Used to get crystals using exact same bark/ procedure, now they melt. Heat/humidity? Help!

[Rick Sanchez]

Being somewhat experienced Acacia confusa extractions, I have gotten fairly used to clean white or off white crystals. The last month or two though I have seen my crystals melt every time! I know that there are already posts on the forum about melting crystals, but my situation is somewhat different. In the past, the SAME exact procedure was performed on this SAME batch of acrb and used to produce sturdy crystals without any issue. The crystals still form beautifully in the freezer and even stay solid for around 45 mins or so after the nps is removed and they are placed in front of a fan. Strangely enough, this is the point at which the crystals begin to melt into a gooey-crystalline consistency. Even when placed back in the freezer upside down to avoid melting, crystals still melt upon their removal from freezer. The last 3 or so extractions out of a kilo that had been producing beautiful crystals up to this point have resulted in melting crystals. As stated earlier, the starting material and procedure (cybs hybrid atb salt tek pretty much) have been used in the past to precipitate solid crystals. The only difference is in heat/ humidity since both have raised immensely in this area right before this issue began. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to avoid this issue?

 

[n0thing]

DMT is poly-morphous which means it changes shape but not potency. It can be crystals and it can be goo and be the same thing.

If you keep a fan on it for long enough it will slowly turn in to DMT-n-Oxide. Still active and potent but remains a goo.

If you keep the crystals in the freezer they will remain crystals IF there is no air movement (air tight chamber). I have had crystals in the freezer turn to goo over a few years but they were semi-air tight.

If you have no freezer you can dissovle it all in acetone and evaporate the acetone to leave a semi-goo that will dry in to more like hard chunks. Kind of like cold butter I guess.

Or just evaporate it all on to some herb and u don't have to worry about it going to goo OR have to worry about measuring your dose of crystals every time.

You can also convert it to DMT-fumarate which will never turn to goo unless heated over 100c

 

[DansMaTete]

Reading the FAQ could be a solution.

 

[Rick Sanchez]

Thanks N0thing! I think that the polymorphic properties of dmt crystals may be exactly the explanation I was looking for. I had read lots on the FAQ about melting crystals directly after precipitation but was unable to find any info on already formed crystals melting due to increased heat/humidity rather than melting due to lingering presence of naptha. I have actually been getting all of it to reform into waxy xtals and then infusing into changa for the past extractions. Even performing a re-x on the waxy material produced beautiful crystals which melted about 24 hrs after drying so I know it's not an issue of high NMT content or improper solvent removal. The whole thing was really frustrating since I have gotten stable crystals that last at least a few months (never can go that long without smoalking it all up lol) and I think for some reason I'm meant to just smoke changa or goo for the rest of the summer!

 

[arcologist]

Melting crystals from ACRB usually means there is significant quantity of NMT in your extract, and it cannot be removed efficiently by normal recrystalization (NMT is almost as soluble as DMT). Melting happens when your warming/evaporating residual NPS slightly melts the extract, then the NMT prevents crystals from reforming as they would with pure DMT. I've had whole batches of crystals melt to goo before.

You can consistently ensure you remove all NMT and produce a crystalline extract by treating the NPS with dry ice to precipitate the NMT.

 

[Rick Sanchez]

It could be NMT, but I used to obtain crystals which remained stable at room temp using the exact same batch of bark and the same exact tek only a couple of months ago. I think the main issue is the increased heat I've had to deal with lately as this seems to be the only difference from previous batches that produce a very clean white powder which is stable at room temp. The room temperature unfortunately gets to be 80-90 degrees F some days. Maybe I'll try the dry ice method to see if crystals of a higher purity remain stable at such high room temperatures. At the very least I can still achieve beautiful experiences working with changa or goo.

 

[Intezam]

Are you in Europe? It has been very warm and humid this June, and this why the xtals melt (...we think).

edit: just saw you are in US. You should have air conditioning then...you could also try the mini A/B on a day that isn't hot & humid.

 

[Running Bear]

Why don't you just use mimosa hostilis?. If your going to risk making DMT then make the best DMT.

 

[Rick Sanchez]

I live in a really old house without central air. I'll likely plan my extractions according to weather and only dry crystals on days with a cooler temp. Acacia confusa root bark has produced a much cleaner product for me than mimosa in the past, but I haven't worked with as many different samples of mimosa as with acacia. My suspicion is that there is mhrb which can yield up to 2% clean white spice but I've yet to see any. The best I've witnessed was a clean white 1.1 g from 100g acrb.

 

[Rick Sanchez]

*Update* After careful planning, fluffy xtals were once again obtained! After recrystallization in naptha, .65 g of solidified goo turned into .5 of yummy crystal! After waiting to remove from freezer until a cooler day and then fan drying in the coldest room available, melting was avoided. Never knew that room temp could play so big of a role in drying crystals! This leads one to think that a small Büchner funnel with a handheld vacuum pump would be a worthy investment

 

[steppa]

I too had the melting problem. What I do:

When I take the dish out of the freezer, I only let it sit upside down for a few minutes...something like two to five minutes. Then I scrape what's in it (yes, it's still wet) and put it on a glass plate. Works fine every time.

 

[Tryptallmine]

Never knew that room temp could play so big of a role in drying crystals!

It's a no brainer, you're talking about solubility. DMT is insoluble in freezing naphtha and incredibly soluble in heated naphtha. As your solvent temperature begins to rise, it's going to dissolve DMT far more readily than if it were cold. You heat your naphtha during re-crystallization for this very reason.

What I tend to do when I'm going to dry crystals is decant off the remaining solvent, put a piece of folded paper towel underneath the lid and fasten the lid back on. Turn the tray upside down in the freezer so any solvent will drain into the paper and it stays ice cold. Leave it that way for a good half an hour to let as much solvent drain away as possible then use a fan on high. Cooler days are always preferable to a hot day as the solvent will take a little longer to raise in temp giving you a little more time to dry the product.