If you’re a fan of cannabis or even rely on it for its medical benefits, there’s a chance you’ve heard of butane hash oil. In this article, we’ll tell you all you need to know about butane hash oil (sometimes referred to as BHO).
What Exactly Is Butane Hash Oil?
If you’re new to marijuana concentrates, then you’ve likely got far more questions than answers. One question you may want to be answered is, “what is butane hash oil?”
Butane hash oil (BHO) is a highly potent form of cannabis concentrate with a THC level that can range between 60-90%! BHO is made using liquid butane as a solvent to extract the THC-rich oil from the raw cannabis plant material.
Butane hash oil (BHO) is a highly potent form of cannabis concentrate with a THC level that can range between 60-90%!
The BHO extraction process involves placing the plant material in a highly pressurized, high-temperature system. Liquid butane is added to draw out the cannabis oil. The BHO is then placed in a vacuum to purge the butane from the cannabis oil to make it safe for consumption. While in the vacuum, the butane turns from a liquid into a gas. This means it evaporates, thereby removing it from the cannabis oil.
DIY Butane Hash Oil – DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!
Please note that you shouldn’t attempt butane hash oil extraction at home unless you are a well-trained professional. The process is hazardous. Generally, those that make cannabis concentrates using a butane extraction method typically have a background in alchemy, chemistry, or science.
Butane is a flammable gas, which means that explosions and fires can potentially occur. Some people have died, while others suffered horrific burns from butane-related explosions.
During the extraction process, butane turns from a gas to a liquid. It then returns to a gaseous form once heat is applied. Naturally, a build-up of butane gas indoors with an open-source of heat can be a real recipe for disaster. Therefore, our simple message to you is, “don’t try this at home.”
Alternatives to Butane Extraction (Butane Hash Oil)
The good news is, if you desire a little DIY cannabis concentrate, you have other options. Thankfully, creating kief isn’t as risky as trying to extract BHO using a highly flammable gas.
There are also other viable ways to extract concentrates from cannabis, such as the gold-standard supercritical CO2 extraction method.
Different Forms of Butane Hash Oil (BHO)
BHO and cannabis concentrate come in many forms. Some of these include wax, shatter, sap, budder, crumble, Holy Water, comb whip, etc. The list goes on and on.
The most common distinguishing factor is consistency, and often the name of the form will reflect its physical state. These differences in texture are produced depending on humidity, heat, and whipping. We’ll show you what we mean:
Wax
Wax possesses a nice consistency for dabbing due to its reliable form. It won’t crumble when you pick up a portion but can also become liquid if held for too long. Wax is ideal for those who are quick to put their concentrate into a dab rig.
Shatter
Shatter has a glassy, smooth texture and the hardest consistency of all cannabis concentrates. BHO shatter contains the highest THC percentages, with some having over 90%. However, generally speaking, most contain 80-90%. The only way to inhale this concentrate is with a specialized dab rig.
Budder
Like shatter, budder is another incredibly potent cannabis concentrate. Budder tends to be even purer and rarely possesses a THC content lower than 80%. Some products contain up to 99% THC. The term budder comes from this concentrate’s butter-like consistency.
Crumble
Crumble is drier than budder, much like feta cheese, and tends to fall apart when scooped up. For this reason, it isn’t great for dabbing because lots of its tiny particles go to waste.
Oil
Slightly thicker than liquid, oils are the softest form of BHO, and for this reason, they generally aren’t dabbed. Instead, consumers usually opt for vaping a cartridge pre-packed with oil placed in a vape pen or similar device. Oils aren’t as potent as some other forms of marijuana concentrate.
Sap
Sap has a thicker texture than oil. Picture tree sap, and you’ll have a good idea of cannabis sap’s texture. Cannabis sap is often more potent than oil but poses a bit of a dabbing challenge. Be very careful when adding this substance to your dab rig, as it is easy to waste.
Holy Water BHO
Like other BHOs, Holy Water goes through extraction and purging phases. At present, we are unable to outline the precise manufacturing process as it remains an industry secret. What we know is that Holy Water BHO is not taken from fresh-frozen plant matter.
Whatever the method, it produces a distinctive liquid consistency that is runnier than sap but not quite the same as oil. Also, Holy Water BHO has an extremely high level of terpenes. Up to 20% of this form of BHO’s dry weight is comprised of terpenes.
How Can Butane Hash Oil Be Consumed?
If you’ve ever heard of marijuana lovers “taking a dab” or “dabbing,” then you’ve heard of butane hash oil indirectly. Those “dabs” that are being consumed are BHO in some form. One of the biggest reasons why people love dabbing is because of its exceptional potency. Let’s take a closer look.
Dabbing
Dabbing involves placing a concentrate on a heated nail hooked up to a dab rig. The heated nail turns the substance into a vapor you can inhale.
High-heat dabbing was once popular and involved a butane torch. Nowadays, low-temp dabs are a bit more common. They still require a torch, but the nail is heated to a significantly cooler temperature.
If you want to skip the torch rigs altogether, opt for an e-nail, a flameless alternative. E-nails are controlled by a temperature adjusting controller and a small heating element that covers the nail.
Vaping
Although this isn’t especially common, specific forms, such as oil, are a bit challenging to dab using a dab rig. For that reason, they’re generally loaded into a cartridge and consumed using a vape pen.
BHOs such as wax or shatter are not good candidates for vaping because of their thicker consistency. They will clog your device, and you’ll end up frustrated. There is also a messy clean up to face.
‘What Is Butane Hash Oil?’ – Final Thoughts
Butane hash oil is an incredibly potent form of cannabis concentrate. BHO is extracted from the cannabis plant by using liquid butane as a solvent. BHO comes in different consistencies, such as shatter, sap, and budder, among others.
Please note that cannabis concentrates contain exceptionally high THC levels. Therefore, they are entirely unsuitable for cannabis newbies to consume. Even seasoned users need to exercise caution as some concentrates can contain over 90% THC.
Even seasoned users need to exercise caution as some concentrates can contain over 90% THC.
Finally, as mentioned above, please resist any temptation to try and produce your own DIY BHO. Remember, butane is a highly flammable gas. People have been killed or suffered horrific burns attempting to make BHO at home. Stay safe and enjoy BHO responsibly.
Just use hot tap water to evaporate the butane off. I simply blast into a 9×9 pyrex pan and I have a plastic container about 4 inches deep and roughly the size of a bike tire, I put about 1.5 inches of hot water in that and place my pyrex pan in the hot water and wait about 7 minutes and it’s all done, at least the evaporation part or it. My reason for this comment is so nobody tries to evaporate the butane off on the stove with the burner on.
Hey guys, long story short my dab rig is at my brothers house (in another state) and I can not for the life of me find my G-pen. What are some easy ways to smoke dabs besides putting some inside a joint or coils wrapped around a joint?
Hot knives – I tried that one time. Used to hot knife bubble hash before the bho rage hit. have a bong specifically for hot knives. Also have two thick silver butter knives that hold a ton of heat and glow a nice orange. When i attempted to hot knife bho, it slid off the knives and barely combusted at all. Maybe if its shatter / crumble, But at the time this oil i had was very runny (not the greatest quality)
If you try that, i wish you more luck than i had.
Hey Rob Sol, not sure if this is your problem but u may have the knifes to hot for the bho causing it to bubble up and runs off.
I would rather wait till I could get on a nail and bong. Hate to waste shatter. Too expensive.
A friend of mine has a stainless washer that fits perfectly in the chamber of this hand pipe, he holds the washer with pliers torches it and then puts in in the bowl and dabs off that with a screwdriver or whatever. I was surprised by how well it worked, best non-rig method I’ve done.