Slow Cooker Extraction of Tobacco and Tea

[Influence]

Heat extracted I seem to do well with about 24 hrs. Then I let it sit and cool for several hours before filtering but that's usually because of my schedule (and sleep)

Been learning the heat process from reading this great thread, from my newbie experience (12 pipe tobacco extractions so far + 4 cigars going on right now), the strong pipes tobaccos like Nightcap, Bayou's, Billy Budd, Havana Daydream, Turkish, Orientals and all the English blends don't need to my taste (I like strong flavors) more than 10 to 12 hours continuous heat assistance. Unproper after taste and parasitic taste appear on my first 4 batches after 12 hours at 55°C heating. Done them for only 9/10 hours and was perfect. For peak strength tobaccos like mainly virginias or RYO's, 12 hours seems to be more than enough in what relates to me.
For the cigars I don't have any experience yet, just started 2 "acids" and one Rocky Patel yesterday. They got 10 hours heat + 9 hours cold yesterday, I will give them 12 more heat and 12 cold today and I'll see if they'll need a bit more. They smell fantastic at the moment.

I've also asked weeks ago on this thread to be sure if we should make the heat extraction with jars lid on. The answer I've received was yes. So my first 4 extractions were lid on. Not happy at all with the final result, much to strong concentrate with parasitic taste. My other batches were done without lid. The result is perfect as far as I'm concern.

 

[johni]

Influence, glad to see you're having success extracting!

 

[Influence]

Influence, glad to see you're having success extracting!

Thank you johni
I'll send you soon some samples, hope you'll be indulgent with them

 

[Nick N]

I have a couple RYO menthol pipe cut cigarette tobacco cold soaks going right now (one week in) and I am itchy to get something going I can vape. I have read all the NET threads and unfortunately (for this process) like so many other things in life there is more than one way to do it.

What is the fastest anyone has went from start (heating) to finish (vaping)... successfully? Has anyone tried heating PG, mixing with the tobacco, and filtering it after a quick 10 minute steep? Works for coffee, why not tobacco?

I am glad to see shorter (9-10 hours) crock pot/heating times with success. 24-48 hours with multiple heating/cooling periods seems (to me) somewhat excessive. Nobody steeps tea leaves for this long do they?

I hope this post does not come off as negative, I am trying to start from the simplest, quickest method and work my way up while my cold soaks mature. My Brother In Law did some cold cigar and pipe blends this weekend, by Thanksgiving we should go from famine to feast on samples.

 

[Smocian257]

Search for the terms "microwave" and "shotglass" in "net part deux" and any other relevant threads and you'll find a few who have done it quick and dirty. I believe it works real well for coffee extractions and so-so for tobacco. I took a bit of every leaf and made an amalgamation, lets see how it tastes a few days later...

 

[Smocian257]

It mellowed out! Still not good. but i did mix 9 pipe blends and 2 ryo's. Try 50ml pg and a half ounce of something if you just cant wait. Not boiling hot now. Just good and hot.

 

[dodari]

We're new to extracting and last week started cold PG extracting on 4 pipe tobaccos we got at a tobacco shop up in town, expecting to go minimum 4 weeks before we have much to try.

We are wondering where you all do cooker extractions what do you use to heat the stuff, to what temperature is good and for how long? Our crock-pot always ends up at about 180-190 degrees F, seems way to hot. Hot plates on lowest are way too hot also.

Suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Nick N]

Ahh this is what I am looking for, replacing the syringe with micron filtering, VG with PG, and an Aeropress...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/liquid-extraction-tobacco/99774-vg-pipe-tobacco-essense.html

 

[Bunnykiller]

I wait about 5 minutes after mixing in the nic and VG but I guess 3-5 weeks it start tasting the best...

 

[billherbst]

We're new to extracting and last week started cold PG extracting on 4 pipe tobaccos we got at a tobacco shop up in town, expecting to go minimum 4 weeks before we have much to try.

We are wondering where you all do cooker extractions what do you use to heat the stuff, to what temperature is good and for how long? Our crock-pot always ends up at about 180-190 degrees F, seems way to hot. Hot plates on lowest are way too hot also.

Suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

I have an old-style Jenn-Aire electric cooktop in my kitchen---the kind with four burners, each of which has a thick metal coil as a heating element. I use a 12-quart pasta pot with a water bath into which I place four or five sealed maceration jars (with the water coming up about 2/3 the way to the top of the jars. That's about half a gallon of water---any more water than that and the jars start to wobble and "dance". I submerge an old metal oven thermometer in the water at the bottom of the pot---I can read the gauge through the water---but I also have a $10 laser temp gun that I use to confirm the water temperature. The electric burner has knob settings of 1-10. Set on 2-3, the temperature of the water bath stays at 130-150° F, which I can adjust up or down. This is well below a simmer, where the water gives off a little steam in evaporation.

Sometimes I put the lid on the pasta pot, sometimes not. Monitoring is easy---I check the pot every couple of hours---and the water bath has never gotten close to evaporating away. When the water is down by an inch or so, I add more water, crank the burner to high for a minute or two until the temperature recovers, then turn the dial back down. For a "cook" of 24 hours or less, I might have to add water to the pot once or maybe twice. If I'm doing a multi-day "cook," I top up the water once or twice each day.

I've never used a crock-pot. Didn't own one and saw no reason to buy one, since the pasta pot water bath works perfectly and holds five pint-sized mason jars at once.

YMMV.

 

[Boxster]

We're new to extracting and last week started cold PG extracting on 4 pipe tobaccos we got at a tobacco shop up in town, expecting to go minimum 4 weeks before we have much to try.

We are wondering where you all do cooker extractions what do you use to heat the stuff, to what temperature is good and for how long? Our crock-pot always ends up at about 180-190 degrees F, seems way to hot. Hot plates on lowest are way too hot also.

Suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

Most quality Crock-pots will have a minimum low temperature over 165 degrees, since bacteria can grow on food below ~160 degrees Fahrenheit. I considered buying A Hot Stone oven that has a digital temperature control from 105 - 165 degrees. Amazon.com: 6 Quart Hot Stone Heater - Digital Stone Warmer: Health & Personal Care

My massage therapist told me they just use a roaster oven for hot stones & hot towels. Some of the roaster ovens I've found have a minimum temp setting starting at 150 degrees but the control knob can be turned lower. You just have to find the right position for your desired temperature.

 

[boomerdude]

I like this one. At 150F it pulls 3-4 amps, and should last for years. It has variable temp control up to 580F. It takes awhile to heat up unless your using it for extraction at 150F which you get almost as soon as you turn it on. Not too shabby for $17.00USD.

Amazon.com: Aroma AHP-303 Single Hot Plate, Black: Kitchen & Dining

 

[Ian444]

What is the fastest anyone has went from start (heating) to finish (vaping)... successfully? Has anyone tried heating PG, mixing with the tobacco, and filtering it after a quick 10 minute steep? Works for coffee, why not tobacco?

I am glad to see shorter (9-10 hours) crock pot/heating times with success. 24-48 hours with multiple heating/cooling periods seems (to me) somewhat excessive. Nobody steeps tea leaves for this long do they?

I hope this post does not come off as negative, I am trying to start from the simplest, quickest method and work my way up while my cold soaks mature. My Brother In Law did some cold cigar and pipe blends this weekend, by Thanksgiving we should go from famine to feast on samples.

The quickest method I know that produces good results is 5 hours at around 65 degrees C using PG solvent with 15% PGA in it. Some tobacco blends vape better than others straight up without steeping. Full Virginia Flake, Balkan Flake and Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 are ones I can remember that are vapeable straight up, pleasant at least. Don't expect complex blends to taste good straight up, or heavily cased (flavored) ones to be good without a good steeping IMO. I have done this too, do some quick ones to get some breathing space for the longer cold macerations. Give it 6 months and without trying you have 3 month steeped to perfection juices, enough for 10 people for the next 2 years

 

[scarf-ace]

What a joy, after nearly a year off ECF, to come back and see this thread still going strong. Does my heart good.

Keep on cookin!

 

[johni]

What a joy, after nearly a year off ECF, to come back and see this thread still going strong. Does my heart good.

Keep on cookin!

Hi Scarf! We're definitely making some tasty stuff and I'd gladly send you some. Thank you for all you did to get us started.

 

[scarf-ace]

Johni! **hugs** Great to see you still carrying the torch.

I actually have to read back through months worth of posts LOL. I hope that someone has found a better filtering method than my original one.

I haven't extracted anything in a long time, but my current favorite is a tea juice I made. It's an oolong tea flavored with almonds and nougat (you know me, I like my sweets!). It's totally addictive. My second favorite is a coffee-tea. Yep, a black tea that has a cappuccino/latte flavoring added to it. Sounds weird, tastes crazy good.

 

[johni]

Johni! **hugs** Great to see you still carrying the torch.

I actually have to read back through months worth of posts LOL. I hope that someone has found a better filtering method than my original one.

I haven't extracted anything in a long time, but my current favorite is a tea juice I made. It's an oolong tea flavored with almonds and nougat (you know me, I like my sweets!). It's totally addictive. My second favorite is a coffee-tea. Yep, a black tea that has a cappuccino/latte flavoring added to it. Sounds weird, tastes crazy good.

In a year, you've missed a lot. Your teas sound good but I'm still a straight up tobacco guy.

The latest in filtering is a 5 micron felt used in a coffee press, pioneered by billherbst or alternatively, lab filter paper going down to 2 microns. I use the lab filter paper (2.5 micron) and let gravity do the work with very good results. NETs still gunk but not as quickly.

ETA: We miss you badly!!! Come back and see us more often!

 

[MikeNice81]

In a year, you've missed a lot. Your teas sound good but I'm still a straight up tobacco guy.

The latest in filtering is a 5 micron felt used in a coffee press, pioneered by billherbst or alternatively, lab filter paper going down to 2 microns. I use the lab filter paper (2.5 micron) and let gravity do the work with very good results. NETs still gunk but not as quickly.

ETA: We miss you badly!!! Come back and see us more often!

I found that pouring through a simple 3" metal mesh strainer (from the dollar store) and into the lab filter cuts nearly two hours off of the filter time. There was a lot less of the sediment looking left overs on the filter. So, it seems to be a cheap and easy way to get a two stage filtration that speeds things up considerably.

 

[johni]

I found that pouring through a simple 3" metal mesh strainer (from the dollar store) and into the lab filter cuts nearly two hours off of the filter time. There was a lot less of the sediment looking left overs on the filter. So, it seems to be a cheap and easy way to get a two stage filtration that speeds things up considerably.

Removal of bulk tobacco before filtering is an important step. I have used a cheap mesh strainer for every extraction I've done.

 

[billherbst]

I currently use a two-step filtering process. The first filtering pass uses a French Press with 5-micron poly felt, which forces all the bulk tobacco to the bottom of the carafe and holds it there, then the second/final pass is gravity-filtered through a standard 2.5-micron paper lab filter accordion-folded (you know, with pleats) into a regular-style funnel.