Hello all, first time posting, although I've lurked this site for a couple of months as I've gathered info/materials.

I'm following the advice that Entropymancer gave here:


So I've finished three of the four naptha pulls, and I've noticed some things that didn't quite match up with what I've read. First, the naptha/base material mixture was very reluctant to form an emulsion, and separated within 5 minutes, even after some pretty vigorous jar-turning. Secondly, the naptha that I've pulled isn't yellow at all (see pic) - it looks almost the same as it did when it went in.

Are these signs of a screw-up? Given the apparent clarity of the extracted naptha, is the sodium carbonate wash necessary?

Clean naphtha means clean DMT

Cool, sounds like I did something right!

dont worry separating fast is not a bad sign, you probably just added plenty of lye which makes separation easy. Also clear naphtha isnt a bad sign...

how much naphtha per how much mimosa are you using?

I'm using 1 mL of naptha per gram of mimosa, so 50 mL per pull, for a total of 200 mL, which is starting to look like a lot. I'm considering evaporating some of the naptha before freeze precipitating, as I've read that the dmt/naptha solution needs to be close to supersaturation for the best precipitation, is this a good idea?

Exactly, its too much naphtha.. I would say better use half to a third of that amount per pull, and make more of these small pulls, because then you can straight away stick in the freezer. With such a big pull, as you said, its better to evaporate some of it (maybe half..) before sticking in the freezer.

Okay, I think I'll do my last pull now, and move on. Should I worry about the sodium carbonate wash, and if so, should I do it before I evaporate, or after?

Thanks so much for the help so far, endlessness and soulfood

You dont necessarily have to wash it, but you can if you want. The FAQ has the answers

Alright, I guess I'll have a taste, and if it's really harsh I'll wash next time.

I managed to evaporate ~15% of the naphtha, but it was going really slow, so I put the mix in the freezer for about 36 hours. I checked on it today, and there were crystals! They were mostly white, with a few yellowish bits, almost like little discs from .5 to 3 mm. I'd guess that there was about .2 grams in the jar.

So I put a coffee filter in a funnel, and placed the funnel in a cup, so that I could reuse the naphtha. (I did all of this on a shelf in my freezer, with the door opened as little as possible.) The naphtha started running through the filter, and I could still see the crystals floating around.

At this point, I grabbed a plastic spoon, and scraped a tiny bit of yellow goo from the bottom of the jar. I wiped the goo on the side of the coffee filter.

Within about a minute, all of the naphtha had filtered through, but there was NO SPICE, just the little bit of goo that I had scraped off of the bottom of the jar. I'm guessing that due to slowly the naphtha flowed through the filter, the naphtha had enough time to warm up just enough to dissolve the crystals.

Needless to say, I'm a bit disappointed. I put the naphtha that I captured back into the freezer. Can anyone give me some advice about filtering?

Not really that much advice for filtering. I guess you just had really bad bad luck Or maybe the crystals were not fully formed (if they appear "dust" like, precipitated on the bottom of the jar).
I filter on my kitchen table, my house is really hot and i never had any problems... Let the crystals form nicelly again, if you must leave the naphta in the freezer more time, just let it sit there (sometimes it takes more time for the crystals to fully form), and then try again. You might also consider giving your filter a wash with warm acetone or naphta too and then freeze precip or evaporate.

Best of luck to ya

When draining after a freeze precip all I do is remove the screw on ring and slightly offset the lid of the mason jar (maybe 1mm). Then turn it almost upside down and drain into another jar for my next extraction. If done properly even the tiny fluffy crystals stay in the jar. I let the crystals dry out and collect my goodies. Works like a charm and drains relatively fast.

Thanks RigelL and hyperspacing!

I think I'll try hyperspacing's lid technique tomorrow. I'm going to look for something a little more porous to use as a filter.

What I find best for me is just decanting slowly. The crystals are heavier than naptha and their weight will keep them from moving as long as the solvent isn't poured too quickly. Just keep an eye on it and you won't lose any crystals.

it a good technique once you get it down. I use 1/2 pint mason jars and they are easy to minipulate. Press the lid hard against the brim of the jar and as long as its offset just a bit it should drizzle out. Goodluck

Just my 2 cents- maybe skip the plastic spoon too next time and use a metal implement or rubber spatula. cheap Plastic and solvent = Bad

I'm using a small Lay's dip jar, but I think the mason lids that I have laying around should fit it, or at least provide something more stable than the original lid.


I think that'll take some practice My crystals are (well, were) pretty small, and I want to keep ALL that I can


I didn't even think of that! I think I'll use a butter knife (the kind with the angled handle) next time.

WOOHOO!
About five minutes ago I opened the jar, flipped the lid over and pressed it against the mouth of the jar, then drained the naphtha into a cup. A few white, crystally clumps were trapped by the lid, but most were stuck to the sides and bottom of the jar. I grabbed a butter knife and scraped them out onto a coffee filter!

So, I have two more questions, and then I swear I'll let this thread die.

1) How should I store my beautiful spice? I was thinking of wrapping it in aluminum foil, and then keeping that inside a film canister... (35mm ftw!)

2) I've made a Machine out of a Tabasco bottle. Should I charge it by melting the spice onto the stainless steel wool from the inside of the bottle, or the outside?

Thanks for all of your help guys!

Dropping the spice onto the inside part of the wool works fine. The smoke wasn't harsh at all, it just tasted a little bit plastic-y. I had a little bit of a funny taste in my mouth afterward, but a glass of juice cleared that up.

That was... beautiful. I think it'll take me a while to fully understand what happened, and what I felt. I am in complete and utter amazement.

I was very surprised by the body load that I felt. It seemed as if I was totally engulfed.

I think a nap, and then a trip to the beach is what I'll do next.