Extracting your own oils from herbs and nuts is a great way to bring new life to your hobbies and meals. You can use it to extract the oils from hemp if you live in a state or country where cannabis is legalized and make your own oils for consumption right at home. You can also use it to get fresh nut oil from the source. Whatever you want to press, pressing your goods in this way offers so many benefits, from taste to nutrients to value.
One of the most accessible means to extract oil from products is rosin extraction. This method is used both in industrial settings and now, also in the home. This guide will help you understand how the rosin extraction process works and how you can fully control it to get the best extraction possible.
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What’s a Rosin Press?
Rosin press machines are becoming more commonplace not just in industry but also in the home. They are suitable for creating your own rosin, whether at home or elsewhere. Essentially, a rosin press is a hydraulic machine that uses a combination of heat and pressure to extract oil from plants, herbs, and nuts.
This oily substance is known as rosin, hence the name of the machine. The rosin press ranges from a budget-friendly domestic option all the way to a more expensive option better suited for those in industrial settings.
While the rosin press is a popular tool for those looking to extract rosin from hemp, it can actually be used with almost any material, from flowers like lavenders all the way to nuts or pollen. Still, the most commonly pressed material is hemp.
What Types of Products Can I Get From a Rosin Press?
While technically the only product you can produce from a rosin press is its namesake rosin, there are various different types of rosin that can be created based on consistency. You can make rosin that’s almost like butter if you use a high temperature. Higher temperatures produce more of a sap-like result. If you undertake a hot press, meaning you use a high temperature for a short period of time, then you can shatter the rosin to create a harder outside and gooey center result.
How Can I Fully Control the Extraction Process?
There are a few tips to help you fully control the extraction process, which are as follows:
Use the Right Filter Size
To start, you need to understand which filter is suitable for the material. A dry sift like a grain, for example, requires a 37-micron filter, while a flower can be extracted with a filter between 90 and 160 microns, depending on how purified you want your rosin.
Temperature
The second tip is to understand what temperature to use. Lower temperatures produce lower rosin yields, but this can actually be your best option in some cases. While there will be less rosin overall, you can expect higher concentration levels in terms of flavor and potency. Higher temperatures give larger yields, but the end result may be less stable and be more like sap than the butter-like consistency created at lower temperatures.
There isn’t a right or wrong temperature; you can hot press your resin to get a shatter or sappy rosin. Plus, you can also cold-press it. Experimenting with the materials you have and keeping track of the process used to get your favorite results is essential for consistent yields in the future.
Preparation
Like with any process, you need to prepare. Small amounts of less than 1g can be simply ground up and placed between parchment paper and inserted into your pressing machine. Larger quantities should be pressed into a condensed brick or mold.
Pressure
Rosin presses use heat and pressure to extract the rosin. You need to know not only the amount of pressure you use but when to apply it to get the best results. This can be calculated with this equation:
PSI = pressing force ÷ area of applied pressure
Since most mini molds are usually around 3cm in diameter, which equates to 4.38 squared inches, then your calculation could look like this:
3000 (the overall pressing force) ÷ 4.38
This means the PSI you should use is 685.
In general, PSI will be between 300 and 1000. Using more could result in a blow-out, which will not only ruin the rosin you’re making but could also damage your machine.
Understanding the Yields You Can Expect
It’s not just the method but also the material you use that will determine the overall yield. Keep this in mind when deciding whether to use low heat, high heat, hot-press (short-term high heat), or a cold press (short-term low heat) to produce your rosin.
A trim material will result in 3 to 8% yield from the initial weight. A shake material will produce between 8 and 15%, a flower between 15 and 30%, and the pollen will result in a 30 to 60% yield. Plants like hemp are the most common choice for extraction, though you’ll need only to select the highest quality plants to get good results.
