I coudn't find Shellite (Australian naptha) on the ignitable liquids database to determine the chemicals it is composed of. Apparently lots of people use it but it leaves behind a suspicious oily residue.

Zippo lighter fluid also left behind a residue.

How clean was the glass that you used for evaporation? Traces of grease and detergent residue can become concentrated by the solvent as it evaporates. Try cleaning the glassware thoroughly and evaporating again. You can use the shellite - or whatever other solvent you're testing - for cleaning the glass because any oily remnants that it may contain are going to show up anyhow.

Hi guys, newbie here.
So I'm from the UK and struggling to find a solvent.
The only naphtha I'm able to find in the UK is the following :

Azure Naphtha (petroleum), hydrotreated light - SBP3 - CAS 64742-49-0

Just wondering if anyone can advise me on if this would be OK to use? I've already obtained Lye and plan on doing a freeze precipitation rather than evap.

Sorry if these are stupid questions but as I say, this is my first time.
Thank you guys in advance for any help or advice on other solvents that I would be suitable.

Peace ✌️

Hi, a newbie here also but I have one successful extraction under my belt. I used Primus Power Fuel with great results. I searched it in this forum too with the search function and someone had ok'd it. It seems to be available in the UK. Sometimes when you try to google Primus Power Fuel most of the results seem to be gaseous fuels by the same brand. But it's the liquid one in a black plastic bottle.

Pandainc - The naphtha will be fine from a chemical point of view, but do remember to do an evaporation test first. Beware also of how any online ordering might look when viewed as a whole.

Nordic traveller - the Primus Power Fuel seems like a good tip.


Other liquid hydrocarbons are available in the UK OTC although some will come with caveats if they don't evap clean.

Understanding the basic principles of extraction should help you in finding something suitable:
DMT extraction overview

Take a look at the Wiki, where there's a FAQ as well.

Hey guys first post here. Im after a simple answer please.

Is heptane or hexane good for extractions of acaica acuminata bark?

Ive had low success with shellite and want to try other solvents. Ive read lots of conflicting information.

Some say heptane and hexane are bad for extration some say they are good.
Some say to only use heptane and hexane for recrystalization.

Can someone please clarifiy.

Thanks all!

Those are perfectly fine to use. Some people may just have a preference against them, but many have a great deal of success using those solvents. Just make sure it evaporates clean.

One love

Thanks for the reply. So they can be used for extraxtions and re-x as well?

Also i keep hearing about an evap test. Do you just pour a small amount into a glass and lwt it evap away to see if it leaves anything behind???

Yep, it should be noted that heptane and hexane are more "selective" than say naphtha, meaning that you will probably have a slightly lower yield, but with a higher quality final product that you may not need to re-x at all.

And pretty much! Microscope slides, pocket mirrors, etc are all good to perform the test on.



One love

Hello guys,

I'm also new and trying to prepare for first extraction. I'm having some difficulty finding a good and pure NPS in my country. After researching what I can find in stores around me, I'm left with two options:

1. Use D-limonene 96% and go for Jimjam Tek

2. Use zippo lighter fluid and go for White Fluff tek

Does anyone have any words of advice about which one of these two would give better results?

The Zippo fluid probably has dyes or won't pass the evaporation test. I would evap test the lighter fluid of that's what you go with.

Ok, I have searched the forum but just want to put it out here for someone else opinion and experience. I've bought a cleaner form of petroleum (a cleaning petroleum for removing glue etc from ones skin). On the bottle is says:

C8-9 Alkane/Cycloalkane

And on the on the safety document:

Hydrocarbon, C7, CAS: 64742-49-0 100%

INCI-name: C8-9 Alkane/ Cycloalcane. Contains Benzene<5ppm, Aromatics<5ppm

Did a evap-test now and it leaves a faint shade on a mirror. What surprise me was that when I put some on a paper tissue to white the mirror before the test it really left a lot and I have to take a dry piece of paper to rub it away. Strange?

I don't know if this c8-9 is good, if the evap-test is good enough (I always do freeze precipitation)?

Hello everyone. Can I lube up the o-ring with frying oil on the syringes I'm using for transporting all the liquid in Cybs saltek without any weird reactions? Heptane, Caustic Soda, vinegar, mimosa hostilis

Can you elaborate a bit? I'm not sure what kind of liquid transfer you're considering or why lubrication is a consideration.

One love

Frying oil will dissolve in heptane - and it also saponifies with caustic soda so having cooking oil residues in your heptane may be more likely to cause problems with emulsions when it comes to reusing the heptane for subsequent pulls. What material are your syringes made of?

Fog described a tek for converting Harmala FB to salt form (for using in eliquid) in this link

https://www.dmt-nexus.me...aspx?g=posts&t=92932

It requires benzoic acid, which I cannot buy easily in my country.
Can anyone suggest an alternative method (using things that can be bought - UK) to achieving what is written in that post?

Also:
I do have some GOLD harmala (which I extracted myself some years ago) which, from memory, I believe is the HCL form. In the link above the salt form is described as being red. What is difference between the gold and red salt forms?

If you really can't find benzoic acid you would perhaps have to get experimental with making harmala salicylates, assuming you don't have a hypersensitivity towards salicylates. It really depends just how Macguyver you want to get with your chemistry skills but you could extract salicylic acid from aspirin or even various plants. Aspirin itself (the acid form rather than the soluble stuff which is usually the calcium salt) can in principle form salts with harmala alkaloids but that's going out on a limb in terms of what is, or rather perhaps isn't, known about vaping o-acetoxybenzoates.

Another route to benzoic acid is via the oxidation of benzaldehyde. Benzaldehyde is found in bitter almonds but so is hydrocyanic acid so it may be better (it is) to use almond flavouring essence. A large number of different plant species contain cyanogenic glycosides with a benzaldehyde aglycone; the list includes apples and apricots (in the kernels) but again DO NOT PLAY AROUND WITH CYANIDE!! This is an extraction that could easily go lethally wrong. Stick with the almond essence if you can't find a safe source of pure benzaldehyde.

Ah, now I've just remembered cinnamaldehyde - from oil of cinnamon - would make a reasonable starting material for oxidation to benzoic acid as well, as would cinnamic acid or most of its esters. Should you end up making any benzoic acid you would still have to consider how you might purify it before use - you don't want to be vaping junk.


The difference between red and gold harmala HCl is probably down to purity but may also be down to crystal structure based on the exact nature of the impurities present. Both the amounts and the types of impurities present will affect the colour of the product. In any case, your gold product sounds like it's pretty good.

Probably been mentioned a hundred times but is diggers shellite ok to use I've been told by many that it is fine but I have a vague memory of somewhere that I read someone who evaporated shellite said it left a residue.

Maybe it is but it would be up to you to evaporate a sample of any solvent you plan to use, just to be sure.

Hi,

I found this solvent in a hardware store in Switzerland, I think it's equivalent to naphtha but I would appreciate if somebody could confirm

Link to safety sheet

It's in French but the composition is:

Hydrocarbons, C6-C7 n-alkanes, isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, <5% n-hexane

It's basically the exact same composition as "medizinalbenzin" that I saw somebody else recommend.

I did an evaporation test and it left no residue.

Does it seem ok?