ive been hearing about doing a low heat boil of tobaco and isopropyl alcohol. havent tried it myself but seems like the alchohol would evaporate nicely and be clean enough anyway to not leave any residues. any thoughts on an alternative to hot water? the boil time needed just seems to cook the flavors out.
I don't think I would do that, although on the surface it seems like a good idea. The problem is IPA is likely to be denatured, possibly with pyridine, which will remain in the extract and be very nasty if not toxic. Denaturants are MEANT to make you sick. Also, an alcohol extraction will pull out lots of chlorophyll and other plant macromolecules. Unless you can find a way to separate them from the nic and other alkaloids, it will ruin an atty and probably be very nasty if not damaging to vape.
I have seen, on the other hand, reasonable results with a warm PG or VG extraction on snus. Of course, filtering is the issue here, and these two solvents are rather thick, but a syringe with a cotton plug can make a good high-pressure filter. It seems this should at least produce good flavor, although the nic content may not be great. Naturally the more powdered the tobacco is, the better it will give up the goods to the extraction.
A real alkaloid extraction is actually a very involved job, requiring organic solvents, acids and bases, lots of special glassware, and a way to safely dispose of the toxic waste. NOT for the inexperienced.