I make changa using the quick butane method along with shredded Caapi and Blue Lotus(1:1:1) and the experience is amazing, but I wonder how efficient it is as A LOT of spice seems to get consumed. When I make the changa it is always covered in spice crystals in fact I like to call my changa "frosted flakes" it works but it seems that a large amount of the spice must be getting burned and not vaporized. Do other methods of making changa allow for more of the spice to be absorbed within the herbs or is still there still quite a lot of spice deposit on the outside of the plant matter?

A remedy I came up with that helps but doesnt seem to fully solve the burning spice problem is to cover the top with shredded caapi and try to slowly burn that.

The problem here lies with your "quick butane method". This "problem" of frosted flakes changa is nonexistent if you use acetone. This is because acetone fully dissolves the dmt and then allows the leaf material to suck up the dmt saturated solution. Then when the herbs dry, the spice is infused into the leaf, not merely covering it as with your method. Use the established acetone evaporation method and your problem is solved. As they say, haste makes waste, and in this case, your haste is unnecessary. Acetone is relatively non-toxic and evaporates insanely fast (you're probably only saving yourself an overnight evaporation). Try the acetone method and watch your frosted flakes become regular looking herbs, I bet you'll notice the difference immediately.

peace
SB

thank you! It wasnt so much my haste but more that I have everything I need for the butane method but I guess I have acetone as well! Ill add some acetone to my current changa and see how it changes.

If SWIM were you he'd try acetone maybe once to see if the results are any better. SWIM has not had the best experience with acetone and will be trying butane next - the good thing about butane being that there is little risk of it ending up in the end product(fast evap). SWIM feels that heptane may be better than both of these as it is able to dissolve a fair amount of dmt when warm, yet also evaporates much quicker than acetone. IPA is also another option that SWIM has yet to try.

The problems SWIM ran into with acetone was that, though it appeared to be evaporated and dry, and had been evapping for several days, if you seal your changa in a small vial or jar and open it up after an hour or so, you can easily detect the scent of acetone. I think there is something in the plants, maybe oils perhaps, that are trapping the acetone over long periods.

Thats odd? Ive never had any problem with acetone, Ipa can be used too, it might take a little longer to evap, but its said to get the job done. Did you use pure acetone?

As long as the spice has dissolved properly into the solvent of choice then all is good to infuse. And dont oversaturate the solvent.

This sounds like you did not fully evap your acetone as I too store my changa in sealed glass jars and they smell like straight herbs, no solvent odors whatsoever.

This method is as sound as the next. Its always worked well for me.

Just make sure the spice is properly disolved in the solvent before you add the herbs and like gammagore said "dont oversaturate the solvent"

I'd say 1:1 ratio is pushing maximum saturation, 1:1.5 is too heavy in DMT... but these are experiments, this is how we learn.

In guide I used more spice than I did herbs... so its like trying to cram the Earth inside the Moon, not going to happen! If you look at the the pic with all the white crystals you'll see a piece of Caapi vine on the bottom right corner that has turned from brownish red to pale white... This is how it should look if the correct ratio is applied to the method.


Pandorasbox... If your having proplems mate I can give you a few tips. The only time I had the outer crystal formation problem was when I used more DMT than the plant matter could absorb. If you have a spare lid of the same size (without the hole) you could leave the mix in there for as long as you wish and it wont evaporate. Maybe letting it soak longer will solve your problem.
I reckon different herbs absorb better than others too, when I use blue lotus petals I find it only coats them in a thin white layer of the spice.

True the method is not without its flaws, but is a damn quick and efficient way of getting the end result CHANGA!!!

@ snoberry... (sorry if I exposed some hidden irony there)

have you actually tried this method? I dont see how you could diagnose pandoras problem if you've never had it yourself.

So I didnt have any more acetone left...decided to try naptha. Anyone see a problem with this? Is naptha not quite a good enough solvent for the job?

Never used it to infuse but I dont see any reason as to why you couldnt use naphtha.

just make sure its a clean evapping naphtha of course... IMO its nicer to use some non-(or less)toxic quick evapping solvent like pure ethanol or USP grade IPA or acetone, but basically anything that dissolves dmt and that evaps clean works...

Naphtha has been known to lead to excessive deposition of alkaloids on the sides of the evaporation container, and to excessive frosting of plant material with visible alkaloid crystals. Especially with Blue Lotus. It may work fine with other herbs, but it seems to have this effect no matter how much or little naphtha is used.

I always use a fan to fully evaporate all solvents. sometimes depending on the level of humidity in the air it can take longer. Acetone evaporates fast in general.

@camakazi
I've worked with butane enough for small amounts of hash oil from cannabis to have an idea of what's going on, and having made changa with acetone, yes, I feel I have enough working knowledge of both solvents to make a diagnosis. Granted, I have never made changa using butane, but I feel that's purely academic given my experiences. If I'm mistaken in any way, please let me know.

peace
SB

Acetone works like a charm for this cat. It evaporates quite quickly, then I stir the changa around a bit and let it fully dry. I store mine in a sealed glass jar also with zero smell of acetone.

Pokey

Does the acetone need to be anhydrous? (I assume that it will just change the evaporation time).

Not totally and completely, like the anhydrous ether for Grignard reactions. But it shouldn't be like a 70/30 mix of acetone and water. It should be basically pure acetone, but it doesn't need to be analytical grade or anything. The stuff in the paint thinner section of a hardware store should be fine as long as it's cleanly evaporating.

Acetone from beauty supply stores that's used for removing nail polish will work fine. But it needs to be acetone, not "acetone-based nail polish remover." And if it has a bittering agent added to discourage ingestion, that might taste nasty in the changa. Acetone purchased from a hardware place is probably less likely to contain a bittering agent than that bought as a nail polish remover.

high proof booze and a food dehydrator... all yah need...
K.I.S.S.

so swim is still waiting for the naptha to evap! should have just gone and got some acetone. Tomorrow with next batch.

evap with low heat in a food dehydrator, rice cooker, crock pot, heat pad... what ever.. low heat will not hurt... just dont evap the alks with high heat.