The Ultimate Rosin Press Buying Guide
The Ultimate Rosin Press Buying Guide (source)
So, you've read about all the benefits of rosin tech and now find yourself in the market for a rosin press. With a growing number of options out in the market today, we've decided to write a comprehensive guide on the different things you'd want to consider and ask yourself before buying one.
However, before diving deep into rosin presses, let's first take a step back and consider the quality and yields of each of the material that we're pressing.
Starting Material
Flower vs. Hash vs. Kief
Let me preface by saying that each strain you're pressing will give you different yields, tastes, and results. Some strains are known for producing good rosin, while some are not.
That being said, pressing flowers will give you the best quality but not necessarily the best yields. When pressing flowers, less is more. Smaller nugs create more surface area, more surface area means more travel for the rosin while being pressed.
Pressing kief or hash will give you great quality and decent yields.
It's also recommended that you kief your product first before pressing (including the flower).
• Trim: 3% - 8%
• Shake: 8% - 15%
• Flower: 15% - 30%
• Kief / Dry Sift: 30% - 60%+
• Bubble Hash / Hash: 30% - 70%+
Ideal Temperature
Temperature is key to making good rosin! A good rule of thumb to remember is:
• Lower temperatures (150°F- 220°F) = more flavor/terpenes, less yield, end material is more stable (butter-like/honey consistency)
• Higher temperatures (220°F- 250°F) = less flavor/terpenes, more yield, end material is less stable (sap-like consistency)
Bearing these in mind, if your press is more than capable of delivering the right pressure, we don't recommend you going higher than 300°F
Temperature x Time by Material
Material - Temperature - Time
Flower - 190°F-220°F - 15-60 seconds [Good Quality] Sift/Bubble - 150°F-190°F - 30-90 seconds [Average to Low] Quality Sift/Bubble - 180°F-220°F - 30-90 seconds
Pressure
There is no magic number for how much you need to press but most people use the formula of press pounds/plate surface area.
For example:
A 10-ton press = 20,000 lbs. If you have a 3"x5" plate = 15 square inch.
Hence, 20,000/15 = 1,333 PSI
Note: These numbers serve as a guide only. Results will always vary depending on temperature and material as well the press you choose.
Now that we've got those out of the way, let's get on to the good stuff.
What is the Best Rosin Press?
More and more rosin presses are emerging in the market as this segment grows. However, these are the best presses in the marketplace today: DIY presses, manual presses, hydraulic presses, pneumatic presses, electric rosin presses and hybrid presses.
What goes on to choosing the best rosin press will depend on your needs and your demands out of the press. Here are a few questions to help you decide on which rosin press is best for you.
Is it for personal or commercial use?
How many hours a day/week do you intend on using the rosin press?
How much material will you need to press each time?
How important is space to you?
Are you an environment that can tolerate noise for several hours during the day?
DIY Rosin Press
DIY presses, as the name suggests, is a do-it-yourself rosin press. This typically involves buying a 10-ton or 20-ton hydraulic shop press and rigging it with heat plates, heaters and a controller to control the heat on the plates.
Manual Rosin Press
Manual rosin presses are a portable, low-cost extraction solution that's ideal for home users and personal consumption. They come in a smaller form factor which makes them portable and easy to lug around. These units typically involve a hand crank or a twist-style mechanism to apply force onto your material.
Hydraulic Rosin Press
Hydraulic rosin presses use hydraulic pressure to generate the force needed to produce rosin. The force is generated typically through the use of a hand pump. It's typical to find presses in the 10-ton (20,000 lb) hydraulic presses, although more and more you can find ones in the 20 and 30-ton range. Moreover, hydraulic presses are less intrusive to being used in smaller environments because unlike pneumatic presses which require an air compressor and are noisy to operate, they just require some elbow grease to get you clean rosin. Though one downside with hydraulically powered presses is the chance of leaking hydraulic oil from the cylinder.
Variable-hydraulic Rosin Press
These presses are predominantly hydraulic rosin presses on the inside but instead of being stuck using a hand pump for the entirety of your press, they're cleverly engineered in such a way that a simple switch of a pump attachment allows you to control these presses either pneumatically, electronically or using a hand pump to suit any type of extraction demands.
Pneumatic Rosin Press
A pneumatic rosin press pretty much has the same features as a hydraulic one, except instead of being powered by a hydraulic cylinder, there's an air chamber that's being powered by an air compressor.
That, however, means, no hand pumping. This is especially useful if you're extracting a couple of batches at a time. Another beauty of a pneumatic rosin press is in the ease of controlling and changing the pressure as you press your product--it's literally as simple as pushing a button and you can do it in small but precise increments.
Electric Rosin Press
Electric rosin presses, on the other hand, are fairly new to the market but are gaining rapid adoption and popularity. It's obvious to see why because electric rosin presses don't require any compressors or external pumps to function. All you need is an electrical outlet to plug these in to and you're good for extraction. Furthermore, while the idea of 10-ton or 20-ton rosin presses sounds nice (especially for large batches), if you're simply extracting small batches, all you really need is one or two tons of force; electric rosin presses are specced to deliver between 6500 - 7000 lbs of pure electric power while capable of pressing up to 15g of flower.
So, there you have it! We've covered everything from material, temperature, pressure, as well as all the available types of presses in the market today.