- Dec 22, 2021
- 6 min read

The Tools of the Trade: Ice Water Hash & Live Hash Rosin Presented by @GoPurePressure

Updated: May 10, 2023

Here to bring transparency and education, having innovated and developed the industry gold-standard in hash making equipment, is PurePressure. They partnered-up with Hashwriter.org to help provide some concrete answers to the challenges faced in refining the purest natural essence of the cannabis plant into ice water hash or live hash rosin. While curating solventless hash begins long before the garden, the final tools, equipment, and methods used for refinement are rather straightforward after years of extensive R&D. We broke it down into three main areas of equipment or tools necessary to furnish any size hash lab.

The Full Spread of Tools and Equipment Used By Top Brands From PurePressure.

Hailing from Denver, Colorado, PurePressure has been a major contributor to the solventless game, improving the quality of hash, while reducing prices through better equipment and better techniques. A.K.A., my kind of people. They worked with some of the best in Colorado to develop and refine their tools. Since then they have helped @Papas_Select win back to back Emerald Cups in California and are used by many of my favorite hash brands, like @Papas_Select, @Schackow.Solventless, @Dab Logic, @Cold Gold, and many more. Their support of small grassroots publications and solventless supporters like Hashwriter.org is something special and reflects the culture.

PurePressure. Visit them at www.gopurepressure.com

Step 1 (Tools of the trade): Washing Ice Water Hash

It's as simple as it sounds, in theory anyways. Frozen cannabis is added to a container full of water and ice to be stirred. The mechanical stirring and agitation causes the frozen trichome glands (which cover the surface of the plant) to break free from the plant material and sink. The trichomes are removed from the water by pouring or straining it through a series of mesh filter bags. A wash vessel, a drain vessel, and mesh filter bags are necessary for the wash.

This is achieved by "washing" or mixing the cannabis within a 220 micron wash bag that only allows material smaller than 220 microns to fall through. Once stirring is complete the bulk cannabis material is easily removed from the water (contained within the 220 micron mesh work bag) and the remaining trichome rich water is poured through mesh filters, often referred to as "bubble-bags". Keeping the proper wash temperature is crucial and the insulated systems designed by PurePressure help to do just that.

Hand Wash Vessels

What began in plastic five-gallon buckets, before graduating to full-sized plastic trash cans (Brute), has found it's professional home in the various sized, food-contact approved, stainless steel "Bruteless" wash vessels by PurePressure. In 20, 30, 44, and 65 gallon options, the insulated Bruteless wash and drain vessels ensure commercial standards with professional-grade results for years to come.

PurePressure Bruteless Hash Washing System

A second "Bruteless" vessel is used with a set of mesh filter-bags that work to separate trichomes from the wash water by size. Your system can be gravity fed like the set-up above, or a simple food grade pump can be added to maximize efficiency, pumping the rinsed water full of trichome glands up and through the series of mesh bags, as shown below.

Commercial Hash Washing Filtration Package (Wash Vessel on the right, the drain Vessel on Left is Lined with Mesh Micron Filter Bags)

For the serious Hashishin, PurePressure offers the Bruteless Commercial Hash Washing System, with throughput of over 15,000 fresh frozen grams per run. Centered around a 65-gallon, food-grade stainless steel vessel with strategic hook-ups and a false bottom that protects the valuable trichome glands as they sink and settle. From the wash bin, two 44-gallon drain vessels and two pumps provide multiple washes with ease, all day long.

Hand Washing Automated

For those looking for next level performance and automated production, without sacrificing a hand-washed finish, the Axis Trichome Separator is the closest system to a hand wash. Combining years of research and development to create an automated wash system designed to work with different sizes of "Bruteless" vessels, the Axis is next level engineering for the solventless future, here today:

PurePressure Axis Trichome Separator

With the wash vessel separate from the source of agitation, it allows you to wash, fill, soak, sift, strain, and drain your next vessel, while the Axis runs. This provides a massive boost in efficiency, reducing labor, and allowing producer's to scale their operations. With various sized and shaped attachments, the Axis is designed to maximize throughput without sacrificing the exact orientation of a hand mixed system.

Wash Bags/Bubblebags

Regardless of your exact wash set-up, you will need a second vessel to line with a set of mesh filter bags. As your one-stop solventless partner, Pure Pressure carries various sets and sizes from both Boldt Bags and BubbleBag's brands.

Step 2: Drying Ice Water Hash

After washing the cannabis material and filtering and straining the trichomes, they are scooped directly off the mesh bags and onto trays in order to dry. This prevents mold, while protecting the delicate trichome glands. PurePressure carries a full line-up of Pharmaceutical Fre eze Dryers made by Harvest Rite, along with additional pumps and all the accessories your new lab needs.

hash washing and drying freeze driers harvestrite

They also offer several commercial grade units, and additional options for each set-up.

Step 3: Pressing Hash Into Rosin

The wash process as explained above is nothing new, and has been practiced and used since the 1960's and 1970's to make bubble hash. While aspects like washing frozen cannabis and using freeze dryers has changed, the methodology hasn't. So what brought old-school bubble hash back from the dead with a vengeance? The rosin press. The big squeeze. The 1970's bubble hash method (The Wash) was reincarnated in combination with the rosin press to bring the people Live Hash Rosin.

On the rare occasion that a genetic or crop yields clean melting six-star hash, the rosin press is forgone and the hash sold as is. For the other 90% or so of washes, the rosin press is the solution to a fully melting, easily dabbable product known as live hash rosin. There are numerous varieties of products that can be made with the rosin press to provide a number of solventless SKU's (products). The freeze dried hash is poured into mesh rosin pouches, which work as a final filtration under the rosin press.

Hand Operated Rosin Presses

PurePressure offers four rosin presses with two specific differences. The first two presses are hand operated and work without pneumatic hookups, hand pumps, or compressors. Let's take a look at the first two portable, and hand operated models in the Helix and Helix Pro:

Helix 3 Ton Rosin Press

Helix Pro 5-Ton Rosin Press

With it's Pressware technology and touch LCD screen, the 3 Ton Helix Manual Rosin Press is the home grower and hash maker's top of the line option. Industry leading custom design, the hand operated press delivers uncompromising control over your operation. Press up to six grams of flower or ten grams of sift or hash at a time. For those in need of a bit more, the 5 Ton Helix Pro ups the ante with 60% more pressure and force, allowing 12 grams of flower or 20+ grams of hash or sift in each press.

Pneumatic Rosin Presses

The Pikes Peak V2 is PurePressure's Flagship model, and industry leading design. For the true professional in commercial applications, look no further. Packed with options and loaded with professional grade features, like the smart Pressware technology that allows users to dial in their SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures), saving and recreating the same press "recipes" for anyone to use. Pikes Peak V2 uses five tons of force between its 10 inch plates, easily pressing up to 40 grams of sift or hash at one time. Take control over your presses like never before.

Pure Pressure Pike's Peak Rosin Press V2

The Long's Peak model is designed after the Pikes Peak V2, for industrial application and large scale processing. With 60% more force than the Pikes Peak V2 press, this 8-ton pneumatic rosin press will double your possible output and can press an astonishing 80 grams of hash or sift at one time. They both offer independent thermocouples to ensure evenly dispersed heat with precision control of temperatures to within one degree. They have dialed these units in beyond what was thought possible to offer unique settings and consistent operation that will improve your presses and maximize efficiency.

pikes peak rosin press from pure pressure in yellow and gray

PurePressure Long's Peak Rosin Press

In Closing

If you are just hearing about PurePressure, let this be your notice to look no further for the best lab equipment for professional grade results. They offer far more than just equipment as well, with training and tutorials. They are one of very few companies to make good on their word to educate consumers, as this article is proof. They are making good ice water hash and rosin more accessible through improved design, while supporting the community and being involved in solventless projects, like Hashwriter.ORG. A Win-Win. Tools of the trade is brought to you in part by Pure Pressure.

Check them out at www.gopurepressure.com for all your solventless needs.

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