Cybs' Hybrid ATB "Salt" Tek

Cybs’ Hybrid ATB “Salt” Tek Kit List:             

Mimosa Hostilis Bark (Powdered) I litre Mixing Bottle or Jar (With Lid) De-ionised (or Distilled) Water Lye (Caustic Soda) White (Distilled) Vinegar Naphtha (Lighter Fluid - Swan,Ronsonol,Newport) Spare Jam Jar (Storage of used Nap) Funnel Glass Measuring Jug Turkey Baster Scales (Milligram) Glass Roasting Dish (x3) (Not Shown) Food Wrap (Not Shown)

Step One: Weighing the Bark (50g Approx) Use powdered bark. If you have shredded bark, put it in a glass blender and whiz it up good until powdered (some fiberous material will remain...that’s fine)

Step Two: Put the Bark in the mixing bottle/Jar, use the funnel if necessary.

Step Three: (Acidifying) Put 200ml De-ionised Water in a pan and Add 60ml Vinegar and bring to just boiling. Pour the acidic solution into the mixing bottle. Put some tap water in a pan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat. Shake the bottle and place in the heat bath. Shake/mix occasionally and re heat if necessary. Leave to soak for at least 1 hour.

Step Four: (Salting) Weigh out 30g of Salt (Good quality Salt) Or any table Salt will do.

Put 100ml of De-ionised water in a pan and heat to nearly boiling. Add the 30g Salt and stir until dissolved. Then pour the saturated saline solution into the bottle.

Step Five: (Basifying) Weigh out 50g of Sodium Hydroxide (Lye/Caustic Soda). Put 200ml of Cold de-ionised water into the measuring jug. Slowly add the 50g of Lye to the water and stir using a metal spoon until it is all dissolved. (Caution: Lye is extremely dangerous...do not get any on your skin or eyes. Use gloves if you have them. Vinegar will neutralise any spills. Never pour Hot water on top of lye...it will react violently and splash) Carefully add the caustic solution to the bottle. Then top up with 140ml De-ionised water to the bottle (should be around 700ml altogether now)

Shake the mixture up. It should go very dark...almost black.

Put the bottle in a heat bath (as before) and Soak for at least 1 hour. Re-heat the pan if necessary. Shake the mixture occasionally to prevent settling.

Step Six: (Adding the Non Polar Solvent) Measure out 50ml of Naphtha (lighter fluid) and pour into the bottle. Now Shake up (lightly) and roll the mixture (figure of 8) for 20/30 seconds. Unscrew the cap momentarily to release any pressure build up then tighten again. Place back in a heat bath. (heated pulls draw more product) Then leave for a while until the Naphtha separates again. Repeat this 4 times (shake/separate) This should take around 45 mins.

(Close-up of Layer Separation)

Step Seven: (Pulling) After the 4 x Naphtha mixing Carefully suck out all the Naphtha from the top layer with the Turkey Baster and squirt it into a Glass Roasting Dish. This takes a bit of patience and skill. Be very careful not to disturb the basified mix (black layer) Do not suck up any of the basified mix. If you can’t get the last bit, you can suck up the naphtha and a bit of the basified mix and place in a drinks glass and wait a short time to separate again. It will be easier to see the layering and retrieve the last bit. Use an eyedropper if necessary.

The first pulls may be heavily saturated and turn milky when it hits the dish. This is a good sign. Later pulls may look clear or yellowy, this is fine)

Next tightly pull Food wrap around the dish to form a sealed lid. Airtight and water tight Put the dish straight in the Freezer.

*Repeat Steps Six and Seven - 4 more times* (So 5 pulls in total)

Place the ‘Pulls’ in the freezer for 12 to 18 hours. (overnight) Do not disturb them. (It’s tempting to look but try not to)

(Stacked dishes with cardboard separators)

Step Eight: (After the Freeze) After 12/18 hours in the freezer, take out the dishes one by one and suck out or pour out the naphtha into your storage jam jar or you can reuse for the next pull. Then place the dishes upside down on a cloth for a few minutes to drain off excess naphtha. (Speed is critical here. You want to do this as fast as possible because the product will want to re-dissolve into any remaining naphtha at room temperature.) Try not to get any water droplets in the dishes.

Step Nine: (Drying) Straight away place the dishes against a wall and blow a cold fan over them for at least 20 minutes. You want to make sure ALL the naphtha (and any water drops) has evaporated. No smell of solvent should remain.

Step Ten: (Scraping) Now you have your dried product. It may look like ‘Snow Globe’ crystals Or (as shown) a layer of dried gooey oil with white dots (crystals) growing on top. Use a blade to scrape all the crystals/oil together. Scrape all the dishes; you may have some in the freezer for the next day, just scrape them after the drying. Place on a piece of paper for further drying.

(Close up of result.)

Weighing the result. (above was after only 3 pulls)

Ok. At this point after 5 pulls you have around 1g of product that is perfectly useable. Some even prefer the yellow (full spectrum) stuff. If you want to purify further to get whiter, fluffier crystal...here’s how. Step Eleven: Re-X (The Extra Mile) You will need a small glass or shot glass for separation. A small glass or small dish for crystallization in the freezer. A jam jar for heating the Naphtha.

Place your product in the small shot glass.

Put around 40/50ml of Naphtha in the jar.

Next place the jar in a heat bath with a sieve in the pan (stops it bubbling too hard) The lid should be just resting on the jar to prevent fumes from escaping. DO NOT screw the lid tight! The expanding fumes will create enough pressure to explode the jar. Heat and lighter fluid = DISASTER!

Heat the pan until boiling for a few minutes to heat the naphtha in the jar.

Turn off the heat and take out the jar (use gloves it will be hot!)

And pour the naphtha into the shot glass with the product.

Everything will dissolve into the naphtha and you will see the impurities start to separate and fall to the bottom. You can rest the glass in the heat bath to help if needed.

After a few minutes you will need to decant the saturated naphtha into the other glass, leaving the impurities behind. Use an eyedropper if you have one or carefully pour it off.

You can leave the impurities for the next time you Re-X or add a little more naphtha and try to get a little more.

Now take your glass and put a tin foil lid on it to prevent dust and water vapour from getting in and put it in the fridge for 1 hour to cool. Then put it in the freezer overnight.

In the morning after 12/18 hours of Re-crystallising you will need to pour off the remaining naphtha and dry with a fan as before. It will take a lot of drying as the crystal layer will be deep and needs to be completely free of solvent. Scrape out and marvel at your handy work...Around 1g of fluffy product from 50g of bark.