1. Freeze Dryer
2. Examples Of Freeze Drying
3. Freeze Drying Marijuana
4. Freeze Drying Freeze-dryers

So thru freeze drying in a nitrogen atmosphere, the gradual increasing temp from well below freezing, to room temp, should help facilitate more of the acid to decarboxylate since the boiling point is lowered tremendously from the reduced pressure. Freeze drying is just one way to cure freshly harvested marijuana plant flowers, and it works by drawing all the moisture out of the plant materials slow enough, that the flowers maintain the same size and shape throughout the process. Freeze drying is an unorthodox but effective way of curing cannabis. It bears little semblance to the traditional ways of drying and curing buds, yet it gives you the same, if not better, results. While freeze-drying is not new, it was only in recent years it was introduced as a game-changing process that cuts off your time by weeks. Cannabis can be quickly processed with dry-ice through freeze-drying. Temperatures below zero turn water into ice crystals, that can be converted into water vapour using low pressure. A vacuum can then be used to draw out the water vapour, leaving the plant material in its same high-quality state, minus the water.

If you are just learning how to cure marijuana, the options are nearly endless, and the results from each technique will vary significantly from the next. Luckily, with rapidly advancing technology, there are always new and exciting methods to dry cannabis, with many of the most recent making leaps and strides as they create user-friendly options that help to preserve more cannabinoids and terpenes than we ever thought possible. One of the latest trends to hit the industry is freeze drying, and it’s making waves as it proves to be one of the best, fastest, and most gentle method of curing cannabis thus far.

What is freeze drying?

Freeze drying is just one way to cure freshly harvested marijuana plant flowers, and it works by drawing all the moisture out of the plant materials slow enough, that the flowers maintain the same size and shape throughout the process. The extremely cold temperatures used can pull out the moisture, which is stored in a water trap, and since it happens so slowly, the water can act as a temporary dissipating skeleton for the bud flowers, which is what helps to maintain the buds form. This is done by using pressure to convert the water into vapors that are easily drawn out using a vacuum.

What are the benefits of freeze drying cannabis?

• Fast working. From the moment you start the machine to the time the buds are ready to be packaged or consumed, the entire process takes only 24 hours to complete.

• Minimal cannabinoid and terpene loss. Freeze drying, when done properly, actually helps to strengthen some of the sought-after components that are produced by cannabis plants like THC, CBD, and terpenes. The average loss of those elements with this process hovers around 1%.

• Faster Trimming. Since the flash freezing makes the outer leaves brittle and crumbly, the process of trimming can be reduced up to 80%. This is also the only method that allows for clean trimming using machines.

• Larger buds. Since the structural integrity of the cannabis bud flowers is held in place by the water as it is drawn from the chamber, the marijuana colas will look the same when they are finished curing, as they did in the moments before they were placed into the dryer. This results in larger, and fluffier buds.

• Preserved colors. With all other methods of drying cannabis, the hue of the plant materials themselves will fade and darken. This can turn the brightest, most colorful buds, into a dull and less than an exciting end product. If there is one thing we know for sure, it’s that consumers appreciate an aesthetically pleasing bud.

• This drying method can be used at any point, including either before or after trimming.

• Natural minerals, vitamins, and oils remain in-tact. This is especially important for consumers who might be eating cannabis flowers.

• Freeze dried buds are easy to break apart for joint rolling or device packing, so there is no preparation needed before customers can use weed if it’s been cured this way.

How to make a freeze dryer for weed (and use it)

Figuring out how to make a freeze dryer for cannabis can be full of trial and error, but once you get the seals in place, and have a working machine, the rest of your job will be easy as pie. You can use many different types of materials in place of those that are listed here, as long as they can hold up to the pressure and cold for an extended period of time.

You will need:

• 2 2-quart vacuum chambers
• 1 2 gallon-stainless steel pot with lid
• 1 ¼ inch flare union
• 1 ⅝ barb splicer
• 3 meters (or less) of ⅝ inch tubing with braided reinforcement
• 4 large 1-inch thick Styrofoam sheets
• Glue (school glue or any spray adhesive)
• 1 cooler filled with dry ice slabs
• Denatured Ethanol (approximately 1-liter)
• 1 high-quality vacuum gauge
• 1 2-stage rotary vane vacuum pump
• 1 carpenters knife
• 1 package of JB Weld
• 1 small hose clamp

Instructions

1. The first thing that you will need to do is create a protective barrier that can line the cooking pot to help keep it cold. To do this, measure out squares that allow for 3-4 inches of Styrofoam on each side, and then trace out the base of the pot to make them into sleeves.
2. Feed them one by one onto the bottom of the cooking pot, until it is entirely covered. Then cut three more squares without holes to act as a base. This will protect the surface that the freeze dryer is set on.
3. Double check the sleeves fit, and once you are confident the pot will fit comfortably, you can glue all the pieces together. This helps as it creates a seal that will keep the frigid temperatures in.
4. Now cut one more piece of Styrofoam by measuring the size of the vacuum chamber inside of an outer circle that fits the 2-gallon pot. It will help to hold the chamber in place, as well as to keep the cold air inside.
5. Feed the chamber sleeve over the top of it and set it into the pot. Now you can measure and remove a small square from the sleeve, that will allow you to drop in dry ice as needed.
6. Attach the union to one of the chambers and use it to hook up the vacuum gauge.
7. Remove the vacuum gauge that came with the second chamber and use a ⅝ bit to widen the hole enough to fit the splicer.
8. Use the JB Weld to secure the splicer in the hole.
9. Allow the JB Weld sufficient time to dry completely, and then hook up the rubber hose by sliding it over the splicer and clamping it into place.
10. Now you will want to make a few more insulating sleeves for the chamber that you have installed a gauge on, just like you did with the pot, including three layers for a base.
11. Once you are finished gluing the last of the insulation pieces together, it is time to put your freeze dryer to good use.
12. Fill the 2-gallon cooking pot approximately ¾ of the way with denatured alcohol and drop several pieces of dry ice in through the window. Once you begin adding dry ice, the alcohol will bubble for a few minutes, but as the temperature of the liquid drops that will slow down so that you can safely add more throughout the process.
13. Place the cannabis plant materials inside of the chamber that is sitting in the cooking pot and seal the lid.
14. Turn on the vacuum pump, and watch the magic happen. You will need to add additional dry ice at least every two hours over the next 24 to maintain the ideal temperature.
15. After 24 hours, it’s time to shut everything down and assess the results. If you have anything other than perfectly cured bud flowers, then you likely have a leak somewhere in the system. At that point, you can go over all the connections and joints with some JB weld until the issue is resolved and try again.

How to store marijuana after it has been freeze dried

Once you have freeze dried your cannabis, if you haven’t already, it will need to be trimmed before it can be tucked away safely into storage. Since buds that have been dried with this method end up firmer than others, you might think that it can be stored in a baggie, but we highly recommend against that. Instead, you should invest in some high-quality resealable glass jars that will keep the marijuana from bouncing around and turning into powder.

Monday September 25, 2017

By Michael Walters

With the rapid uptick in concentrate sales across several states, it’s safe to say that marijuana extracts are here to stay. Cannabis concentrates have taken the industry by storm for their potent cannabinoid content and flavorful terpene profiles, creating a wine-like level of evaluative and descriptive qualities.

Freeze Dryer

The age of the concentrate connoisseur has brought fame to many great types of cannabis concentrates such as live resin, sauce and distillates. However, many of the most seasoned cannabis sommeliers will tell you that it’s not a hydrocarbon extract topping their list of favorites.

The elusive appeal of marijuana aficionados holds a special place for one of the purest forms of concentrated cannabis, ice water hash. Specifically, fresh-frozen, freeze-dried, full-melt bubble hash.

In case you’re unfamiliar, ice water hash, or its common nickname, bubble hash, is a solventless cannabis concentrate made using an ice water agitation method. Essentially, ice, cannabis and cold water are placed within a bucket and stirred, or washed, to agitate the resin glands from the plant. The frigid temperatures make the trichomes brittle, while washing gently snaps them off of the plant matter. The severed trichomes and heads are filtered through various micron screens within the bucket and then collected for drying and curing,

This is the basic process used for years to process marijuana into bubble hash. Before the age of hydrocarbon extracts and dabbing, bubble hash used to be king. With all of the consistencies that solvent-based extractions have to offer, their hype overshadowed more traditional hash for quite some time.

As with many trends and styles though, a cyclical pattern usually emerges at some point. And that is exactly what the cannabis industry is currently experiencing. Bubble hash is seeing a strong revival due to several technological advancements, with the most notable being the increase in consumer demand for the solventless product, rosin.

As more high-quality solventless products hit the market, more and more consumers are beginning to seek out products like rosin and full-melt hash. Several new products have even emerged during this “hash renaissance,” such as rosin sauce and solventless, 99% THC-A. These products rival, if not exceed, the potency and overall effects found within the most renowned hydrocarbon extracts.

How Rosin and Rosin Presses are Revolutionizing Bubble Hash Production

Because of the spike in quality made possible by rosin presses, freeze dryers and overall better technology, there is a heightened consumer appeal for solventless products. Gone are the days where solventless and full-melt products were tough to find. Now, dispensaries are scrambling to find ways to expand their solventless offerings.

With advancements in technology, the process of producing solventless product lines has never been easier. Sophisticated rosin presses, in combination with freeze dryers, are allowing producers and dispensaries to make top-notch, full-melt products with ease.

This is the reason we are seeing more solventless products on the shelves of our favorite dispensaries.

There are several companies behind these innovations, most prominently PurePressure and Harvest Right. PurePressure has proven to be an industry leader in the rosin press sector, selling their top-rated Pike’s Peak rosin press to many dispensaries and producers across the market. The Pike’s Peak rosin press is responsible for a plethora of awards in 2017 alone, and will undoubtedly continue to set high marks in upcoming competitions.

In combination with an award-winning rosin press, making quality rosin from bubble hash is a breeze. And, with the help of a Harvest Right freeze dryer, virtually anyone can produce connoisseur-level hash. From a business standpoint, this is quite exciting, as practically any dispensary is able to purchase a full-stack solventless operation for minimal cost.

Integrating a cost-effective solventless production line is an extremely easy way for a business to grow their product lines and capture an entire segment of the market they might currently be missing out on. PurePressure even offers bundled, hash rosin packages that have everything you need to get started right off the bat. Plus, their team of knowledgeable staff can help guide you toward the best option for your personal or business needs.

Now, if you haven’t heard of freeze drying before, or are simply unsure how it can help make the bubble hash process easier, consider this. Without a freeze dryer, the average drying time for a batch of bubble hash is several days. During that time, the bubble hash is exposed to air, promoting a natural oxidization process. Over time, this can slightly change or degrade several factors such as color, flavor and aroma.

Examples Of Freeze Drying

Don’t take it from us though. We asked Manny, CEO of The Proper Extracts and award-winner for highest terpenes, highest THC and best overall sativa at the Chalice Festival 2017, what a freeze dryer means for solventless producers. He told us, 'Freeze dryers are a game changer, you can decrease dry time and processing from days to hours, while preserving the peak trichome and terpene profile of the hash.'

Did you hear that? From days to hours. That’s a big difference when it comes to hash production. Incorporating a freeze dryer into the hash-making process can cut down thousands of hours of waiting and allow for more hash to be produced in a given day, resulting in increased profits. No wonder more and more companies are starting to use this approach.

Takeaways

It’s no question that there is an increased awareness and demand for solventless products. And it’s rather refreshing to see bubble hash be such an integral factor in the cannabis industry again. Bubble hash and solventless products like rosin are some of the truest concentrates out there, providing a full-spectrum and wholesome experience when consumed.

Rosin presses and freeze dryers are changing the game as we know it. A collective of great companies producing innovative products are progressing the hash market to new heights, making it a delightful time to be a consumer. Pretty much every award-winning solventless product is made with fresh-frozen, freeze-dried, full-melt bubble hash pressed on a rosin press. As the market continues to develop and consumer demand increases for quality solventless products, it’s inevitable that we’ll see more great concentrates on the market. All we can say is we’re excited for this hash renaissance to continue!

Freeze Drying Marijuana

If you haven’t tried solventless products yet, do yourself a favor and pick up a gram or two. If you’re used to wax, shatter or live resin, try to compare the differences in effects. We think you may be pleasantly surprised. But be sure to ask the dispensary if the product was made on a PurePressure rosin press, then there’ll be no question regarding the quality!

Freeze Drying Freeze-dryers

Photo Credit: PurePressure