I just got done doing several extractions via Cyb's Tek. On two of the extractions I forgot to cover the dish in plastic wrap before putting it in the freezer.

I assumed something noticeable (and bad) would happen but left the dishes in the freezer anyways for about 14 hours. To my surprise, I noticed no difference between the dishes that had plastic wrap and the ones that did not. They all produced a normal yields and did not seem to have different rates of evaporation.

Would anyone be able to shed some light on why this step is included? My first thought was simply to avoid naptha fumes in your freezer but wasn't sure if there was anything related to the actual chemistry. Perhaps I can get rid of some plastic waste in the future...

Thanks in advanced!

To my understanding (which is derived from the Nexus), it's to prevent solvent fumes from getting into your food and stuff.

I use a pyrex dish that comes with a plastic lid. So, no plastic waste.

One love

It can taint your food.

as people have said, it is good to help prevent fumes getting into the freezer. but it also helps keep possible contaminants out. even a piece of ice getting in there will be annoying to have to wait to evap when it comes to it. i prefer to keep them out from the beginning.

Also prevents condensation from getting all up in your schtuff.

I had that idea with my new Pyrex dish. I ruined my first pull in that dish when the heptane caused an oily substance (plasticizer?) to leach out of the lid and drip into my pull. Once it warmed to room temperature the lid warped badly and I eventually threw it away. Parafilm is prohibitively expensive, so it's back to plastic wrap for me.

Do you use naphtha rather than heptane, perchance? I assume Pyrex lids are all the same kind of plastic, so maybe this is a problem unique to heptane.

Yeah, I’ve definitely ruined some food this way. Nothing like naptha flavored leftover lasagna!

Thank you for sharing that! Really good to know.

I do use naphtha, which may be why I've never experienced what you have.



Mmmm tasty

One love

Slight tangent, but I put some butyl acetate in my freezer (closed with parafilm, I might add) and all the ice cream ended up like banana flavour. Arguably, that's better than it tasting like paint thinners.

That's an important consideration worth highlighting. Nothing like having a big pile of lovely crystals in your dish and they all turn out to be ice!

Hey, on the bright side, at least it'd be really easy to vape!

I use an oven bag with a binder clip. The Pyrex pan fits perfectly. I twist the end and clip it off, have never gotten fumes in my food or ice in my tray, not once. Best part is they're reusable. I have used the same oven bag over and over. I'm not aure what type of plastic they're made from but they are food safe for extreme temperatures (I have used them in a PC for 3 hour cycles, no problems), I've never noticed any foreign materials leeched into my solvents even when a little bit splashes on the way in or out of the freezer. They seem not to degrade as well hence the reusability. Thought I would share a cheap, easy food grade solution.

So when i put my loaded solvent in the freezer, i let it in there for a Minute so the warm air can leave the crystalization-glass, after that i put a lid or a foil over it.
Reason?
1) You dont want any stuff flying around your freezer into your solvent
2) Prevent your solvent from evaporating and having a fridge full of a highly flamable gas.
3) You dont want the air from around to condensate inside of your glas and then have frozen waterdroplets inside of your crystals.

love is out

Looks like a pretty darn good reason. Ruined food taste is one thing, airborne thanksgiving turkeys is another.