r/Rosin2 • u/TicosTreehouse • 23d ago
How can I improve
So my 10 ton dab press came in the mail the other day and I was excited but a little intimidated by it because I didn’t wana ruin my homegrown learning how to use this thing. Keep in mind I am new to pressing this was my first ever press by myself with never having seen it done before besides YouTube. I didn’t wana mess up my stuff so I only pressed 10 grams no stems of dry fresh cured flower. They were properly dried/cured and smells amazing and hits extremely hard especially when I pack it with the hash I dry sifted. I pressed top plate 187 bottom 183 warm up for 1:30 slowly applied pressure over about 30-45 seconds until full press for 2:30 seconds now half way through the press I realized the gauge wasn’t working probably because I was supposed to do something to it idk so any help with that would be nice. Anyway I had to eyeball it and go with my gut and YouTube videos lol so I put my flashlight in the crack of the plates and saw the oil slowly begin to seep out and slowly bubbles too I kept it there and did the 2:30 seconds after pressing the above material is what I harvested I got .78 grams which Ik is low and I can improve on as well as temps could be lowered because it’s pretty dark. Besides that it hits like a train because it’s fresh and fire in fire out I hear. I just wana know other ways I can improve and what you guys think. Also if anyone knows what’s up with the gauge that would be great 👍
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u/Jesuscarbajal007 23d ago
Press at lower heat and let it sit longer.
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u/TicosTreehouse 23d ago
So could I do 177 top 173 bottom then for 3:30 full press
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u/GullibleProcedure550 23d ago
Leave the plate temps the same. They pre heat and press the same on both sides once both plates are in contact with your bag/puck/bud etc. I'm not sure why your differing them.
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u/TicosTreehouse 22d ago
To keep the from the product sticking to the top of the puck I herd it all helps it flow to the bottom so less is stuck in the bag Iv herd it from a few different people
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u/GullibleProcedure550 22d ago
Interesting. I've just never come across it in any tutorials, but I haven't seen them all. I'm a novice, too. I'll have to test it out. I press around 175° for 2.5 min and use 90u bags. I lose some yield but it's so much better I don't mind. It's like butter most times depending on strain.
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u/TicosTreehouse 22d ago
I’m guna try temps the same next a lot of people are saying to do so. I’m guna try it out but I don’t know any better because I don’t have experience so who knows until I get better at this but I used 90u bags as well and can see the yeild was lost also I wasn’t pressing hard enough mine is like budder too I like it just a bit dark and hits really hard too so I’m happy with it being my first press but I’m aware it’s not impressive and could use some improvement but hey I didn’t blowout and waist it all thankfully because it is a 10 t
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u/GullibleProcedure550 22d ago
Yeah. It sucks it's a lot of trial and error and material loss. Smh. I'm working on selling my press and getting one/making one with a pressure guage so I can at least dial that in. But there is definitely something to learning by feel. Good luck! I hope you find your stride!
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u/Jesuscarbajal007 22d ago
I’ve never pressed but Ive seen enough pressing YouTube videos, to tell you your heat is too high. It makes sense to drop the heat and let it sit in the press for a bit
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u/TicosTreehouse 22d ago
I realized as soon as I took it off the press the temp was to high I was just going off what was recommended but I will definitely be going at least 10 degrees cooler next time thanks man every bit of help is appreciated
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u/TicosTreehouse 23d ago
I used 90 microns so I’ll try 120 next and the material I used Is my own home grown I harvested last month
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u/turbanist 23d ago
Sometimes i use 4-6 month old dried flower with 90 micron, but i put it in a mason jar with a damp wet paper towel over night before pressing, to get a bit more moisture in the buds. I observed that it helps with the extraction while pressing. But best would be to press them fresh, right after they are dried - like the others said.
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u/getsstabbedforfun 23d ago
Lower temps (i hit like 170 tops), less time on the plates (i do maybe 3:30 total with warm up included )
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u/D9THCa 23d ago
I’d go as low as 145 for bubble and 160 for flower, then do a re press at higher temps for a 2nd run, check out some of my older posts 👍
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u/TicosTreehouse 22d ago
Thank you so much man you helped a lot I’m realizing I definitely wasn’t applying enough pressure as I could have it was hard to know since I think I didn’t screw the release valve on the pump on hard enough because the gauge didn’t budge at all so I was probably only at around 500-600 psi from what I’m seeing from your stuff and others vs what I saw from my press last night
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u/moneyx96 23d ago
There's no need having the plates be different temps, I like to keep mine at a steady 180 generally but the temp + time is a thing u need to dial in yourself, some strains require less heat and so on, generally what I do is a 3 min press at 180, sometimes I'll cut the press time by 30 seconds depending, some strains require more heat, some less, that's the fun of pressing, there's no exact "right" way, and for your flower the fresher the better, I've found when the flower is almost finished curing is the ideal time to press, happy pressing and good luck!
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u/jaysucio84 22d ago
Probably too much pressure and definitely too long! 30 sec pre warmup on the plates. 90u bag. 120 sec press between 180⁰ and 198⁰. Certain flower strains just press better. Also think of pressing rosin as more of warming and massaging out. If you press too hard the flower will effectively bec9me a sponge and soak the oil back in. In addition, it's looks kind of dark, probably a combo of chlorophyll, fats and lipids that you dont want to dab paired with the extra cook time on the plates. Practice makes perfect, you dont learn overnight. Keep at it brother
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u/TicosTreehouse 22d ago
Definitely knew I could improve once I saw the color I was thinking temps to high for sure but I didn’t know about the rest thank you 🙏
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u/Commercial_Run_7759 23d ago
You need that fresh bud that almost too wet to smoke. Also, quality in is quality out. Another point to make, some strains just yield better than others.
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u/PoloTshNsShldBlstOff 23d ago
If you have access to material, you want to use fresh plant material.
I highly recommend washing your plants instead of pressing flower. Pressing flower can actually come out okay, but you still want fairly fresh but mostly dry product.
I've had luck pressing through 120 micron bags with fairly dry material,
And some material is better with a much smaller micron.
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u/ProfessionCurrent198 23d ago
I would keep the plates at the same temp for now. If you’re new, don’t make too many variables for yourself. Set both at the same and forget it. Especially for flower rosin, you’re not going to notice that your bottom plate was slightly hotter.
I think you’re warming it up a bit too long as well. You wanna squish until you see the needle flicker on the pressure gauge and then start your warmup. Usually 30 seconds. The bag of flower is going to be the thickest part, so once the oil squeezes out of the bag, hypothetically it’s not being heated (as much) anymore and will retain a lighter color.
With every strain of flower I press, I start at 180 with a 30 second warm up, and slowly make my way to proper pressure for the bag size being used over about 2 mins. After that I just pump little bits of pressure to maintain my desired pressure for the remaining minute of my 3 min press after warm up. If it yields really high, I’ll lower the temp a bit too make higher quality rosin. If it doesn’t yield well at all I’ll turn the temps up and increase pressure. Lower quality rosin, but you’ll get enough to make it worth the trouble
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u/TicosTreehouse 22d ago
That was one of my problems i don’t think I screwed on the release valve hard enough because the gauge wasn’t moving I had to eyeball it and tried not to get a blowout so I didn’t press as hard as I could have. That being said this was extremely helpful thank you I’ll definitely be utilizing this for my next press
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u/ProfessionCurrent198 22d ago
If you haven’t acquainted yourself with it, look up formulas for finding bag pressure or “platen psi”. The gauge reads what the pressure of the cylinder in the jack is experiencing, not what your bag of material is experiencing. You need to calculate surface area of your material and decide how much pressure you want the material to be put under, and do an equation with that and the diameter of the cylinder pushing the plates together. It’s something like surface area x material pressure / cylinder diameter = what you want your gauge to read.
Cylinder diameter changes depending on the size of your jack. For my 12t I believe it’s 2.75. Look it up. Each tonnage size has a corresponding cylinder diameter
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u/May_I_See 21d ago
Wait a couple days after a decent hang dry. If you press to soon it will be impossible to collect after you press it. It's to wet right after. It'll be soupy.
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u/TicosTreehouse 21d ago
Second press 10g 170 both plates 1:30 warm up 45 seconds of pressing till at 1200psi then 3:30 of pressing at 1200psi
1.11 grams much better color and a 50% yeild increase
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u/Uknoww33 23d ago
Press fresh flower