This is in regards to 69rons last post.Swim is waiting on finely powdered mhrb and is concerned about clogging the soxhlet like you mentioned, which can be avoided by using DE as a solvent,is that correct?Not knowing what DE is i googled it and found a site : Eastman.com that makes a solvent called eastapure DE solvent.What is DE?Is that the solvent swim would want to use fore finely ground root bark?Is it easily attainable? Also suppose swim wanted to do a dry run with some other material than root bark (this might seem silly)just to get the jist of it.Would you recommend mabey using something else cannabis or mabey even coffee,its the same principle,right.Swim wants to make sure he gets everything right,so not to waste good bark and he is extremely new to this.

DE is diatomaceous earth..kieselguhr (sp?)...essentially porous clay.

no, I wouldn't say that...because both are very good at pulling all the alkaloids. depends on the route, though both are better than naptha.
ethanol may be a bit better at pulling them straight from the root bark, but dcm would be more suitable if pulling them from a basified solution.

If swim were using powdered rb,to avoid clogging it might be useful to add DE in the mix (in w/ the mhrb),is that correct?What would be a good ratio of bark/DE...say for every 100g of bark.

Disregard my last post that question was answered on the first page of this thread.4/1 plant/DE. I missed that post.You guys have been most helpful.Unfortunately,swims soxhlet,condensor hasnt arrived yet,just the hotplate and some other goodies.Swim just ordered some DE online today.Will keep you updated.

Dwhitty76, all the info you're getting from benzyme is excellent info. He definitely knows what he's talking about.

Once SWIM started using his Soxhlet, he got spoiled. He never boils anything anymore. After that he got himself a continuous liquid liquid extractor so he didn't have to do A/B extractions manually.

Both you guys have given a lot of good info.Swim feels like a humble student to the whole world of dmt. Since swims first couple of exrtractions he has the desire to make as pure crystal as possible and the idea of alkaloid extractions from other plants is exciting.The extraction is as alluring as the journey for me.i have copied and pasted into word documents a few of your postings.I like the idea of swim doing a Psychotria viridis extraction w/ the soxhlet aswell.Quick questions...swim needs to buy tygon tubing for the condener in/out but i dont know which size to get.Is there a standard size fitting.The specs only gave the sizes for the joint fittings.

Swim bought 5mm hoses for the in/out fittings, but its a tight fit, i think youre better off going with 8mm.

BTW, if you use a hot water bath the soxhlet doesn't heat up as much as using it straight onto a hotplate with a flat bottom flask. So if ur staight on the hotplate, youre better off running watter all the time, Swim almost had an accident when the condenser heater up too much.

swim bought a dig. hotplate.Just waiting on the soxhlet,condersor and flat bottom boil flask.So your saying swim should go w/ 8mm tubing?

yep, tygon. 8mm is standard. that's how swim rolls

thanks for the shout-out

a cont. liq-liq extractor? man.. SWIY is serious about the art. no half-assin, SWIY is obsessive (as is SWIM) about applied techniques.
after SWIY corrected SWIM about DMT not being a free base in plants (and indeed it isn't, or it could be pulled directly without basification), swim figured the soxhlet would be the quickest way to efficiently extract the spice.
the soxhlet route may almost seem like cutting corners to those unfamiliar with the technique, but it's a very smart shortcut; and like the saying goes...work smarter, not harder.

Both swiy's seem to have a lot of knowledge and take the art/science quite seriously even if it's different approaches.People as serious as swim is about learning should pay close attention.Just tryin to be a sponge and absorb as much info as possible.Anything that swim see's of value he saves to his file of knowledge.Much gratitude for both swiy's willingness to share their knowledge and have the patience to deal with chem idiots like swim

For tubing, SWIM uses plain old transparent vinyl tubing sold at the local hardware store. He uses 1/4 inch ID for one set of condensers and 1/2 inch ID for the other set. This is the kind he uses:

http://www.acehardwareou...Details.aspx?SKU=4027488



He connects the tubing with Quick Connects like the ones on this page:

http://www.acehardwareou...490&ProductGroupId=3

His setup is like this.

Cut two 4 inch pieces of tubing. Attach each one to the condenser. He really pushes it hard onto the condenser. He's not ever planning to remove it. He then attaches two Quick Connect coupling pieces to those small pieces of tubing. He uses this type of coupling with a shutoff valve:

http://www.acehardwareou...Details.aspx?SKU=4275731



Then he attaches one really long piece of tubing to the lower Quick Connect. This tubing is connected to the water supply.

Then he attaches another really long piece of tubing to the upper Quick Connect. This tubing goes into the drain.

He then opens both valves and turns on the water before using the condenser.

Why does SWIM do it this way? Because he never wants to remove the tubing from the glass condenser every time he’s done using it. This is because every time you remove tubing and attach tubing to those glass hose barbs on the glass condenser you risk breaking the glass and you also stretch the tubing each time you remove it and re-attach it.

By using the valve type of Quick Connect, when SWIM is done using the condenser, he turns off the water supply, then shuts the valves on the tubing. He then puts the condenser in a sink and disconnects the Quick Connects from the condenser. He drains the condenser in the sink and then puts it away to dry. He then disconnects the long run of tubing from the water supply and drain and then connects the tubing ends to each other in a loop using the Quick Connect valves, and then simply rolls them up for storage. This keeps water from dripping out of the tubing and getting all over the place once you’re done.

swim already ordered 8mm id / 12 od lab tubing from some co (he bought some excess lenth).I hope it fits his condenser. He didnt order Quick Connect coupling pieces because swim hasnt bought a water pump yet.He's gonna go to local pet shop to buy an aquarium water pump and see the dimensions on the threading (atleast now he know's he can go to ace for the couplings).Also w/ a pump,couldnt he just have a big bowl filled w/ water and have both long tubes running to it and recirculate the water?why the drainage?swim was also gonna puurchase regular plumbers tape for the joint connections for now (those other fittings are a little pricey for plastic)i believe you said they are sufficient,correct?

SWIM used to use a water tank filled with ice and water and this was circulated using an aquarium pump. That works for several hours. You'll need to check on it periodically until you get an idea of just how many hours your tank of water is good for. As long as solvent drops are collecting only on the bottom half of the condenser you're fine. Eventually the water is going to get hot if you run the system long enough and you'll have to exchange the water or else the cooling power of the water isn’t enough and solvent will start coming out of the condenser. If the water tank is large enough, this shouldn’t be a problem for many hours.

SWIM now uses running tap water. The water is drained into the sink. The flow is very slow, just enough to cool the condenser. This way he can leave it running without ever worrying about the water getting too hot. In SWIM’s part of the world, the "wasted" water is used for irrigation, so it's not actually wasted. Plus, the water is FREE for SWIM to use. SWIM doesn’t pay anything for water.

Yeah,that makes sense.Where swim is, we're dependent on the florida everglades for our source of tap water and the glades have been low this yr due to lack of rain,which is strange in itself plus water is pretty expensive here.What is this world coming to?!?! Swim will make sure to get a big enough tank and use a pump and just drop some ice cubes in every now and then.Should work,right? He got is flat bottom flasks today but is still wating on the soxhlet and condenser.He is eager to put it together and swim will post pics of it once it's done,just to get approval .

Hey,ron or benzyme or whoever,
w/ a 500ml sox.How many gallon water bowl or tank do you think swim should get.Obviously swim will have to dump some ice cubes in it from time to tome to keep the water cool from the heat of the water pump but how many gallons do you think he should get.Swim wont be draining water,he'll be recirculating.

a gallon/gallon and a half of cold water in a glass bowl should be enough to cycle through. it's for the condenser (sits on top), not the soxhlet extractor.

SWIM uses a friedrichs rather than an allihn, it's more efficient due to greater cooling surface area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condenser_(laboratory)

Does swiy place his water tank elevated so it is easier for the motor to pump? swims got almost everything,he's just waiting on his tubing and has to buy a water pump (regular aquarium pump like swiy) and a tank.Swim will put it together and post some pics to get feedback from those more experienced than I

or level with it