The mildew was only on one side of one bud.... it was tucked away in a dead spot for air circulation, so even though the RH in the tent is 55-60% with temps in the 20-25 region, this unfortunate event occurred.... lost only a quarter or so..... and I packed it away in the freezer for a bubble run later on. The mildew disappeared after I left the buds out for a day or 2.
Now that CJ is down I have re organized my air circulation, and adjusted the Helios Pro 2's which were on CJ, now they are slightly higher and more angled to the side of AU1, as she has some monster side buds developing there.
The bubble hash is lovely, I got some cheap 20L bubble bags.... $55 - roughly £30.... 220/160/120/73 and 25micron..... as there was no 40 bag, most of my product was from the 25micron bag, then the 73. The 220 bag is waste and nothing came in the 160 and 120 bags.
I did a mix of Critical Jack, Chronic Ryder and Think Different, and another of Blue Automazar and Critical Jack. Ice is no problem in this 'ere nation of alcoholics.
The final water in the bucket was left to rest for a week (to let the contents settle to the bottom), then I removed most of the top water, and let the rest evaporate in a pyrex lasagne dish...... it didn't take long to leave a nice layer which once scraped up, was ready to heat press.
For all grades of bubble, I dried it as much as I could as a nugget for a day or two, then chopped it fine on the old pyrex dish, (some people use a grater.... and call it microplaning). The hash granules were then laid out thinly on some thick cardboard to dry further - wicking the moisture out.
After a day or 2, once fully dried, I collected up the granules in a clean plastic jiffybag, got it all into one corner of the bag, and folded up the bag to contain the hash granules into a rectangle in the bag, using a bit of sellotape to hold it. Basically a tight plastic wrapped bag of hash.
Then I got one of the Wife's many empty wine bottles strewn around the house and filled it with hot water - its gotta be above 80C.... and I used it like a hot rolling pin on the bags of hash granules, pressing it with force and rolling it to get the heat in. After a while, the hash melts together leaving you with a nice thin slice of pure extract in solid form. Leave to cure for a few weeks for taste. and voila!
I got the technique from a Youtube video by Frenchy Cannoli..... he'a a Gaul who rolls his flat slices up into Cannoli.... hence the name. I also have one of those cylindrical aluminium hash press things by Kannastor.... it's good for small amounts, but Frenchy's way is better for anything more than a teaspoon full of trichs. The Kannastor press, once loaded and tightly screwed is put in the oven at 88C for half an hour leaving a nice piece of hash. Frenchy's way is as good if not better, as you don't rip your hands trying to tighten undo the metal press, and the final product is hard to remove from the Kannastor... you have to put it in the freezer and slice it clean off the dowels.
Going back to the gear in my pic, the greenier one on the right is the one I made from the residual water.... probably more leaf bits in that, even though it went through the 25micron bag.... but its lovely stuff, kinda charas like in taste. I probably should have pressed them all a bit more to really homogenise the product, but you know how impatient I am....
The 2 dark brown pieces bottom left are BAM/CJ 25micron, and it is so damn good in terms of effect (WOW) and taste (YUM)......
I use a water bong for the hash but am thinking about getting a rig with a titanium nail or better still, an enail. They look like the business! The whole 'nail and rig' malarkey is new to me - 30 years of joints have made me a creature of habit..... pipes, bongs, vapourisers etc, I've wasted money on all these, and gone back to the trusty old doobie...... but the idea of using a nail on a bong at higher temps to completely vapourize the slither of hash in one go and take it down in one hit (rather than keep setting fire to it and wasting precious smoke) seems like the most economical and effective way to enjoy the hash, and obviously, therefore, the most appealing method for lazy old me.