Meet the Machines
THE SOURCE TURBO
If you want to extract essential oils at home, you'll need a small portable extractor—the Source Turbo Extractor. Herbal tinctures are widely known for their medicinal and therapeutic uses. So, you'll make immense savings or even have an extra income stream as you make oil at home. What is a tincture when using the Source Turbo extractor? It means quality control, consistency, and your essentials on demand. So, if you want to make the best tinctures from your botanicals, it pays to understand how to use them. This article explores how to use the Source Turbo extractor to understand why it is the go-to extractor for apothecary, culinary art, and aroma scenting purposes.
How to Use the Source Turbo Extractor
Here are the steps you should follow to make the best tinctures:
Install and Setup the Extractcraft Mobile App
You can monitor the Source Turbo Extractor from the Extractcraft mobile App. It is available for download on the App Store and Play Store and interfaces with your extractor via Bluetooth. The app offers additional information about the temperature, rate of evaporation, and other parameters throughout the process. For proper use of the app, you must enable your location and Bluetooth services. However, app usage is not required to enjoy the use of your Extractcraft.
Gather Required Supplies
You'll not make a tincture without the right ingredients. Make sure you collect all the ingredients and clean them because it might be challenging to add them back without affecting the quality if you miss a step. Standard requirements for any extraction include:
- Glass beakers
- 190-proof alcohol
- Filters, strainers, or sieves
- Funnels for bottling extracted oil and recycling alcohol
- Containers to store extract
Prepare the Tincture
Once you have cleaned and sorted out the plants, follow this process to prepare a tincture:
- Place the plants in a clean glass beaker
- Soak them in the 190-proof alcohol to about ¼ the volume of the plants in the beaker
- You can mix up the plants for different recipes
- Allow enough time for the alcohol to act on the plants before moving to the next step.
You could also checkout Extractcraft for more on how to make a tincture.
Unscrew the Reservoir Cup and Strain the Tincture In
Inside the Source Turbo Extractor is a reservoir cup that you'll use for the extraction. Once the action of the alcohols is complete, use a filter, strainer or Buchner funnel to remove solid particles from the tincture and pour it out into the reservoir cup. Repeat this process until the resulting solution is satisfactorily clear for the best results.
Prepare the Source Turbo Extractor for Extraction
Arrange all the Source Turbo Extractor parts shown in the manual and plug it into power. Remember to screw back the reservoir cup, cover it with the lid, and ensure there is a tight vacuum seal before you begin.
Select Extraction Mode You Need
You can operate the Source Turbo in either normal or turbo mode. Press the green button once for normal mode and long press for three seconds to activate turbo mode. Check on the vacuum periodically to see that it seals appropriately at each stage. If you establish the vacuum is not sealing properly, check that the vacuum release valve is screwed on properly, inspect and adjust the seals, or try pressing down the lid to see if it will get a better seal.
Monitor the Extraction Process
You're on the right track if you see condensation on the external lid and rolling down the sides. It is required to add a tray of ice cubes on top of the lid. Once the alcohol has evaporated from the tincture, the extraction is complete. The recyclable alcohol accumulates in the collector; the final solution is collected as an oil, tincture, sap, or wax-like substance, depending on the objectives and intended usage.
Finishing the Extraction
You can press the green button to stop the extraction manually once the extraction is complete. Keep in mind that you are looking for a viscosity of cooking oil or a bit before it reaches that texture. Remember that you are not looking for a wax or sap consistency. After this, release the vacuum by twisting the vacuum release valve left and allowing the collector cup, reservoir cup, and entire chamber to cool down. Collect your final product—the extract and remaining alcohol, reassemble the Source Turbo, and store everything. Any remaining ethanol can be left, and it will evaporate, should you desire.
Extractcraft Safety
As mentioned in your ExtractCract manual, there is a 2-hour safety cutoff. This safety cutoff will turn off the Extractcraft regardless of normal or turbo mode. You will have to start the unit again after this cutoff and keep a close eye on your unit as your tincture nears completion.
THE EtOH PRO
The EtOH Pro Extractor is the best botanical extraction equipment in its category. It applies the latest technology to make it user-friendly and ensure you optimize your botanical product extraction. It allows you to extract oils and concentrates from botanicals, generally referred to as absolute oils, which contain the plant's essential oils and other beneficial components or full-spectrum oils. These concentrates can be used as-is or crafted further into your desired end product, such as tinctures, food and beverages, cosmetics, and much more.
How to Use the EtOH Pro Extractor
Botanical extraction using ethanol entails turning your plant material into a tincture by adding enough 190 proof or higher, non-denatured ethanol to saturate the material fully. This combination of plant material and ethanol can also be referred to as your "wash." The ethanol pulls out the desirable components of the plant material, and these get suspended in the ethanol. This tincture or wash is then strained and filtered to remove the used plant material and other fine undesirables. Understanding how to use the EtOH Pro extractor is crucial to avoid snags in the process and ensure you optimize your botanical extraction capacity.
An EtOH Pro Extractor package contains:
- EtOH PRO Base Unit
- Power cord
- 1 Kettle
- 1 Kettle Lid
- 1 Kettle Lid Holster
- 1 Reclaim jar
- 1 Spit jar
Carefully unpack your package to avoid damaging any of the parts. Then, remove all the pieces and place them separately to ensure no missing parts. Contact ExtractCraft's customer care as soon as possible if any part is missing.
Setting Up the EtOH Pro
- Fix the power cord at the back of the machine and plug it into an electrical socket
- Locate the power switch; turn it on to confirm the illumination delivers power to the green start/stop button.
- Fix the spit jar to the unconnected tube coming from the back, bottom corner of the unit. Use one of the ports on the lid and leave the second port open and unattached.
- Ensure the base is flat using the adjustable feet and plenty of clearance between the workplace surfaces.
- (Optional) Fix the reclaim holster to the left side with the keyhole cutouts.
- (Optional) Fix the kettle lid holster to the back of the base and ensure it rests on the four pre-set protruding round head screws.
- Place the empty reclaim jar in the holster (or just to the side of the unit) and cover it with its lid with the hose inside the jar. (Note: You don't need to screw down the lid. It will vacuum on once you start up the unit and will not need to screw down the lid)
- Set altitude tuning
Using the EtOH Pro: Extract Mode
The EtOH Pro uses the tincture technique to produce botanical formulations. The process entails adding 190 proof or higher, non-denatured ethanol to dried plant material and letting them soak together. Afterward, the plant material must be separated from the tincture through straining and filtering. Minimum filtration requirements would be coffee filters, though ideally, you would purchase a Buchner funnel for enhanced filtration. The extract mode processes an ethanol tincture to produce your botanical extract while separating out and recollecting the ethanol for reuse.
Follow the steps below to make botanical products:
- Load kettle with tincture and ensure its plugged into the base to avoid sloshing and spillage
- Set the extract mode – Use the dial to set EXTRACT (setting in the red zone)
- Establish vacuum seals – Starting the EtOH PRO makes the vacuum pump produce vacuum pressure observed in the reclaim jar. Hold the reclaim jar lid in position for approximately 10 seconds, then move your hand away. If it stays on its own, the jar is sealed. It will only have a light seal until the kettle lid is sealed. (Note: You do not need to screw down the lid on the reclaim jar. It is advised that you do not screw the lid down but just let the vacuum seal hold it on.
Next, make sure the kettle lid is well centered on the kettle and hold it down for 10 seconds. After that, give the lid a slight lift. If it stays on, you have both lids sealed. If it comes up, repeat step 3.
- Run the extract mode - Having established a vacuum successfully, the pumps will continue running for around 5 to 7 minutes before turning off. These pumps will come on and off throughout the process. Once the pumps turn off, tiny bubbles should appear. These bubbles will grow until you see a full boil happening in the kettle. Check the EtOH Pro User Manual to take the necessary precautions while running the extract mode.
- Switching or emptying the Reclaim Jar Mid process – This is only necessary if you are extracting more than 1750ml of botanical product. Switch off the machine and release the vacuum. Empty the reclaim jar, then repeat step 3.
- Stopping the process – You decide when to stop the process based on the desired end product and whether or not you would still like some ethanol left in the concentrate. Press the illuminated green button to stop the process and ease the vacuum. Read the user manual carefully to learn the tips and precautions to take while controlling the equipment. (Note: It is generally recommended to stop the process when the oil inside is at a cooking oil viscosity or earlier. You can give a slight tilt to the bottom of the machine to see how the oil inside flows. This oil can be ready to use as is, or if purging out the small amount of remaining ethanol is desired, you can pour the oil onto a non-stick silicone mat or into a pyrex dish and let the remaining solvent evaporate off. You could also perform a vacuum purge, which we will go into details with in a later blog post.)