The Resinator is quite a standout among the trimmers in the market today. Instead of offering just a combination of a bud trimmer and kief extractor, it goes the extra mile to provide you options for extracting resin.
With two models available and the extraction options, are they worth the investment?
Resinator OG
The Resinator OG allows for trimming of up to 1.5 pounds, or around a pound per minute. When used as a Kief collector, the Resinator OG can handle up to three pounds of material.
As a trimmer, the Resinator OG uses bladeless trimming, using CO2 and a specialized tumbler screen that allows you to cut those leaves with precision.
Resinator XL
The Resinator XL is a scaled up version of the Resinator OG. It features a trimming capacity of up to seven pounds per trim, using the same tumbler screen with CO2. When used to collect kief, the Resinator XL can extract from up to 15 pounds of material in one cycle.
Setting up
Setting up these machines is relatively easy, as you don’t need any fancy equipment to set up the OG and XL. You can put the bladeless and kief collector screens on the tumbler without having to struggle with tightness. They secure well with metal buckles on each side. As an alternative, there’s also an option to install these screens using the zipper that opens from edge to edge of the tumbler, which is also used to unload your buds after trimming.
Once you’ve put on the screens on the tumbler, you can then slide it inside the drum. This ease of setup is quite good, considering that the Resinator isn’t like most kief extractors and trimmers in the market.
Trimming with the Resinator
You can use the Resinator OG and XL as a wet and dry trimmer. When using the Resinator as a wet trimmer, you need to use liquid CO2 to trim off the leaves. While there’s no CO2 tank included, you get the required attachments to hook up a tank to the Resinator.
Before you start trimming wet, make sure that you insert a temperature probe inside the Resinator to help you set the temperature inside. Once the probe is in, you can start the Resinator on low, inject CO2 inside for around 20 – 40 seconds, then turn off the valve.
You need a minute for every pound of material you trim. Once the time is up, you can then turn off the Resinator and let the buds settle. Don’t forget to remove the cover. You will find under the drum all the trims that look crumbled with the CO2 injection.
And in case you didn’t know, you can also use freeze-dried buds to trim wet or live, which will not need a CO2 tank. When it comes to trimming dry or cured buds, you don’t need to inject CO2. But the manufacturers of the Resinator highly recommend adding CO2 to the trim, and indeed it makes a big difference. The buds look neater as the leaves become more brittle. If you decide to use CO2 with your dry trim, you can follow the exact instructions for wet trims.
The Resinator as a Resin Extractor
The Resinator comes with drum screens and resin collection bags, each having 200, 100, and 75-micron ratings. These bags help you collect resin and bubble hash, regardless of the state of the buds. On top of that, you also get collections tools and attachments for draining.
If you plan to extract from wet or live buds, there are two ways to do it: CO2 or an ice bath.
The CO2 method is the same as the trimming method, except you need to drop the temperatures to -50 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the kind of buds. Once you hit those levels, turn off the valve, let the Resinator continue spinning for about four minutes, and then turn off the machine.
Collecting the live resin will be easy, thanks to the freeze fracturing done on the material with the CO2. You will need to let the live resin normalize before you get to store them.
Another option for extracting wet or live materials is by making bubble hash. If you got used to making bubble hash with a washing machine, then you’re going to love the Resinator for this purpose.
Making bubble hash with the Resinator is relatively easy. You will need to add ice to the drum with your materials in it. As a starting point, you can try a pound of ice for every pound of buds. After adding ice, fill the chamber with water up to the bottom part of the axle that holds the drum. Cover and set the Resinator to medium speed and let it spin for ten minutes.
After ten minutes, turn off the Resinator and remove the lid. You can then attach the hose to drain the liquid through ports under the Resinator. Drain the liquid to the Bubble hash bags. Let the drum spin on low while giving it a light wash down to make the most out of the extraction.
If you plan to do a dry extraction of resin, you have the option to do dry ice, bubble hash, and CO2.
The steps for the dry ice method are the same as the bubble hash method, except that you replace the ice with dry ice and remove the water. You will need to put the agitation balls included facilitating the extraction. You can then run the Resinator for a minute on low to evenly distribute the buds and dry ice.
After a minute, turn off the Resinator and let the dry ice and buds settle for around 5 – 10 minutes, depending on the amount of material. Then rerun the buds at medium from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the amount of material you use.
After that, you can turn off the Resinator and use the collecting tools to gather all the resin that falls into the chamber. There will be more stuck also in the screen, drum, and lid, so don’t forget those too. To help make collection faster, you can use the drain ports under the chamber and sweep all resin to the hole.
The ice water method is similar to the bubble hash method for live resin but will take a little more time, with steps identical to the dry ice extraction.
You need to mix the ice and buds for no more than three minutes before letting the content settle for five minutes. You then set the Resinator on medium for 15 – 20 minutes before draining into the micron bags. To get the most out of the material, you can try running the Resinator for another round of extraction.
Lastly, the CO2 method for dry buds is a quick way to get your resin. You only need to inject CO2 for no more than three minutes, depending on the quantity, on medium speed. You also need to use the agitation balls to enhance the extraction process, like the dry ice extraction. You can then empty the resin using the drain port under the chamber.
While mileage may vary, depending on the quality of the plant, you can expect a lot of resin when using the CO2 method, as one test yielded almost two kilograms of resin with 14 pounds of material.
Clean up
It’s best to clean the Resinator after each use, especially if you’re using wet methods for extracting. And if you used the dried ice method, make sure to wear gloves when clearing the drum’s content.
The clean-up process is pretty easy with the Resinator. Once you empty the machine's drum, take the screen out to hang and blow it with an air compressor. You can also use the air compressor to blow out remaining dirt or debris inside the chamber, lid, and drum, then wipe it with a clean rag.
You need to hose down the same parts for cleaning after a wet application, but avoid getting the controller and motor wet. You can also hose down if you don’t have an air compressor.
Conclusion
The Resinator machines are well-designed, as they can provide more extraction options than the standard trimmer and kief extractor combinations in the market. Having other choices for extracting resin is a strong point for this machine.
And while the CO2 adds to your overhead costs, the fact that you can use other extraction methods still makes it an economical machine to have.
The lid design also contributes to the excellent design, as you can use it to hold your drum during setup and even hinges during use.
That said, if you have the means to purchase these machines, the Resinator will be an excellent addition to your steed for cannabis processing.
