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.
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
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 :-)
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
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...
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.
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.
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.
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 =)
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.!:)
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
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...
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 ;)
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?
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.
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! 🙏
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.
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?
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.
...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
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.
How do you know when the water is all gone/done inside the pressure cooker. We tried doing this with sage, almost exact set up, (thanks to your video! ..and past attempts) but we ended up quitting before all the water was out of pressure cooker. We didn't feel any when we shook it. We let it sit to cool down and discovered another quart at bottom, dark green of course. It was not potent like the hydrolsol we got so it seemed like a waste. (I use it to make soaps, etc) We also turned the heat down, by a lot, after it was really "cooking". I wondered if that was a bad choice too. Thanks for your video! Any answers are appreciated! I am watching again though.
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.
？Thanks a lot for your nice vedio
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
Thx bro
Let the man do his thing!
Ya turned me off.
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.
great advice, thank you ---Don
@@donaldporta what other plants can we use aside from lemon grass? I mean whats best to try?
Don. ..you saved me
@@itsashepubg8967 Pot
@@fishfire_2999 I hear that
Genius is taking the complicated and making it simple - accomplished here. Thank You!🌪️
You're very welcome!
So nice presentation Sir! Thanks to you and all those who suggested chopping the grass.
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!
Leave some eucalyptus for Koala Bear.. hahaha!
Wow that was fantastic! As a home canner, this takes the food game to another level! Well done!
Thanks so much!
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 !
I’m screaming I’m sooooo excited! Thank you❤
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.
You are so welcome
By far the best video on herbal extraction I've ever seen.
thank you
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!
thank you my friend! Don
All y’all should study a bit before you comment donald porta has this nailed down solid. He knows what he’s doing.
Easiest to build and most cost effective setup I ve seen on UA-cam so far. Go Gators!
Gator oil?
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.
you use fresh cloves to extract eugenol?
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.
Thanks for the advice my friend!
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.
I love the simplicity of this. I will try to make one.
A very simple way to do it at home without any fancy equipment. THANK YOU!
You're welcome!
Wow I was losing hope on how to extract, I'm so glad I found you video. Ty
You are so welcome!
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 :-)
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
Glad it was helpful!
@@donaldporta can we use soybean to extract oil?
Thank you so much! I've always wanted to make my own oils, now
I can. Great Instruction, very easy to understand and follow:)
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...
Well said!
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 !!
Many uses my Friend, give it a try---Don
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.
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.
Of all I've watched your is the best vid on this process thanks
Amazing! Thank you for sharing this video. Greetings from Madang, Papua New Guinea!
Thank you! Easy to understand and cheap to build! I will be trying this at home.
Glad it was helpful!
Best idea of easy oil extraction of medicinal herbs . Thanks.
Most welcome
Excellent work! Congratulations! I did learn a lot !
Exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks for the awesome video.
Hola from Mexico
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for sharing as I never thought about making my own oil. Some good extra tips in comments too. Cheers
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.
Thank you so much for sharing such a very good idea ,really super !
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 =)
@Andrew Alvaro Definitely, I have been watching on Instaflixxer for since december myself :D
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
Thank you. That was a very useful chemestry lesson. God bless and keep you in truth and peace so you prosper.
Very simple method that you teach us. Thank you
It's my pleasure
Hi Donald, really appreciate your video. Thanks for sharing! Regards from Brazil
Glad you enjoyed it!
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.!:)
Thank you for the review my friend--- Don
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.
Really this experiment is nice require only one apparatus and can fulfil our curiousity of doing something special. ❤
Being mischievous I like it
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
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...
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
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.
ego bruiser
I like Donald's way, very simple !
I got caught up on making different thc wax and now im stuck on making essential oils. Awesome😂
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
glad you are safe!
awesome video Now I knew what to do with so many lemon grass plants I have. Thanks for sharing. more power.
Thanks for visiting
Your method is very interesting.thank you for your experience sharing
Iranian use oil extractions a lot .it is very healthy drink and they use it to treat their illnesses
Learned lots. I will try to do this using other herbs too.
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.
Very cool!
All that fresh cut lemongrass must smell wonderful
Thank you, loved it, Aberdeen Scotland 💚
thanks man ! value the small stuff is great :)
Would connecting condenser coil directly to pressure cooker work to avoid using plastic? TY enjoyed your video.
Yes it will
Very easy to follow your instructions. I was wondering how this was done. Thankyou. I look forward to trying this.
Mm lol
Well done. Beautiful in simplicity and effectiveness.
Thank you very much!
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.
Glass separatory funnel with stopcock. Look for glass labware to find vendors.
@@kptallen007 Thank you 😀
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DEEP UNDERSTANDING.
Amazing video, so clear. Thank you so much for making it, thank you!
You're so welcome!
Muito foda! Thank you for an amazing vídeo, very aproachable and didatic, congratulation!
very refreshing to watch
Thanks, great idea. I have been looking for this method.
Your so lovely Donald !! Thanks for video 🌻
surprisingly it is so simple. thank you so much.
PERFECT Home DIY, Simple and best tool to extract essence. I will try Ginger and other herbs, Healthy diet.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us
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.
He said it was 16 qt
I value ur work very much.
I hope these process can be carried out in extracting oil from agarwood as well.
I think it would work!
Thank you so much for sharing
I would love one day learn how to make essential oils
I make soaps I use EO
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 ;)
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?
Ell Mucco Again his Fu..ing bees don't mind, go make your own video
Thank you for this tutorial. Reminded me of being in the College of Agricultural pilot plant. Go GATORS!
this is just awesome. Really inspiring
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.
HI donald ..thank you so much for sharing this video..it really help me..May God bless your life :)
Glad it was helpful!
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! 🙏
Just awesome Mr Donald 👍👍👍👍
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.
very true!
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?
Excuse me, I didn't see the link you're talking about. But I'd like to. Would you mind sharing? Tia 😊
Thank you for a really good video.
Wooooww.. Nice demo sir, understood.. 👍👍👍👍👍Thanks a lot for the idea.
So nice of you
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.
I would love to try this thank you
...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
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.
Great DIY. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Love this wish you had links for equipment used
Most people don't get it I see ,nice work.
Great informative video. Thanks much.
Thank you very much for teaching us how to make herbal oil. Gbu. 🙏👍🙏👍🙏🎶🎶💒🎶♥️👍🙏💒
Thank you for sharing,God bless.
i know this may sound odd, but nurses must love you, you've got great veins.
you are right--- makes their job easy!
@@donaldporta of course! BTW this is my second time watching your video and it's one of the clearest instructional videos. So thank you.🖤
@@That_VVitch333 I agree! I have watched several and this one has been the most informative so far.
You could reuse the hydrosol instead of distilled water for a new batch.
You are brilliant Sir.
So nice of you
That big bunch doesn't produce much. Have you tried lemon verbena too? If so, what was your experience? Smart man and a great video.
Wow, I’ll never complain about the price of essential oils again!
If you use tap water to steam the lemon grass , does the water get distilled in the process?
Yes, correct.
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.
Thank you so much for sharing your idea. Simple and easy to make. God bless you.
Wow dude that’s a big investment for just a few ounces of oil extraction
😄😆AWESOMENESS 😍 thanks for sharing 😊
How do you know when the water is all gone/done inside the pressure cooker. We tried doing this with sage, almost exact set up, (thanks to your video! ..and past attempts) but we ended up quitting before all the water was out of pressure cooker. We didn't feel any when we shook it. We let it sit to cool down and discovered another quart at bottom, dark green of course. It was not potent like the hydrolsol we got so it seemed like a waste. (I use it to make soaps, etc)
We also turned the heat down, by a lot, after it was really "cooking". I wondered if that was a bad choice too. Thanks for your video! Any answers are appreciated! I am watching again though.
Thanks sir l remain indebted to you for this wonderful knowledge
So nice of you