HASH-Vac

What is the Hash Vac?

HASH-Vac is not a thing, it's a state of mind...the Hash-Vac is a lot of things, it is basically just a vacuum and a sieve.  It is more of a concept or way of cleaning and drying hash.  The original design started as a wet dry shop vacuum, 70 micron nylon screen, and a glass beaker.  The vacuum cleaner with attachment is used to suck fine particles through the screen and at the same time the suction creates turbulence in the enclosed container on top of the sieve.  The turbulence is used to move particles on the sieve and aid in removing particles finer then the sieve opening.  The main advantage of using the Hashcru Headhunter sieve is the efficiency in removing trichome stalks from the material on top of the sieve.

During vacuum operation, air is moved across the surface of the screen and hash.  The high air flow increases the evaporation rate of any free unbound water.  The turbulence blows the hash around and allows for rapid drying of the hash.  Care must be exercised not to allow the temperature or agitation to reach extremes that may damage the trichome head integrity.

Did you just say in addition to removing contaminates it can actually dry water sieved hash?

YES, and if you add the correct type of 520nm LEDs you can evaporate water at a rate of 4X the speed without them. ***The use of a water activity meter to confirm dryness is crucial to achieving a level of dryness that will not promote microbial growth.  The hash may seem dry on the outside, but may have water trapped below the surface.  The water will try to work it's way tot he surface and may leave a buttered matte appearance.  

Recommended equipment to use Hash-Vac tech to dry hash:

1. LeBrew Aqua Gauge for measuring water activity.  (THAT IS MY AFFILIATE LINK, FULL DISCLOSURE, I GET PAID IF YOU BUY USING THAT LINK).

2. A 4-6HP wet dry shop vacuum, 2.5" hose with various nozzle attachments, including a floor sweep and various round nozzles with bristles.   

3.  DELMAR brand dust separator with a five gallon bucket.  Two of these can be added in series if you are not dropping out all desired particles in the first bucket.

4. Sieve screens to retain the collection you desire to keep on top of the screen.  For example if you want to keep >70 micron, use a 70 micron or appropriate LPI screen.  

5. Clear cover that will cover the entire top of the screen frame

6. Optional: 520nm MT polarized LED, or any LED light in the green light spectrum.

Drying technique (WARNING: YOU MUST KEEP THE HASH FROM CLUMPING OR YOU CAN TRAP WATER INSIDE THE HASH, FREEZE AND MICROPLANE IF NECESSARY, SPREAD THIN AND LEAVE OUT OVERNIGHT AFTER VACUUM DRYING):

1.  Work in an environment that is cold enough to keep the hash stable. Carefully monitor the condition of the heads to verify the heads are not rupturing.  Place hash directly from collection bag onto a framed drying sieve.

2. Pour water over the hash to spread it out in a thin even layer that covers the entire surface of the screen.  This step can also be used to rinse the hash more to remove any additional fine particulates.  Continue to pour water over the hash while operating the floor sweep vacuum nozzle below the sieve until no undesired small particles are visible.  Then use the floor sweep or other nozzle to remove any observable water.  As the excess water is removed the hash can start to fly up off the surface of the sieve.  It typically takes a few minutes to remove excess standing water from a 20x24" 200 LPI screen.  

3. Once the excess water is removed place a clear rigid cover over the sieve frame to prevent hash from flying away.   The 520 nm LEDs can be placed facing down towards the hash.  The closer the light the stronger the effect.  MIT peer reviewed research shows that the photo molecular effect from magnetically transverse polarized 520nm LED at a 45 degree angle effect can increase evaporation of water by 4X.  

4. Continue to work the vacuum under the sieve screen until the hash reaches a water activity level below 0.6AW.  The hash can be placed in the freezer and worked through a microplane if it starts to clump.  Work in short sessions and place the sieve in a freezer to prevent melting of heads.  Most standard water sieve collections can be dried to below 0.6AW, in less than 60 minutes with this technique.   

5. ***For additional drying (THIS STEP IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO REMOVE ANY WATER THAT MAY BE TRAPPED BETWEEN HEADS), the hash can be spread thinly and left out with air flow and the green lights.  The green lights are only effective at the surface, the hash needs to be agitated to expose water around trichomes below the surface layer.  Nitrogen or argon gas can be used inside a chamber to create a completely dry environment, and a fan can be used to circulate the air in the chamber.  A system can be set up to monitor humidity and automatically purge the chamber with dry gas to speed evaporation of any remaining free water. 

How do I buy the Hash-Vac?

Ha!  Did you read about the Hash Piston orders?  IT'S JUST A VACUUM CLEANER, THE REAL MAGIC IS THE HEADHUNTER SRS ! You can employ most wet/dry vacuums.  I suggest purchasing the largest HP and hose sizes possible. You can always scale the size down.  In addition to the vacuum cleaner you need a dust collector or cyclone to capture particles, this maintains the same suction power through out the process.  If a dust collector is not used the vacuum performance will decrease do to filtration clogging.  

What is the difference between WET-DRY VAC vs. DUST COLLECTOR SYSTEMS?

Wet-dry vacuum systems are typically designed for maximum suction and pick up of larger particles.  In addition most shop vacuum systems are not capable of filtering out 99.9% of dust particles, where dust collector systems like the FESTOOL Dust Collector systems with cyclone collectors are designed to reject particles based on density.  All lower density particles that leave the accept port of the cyclone are captured by the dust collector bag or HEPA filter.  The system is designed for the correct vacuum head pressure and air speed to drop most particles of interest, and the system will protect the environment from finer particles that are removed from the accept port.  The finer less dense particles that are of small micron size often are not captured by standard shop vacuum systems.  If a shop vacuum is utilized the exit air should be exhausted from the lab so workers are not exposed to particles that can cause health hazards.  

What is a cyclone separator?

Cyclone separators are devices used to reject particles from an air stream.  They use centripetal force to separate particles based on their density.  Separators are used to reduce particles entering a vacuum chamber, this reduces filters clogging and maintains vacuum pressure.  Cyclones can be used in series to reject different density particles from the airstream.  Cyclones are not effective when the particles are sticky, so they should be used with the appropriate input material or at temperatures that keep material stable.   Longer hose length going into the cyclone will decrease the air speed and potentialy cause less dense particles to pass out of the accept port and pass into the vacuum bag or vacuum filter.  The cyclone must be sized properly, heavy particulate input can overload the cyclone causing it not to work properly.  

How do I build a Hash-Vac "State of Mind" system for producing pure trichome heads without using "cold plasma" technology?  

First determine the desired outcome.  Do you want to dry, clean, or do both?  Then piece together the components to make that happen. 

That Hash-Vac I built is loud, what can I do to protect my hearing?

I am not a doctor, or safety professional (I only have 9 fingers left...).  Wear hearing protection rated for the decibel level in the work area.  If you don't enjoy the silence this brings consider using noise cancelling headphones.  There are several songs dedicated to the HASH-Vac that can be downloaded here: @hash.vac on Instagram.

There seems to be a lot of small particles floating in the air, is that safe to breathe those particles?

I am not a doctor, or airparticle safety expert, but my intuition tells me we should reduce particulate intake into our respiratory system.  I highly recommend anyone working in cannabis wear the appropriate N95 rated dust mask and other appropriate personal protective equipment.  Utilize the Hash-Vac with a real HEPTA filtration for the exhaust.  Use HEPTA filters in the lab, design airflow to pull particles away from people working in the space, and wear an N95 mask.  

3D PRINTER FILES FOR THE HASH-VAC (MORE FILES SOON...):

1.  VEVOR 50 CM SIFTER 2.5 INCH VAC PORT

2. GUILLOTINE TO FOX ALIEN HOSE

3. SCREEN SUPPORT SUPPORT 150 MM GUILLOTINE 

4. LARGE POLLINATOR POLM HASH-VAC INSERT

5. LARGE POLLINATOR POLM SIEVE FRAME RING