(Yes, I've searched the sub. No, I haven't found conclusive answers.) OK, so I want to create some chamomile, damiana or maybe passion flower juice. Not imagining I'll have superb medicinal effects from vaping either, but the taste and possible placebo effects would be awesome just the same. I have access to both alcohol-based tinctures (at specified concentrations e.g. 1000mg plant matter/ml) and food-grade organic plant matter. I'm assuming the tincture is particulate-free.
I'm imagining either: a) Mixing tincture and PG, letting the alcohol evaporate b) Evaporating the tincture (on glass) and dissolving the residue in PG c) Room-temperature extraction of plant material in PG
Am I missing something or are these valid routes? Also, what would be a good starting percentage of finished extract to base when vaping this stuff? I'm imagining low temp is the way to go here, as I don't want to burn the heck out of whatever stuff gets extracted into the juice.
In general, extractions like this are more trouble than they are worth. There's no way to know what is ending up in solution, even with excellent filters. Too much can dissolve in PG and alcohol. Plant matter, lipids, sugars, etc can all end up in solution. Your coils will also be quickly destroyed because most of those things have lower combustion temperatures than your PG/VG base's vaporization temp. Also it will be incomplete combustion because atomizer chambers are too small to allow sufficient oxygen flow while vapor is being produced. The end result is unpredictable random organic molecules that may be hazardous. If you could do a supercritical CO2 extraction you could probably tune it to pull out specific volatiles, but that's specialized equipment most people don't have access to.
Edit: spelling and clarity about temps
TL;DR: Don't even try it. :)
Really appreciate the thorough reply, thanks! I've seen a lot of varying conclusions, from "it's fine" through "it just won't work", but your response seems to be the most well-reasoned yet. I'll stick to putting herbs in my tea and vaping tobacco-like flavors then.
To be fair, it would still be better than a cigarette, but seeing as how vaping is about harm reduction, I figure take minimum chances. If I had to choose between someone vaping an extraction like you described or going back to cigarettes, I would pick the extraction every time. Do whatever it takes to stay away from the stinkies.
I just want to say rock on! Most people would just say no, don't do it but by putting the time and effort to explaining in an intelligent manner why you shouldn't do it has probably saved this op and countless others who read this. Thanks for being awesome!
The ECR forum has a couple of threads about tea extractions\tinctures. I did 60ml of Earl Gray tea a few months ago and haven't noticed any issues besides my cotton fouls up rather quickly. If the other commenter is correct though, I prolly shouldn't be using it.
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