Yields from a normal A/B?

[Swarupa]

What kinda yields do you guys/gals get from a 'normal' boiled A/B?

I ask as i'm easily hitting 1.5% on a Q21 tek at the mo, so im wondering why people are troubling themselves with boiling the bark, filtering, waiting overnight, decanting, basifying with lye, then pulling, when you can simply mix some vinegar with the bark, then mix in some lime, then keep pulling/freeze precipping with Naphtha until you reach desired yield... this also never gives me yellow spice & during re-X theres no goo at the bottom... it just seems like the simplest tek to get pure white spice, and if you do lots of pulls you get the yield aswell.

Maybe a normal A/B reaches 2% more consistently or something?

:?:

 

[Ice House]

Maybe a normal A/B reaches 2% more consistently or something?

I dont believe so. I like Qs tek also, mainly because I dont have to mess with the end product at all. Its nice, clean, ready to go spice. I do not boil ever. I just do a good vineger soak and the basify. I normally do not ReX especially using this tek.

IMO the 2% yeilds you hear about using other A/B teks are .5% other alkaloids? Or kick ass bark. SWIM has done a few Kilos over the years 1.5 seems to be the magic number for me.

thats 1.5 % clean.

 

[Trickster]

We have one variable that could not be accounted for - the bark quality. Another variable is - the product quality. You never get 100% clean spice. You never know (unless you perform a rigorous quantitative analysis) what is actually your yield.

It is useless to discuss which tek is more efficient unless these two variables are eliminated from the equation.

In your final product you may be getting, say 20-30% of a tek-specific contaminant but subjectively you would not notice the difference.

 

[mumbles]

Unless you're buying powdered bark an a/b with a boil is a good idea. High yields when the right purification steps haven't been carried out really mean nothing.

 

[endlessness]

What is the 'right purification steps' ? If one is subjectively happy with the product, and if the potency isnt reduced (if one can breakthrough with 50mg or less), then does it really matter to 'purify' it?

BTW, I dont think an A/B will have better yields, in fact I would say it will be smaller yield because all the steps at the end will be limited by the first step. There have been tests done before on supposedly 'spent' bark from an A/B where there where still alkaloids to be retrieved in the bark. I think A/B was very necessary when defat was still something people did, but since defat is a prehistoric method and very wasteful, personally I dont see much need for A/B (Except for the cleanliness when working of course, its def cleaner to work with a liquid when mixing the solvent than with a sludge. Also if one uses a separatory funnel, which is impossible to use in an STB).

Regarding advantages and disadvantages of A/B and STB and others, the FAQ overview on extraction is an attempt to sum that up.

As for yields, yeah it depends but I would say most yields, regardless of tek, will fall between the 0.5-1.5% range. If you're significantly under 1%, try to improve your technique (for example making more pulls and/or more acid boils if its an A/B) and/or getter bark . If its 1% or more, no need to compare, just be happy