I'm wondering what would be good advice for somebody that is going to try her first extraction with MHRB. She's already done some reading here and elsewhere and has a few things she's particularly interested in, such as:

1. Is Lazyman's tek really not worth the effort, or is it really not so bad? A lot of criticism seems to be based on the fact that the equipment is 'strange' like a bowl and potato masher. Criticism of the results is less clear but seems like there's too many variables to predict results.

2. In Marsofold's tek, after the third acid soak, rather than 'hold the lid slightly offset' would it make sense to filter and get as much excess liquid from the bark as possible? If so, is cheesecloth a suitable filter material? Should coffee filters be unbleached?

3. In Marsofold's tek, do the first three pulls stay in the freezer for 3 days, and the last just for one? Or will 3 days be too long? Also, if the freezer isn't cold enough, what can you do with the jars?

3. If she has access to lye and other chemicals without too much hassle, is the STB generally more desired/easier?

4. In any tek that calls for an ammonia (or other weak base) wash, is it correct that this can be eliminated? And the danger/concern is simply that the remaining product may have fats?

5. What is meant by fats and why are they bad?

This girl has so many questions......she has all the supplies and wants to get started!!

Hey!

I have done two MHRB extractions, both with the Layman's tek. I remember when I did my research, there were a lot of negative comments on this particular technique.

However, I went for it any how. Both times I got magnificent yields! It is a very easy step by step procedure where you can get your first batch in a matter of hours. It does take some more work, because of the fact that you are dealing with a large bowl, and pouring off the naphtha is kind of annoying, but I figured that in the end, it would be worth it.

Which it was, by the way.

Thanks! I know that some people have a lot of MHRB so probably can try a few different teks to see what's best.

I'm also curious to know if in Marsofold's tek using muriatic acid is ok rather than vinegar and/or what PH to get the water to in that first step - guessing that around 3 is ideal (?) and that 13+ is good for the lye portion.

I use what is essentially the lazyyman tek and it works fine for me. Pretty good yeilds too, right around 1%.

Just let your ground up bark soak for 5-7 days in vinegar, just enough to completely soak the bark. Do that right in your jars, keep it in a warm dark place, then add water, base to 13+ and pull with solvent Naphtha or bestine.

Muratic acid is not necessary.

Keep it simple.