Pressing flower to make rosin isn’t necessarily a new process, but it’s growing popularity in the last few years has been, in part, a reaction to increased consumer awareness about the presence of solvents in their concentrate. Just like conscious consumers want organic produce in their kitchens, more and more cannabis users are becoming wary of pesticides and other harmful chemicals in the products they buy.
Using any Rosinbomb rosin press allows the conscious cannabis consumer to create a highly potent marijuana concentrate from home without the use of expensive closed loop systems, explosive butane, or other dangerous cutting agents.
Rosin is cost-effective and healthier when compared to its BHO counterparts, but consumers still want convenience. Vape pens are, and will continue to be, one of the most popular consumption methods because they are discrete, portable, and inexpensive. You simply can’t bring your dab rig and torch everywhere with you easily, and if you’re like me, you’ve broken 15-20 rigs and bongs.
But rosin cartridges for vape pens aren’t necessarily all that easy to find at retail. Commercially manufactured vape pens typically don’t contain rosin because it’s easier and cheaper to use BHO, but have no fear, there are still options.
If you have empty cartridge tanks that work with your pen, or you can find them online, it’s fairly easy to fill these carts with rosin and take your homemade extracts on the go with you.
I know what you’re thinking, rosin is too viscous for a vape tank and it won’t work. You’re wrong and you gave up way too quickly.
If you’re pressing your flower specifically to fill vape cartridges, it’s especially important to use micron bags rather than using just parchment paper. This will ensure that you keep all plant material away from your rosin. We don’t want any plant matter ending up in the vape tank, it’ll just cause more issues for you later.
As far as which blank tanks to use, I always choose glass. Obviously plastic ones are easier to find and less expensive, but glass ones are so much easier to use, trust me. If you use glass tanks, you won’t have to cut your concentrate as much because if the rosin is too solid within the tank to vape, you can simply use a lighter to heat up the side of the cart and liquify the rosin enough to move it around. Oldest trick in the book, works like a charm every time. DO NOT try this with a plastic tank, crazy I even have to say that but I do.
Obviously, you’re using rosin because you’re against using concentrate laden with solvents, so I’m not going to recommend you cut your rosin with a laundry list of chemicals to make it work with your vape pen. That’s just counterintuitive. Some people use propylene glycol or vegetable oil or MCT oil, and you certainly can as well, but I prefer to reintroduce terpenes to the equation if I want to liquify my solid concentrates a little more. For one, it adds a lot of flavor that translates into the vape experience and you can play around with a lot of different essences and combinations of tastes. Second, it keeps everything fairly natural. While the FDA says that PG and VG are generally safe to use, they mean eating it. We really don’t know what the effects of vaping and inhaling these substances will be until years down the road. I’d rather avoid them altogether and keep my rosin as close to the source material as possible.
I recommend adding terpenes at roughly a 15 percent ratio to your rosin, you don’t need all that much to put some motion in the ocean. You’ll want to decarb your rosin before adding the terpenes, but after you’ve stirred them in, you’re ready to fill your tanks. Enjoy!