Dehydration synthesis in bubble hash?

[Green Reaper]

Hey there everybody,

I'm still pretty new at bubble hash. The past month or so I've been making it 3 or 4 days a week, and I've definitely learned a lot. My bags are a friends that are amongst some of the most abused bubble bags I've seen yet. They're some knock-off brand that have smooth plastic insides that dry-rot like a tent when stored wet. Someone did not take very good care of these bags haha.
I've been getting good results but I did a side by side comparison with my buddy's Bubbleman bags and he got 1/3rd more bubble than I did off the same amount of the same strain! As I write this I'm waiting on that same buddy to bring me the Bubblelator with the 8 bags that came in the mail today!!! Yeah! So hopefully I can post some nice pics tonight. :)

Ok I've ranted. My question is this: Does bubble hash undergo dehydration synthesis in the same way as buds when you dry and cure it? If you cure longer does the hash increase in potency? My guess is yes. Also, does pressing destroy the meltiness of good bubble? Also, I know most people here advocate cardboard to dry wet bubble on, but does anyone think it may be sucking essential oils as well?
Also, I've read Bubbleman's thread on pressing hash and have done it a few times to his exact specifications. My product sometimes ends up softer than I expect it to be, but still works great for medicating. Should I be curing it differently? I'm starting with fully dry bubble hash... Right now after pressing I'll throw it in my upright freezer over night, then pull it out and let it breath in the air for a couple hours, then put it back in and repeat. I'm not really seeing a difference though.. what am I doing wrong?

Sorry for all my random questions.. I've learned a great deal from this site you guys rock!

[KingRooRge]

Your softness could be the local humidity levels depending where you live.

[Bubbleman]

Well i wouldnt say they go thru the same dehydration that nuggets go thru.. but i will say that the moisture that is caught between the heads is the most important moisture to rid yourself of.
Now the essential oils ie terpenes and terpenoids you speak of. are definitly able to evaporate .. as you can smell them in the air in both the grow room their grew in as well as the room your drying your hash. However with that said.. there is no way to maintain those volatile oils from evaporating during the drying process.
Now if youve pressed your hash with any amount of moisture in it.. its going to be very very difficult to remove it all. The fridge is not going to let you properly cure your hash either. It will remove some moisture from the hash each time.. but the amount of times you would need to put it in to actualy rid yourself of all of it..
it would be much easier to powderize your bubble and allow it the proper surface area and dessicant( cardboard works great) to remove the excess moisture and leave you with a nice smoking final product.
Feel free to come into Chat sometime and ask live questions as well..

hope this helps


Peace
Bubble man

[Green Reaper]

Thanks Bubbleman and KingRooRge!

King: I definitely live and work in the Mountains the room I process hash in usually sits at 30% or less humidity.

Bubbleman: Thanks for the info. If only we could find a way to maintain those essential oils... I haven't been pressing the hash with any moisture as far as I know? As I said I work in real low humidity and I do dry on cardboard (thanks to this site) I chop it up as soon as it's pliable enough then I let it dry for a minimum of 48 hours.
Good news today I just opened a 3 week old jar of some 73 micron bubble made from Sour Diesel and Maui Wowie. It has lost that funny smell bubble has after pressing (maybe THAT particular batch was not dry enough upon pressing....) and smells like spicy fire ass hash. Not only that but it's thickend up a lot and just looks/smells way better in general. I haven't been able to try it today yet but I'll let you know. Bubbleman, I couldn't find any threads on here concerning just curing hash (pressed and un-pressed). I would love any info anyone could give on that.
Also, I got a Bubblemaster with Icemaster bags last week! Sorry Bubbleman, my buddy has an account with Trim-Pro... yadda yadda yadda haha. But I gotta say I made more bubble with that thing in a 8 hour period than I've ever made before! And the Icemaster bags rock I love how thin they are makes it sooo easy for cleaning. I'm not going to see that stuff til at least Monday but I can't wait to see how the first runs came out.
Alright dooodez keep on bubblin!

[hmmmtastey]

The fridge is not going to let you properly cure your hash either. It will remove some moisture from the hash each time.. but the amount of times you would need to put it in to actualy rid yourself of all of it..
it would be much easier to powderize your bubble and allow it the proper surface area and dessicant( cardboard works great) to remove the excess moisture and leave you with a nice smoking final product.


I recently started curing my hash in the freezer, and you're very right, it does require some attention, I take the hash out 2-5 times a day, for 45-100 minutes (depending on quantity) to evap. It takes between 2 and 4 weeks to finish curing, but I have found the end product is much smoother and even more melty and oil like.

It might not seem worth it for some people to do this, however the product seems to turn out cleaner and better (according to a vote of 3/3 so far, in a side by side test [air dry/jar cure vs dehydration method]). Also being a higher quality product, it would command a higher price in the clubs, and be a better medicine. Because of the inefficient nature of having to move the product to and from the freezer I am working on designing a "hash curing-dehydrating" box if you will. I think ideally for people who don't have the space or need to convert a whole room this would be a relatively efficient alternative. Given the extra power used by such a unit, but also the higher price commanded of the product, one can make up for the difference if that is a concern. I also believe the improvement in quality of the final product alone makes up for the extra cost.

Alas, I don't have the money/time to invest to build such a device at this juncture, so it's going to take me a while to get the designs finished, let alone have a unit running.

If anyone is actually interested, I might start a thread and that might help kick me into overdrive on this thing (when I have free time that is).

Peace everyone, Stay healthy :bongin:

Edit: I never dry my hash on cardboard, non-stick pans or parchment paper is the way to go. Unbleached parchment only, no chemicals and no little cardboard fibers ;-)