# Using cold pacs for dry ice sifting



## Hackerman (Dec 3, 2016)

I can't get dry ice any place around here so I usually just freeze my trim before I shake it. However, I was thinking about using cold pacs of some kind in the trim when I shake it, this time.

They might produce a small amount of moisture from condensation but 'm not sure if it would be enough to cause a problem.

I am thinking something like a soft gel pack that you freeze. Although they do seem to sweat a lot while they thaw IME.

Maybe the plastic re-freezable ice cubes?

Has anyone tried any of these? Any other alternative ideas for dry ice sift?

Thanks


----------



## N.E.wguy (Dec 3, 2016)

buy some Omaha steaks or some thing that comes in dry ice wala


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Dec 4, 2016)

Unless you are in a teeny tiny really out of the way place, I have a hard time believing that dry ice is not available somewhere.  However, I would not use a cold pack.  If it ruptures, you lose ebverything.  I also doubt that it is going to make a huge difference.  Why not just make bubble hash (I personally prefer that anyway) if dry ice is not available?


----------



## Hackerman (Dec 4, 2016)

Yeah, bubble has always been my standard MO. There is a lot less mess and cleanup with dry sifting and I have a nice setup for doing it.

Plus, I have about an ounce of great bubble. I was going to use the sift for cooking and rosin pressing. I can't get butter strong enough using flowers. I'm going to see if I can find a suitable dosage using sift.

There are a couple places I can get dry ice from but I always wondered what I would say if they asked me what it was for. What is the most common use for dry ice?

I ordered some of those "White Ice" cubes. I'll let you know how they work. They shouldn't leak but I still wonder about sweating.


----------



## Rosebud (Dec 4, 2016)

Hackerman, your refrigerator or freezer is broken.  Your using it to kill bed bugs. Science experiment...  your going hunting and want to keep the meat cold....  You got this.


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Dec 5, 2016)

They won't ask, but like Rosebud says, there are a lot of reasons to need dry ice.  In fact, unless they are familiar with cannabis, chances are that they do not even know that dry ice is used to make hash.  A broken freezer is a very common reason.


----------



## Hackerman (Dec 5, 2016)

I did a search and there is one place in town that sells it. I may try it and see how it works. I have done dry sifting a million times but never with dry ice.

Thanks for the tips, girls.


----------



## Hushpuppy (Dec 7, 2016)

The other stuff won't work for doing the dry sift. the key to dry ice is that as it "melts" it doesn't form water vapor. That vapor you see coming off of it is CO2 fog, not water vapor. The dry ice actually "freeze dries" the trim which allows for the resin glands to release from the plant matter. If you have *fresh *frozen trim, don't use it for dry ice extraction or you will have a mess. You have to dry your trim like the buds so that all of the moisture in the material doesn't "glob" up your screens. The dryer your material is during the extraction the better it is for the process. I like to dry and cure my trim before doing the extraction. The good thing with this is that you don't have to dry your hash. It is ready to smoke when collected. 

Also, You want a cool, dry environment to do it, and you want no wind or breeze as you will get some fine material that will go *everywhere* from the shaking process(that is the reason I build a "hood" to go over my sheet of glass that I use to catch the kief . If you have achy shoulders, they won't like doing dry ice extraction because of the shaking process.


----------



## Hackerman (Dec 8, 2016)

Thanks, HP. I have everything ready and I'm going to try the "White Ice" today. I'll let you know how it works. 

I don't worry about wind or fans or anything because my shaker is all enclosed... http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69978

I'll drop the "ice cubes" and some ultra-dry sugar leaves in the top compartment and see what ends up in the bottom. If it doesn't just destroy the leaves, I'll try it with some popcorn.

The big difference here is that dry ice is -109F and these ice cubes are only about +20F. HUGE difference. I freezer the trim before I shake it and these cubes might help it stay cold a little better or longer but there's just no comparing it to dry ice.

I was reading the other thread and someone suggested Dairy Queen and a few other places for dry ice so I am on a quest to find a source. LOL

Thanks again for all the tips, gang.


----------



## Lesso (Dec 8, 2016)

Condensation will be a "sticking point" for you if you arent using dry ice.


----------



## Hackerman (Dec 8, 2016)

I just tried this with a bunch of stem leaves. They had some sugar on them but they are all from stems and not bud trim. You can see the poor quality of the starting material in the pictures. I figured if they got soaked I could just toss it with minimal loss.

The results regarding condensation were quite surprising. I'm sure they did condensate some but what little they did must have been quickly absorbed by the leaves because I saw no sign of it when I checked the cubes every few minutes. And, the resulting sift was nice and dry.

The real question here is whether they did any significant good. There is a huge difference between -109F (dry ice) and +20F to +40F (these cubes).

Also, they wouldn't work with my paint shaker attachment. I shook this by hand for 10 minutes just as a test but I feel the ice cubes might actually cause damage to the plastic box if it was subjected to the vigor of the paint shaker.

I have some nice bud trim to try next. It should show more than the leaves if the condensation is going to be a problem. 

View attachment shaker-1.jpg


View attachment shaker-2.jpg


View attachment shaker-3.jpg


----------



## Grower13 (Dec 8, 2016)

Did you freeze your trim too?


----------



## Rosebud (Dec 8, 2016)

Looks like it worked to me... enjoy that pile Hackerman.


----------



## Hackerman (Dec 8, 2016)

Grower13 said:


> Did you freeze your trim too?



Yes. I had it in the freezer overnight.


----------



## Grower13 (Dec 8, 2016)

Hackerman said:


> Yes. I had it in the freezer overnight.



I'm thinking if ice works making bubble hash then the way your doing it should work as efficiently as making bubble hash. ........ keep putting the bucket back in freezer between shakes to keep down condensation........ those ice things are more for beating on the trim than making it colder.


----------



## Hushpuppy (Dec 9, 2016)

Looks to me like it did well enough.  If those ice cubes are actually the tiny ice cube shaped freezer cubes rather than just plain ice cubes, that could be the big difference. You don't have ice melting and giving off water and water vapor as the cubes are encased in polymer that remains dry. As long as your atmosphere stays cool and dry, that should work at least decently, if not ideally.:aok:


----------



## The Hemp Goddess (Dec 9, 2016)

Be sure to decarboxalate your trim and bud before making hash.


----------



## Hackerman (Dec 9, 2016)

HP, yes, they are the plastic ice cubes.

HG, can't I decarb the sift after shaking?


----------



## Grower13 (Dec 9, 2016)

Hackerman said:


> HP, yes, they are the plastic ice cubes.
> 
> HG, can't I decarb the sift after shaking?




with a lighter lol


----------

