What is an Iceolator and How to Make One in 2 Steps

Iceolator is an extraction method that is increasingly popular amongst hashish enthusiasts, as it offers incredible product quality and is a complete experience, from making it to consuming it.

Iceolator: What is it and how do I make it?

Iceolator hash, also known as ice, bubble hash and many other names, is the result of separating trichomes from plant matter using water, ice, agitation and nylon mesh bags (such as Medical Nets Bags 20L) of different micron sizes that will separate the plant matter from our precious trichomes.

The production of iceolator is the result of washing cannabis flowers, that is, mixing marijuana flowers with water and ice, agitating the mixture and straining the resulting water through a series of extraction mesh bags (such as the Pure Extract Bags 120L Mesh Sheet) that will separate the impurities from the resin, until you have clean resin free of impurities and ready to smoke.

It is considered by many people to be the cleanest hash extraction method, because when you wash the trichome, the water carries away dust particles and even small particles of plant matter adhered to the trichome due to its stickiness. Furthermore, contact with water causes a rehydration process of the trichome that is very interesting, which results in better fusion capability.

If you want to know how to make ice or lator, simply keep reading. We give you all the keys we have collected from genuine professionals in the sector. We have different resin extractors whether for iceolator or other types of extractions.

How to make iceolator at home?

If you want to know how to make homemade iceolator, you just need to:

1. Wash the marijuana flowers.
2. Separate the extraction from the plant matter through mesh bags.
3. Dry the ice.

Below we explain the different methods for making iceolator step by step.

Washing methods for making iceolator:

Washing machine:

A very simple and semi-automatic method. It is the Bubblextractor Large Washing Machine that is responsible for agitating and mixing the water and ice with the marijuana flowers. We can do it for as long as we like. Subsequently, we remove the water from the mixture by passing it through mesh bags as if it were a strainer, like when you remove the pulp from orange juice. Finally, we collect the resin manually.

To collect the resin, we introduce the frozen material into a pyramidal mesh, like the Pure Factory mesh. The mesh will retain the flowers and impurities and the resin will float in the water.

We put the mesh with plant matter inside the washing machine with water and ice. When the water has reached the ideal temperature, between 2°C and 0°C, we activate the spin cycle, which will create a vortex that, together with the cold of the ice, will cause the resin to separate from the plant matter. Once the spin cycle is complete, we will need to remove the Medical Nets Washing Machine Mesh that contains the plant matter and pass the water through the mesh, arranged in ascending order from lowest to highest micron size, with the lowest micron mesh at the bottom so that each time it passes, fewer and fewer impurities remain.

We will need to do between 5 to 6 washes for each batch. Once we have done this, we clean the extraction mesh with ice and pass the water through the mesh one by one again. At the end of the process, a yellowish lump will remain, which will be our iceolator.

Finally, and to make the process perfect, we recommend washing the result inside the mesh with pressure water, preferably osmosis or distilled water, as it does not contain salts that could contaminate the hash. We would now have an iceolator free of impurities and contaminants.

This process must be repeated mesh by mesh and we will obtain different results. It is a perfect method for mass production as the separation process is done through the mesh and this translates into less effort and greater efficiency.

By hand:

It is like using the washing machine, but we agitate the mixture of water, ice and cannabis flowers by hand. We introduce the marijuana flowers into a pyramidal mesh and this is introduced into a container, preferably deep. We start agitating the contents in circular movements when the water is between 0°C and 2°C. With the help of a paddle or a blender, we mix for approximately 30 minutes per wash.

Next, we strain the water through the mesh bags that we will place beforehand on a bucket, one on top of the other, putting the lowest micron size ones at the bottom and the highest micron size ones on top in ascending order.

This method is usually used when we want a perfect result, very fine and we don't have large quantities of flowers. The result is better because the agitation is less than that of a washing machine and the process is more careful. The result is less plant matter in the hash and much more clean gland, which translates to better quality.

How to dry iceolator hash?

The moment you dry the ice or lator is almost as important as the washing process. We could have done everything perfectly and spoil the extraction by not knowing how to properly dry the iceolator.

A few years ago there was not much information about water hash and how to dry it, and everything had been developed through trial and error, such as microplaning or chopping, but today methods have been developed to extract residual water from our hash, quickly and at sub-zero temperatures, such as, for example, the favourite of more and more people every day, the use of freeze-dryers.

Traditional drying methods:

Microplaning:

It consists of scraping the ice with a microplaner, which is a tool similar to a grater and it makes small granules of our iceolator. You need to spread the ice well over parchment paper, which is like baking paper, and place it in a cool, dark room. The room should not be too dry as lack of moisture can result in the loss of many characteristics of our iceolator, such as organoleptic properties. If it is a dry environment, the room should be situated between 0°C and 10°C so that it does not lose properties. We should ensure that after 5 days our hash still has a meaty and resinous texture, despite having lost all its moisture.

Chopping/Laminating/Grinding:

With this method we make the thinnest possible slices of our hash, spread over baking paper. This way it will expel water more easily. Many people prefer this method because they believe it better maintains the trichome structure, whereas microplaning can open the trichome heads and release oils that would otherwise be retained until the time of consumption inside the gland. On the other hand, people who prefer microplaning believe that with this technique mould can appear because a large part of the water is retained inside the hash and as it does not get aired, the hash ends up rotting. These are simply opinions and if any of the processes is done correctly, the result will be very good.

Sieve/grater:

It is the same method as microplaning but using a sieve or a cheese grater instead of a microplaner. The result is similar, only the size of the lump varies.

Modern drying method:

Nowadays there are machines with which we can remove the moisture from our hash at freezing temperatures in less than 24 hours. The Harvest Right Freeze Dryer dries our iceolator through vacuum and sub-zero temperatures without losing any quality. These machines are not toys. They are complicated machines, with a high price and are considered laboratory equipment, being able to reach temperatures below -40°C, so we have to be careful when using them as they can burn your skin and damage your eyes.

For this reason, we recommend the use of nitrile gloves and protective goggles when handling this type of machine, to reduce the risk and work safely and responsibly.

These are all the techniques on how to press iceolator. Each user has their own preferences based on their own experiences, but if we use any of these methods and do it correctly we will obtain spectacular results.

How to store iceolator?

Storing iceolator is simple. The ideal option is glass jars with a seal that seals the product so that air cannot enter or escape. If you have the possibility, the ideal would be to keep it in the freezer until the time of consumption, so that it does not lose any properties until the time of use, but the glass jar would be sufficient.