# Dry Sift Tumbler



## Hackerman

I want to dry sift some weed and I would rather go with a tumbler than a flat screen.

The pre-made tumblers are all about $300 and I don't want to spend that much. I saw a few DIY threads here and there but nothing that was really appealing to me.

I only plan to do a couple ounces at a time so a small one would do great.

I looked at rotisseries but, again, I'm not great with stuff like that.

Any suggestions? Links to a simple tumbler? I do have the screen so if I have to make something, that's about the only part I won't find at WalMart. LOL  A tumbler under $200 would work.

Worst case, I'll do a flat screen but my AADH doesn't allow me to shake the screen for more than a few seconds without having to go do something else. LOL I thought about using my vibrating sander and a flat screen.

Just tossing this out for input.

Thanks


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## BenfukD

use dry ice


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## Hackerman

OK, I put this together today and, although it's not a tumbler, it's pretty neat.

It starts with a Sterlite Stack and Carry storage tray set.

Very simple. I cut out the bottom of one unit and replaced it with a 133u screen.

Add a few ounces of pot and shake shake shake.

A very short 1 or 2 minute shake produced a nice little pile. Very tasty. Nice buzz.

The units snap together, as does the lid for a nice tight little package.

I want to find a way to automate it. The shaking would be a PITA to do for 10 or 15 minutes.

I tried my orbital sander but it doesn't really work well with vibrations but rather shaken and pushed across the screen. Something similar to the motor that drives the "bulls" in the bars only more gentle.

I still prefer the idea of a tumbler but I was at the store, saw this, and the idea popped into my head.

I may go back and but 2 more. I could put a 90u and 23u screen in the others and have a 4 layer sifter for different grades. Or, just swap them out as desired. 

Pretty neat but it definitely needs automated. If I can't come up with a solution for that, it's back to the tumbler idea.

Meanwhile...puff puff. This stuff sure tastes good.  

View attachment drysift-1.jpg


View attachment drysift-2.jpg


View attachment drysift-3.jpg


View attachment drysift-4.jpg


View attachment drysift-5.jpg


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## Lesso

What if you added dry ice?


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## Hackerman

I did toss it in the freezer last night and today I got 3 more grams out of it.

I don't have availability, to dry ice AFAIK but I'll look around.

I must admit, I'm having a little trouble smoking it. It doesn't really burn well, rather is just kind of bubbles. I may try it in a vape or one of my hot pens.

I smoked a bunch of it today and it packs a decent buzz (coming from me, that's a lot. LOL).

I still think I need to build a tumbler. I looked at some orbital shakers but the nice ones are pretty expensive and the cheap ones don't look like they would do the job.

I have an old furnace humidifier with the wheel that goes around and a water reservoir. Some small mods and this might make a nice tumbler.


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## Lesso

Not sure where youre from but where i live grocery stores, packing\shipping stores, or even dairy queens have dry ice.  I used a silk screen and dry ice on my last grows clippings and ended up with a baby food jar full of keif. I used it in a pipe a few times...it was ok but it made insanely good butter.


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## Hackerman

I will check it out. I never looked for it before so it could be very available. Would be nice to use that. 

I freeze it every night and in the morning I add an ounce or so and shake it again. So far, I have about 7 grams of nice sift.

After I sift it all, I'll run it thorough the washing machine and see what's left. Although, with dry ice I probably won't need to wash it.

I am going out today. I'll check into it.

Thanks


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## Lesso

No you wont need to wash it.  I learned the technique from youtube. Look at dry ice extraction.


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## Hackerman

Bought one of these today. Hopefully, it will actually arrive. Price was too cheap to pass.

https://www.pollenextractor.com/


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## Lesso

Very cool. Let us know how good it is.


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## Hackerman

What a piece of crap. LOL

I rate this about a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.

First off, it's too small. The entire thing measures about 10" x 6" x 6". I had trouble putting 2 ounces in it and still getting a good tumble. It would comfortably hold 1 ounce.

The design and mechanism is pretty chintzy but it does turn the tumbler.

The motor control is touchy and it's hard to get it between too slow and too fast.

All in all, it does what it says it does but the 150u screen is totally out of the question. It allows the little hairs through and you end up more with something like keif that the melt I get from my shaker that I made (130u). Unfortunately, that last flaw puts it on the shelf.

I am going to stick with my DIY shaker for now and see if I can build a nice tumbler.

Wish I had a better report.


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## Hackerman

Well, making this tumbler is turning out to be more difficult than originally anticipated. LOL I'm not real good with my hands.

Finding the right parts to make the tumbler seems to be the worse.

So, I went back to the idea of finding an automated shaker for the box I made. I really like the results of the box but shaking it for a long time is an aerobic workout. LOL

Gotta love Harbor Freight. They had a pneumatic paint shaker that was on sale and with a 20% off coupon, I walked out under $100.

I will need to make a couple mods to the holder but the first 2 tests went very well. A 5 minute shake from one ounce got almost 3 grams of nice, sticky sift.

I am going to get 2 more of these boxes and make a 4 level box with 133u, 90u and 25u screens. Not sure how well that's going to work but..... we'll find out.

I am going to put this through the test tomorrow because I need an ounce of sift to make some glycerin. 

So far, I'm pretty happy.


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## MR1

Right on Hackerman, once you get all the bugs worked out you will have to put up a diy. I would be interested in one myself.


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## umbra

good job


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## Hackerman

I have been reading up on dry sifting and I seem to be missing a step...... cleaning it on a 70-75u screen to separate the heads from the rest. A process they call, "carding"

I did look at it through the loop and there are stalks and other matter mixed in with the heads. Looks like I'll be trying that first thing in the morning to see what difference it makes. Nothing like good head in the morning.


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## umbra

lol


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## Hackerman

The carding has been unsuccessful so far but the shaker is a screaming success.

I put a few ounces in and shook it for a few minutes and got 4 grams.

I discovered you can't "card" if it's all sticky. I put it in the freezer for a while and it was much more manageable. I have some in the freezer right now I will test on. The 75u screen seemed a little too small. I am going to try a 90u and see how that works.

I took a 30 second vid of the shaker. Can't use Youtube without an account so I don't know if this is going to embed.

[url]https://vid.me/da7O[/URL]


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## lyfespan

Hackerman said:


> The carding has been unsuccessful so far but the shaker is a screaming success.
> 
> I put a few ounces in and shook it for a few minutes and got 4 grams.
> 
> I discovered you can't "card" if it's all sticky. I put it in the freezer for a while and it was much more manageable. I have some in the freezer right now I will test on. The 75u screen seemed a little too small. I am going to try a 90u and see how that works.
> 
> I took a 30 second vid of the shaker. Can't use Youtube without an account so I don't know if this is going to embed.
> 
> [url]https://vid.me/da7O[/URL]


nifty lil device you put together there, So what was the runs take?


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## MR1

I get sound but no video.


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## Hackerman

lyfespan said:


> nifty lil device you put together there, So what was the runs take?



I didn't weigh it yet but it was a nice little pile for just a few minute shake. Looks like about 4 grams.

I am just piling it all into a jar because I need to put together 32 grams of this. I want to make glycerin and the minimum the Magical Butter Machine will do is 2 cups. That's 32 tablespoons and I want it to be about 1 tbsp per gram of sift. 

So I am going to do a 1 hour shake tomorrow and see what I get. I have about 5 or 6 ounces and some trim so I am hoping to be able to get the 32 grams.

I did take a pile of this and carded it through a 90 micron screen. It came out much cleaner (under the microscope). However, it's not melting like some of the first shakes I did. 

View attachment keif.jpg


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## Hackerman

MR1 said:


> I get sound but no video.



It was working fine earlier. I just checked it and I also got sound but no video. It says the server is down.

@lyfe. Did the video work for you?


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## lyfespan

Hackerman said:


> It was working fine earlier. I just checked it and I also got sound but no video. It says the server is down.
> 
> @lyfe. Did the video work for you?



Yes the video worked just fine


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## Hackerman

I put the sift in the freezer overnight and tried carding again. It sifted real nice while it was cold but as soon as it started warming up, it got sticky and started to clump again.

I did get about 1/2 of it sifted before it warmed up but I am getting the opposite result than what I read about.

I read that you do the final sift on a 75u screen and you keep what is on TOP on the screen, not what falls through. Supposedly, the plant matter, the stalks to the trics and the other debris fall through the 74u screen and what's left on top is just the heads of the trics. 

I don't have a 75u screen so I am using a 90u. Maybe, that's the problem but the 2 pics below show before and after the 90u screen and after the 90u is definitely cleaner. 

View attachment before90u.jpg


View attachment after90u1.jpg


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## Lesso

Hackerman said:


> The carding has been unsuccessful so far but the shaker is a screaming success.
> 
> I put a few ounces in and shook it for a few minutes and got 4 grams.
> 
> I discovered you can't "card" if it's all sticky. I put it in the freezer for a while and it was much more manageable. I have some in the freezer right now I will test on. The 75u screen seemed a little too small. I am going to try a 90u and see how that works.
> 
> I took a 30 second vid of the shaker. Can't use Youtube without an account so I don't know if this is going to embed.
> 
> [url]https://vid.me/da7O[/URL]


Not to beat a dead horse, but try a run on that machine with some dry ice...it definitely wont be sticky.


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## Hackerman

Hey, no problem beating dead horses. LOL

I am going to try to get some but as far as I can tell, there is only one place in the entire city that sells it????? And, they are an hour away, almost.

I will try to find someone closer who sells it. If not, I'll make the trek.

How much should I buy? I don't want to over buy and have it melt away but I don't want to buy too little, either. I assume it's bought by the pound.

Then, how much do you put in with the pot? As much as will fit in the shaker?

Thanks for baby stepping me on this. I'll get the ice because I have shaken some of this pot 5 and 6 times and I still see plenty of trics on it under the scope.

Thanks again, everyone.


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## lyfespan

Hackerman said:


> Hey, no problem beating dead horses. LOL
> 
> I am going to try to get some but as far as I can tell, there is only one place in the entire city that sells it????? And, they are an hour away, almost.
> 
> I will try to find someone closer who sells it. If not, I'll make the trek.
> 
> How much should I buy? I don't want to over buy and have it melt away but I don't want to buy too little, either. I assume it's bought by the pound.
> 
> Then, how much do you put in with the pot? As much as will fit in the shaker?
> 
> Thanks for baby stepping me on this. I'll get the ice because I have shaken some of this pot 5 and 6 times and I still see plenty of trics on it under the scope.
> 
> Thanks again, everyone.



Watch out for overloading your shaker. Remember you have a mass that will be slamming around in the box, but it will also be compromising the integrity of the plastic as it gets colder, also remember to put a couple vent holes in your plastic box, as you will be building up pressure, and I'm sure as funny as I think you'd look wearing all the hash and plant material, we really want to avoid that scenario, unless you are trying out for Americas funniest home videos. Personally I would try several smaller chunks instead of one big hunk, this will allow for more surface area to be touched by the dry ice.


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## Lesso

Hackerman said:


> Hey, no problem beating dead horses. LOL
> 
> I am going to try to get some but as far as I can tell, there is only one place in the entire city that sells it????? And, they are an hour away, almost.
> 
> I will try to find someone closer who sells it. If not, I'll make the trek.
> 
> How much should I buy? I don't want to over buy and have it melt away but I don't want to buy too little, either. I assume it's bought by the pound.
> 
> Then, how much do you put in with the pot? As much as will fit in the shaker?
> 
> Thanks for baby stepping me on this. I'll get the ice because I have shaken some of this pot 5 and 6 times and I still see plenty of trics on it under the scope.
> 
> Thanks again, everyone.



Buy one lb for every 1/4 lb of trim. Dry ice does sublimate as soon as you open the package, so buy it in smaller quantity packs. Break it up into small pieces and toss with your trim. I like to let the ice sit with the trim for about 5 mins and get real cold. You dont have to shake for very long either. If youre putting 2 oz of shake then use a half lb of broken up dry ice.


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## Hackerman

I'll try to get out to the ice store this weekend and get it.

Thanks for all the tips. I didn't consider the effect that the dry ice will have on the plastic. I'll watch for that. Thanks for that one. And, I also wonder how the dry ice will affect the opening size of the mesh (silkscreen, not stainless), if at all.

Since you have all been so nice with all the tips, allow me to retort.....

I was cruising around the internet today and I found a silk screen supply manufacturer that was selling framed screens in various sizes. I ordered 3 (what look to be) very nice aluminum frame silk screens, the same size as the Bubbleman uses in his process (140/107/75), 20"x24" and all three screens were under $60 including shipping. I ordered them today, they have already shipped and UPS says they will be here Monday. I'll update you on the quality and their suitability to the task after they arrive.

The name of the company I bought from is called Atlas Screen (http://www.atlasscreensupply.net/) but I presume any silk screen supplier would have them at close to the same price. This place took Paypal which I like.

I had an incredible day of sifting, today. Mrs Hackerman is coming home so I'll turn the compressor off for her sake but I will resume tomorrow. LOL I have not weighed it yet but I'll bet it's close to an ounce. LOL I found some old bubble hash popcorn in the freezer that I ran through the wash once. I put that in the shaker and got at least 3 or 4 grams. I can't believe all those years I washed my bubble once and then threw it away. Last time I made bubble hash, I got more from the second and third wash than I did from the first. Live and learn. 

Once I get these screens, I'll run the same process as the BBman and see if it works the same way.

Thanks again all. Wish I could share this with you.


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## Hackerman

Well, it was less than I thought. Just over a half ounce. Still, not bad for a bunch of old bubble hash pot I had stashed in the freezer. I tossed just about everything I had into the shaker today. LOL Probably sifted 10 or 12 ounces of misc garbage.

The final destination for this sift is butter or glycerin. The next big question is... should I decarb the sift like I do regular pot before I make the butter? I do remember Skunkpharm decarbing sift. They did it for a little less time than the plant (about 25 minutes at 240F for sift). With plant matter they go about an hour at the same temp.

I hate to waste this much sift so I want to make sure I get it right the first time.

I plan to put 16 grams into 32 tablespoons of butter (2 cups) and cook it in my Magical Butter machine. I would rather make glycerin than butter but glycerin is not the best at absorbing the cannabanoids (not nearly as good as butter) and I don't want to waste all this sift. 

View attachment drysiftstash.jpg


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## Lesso

You have to decarb it still. Thats the only way o know of the activate it for ingesting.


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## Hackerman

Yeah, that's the way I feel. The magic Butter Machine says it decarbs in the process but I don't trust it. I don't think it gets hot enough in the MBM for decarb.

I am going to run a small test today. I'll decarb a couple grams and make a firecraker or something to test the dosing and decarb time.

Going to try to get some dry ice today as well.


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## Lesso

Cool. Thanks for the tip on the screen supply.


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## sunakard2000

buddy of mine does a lot of sifting with all his crazy sticky and uber crystaly trim, shake and popcorn buds. he found that if you get a nice cure on your bud and trim, grind it up with something like a medi container, not a grinder with keif catch, and just grind everything up really good and dump it on your top screen, he only uses one screen, thats 90u, and he spreads out the pile of weed and work it a little then let it sit out ontop of the screen for a while, comes back an hour or 2 later and cards it over the screen, just being gentle and the occasional good flick or 4 to clear the screen, it helps out a ton with the whole gum-up effect, just gotta take it slower then you are, let it dry for a while and if/when it starts to get uber sticky again let it dry more then come back to it, he uses another screen to put ontop so while it is drying it wont collect dust as well, basically a breathable lid so to speak. it will take him a few days to sift a QP or so but it makes for easier work without the gum effect and needing the freezer. and what ever is left up top of the screen he collects and makes pucks for rosin. still lots of goodies up on that sifted shake.


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## Rosebud

I am following your every word. Where did you get the screens and what are you shaking it with? Thanks Hackerman.


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## Hushpuppy

I think what ever dry sifting method you use, I believe if you have access to dry ice that using it with the material will help you to get considerably more. The reason I say this is because there are 2 types of resin glands on the leaf. the ones that are stalked and the ones that grow right against the skin of the leaf. when you use the dry ice, it freezes them off the leaf by freeze drying the leaf. if you do just the dry sift and work the material, you only get the stalked trichomes. That is why there is enough resin left in the material for making rosin. 

Not knocking that method. If that works the way you want then do what works for you. I just like getting all of the trichs on the first run. I get great yields from the dry ice method


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## Hackerman

Rosebud said:


> I am following your every word. Where did you get the screens and what are you shaking it with? Thanks Hackerman.



Are you talking to me?

Sorry, I didn't see the post.

I get screens from 2 places. I buy the bulk silkscreen fabric on eBay.

For framed screens, I bought from Atlas Screen company. http://www.atlasscreensupply.com/

Beautiful 24 x 36 aluminum framed mesh for just over $30.

With my little plastic box above, I put it in a paint shaker and let it rip. However, I found that the rough abuse of the trichs broke a lot of them and I just couldn't get full melt bubble from the shaker. However, if you are real gentle and use the framed screens and a card, it results in much better quality. It just takes longer.

Beware when/if you buy screen from silkscreen houses. Their industry measures the mesh a different way than the filter people do.

Mesh is the number of openings in 1 running inch. Micron is the actual size of the particle that passes through the hole. A micron is one millionth of a meter (or one twenty-five thousandths of an inch).

Filters are rated in microns (although, micron is officially an obsolete term for measurement. It's, more appropriately called a micrometer, now). Silkscreen is rated in mesh size. They are very different (almost opposite) so make sure you Google a mesh to micron conversion chart like this one...

http://www.showmegold.org/news/Mesh.htm

to make sure you are getting the screen you want.


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## Hushpuppy

Fascinating :stoned: Am I mistaken when I say I have seen the word "micrometer" used as the name of an instrument for measuring microns. I have seen one that was electronic that you put it to whatever is being measured (the meter has a side of the head that is used for inside measure, and a side for outside measure), push the button and it automatically adjusts to fit and gives you the readout on a LCD screen.


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## Hackerman

Yep. that's the way I always saw it as well. I also own manual micrometers.

However, a quick Google of the word Micron will show a bunch of articles about how the International System of Units declared in 1967 that the term micron was officially revoked and that micrometre (French) or micrometer (English) would replace it.

Personally, I grew up using the word micron and I don't care what they say, I'll stick with it. LOL


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