Oil Extraction from Herbs with DIY Kitchen Still

[@CerberusBindeweed]

Some Tips. Cut the lemon grass as finely as possible to break it down as much as you can to expose as much surface area as possible to release more essential oil. Also, do not use an open mouth jar as your collection container as this exposes the hydrosol and essential oil to oxygen which will start the essential oil to oxidise which you wont want. If you want, get a mason jar with a metal lid, drill a hole in it and like with the plastic bucket, add in your plastic/silicone seal, then place the end of your copper tubing into this. I would also recommend when collecting the oil/hydrosol, store it in a jar in a dark pantry for a few hours so the cloudiness of the hydrosol can go away and become clear. This way you know all essential oils are floating on the top as it looked liked u had quite a bit of essential oil in your hydrosol. When you separate the oil from hydrolsol, I would recomend getting some rock salt and add a pinch to your oil as the rock salt will draw any possible remaining hydrosol to it and then filter one more time.

[@arminasangma64]

？Thanks a lot for your nice vedio

[@emeritaabreugarcia161]

Hola, How to know if the essential oil is oxidized? OE color is dark? I distil geranium and some dark drops come out of the copper tube (I use a container with a wide mouth). Beforehand thank you very much

[@saranun6525]

Thx bro

[@crespoopserc]

Let the man do his thing!

[@michaelheery6303]

Ya turned me off.

[@newsviewstoday5689]

Thank you Donald, I have been trying to decide what route to take for years now for essenetial oil extraction & THIS is a pure & simple method & I thank you, thank you, thank you.... from a Canadian in Australia! God bless!

[@sudhirsumongkol8972]

Leave some eucalyptus for Koala Bear.. hahaha!

[@adamw2785]

Protip for coiling copper tubing. Fill it with sugar or salt, so that the tube has less of a chance of collapsing when you are coiling it. Then you can easily rinse it out afterwards, since both sugar and salt will dissolve in water. It will even let you wind a tighter coil if you want. You can cap the ends with a wine cork.

[@donaldporta]

great advice, thank you ---Don

[@itsashepubg8967]

@@donaldporta what other plants can we use aside from lemon grass? I mean whats best to try?

[@actanonverba91]

Don. ..you saved me

[@fishfire_2999]

@@itsashepubg8967 Pot

[@DANIEL-tq8zt]

@@fishfire_2999 I hear that

[@ShorabCadersaib]

To improve the process: 1. Wilt the grass for 24hrs to reduce moisture by 30%. 2. Harvest early morning plant retains more essential oil and 3. Chop the lemongrass ,(do not blend as suggested in a comment) for better yield. 4. Control heat by lowering flame and pressure by adding a control outlet valve and may also add a manometer. Best extraction at 100C (this stuff could be dangerous) with a constant steam flow. Always start with a low and consistent flame.5.Add salt to ice to create a freeze point depression. Reducing temperature significantly for cooling. Your ice last longer.

[@Ramhanks]

Wow that was fantastic! As a home canner, this takes the food game to another level! Well done!

[@donaldporta]

Thanks so much!

[@xthukuh]

Thank you. Am in Kenya and we got lots of useful herbs and I needed your teachings to get started. May God bless you and your hands.

[@donaldporta]

You are so welcome

[@DSmith-ix1xf]

Genius is taking the complicated and making it simple - accomplished here. Thank You!🌪️

[@donaldporta]

You're very welcome!

[@ValCronin]

By far the best video on herbal extraction I've ever seen.

[@donaldporta]

thank you

[@markspc1]

Thank you for sharing. An amazing simple cooker, love it ! BTW: I use lemon grass oil to lure honey bee swarms into a honey bee box !

[@quantum7401]

I did this with Cloves in college in order to extract Eugenol, a main constituent of the oil collected. They are great because of the high oil content.

[@graphicdesign8300]

you use fresh cloves to extract eugenol?

[@drsanjayashikhii8847]

So nice presentation Sir! Thanks to you and all those who suggested chopping the grass.

[@MrVsBees]

Mr. Porta, I find it interesting that I search for various topics and see your name pop up often. Thanks for the broad range of videos and thurogh explanation of how to!

[@donaldporta]

thank you my friend! Don

[@ArunRaoINDIA]

A very simple way to do it at home without any fancy equipment. THANK YOU!

[@donaldporta]

You're welcome!

[@satyamostwanted]

Easiest to build and most cost effective setup I ve seen on KZbin so far. Go Gators!

[@daviddefranco5218]

Gator oil?

[@chaunceyturman4987]

Good work. The oil is trapped in the cellular matrix of the plant, so increase your oil yield by chewing up the leaves in a blender first. then adding that mulch and juice to the pressure cooker (I bet twice as many leaves will fit in there after you do this, so not only will you get more oil from each leaf, you'll be processing more leaves per batch). Add salt to the ice water in the bucket to create a salt brine that is far colder than just ice water. This stuff is a great insect repellent thanks to the citronellal found in the oil. It's also antimicrobial, so you can add it like a fragrance to homemade soap.

[@donaldporta]

Thanks for the advice my friend!

[@ArunRaoINDIA]

I always wondered why people using whole leaves and flowers. I am just now looking into making herbal oils and figured it was just something people do. One would imagine that a proper crushing at least would benefit the release of oils. if the juice and mulch are cooked does it negatively affect the oil production in any way? That would mean no separator, just blend, add, cook and distill and voila! much simpler.

[@DJ-uk5mm]

Ha ha. I wish I’d watched this 10 minutes ago I’ve just bought a professional copper still and I could’ve made by losing your three simple parts… Daaag nabbit ! Well at least if I get into it I can make myself a whole bunch of additional stills using your method now I know how to do it thank you for sharing :-)

[@brodriguezization]

I love the simplicity of this. I will try to make one.

[@richardhawkins2248]

I was thinking along these lines. Thanks. I was looking at some of those pricey Alembic stills for this and kept asking myself how they got a good enough seal. I eventually ran into the answer. You can make a dough out of flour that will swell and seal it. That's for anyone that loses their seal or gasket.

[@penelopepitstop7748]

Amazing channel with amazing contributors... Dodinski says something like ‘how beautiful it is when you find the Hero in yourself and realise that you have the power to save yourself.. I just got a business idea doing something I love and starting with virtually nothing...

[@donaldporta]

Well said!

[@onesassycowgirl1]

Thank you so much! I've always wanted to make my own oils, now I can. Great Instruction, very easy to understand and follow:)

[@elrooc]

Nice and simple set up - so many uses. Your wisdom is very welcome here in UK - thanks for sharing my friend- now to make some Gin !!

[@donaldporta]

Many uses my Friend, give it a try---Don

[@davidhouston2277]

Don’t use vinyl or plastic tubing if you intend to use a setup like this to make liquor. The hot alcohol will pick up a plastic taste which probably is somewhat poisonous. Use copper for the whole run.

[@veilbreak5867]

This was perfect for what I need. You demystified it for me, thanks so much...and for the link to the kit...I didnt know its called a 'glass conical separator funnel'! Really helpful

[@donaldporta]

Glad it was helpful!

[@djzatka]

@@donaldporta can we use soybean to extract oil?

[@misnomerthecarolina]

All y’all should study a bit before you comment donald porta has this nailed down solid. He knows what he’s doing.

[@jasonstarr6419]

awesome! I've been wanting to harvest my herbs but didn't really know how to do so effectively. This will come in handy when they come back next year. right now, they've all gone to flower and seed.

[@peterzimik6411]

Best idea of easy oil extraction of medicinal herbs . Thanks.

[@donaldporta]

Most welcome

[@cyrusideas]

Thank you so much for sharing such a very good idea ,really super !

[@andrewalvaro1000]

Dont know if anyone gives a shit but if you guys are bored like me during the covid times you can watch all the new movies and series on Instaflixxer. I've been streaming with my girlfriend these days =)

[@brunolouis7390]

@Andrew Alvaro Definitely, I have been watching on Instaflixxer for since december myself :D

[@EgoBruiser]

it works but not great. smart to keep the herbs off the bottom so they don't burn. for a small batch this is fine, for anything bigger this would be a massive headache. the ice alone... should really have a temp gauge on the pot to keep from over heating, etc. we distill water in our kitchen almost daily and this would never fly for us. built a diy swamp cooler that exchanges the cooling water constantly cooling it actively as we distill. this alone makes massive difference in the babysitting time of the unit. ice in a bucket can't keep up, not to mention all the ice you have to make or buy and add constantly. also we use a portable induction range to keep the heat at the right temps. we set it and forget it on a timer. life is good...

[@igotcrabs]

Ego Bruiser but you're doing it on a bigger/quicker scale. the methods here are more... zen. still, i really like how you have your set up! swamp cooler is smart!--I'd love to recycle that water into the garden. and it's less babysitting, so you can do other things at the same time. different approaches to making lemongrass oil, both uniquely great ways to go about it. :D

[@creationsfromrubbish9704]

Ego Bruiser there are different methods of doing the same thing and we love watching all methods so we have a choice of what suits our needs and resources. That's the whole point.

[@markspc1]

ego bruiser I like Donald's way, very simple !

[@cherrylove9721]

Wow I was losing hope on how to extract, I'm so glad I found you video. Ty

[@donaldporta]

You are so welcome!

[@damitawatson9201]

I’m screaming I’m sooooo excited! Thank you❤

[@marney68papua]

Thank you for sharing I once did this over an open fire with a large container forced opened the lid and it exploded fortunately I wasn’t hurt and still learning bless you

[@donaldporta]

glad you are safe!

[@ivanpedromuricy]

Excellent work! Congratulations! I did learn a lot !

[@Aangel452]

Thanks for sharing as I never thought about making my own oil. Some good extra tips in comments too. Cheers

[@sprinvntrdd]

Thank you. That was a very useful chemestry lesson. God bless and keep you in truth and peace so you prosper.

[@نقینوش]

Iranian use oil extractions a lot .it is very healthy drink and they use it to treat their illnesses

[@sathancat]

All that fresh cut lemongrass must smell wonderful

[@davidledoux1736]

This is brilliant. I want to adapt this to a solar distiller. Nice citrus press in the background @ 5:00. I had one delivered to the house yesterday! It's orange-colored, though, not white.

[@donaldporta]

Very cool!

[@toyajackson556]

I would think you might want to thoroughly shred the bulbs of the lemon grass to more easily release the essential oils? Just a thought.

[@RavenVargas27]

Of all I've watched your is the best vid on this process thanks

[@phuonghong9500]

Your method is very interesting.thank you for your experience sharing

[@v.pb.4049]

Learned lots. I will try to do this using other herbs too.

[@girijapandey5223]

Really this experiment is nice require only one apparatus and can fulfil our curiousity of doing something special. ❤ Being mischievous I like it

[@kansaIainen]

You could reuse the hydrosol instead of distilled water for a new batch.

[@harvestofpeace.therese]

Thank you! Easy to understand and cheap to build! I will be trying this at home.

[@donaldporta]

Glad it was helpful!

[@luimackjohnson302]

Amazing! Thank you for sharing this video. Greetings from Madang, Papua New Guinea!

[@danilomagdaraog4706]

awesome video Now I knew what to do with so many lemon grass plants I have. Thanks for sharing. more power.

[@donaldporta]

Thanks for visiting

[@hunnyandbunnybunny958]

Love this wish you had links for equipment used

[@bogdandima8139]

Hi Donald ,great video ,this is by far best teaching video for diy esential oil nice and easy .No complicated chemistry no danger easy and simple for everyone .Thanks .keep it up.!:)

[@donaldporta]

Thank you for the review my friend--- Don

[@ranveeradav1402]

I value ur work very much. I hope these process can be carried out in extracting oil from agarwood as well.

[@donaldporta]

I think it would work!

[@augustaokori20]

Thank you so much for this video, just begun making oil... This will surely help with herbs as I usually used infusion but now I can make it directly

[@wagnersilva1544]

Hi Donald, really appreciate your video. Thanks for sharing! Regards from Brazil

[@donaldporta]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@johno6861]

You have to be careful not to block the safety valve or outlet of the pressure cooker. I know someone that did that by putting too much into the pot. It blew up in her kitchen, luckily she wasn’t in the kitchen but the destruction was so bad she had to redo the kitchen, ceiling, cabinets, window and floor. It would have killed her.

[@donaldporta]

very true!

[@Anujsyal595]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DEEP UNDERSTANDING.

[@lindachancellor7538]

Very easy to follow your instructions. I was wondering how this was done. Thankyou. I look forward to trying this.

[@zeenoura119]

Mm lol

[@jamesgarrison6332]

Thank you Don. I am going to try this setup of yours.

[@arthc.castillo8982]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the awesome video. Hola from Mexico

[@donaldporta]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ranasonu1129]

Very simple method that you teach us. Thank you

[@donaldporta]

It's my pleasure

[@samueljacobs8657]

Well done. Beautiful in simplicity and effectiveness.

[@donaldporta]

Thank you very much!

[@sCareCrowmerk]

I got caught up on making different thc wax and now im stuck on making essential oils. Awesome😂

[@IngaN-f2m]

Your so lovely Donald !! Thanks for video 🌻

[@Mootuntbaboon]

If you use tap water to steam the lemon grass , does the water get distilled in the process?

[@ne0teric]

Yes, correct.

[@EgoBruiser]

yes, the distilled or RO water isn't needed. not sure why he does that. less residue in the distilling pot is only advantage i can think of.

[@TheCswade]

You should do more essential oils videos

[@sandihunt]

So I'm wondering if you let that foggy hydrosol sit in the separator overnight, will the oilsdroplets continue to float to the top for a higher yield?....does the water ever get clear? Thanks for posting this video

[@lukungu075]

Thanks, great idea. I have been looking for this method.

[@RVRSABLE]

Would connecting condenser coil directly to pressure cooker work to avoid using plastic? TY enjoyed your video.

[@donaldporta]

Yes it will

[@josephrodrick6451]

Great info . . . May I ask a couple of questions here? 1st question,; what size is the pressure cooker? Question#2; what brand pot is the pressure cooker? Thank you for your share, and your time.

[@b3ckvh405]

He said it was 16 qt

[@jschronce8799]

Great video thanks for sharing. I have been wanting to try this and have been searching for a good setup. Your setup is the best I have seen. I have acquired everything I need except for the last step. What is the conical unit you use to extract the oil from the hydro sol.

[@kptallen007]

Glass separatory funnel with stopcock. Look for glass labware to find vendors.

[@sgibau]

@@kptallen007 Thank you 😀

[@berthayellowfinch5471]

Thank you for a really good video.

[@sumansansar]

surprisingly it is so simple. thank you so much.

[@zaheersalegie7072]

You are brilliant Sir.

[@donaldporta]

So nice of you

[@karinadangelo9568]

Thank you so much for sharing I would love one day learn how to make essential oils I make soaps I use EO

[@martintendayichirombe4016]

...and then suddenly everything changed at 9.56 so I got lost after following the process all the step of the way. However will try to catch up. Thanks so much for the video

[@psychedelicbaby13]

thanks man ! value the small stuff is great :)

[@ahamoments132]

It is an absolute delight to find this, thank you! Can I double check on the internal diameter of the soft annealed copper pipe, please? Thank you so much, this makes my projects affordable! 🙏

[@rajkumaribatheja3722]

Have u calculated the cost of ice water gas and the quantity u got

[@creationsfromrubbish9704]

Razkumari who said he's doing it to save money ??

[@bondiggitti]

@@creationsfromrubbish9704 literally no one. Calm down. I too am curious. People out there are finance and time concious.

[@mrsadashivdeshmukh2469]

Excelent method for extraction of oil from lemon grass from S.B.Deshmukh

[@lourdesgayas478]

Thank you for sharing,God bless.

[@stephencinavas9333]

Thank you, loved it, Aberdeen Scotland 💚

[@myjamro]

PERFECT Home DIY, Simple and best tool to extract essence. I will try Ginger and other herbs, Healthy diet.

[@tangwanjosrphbanyong6465]

Thanks sir l remain indebted to you for this wonderful knowledge

[@donaldporta]

So nice of you

[@SupraJin]

this is just awesome. Really inspiring

[@muragekimani8661]

Been wondering how to venture into plants oil extraction .....thanks now I have somewhere to start

[@donaldporta]

Glad to help

[@aprilogsoc731]

Wooooww.. Nice demo sir, understood.. 👍👍👍👍👍Thanks a lot for the idea.

[@donaldporta]

So nice of you

[@jackiemecheri4418]

Facinating a lot of work for a little oil but quality oil. X

[@DragonmasterKeel]

can you tell me what that glass tear drop shaped thing that he use to separate the oil is

[@shaheenmojadadi6130]

Thanks very much for your good information. Can this method work for Damascus rose oil extraction?

[@sarahbonner875]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us

[@claracruz7986]

Muito foda! Thank you for an amazing vídeo, very aproachable and didatic, congratulation!

[@Theecouponcat]

Thanks for sharing, I have a turbo air still coming specifically for essential oils and was looking for essential oil tutorials that are simple. When using a ready-made electric still, can any strainer or rack that fits pot be used? I know packaging says essential oil can be made but having hard time finding essential oils specific tutorials.

[@MohammedAslamtit-bitsoflife]

Just awesome Mr Donald 👍👍👍👍

[@BeBopGarden]

Wonderful video. Thank you. I live in 7b. Is it only a dream for me to grow that much lemon grass. I dig it up and take it in every winter because it dies during the freeze.

[@sarabermudez3519]

Amazing video, so clear. Thank you so much for making it, thank you!

[@donaldporta]

You're so welcome!

[@AmirSidhartaMSTR]

thanks for the informative video! there are two details missing: - in 4:07 you fasten the pipe onto the copper coil onto the clear hose with a device. what is it? - in 10:55 suddenly the hydrosol is already on the drip device. do we simply pour it from the mason jar? thanks

[@donaldporta]

at 4:07 is a hose clamp--- amzn.to/2CGPQvT at 10:55 yes, just transfer to the separator and let it settle before draining off the water.

[@alyssaabonales1508]

Donald Porta how long is the hydrosol and oil left in the separator before opening the valve? Approximate time needed to settle?

[@donaldporta]

About 5 minutes.

[@alyssaabonales1508]

Donald Porta thanks!

[@nizaruliqram1521]

@@donaldporta what is a hydrosol? And why it is needed? Sorry for asking, i really need to understand this.

[@TradinaWaller]

Great DIY. Thanks for sharing.

[@donaldporta]

Thanks for watching!

[@umamaheswari7151]

Thank you sir, it was very very useful sir, i am in india to tamil nadu.

[@fishfire_2999]

Most people don't get it I see ,nice work.

[@nirmalbhalla5848]

Very nice video Sir please extract rose essential oil with method

[@isabelladavis1363]

A great homemade tutorial as well as quite effective.May I ask where you purchased the glass separator? I’m assuming you add what you distilled to this and separate the hydrosol and the precious oil?

[@AD53600]

Excuse me, I didn't see the link you're talking about. But I'd like to. Would you mind sharing? Tia 😊

[@johnh.george9059]

very refreshing to watch

[@magdyhamad1670]

I would love to try this thank you

[@Troubledsham]

Nice video but you shouldent use plastic piping here, and should use a dark bottle for the oil so it stays fresh longer. Also be sure not to pick the plant until you did every other step. You want to pick it and steam it first thing after. Everyone also remember that the hydrosol itself is very useful(natural safe smell additive, oil infuser, cleaning products, perfume/cologne and for reusing in repeat process for more yeild).

[@donaldporta]

great advice my friend--- thank you, Don

[@Troubledsham]

@@donaldporta thanks for the video, great example for beginners out there that is not hard to do!

[@creationsfromrubbish9704]

Troubledsham make your own video, this is how he does it and his fucking bees don't mind

[@BigBirdKori]

Finally an answer to the hydrosol question👍 Does it have much perfume or any taste? Is it and the oil O.K for consumption (edible)?

[@elmucco224]

I'd just suggest you start using a tube with a different material. try with a full copper one even, really anything is better than plastic or rubber tubes for this kind of stuff. great video though, thanks for the idea :D also try to chop the herbs you have way finer, it'll make the extraction run faster and smoother ;)

[@kkmartinpta]

I totally agree!! I am also concerned about using tubing and how that will impact the end products. Would you be able to just use the copper tubing for the whole setup? Possibly braze it to the pressure cooker?

[@creationsfromrubbish9704]

Ell Mucco Again his Fu..ing bees don't mind, go make your own video