me, but i had to run at such speed that it kept throwing everything around and getting a ton of dust on my reagents.

So I finally decided to ask to you guys what solvents would you recommend to extract from MHRB that requires the least ventilation?

Thanks! And best regards.
 
JCRG said:
So I finally decided to ask to you guys what solvents would you recommend to extract from MHRB that requires the least ventilation?

Thanks! And best regards.

"Foodsafe" solvents are probably what you want. D-Limonene, Ethanol are relatively save when you breathe them in.

You could also look into getting a respirator for solvents.

Another thing you can do is cool the stuff you work with in the fridge before openening the containers so less stuff evaporates. Ofc working with closed containers is the best you can do.

If you need to evaporate stuff just put it outside then.

Non volatile solvents are not good for dmt extraction because they will basically stay with the dmt forver and you cant boil them off.
 
My recommendation would be to perform the freebase pull with naphtha, hexane, or heptane and rather than evaporating the solvents, put it in a container with a lid. Wide mouth canning jars work great for this. The pint or half pint sizes work best as they are easier to scrape out. Then toss it in the freezer. Without evaporating anything, you're going to want to leave it in the freezer for 24 hours as cold as the freezer will go. Crystals will form on the bottom and sides of the jar.

You can now carefully pour the cold solvent back into your basic solution for pull #2. Repeat this at least a few times with the same jar. Once you are satisfied that you've got most of the spice out of solution and you do the final freeze, recycle or dispose of the solvent. There will be a residue of solvent that wants to hang on to the DMT, usually no more than 20ml. Leave the lid off this jar and let the minimal amount of solvent evaporate until the smell is gone. I usually let it sit out for another 30 minutes just to be certain there is zero solvent left with the crystals.

Even at sub zero temperatures, there will be a small amount of spice that stays in the solvent, but this is the price to pay for minimal evaporation. You can always save this solvent for evaporation at an opportune time.
 
syberdelic said:
Even at sub zero temperatures, there will be a small amount of spice that stays in the solvent, but this is the price to pay for minimal evaporation. You can always save this solvent for evaporation at an opportune time.
Even that is not necessary at all. You can shake the spent naphtha containing bits of unprecipitated dmt with some vinegar. The vinegar will suck all the dmt out of the naphtha. Save the vinegar that now also holds dmt acetate in solution and add it to your next extraction.

This technique can also be applied when you have used too much naphtha to pull your dmt freebase and the dmt concentration in your naphtha has become so low that it does not freeze precipitate effectively anymore. Just shake the bulk of naphtha with an appropriate amount of vinegar and separate the phases. Then base the vinegary dmt solution and extract with smaller amounts of fresh naphtha. This procedure is often referred to as a "mini A/B" and it has the further benefit of cleaning up the resulting dmt.

There is no need to evaporate off any naphtha other than the bits that stick to the dmt freebase crystals after you decant the cold naphtha after freeze precipitation. Even that amount can be minimized by quickly closing and replacing the precipitation jar upside down in the freezer for a few minutes, so that the naphtha can drain and accumulate on the lid. When taking the jar out again, keep it upside down while carefully letting the drained naphtha bits out by opening the lid a little. Close the lid again and let the jar reach room temperature equilibrium before opening.
 
JCRG said:
I live in a place where even now in these days we are starting to hit 45-47°C in the day and about 27°C at night, which makes working without AC pretty much hellish.
Using an air conditioning system usually implies that the room atmosphere is recycled rather than ventilated. This is not a good situation in which to work with most solvents.

I suggest that you work at nights, either outside or inside with air conditioning turned of and windows opened for proper ventilation..

When using the right techniques and equipment, you do not need to evaporate much solvent at all. When working properly and neatly, you can reduce accidental exposure to solvent vapors to a minimum. Still you should take care to not work with solvents in an inadequately ventilated enclosed space - this is logically part of working properly and neatly.
 
I wish I could work outside, but right now, since I've just finished graduating from Uni, I only have a small house without a backyard, also, at night, even if temps are ok-ish, like 25-26°, inside it's almost always 3 to 5°C hotter, I believe this is due to heat sources like the fridge and the PC/electronics.

On a side note, I think I might *just* be able to get some Pentane, and I was thinking of doing pentane pulls and for the evap just putting it near the window in the bathroom, what do you think?
 
Using pentane is crazy if you regularly have to deal with high ambient temperatures. Plus it buys you nothing for use in the initial extraction. It is much better reserved for recrystallizations, because it is a more selective solvent than the heavier alkanes.

I've already stated that I think evaporation is not necessary. If you want to increase the dmt concentration before freeze precipitation, simply wash with small amount of vinegar and base and extract that in turn with a smaller quantity of fresh warm naphtha.

Unnecessary evaporation of solvent is wasteful and dangerous. It will also increase concentrations of impurities from the solvent in the end product. Just say no.
 
Definitely what pitubo says. If (and only if) you can recrystallise from pentane then just about any heavy naphtha will do for the initial pulls. Odourless lamp oil, for example, or barbecue lighting fluid. Those two said, I've no idea of their availability in Mexico - surely the former, though?

Heavier paraffins pull and freeze precipitate really nicely but you have to clean up the product. (Medical grade liquid paraffin would be interesting to consider. Maybe OK for oral but I still wouldn't recommend smoking the product without recrystallising.)
 
Thank you all so much for your input!

On a second note, I can get my hands in either Pentane or Cyclohexane, but not both of them, which one would you recommend? (I'm kinda scared of the polyneuropathy caused by hexane build-up in the CNS)
 
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