How to Make BHO (Butane Hash Oil) aka Honey Oil

To me, there's nothing better than really good hash oil. It's potent, super concentrated, and VERY little is required to appropriately medicate yourself. Unfortunately, hash oil is expensive, even here in Denver - America's current marijuana HQ. A gram of quality oil can cost anywhere from $30-$50, and I can only imagine it's a lot more in states that are not quite as progressive as Colorado.

So what is hash oil, exactly, and why is it so damn expensive? According to WikiPedia, hash oil, or honey oil, is an evaporated solution of THC and other various active compounds produced by a solvent extraction of cannabis. Basically, it's all the goodness of cannabis extracted, and concentrated to a thick oil. Most commercial grow operations produce this oil with the trimmings and shake from buds being prepared for retail sale. Quality trimmings are plentiful in such a production facility; it's another source of revenue from the plant they already grew and sold. It takes 1 ounce of high-quality shake and trimmings to produce between 4-6g of oil. In other words, a whole lot of plant material is needed to produce a small quantity of oil. That's why it's so expensive.

Sick and tired of paying these obscene prices for this coveted product, I decided to make my own! If you want to follow along, here's a list of the supplies you'll need:

• 1 (one) ounce of 100% DRY high-grade shake or trim.
• 1 (one) 300ML/10oz can Butane (MUST be 5x filtered / near zero impurities). You may be able to find this at a quality tobacco/smoke shop, but Amazon likely has exactly what you need for the lowest cost.
• Honey Bee Extractor
• Pyrex 2qt Baking Dish
• Razor Blades
• Small glass or plastic jar (to store the finished oil).

 

How it should look after grinding.

The first thing you need to do is grind up the dried herb. I use a coffee bean grinder, but you can use a normal cannabis grinder, scissors, or even a Cuisinart. You want it evenly ground but coarse, like you'd use to roll a joint or blunt. 

Extractor tube is packed.

Take the cap off your Honey Bee Extractor and fill it with the ground herb. You want to avoid air pockets, but you don't want it packed too tight either. To achieve this balance, pour a few grams into the extraction tube then lightly pack it down with a magic marker or pencil (eraser end). Add some more weed and repeat this process until the entire ounce of cannabis is packed into the tube.

Don't be fooled - the extractor tube will hold exactly 28g of dried, ground marijuana when packed as directed!

Packed, capped, and ready!

Place a round filter (included with Honey Bee Extractor) into the extractor cap and screw the cap, tightly, onto the end of the tube.

This is not my pic (only 2 hands).

If you've gotten this far and you're still indoors, it's time to move the operation outside. Butane is an extremely flammable gas, and not something you want to inhale. A garage with the door open will be fine, as will a patio or deck. Your goal: Keep away from all flames and sparks, and make sure there's plenty of ventilation. Set your (clean) Pyrex dish on a flat surface or table. With one hand, hold the Honey Bee Extractor, vertically, with the end-cap facing down over the Pyrex dish. With your other hand, insert the tip of the can of butane into the small hole at the top of the extractor tube. Holding the extractor tube approximately 5-6" above the bottom of the dish, firmly press the butane can down, releasing the butane into the extractor tube. After a few seconds, the butane will begin to flow out the bottom of the end-cap into the Pyrex dish. When the can is empty (you'll know), continue holding the can tightly for another 15-20 seconds so the entirety of the butane is pushed out into the dish.

What you've got once the can is empty.

Set aside the extractor tube and empty butane can. Your Pyrex dish should now be filled with a translucent, golden liquid.

Butane evaporates, leaving the honey oil in the dish.

Butane has a very low boiling point, and this bubbling reaction is a result of the butane boiling and evaporating away. As it does, the coveted, pure honey oil is left in the Pyrex dish.

45min later, nearly all the butane has evaporated.

At room temperature, it will take about 24 hours to completely evaporate all the butane. You can speed this process along by placing the Pyrex dish into a larger dish or basin of warm water (<100°F). You'll have to replace the warm water about every 15min, because it cools, but doing so will evaporate all of the butane in just 1 hour, as opposed to 1 day. After an hour has passed, you can use a needle or pin (metal) to pop the remaining small bubbles. This will release any trapped, residual butane.





Now, using a razor blade, scrape the thick, putty-like oil from the dish and place it into your storage container.

The finished product - pure BHO (Butane Hash Oil).

If you decide to make it yourself, understand that the quality and quantity of oil you get depends on the quality of the cannabis you're starting with. Here's a little chart to give you an idea of what you can expect from 1(one) ounce of different grades of cannabis shake & trim:

• High-grade (>15% THC) >> 4-6g oil
• Mid-grade (10-15% THC) >> 3-5g oil
• Low-grade (<10% THC) >> 2-4g oil

My extraction project yielded a total of 6.8g of hash oil from the original 28g of high-grade shake & trim. And as for quality, I can honestly say that what I've produced is as good, if not better, than any commercially-produced hash oil I've ever bought from a medical dispensary. It's fire!