Hello everyone!

I'm new to the forum and will shortly be completing my first extraction . I am looking to use the marsfold tek and amend according to my preferences.

One thing I am contemplating amending is the use of hydrochloric acid instead of vinegar. From my understanding, the point of the acid is to create an acidic solution at the ph level specified. But does anyone know from their experience if using a different acid at this stage will impact the quality or quantity of the yield. Are there any practical implications of either acid, making one more preferable than the other?

In the marsfold tek, once you have drained the acidic solution (before basification), it is recommended
that you leave it in the fridge overnight so the remaining 'junk' settles in the bottom. In order to speed up the process a bit I was considering just using a good filter (filter papers, cotton etc) to remove the junk. Firstly, is this a good idea and from your experience which do you feel will be the best option?

Finally my last question!!

I am also considering using the sodium carb wash before the freeze-precip step to try and obtain a cleaner product. Once again, from your experience is this step worth it and are their any practical implications of this step?


Thank you in advance for your comments. The preexisting posts have been a great help but I would really appreciate some further clarification.

Thanks again,
Peace and Love.

SWIM uses the carb wash right after he makes a pull. He uses litmus paper to get a Ph of around 8-9 in the aq solution and swirls it around with a glass stirrer a few times. If any of the base solution gets sucked up you will notice right away in the Aq layer.

I go from a slightly pale yellow to a lighter off white (I tested this with and w/o wash on the same pull) - Honestly, SWIM does not notice change in taste or exp, but that's just him. He still does the wash.

Hi, Sorry for the delayed reply. I left my gf alone with my laptop for 4 hours and came home to 15 bits of malware etc
So one reformat later and I vital lesson learned, I'm back up and running

Anyway, thank you for your reply. I haven't seen the ph level of the sodium carb solution referenced before, so this is going to be very useful to me.

Due to the relatively small amounts of water used in this particular step, how did you find separating the two solutions? I'm not going to have a separatory funnel to start with, just a turkey baster or pipette, so hope I do not encounter any problems?

thanks again for your comments

Peace and love

Using hydrochloric acid shouldn't impact the quality or quantity at all, most A/B teks call for hydrochloric acid as the initial acid wash. And for separating the sodium carbonate from your solvent, as long as you use a container that a has a small area (like in the neck of a jug) using a turkey baster and/or pipette shouldn't cause any problems if you're careful.

The sodium carbonate wash should be done with just a pinch of carbonate to the water. Wash twice with this then once with plain water.
When washing, add shake and separate immediately or there will be some loss.

Filtering out the plant matter before basifying is not needed. Infact it may hurt yields as the base help break down the cell walls exposing more dmt.
As with liquid-liquid extractions, the PH is the main variable that is needing to be taken care of. ph3 for the acidic phase and 12 for the basic phase is about right.

I love this forum - ask some questions and get some great answers. Thank you for your responses, this is all really really helpful.

Xt, you suggest not filtering after the first acid stage, but are you also suggesting not leaving the acidic solution in the fridge overnight (masrfold tek) and going straight to basification?

Another quick question - When doing naptha pulls I'm going to have the naptha warm and then keep the container in a water bath to help speed up the separation process. Does anyone have any experience with this and can you recommend a safe temperature to warm the naptha too.

As always, thank you for your help

Peace and Love