I've heard good things about VM&P, and it's what I used for my first extractions. Found this. What exactly am I looking for here? Is it the purity(95-100%)? Something else? I'm going to assume this brand is still fine to use, as I've seen other people using it over the last week or so, but this is more for when/if I switch to something else. Wasn't completely sure what to google lol.

Edit: I plan to perform an evap test with every can I get of this stuff, just to put minds at ease. I understand that the "cleanliness", for lack of a better word, can change can to can.

You'll probable want to pay special attention to the boil and flashpoint so you know how much you can heat it for each pull as well as the safety limit. Pay attention to physical properties.

And yes, evap test with every new can.

Safety first. That's the point of the sheet. It's probably a good idea to adhere to all safety protocols to be prepared for anything unexpected.

One love

Gotcha. From what I'm reading, the flashpoint is mostly something to be concerned about when around something that could ignite the fumes, correct? Crazy how low that temperature is lol. And I'm figuring boiling point is more applicable for people using a hot plate as opposed to boiling/near boiling water?(boiling temp being ~212 F)

Thanks for the reply, Void

The flash point concern, yes, hence why it's very important to have all heating elements off with exposed solvent.

For efficient pulls, you want a temp of about 50c (or up to 60c) if I'm not mistaken. I recommend double checking. Or you can wait until I find a post in my mind that refers to such. I'd have to wait until after work though.

One love

No need to find it, brother man. Syberdelic mentions 50C being the "magic number" as far as cleanliness and efficiency goes. But sounds good! I'll need to add a digital thermometer or something similar to my shopping list at some point. Thanks again!

A candy thermometer will be just as effective and cheaper. Find them in the cooking aisle in your grocery store or supercenter.

And no problem. I enjoy helping

One love

Do not confuse flash point with ignition temperature. "Flash point" refers to the temperature at which, under standard testing conditions, the substance will ignite and remain burning when an ignition source is applied. This is why you can hold a lit match next to a cup of kerosene and it won't catch fire - unless the kerosene is warmed to its flash point. A flammable/combustible solvent at or above its flash point presents a fire hazard in the presence of an ignition source such as open flames, incandescent surfaces, sparks or indeed anything that provides a source of energy equivalent to the ignition temperature.

A substance does not have to be boiling in order for it to emit sufficient amounts of vapour to form a flammable mixture with air. [I'll spare you the tangent about explosive limits here!] The closer the solvent is to its boiling point, the more of it will evaporate during the extraction process. This evaporation ought to be taken into account when planning extractions if the solvent is particularly volatile, i.e. if it evaporates easily.

"Ignition temperature" is the temperature of an object which, under normal atmospheric conditions, will cause the vapour of the substance to ignite. This is typically considerably higher than the flash point. Some substances have a fairly low ignition temperature, one notable example being carbon disulfide which ignites in contact with a surface at 100°C. Diethyl ether also has a fairly low ignition temperature (off the top of my head, 160°C?) as well as one of the lowest flash points of commonly encountered solvents.

Fortunately you won't have occasion to be using either of those, and it is Nexus policy to discourage the use of diethyl ether by those who are not skilled in the art. Use of carbon disulfide is discouraged even in chemical laboratories because not only does it present an extreme fire hazard but it is also highly toxic. (OK, that's strayed far enough beyond the boundaries of relevance I think, but I like to express my examples to a satisfactory level of completeness!)

So, just to make sure I understand, flash point(naphtha, 69F) is the point where you ought to remove any and all potential sources of flames, sparks, etc, and make sure there is sufficient ventilation to disperse the flammable fumes, and the ignition(I'm seeing auto ignition on the sds, same thing?) is the temp required to actually ignite said fumes/solvent?

And this sounds like I can use boiling water in a bowl underneath my mixture, but the warmer I keep it over time, the more I'll lose from evaporation come time to pour it off?
And honestly, all this talk of flash point is making me nervous to do this near my electric stove, even turned off lmao. Just worried about a drop landing on something conductive
I'm thinking I'll just use the butcher block we've got then lol. And correct me if my explanation/understanding is off! I appreciate the reply!