How to Make a Hydraulic Tincture Press at Home

Tinctures are liquid herbal medicines created by steeping herbs in alcohol, vinegar or glycerine and are easy to store and more readily absorbed by the body than dried herbs or capsules.

Making tinctures is an enjoyable and lucrative hobby that will save money once the initial equipment investment has been made.

How It Works

Tinctures are an herbal medicine produced by submerging decarboxylated plant botanicals in alcohol to extract their therapeutic constituents, producing liquid medicines which are more readily absorbed by the body than dry or capsule herbs and are usually taken in smaller doses. Tincture presses are essential tools in creating high-quality herbal tinctures as they allow more of the medicine that would otherwise be lost through extraction to be preserved and captured during production.

There are various varieties of herbal tincture presses available through online retailers and health food stores, though they tend to be fairly costly. Even basic electric hydraulic presses may run upwards of $200 while more advanced models may cost even more. A tincture press can be an invaluable asset for home herbalists as it will save both time and effort in the long run.

A quality tincture press should be constructed of heavy-duty material that won't bend or warp under pressure, featuring an inner perforated cylinder for holding herb, as well as an outer solid cylinder to collect marc, with an outer one being taller than its counterpart so liquid can escape during pressing; additionally, its spout should be located near its base rather than sitting directly atop it.

Inner cylinders of tincture presses should also feature a deep attachment point for the metal disc that presses the herbs, to prevent tincture from seeping up over it and coming in contact with grease on screws that hold it in place. If this becomes an issue, wooden discs should be added between it and herbs so as to prevent any potential issues arising from seeping up over it.

A good tincture press should include long handles to make moving, tilting and using it easier. This is crucial since at some point draining will need to occur from its inner cylinder; being able to move forward will make this task significantly simpler.

Materials

Alcohol or glycerine solutions can be an excellent way to extract and concentrate medicinal properties of herbs into an easily absorbable form for body use. But for optimal results, the right kind of press must be used - making a tincture press yourself at home can be an easy and cost-effective project that significantly boosts your herbal medicine's potency.

Tincture presses are typically constructed of stainless steel or aluminum; however, plastic versions also exist. Their primary function is to apply pressure to glass or metal containers using pressure from their respective stands with an attached spout at the bottom for easy pouring. They can be purchased online or at health food stores; any serious herbalist that creates liquid medicines requires one as an essential piece of equipment.

The screw press is the basic form of tincture press, featuring one screw to press against an herb-containing cylinder while protecting it from sprayout during pressing. Although highly effective at creating tinctures, there are three major drawbacks associated with its use:

First, the screw can rotate and tilt during pressing, which reduces force output and can result in force loss during this step. Furthermore, screws often aren't securely fastened to their cylinders and may come into contact with tincture to cause drippy and leaky results - these problems can be addressed using a wooden disc between each screw and its respective cylinder.

Rotary tincture presses use multiple interconnected rings that spin to squeeze herbs inside. However, this style can be more challenging to operate than its screw counterpart and requires users to carefully place each ring over their cylinder in order to avoid leakage and spilling of herbal mixtures.

Hydraulic tincture presses use a pump to build pressure. They're the easiest and most cost-effective option available; their pump can be controlled manually or connected to an electric drill; plus they're relatively lightweight machines for their size.

Design

There are various methods for pressing herbs when creating tinctures, but the most efficient is with an electric hydraulic tincture press. This device produces tremendous force to extract every last drop of medicinal essence from herbs and marc (pulp). You can adjust its pressure, slowly release it when necessary, and press again as necessary - much stronger than traditional screw presses and 6-ton presses seen online processing videos!

If you're interested in purchasing a hydraulic tincture press, there are various companies to choose from online and in natural health stores. They range in cost from about $90 to over $200 but make herbal medicine production much faster and simpler.

When purchasing a tincture press, the quality of its components should be your top priority. High-end presses feature stainless steel construction which won't rust and doesn't contain any non-food grade metal parts - plus these components should make for easy clean-up!

Important considerations involve how the metal disc that presses herb material is attached to its screw. Failure to secure it properly could result in leakage between disc and screw, leading to leakage between these parts as well as over the top of them resulting in inefficient operation of a tincture press.

A well-designed tincture press features three attachment points to secure its container, providing greater strength and stability of the entire unit and preventing its container from tipping over under high pressure. In addition, this press provides larger handles that make turning screws easier as well as providing more torque to press tincture into tubes or onto mats. Finally, there is also a brace in its base which holds its spout in position so as to prevent it from spinning under excessive force.

Assembly

Pressing is essential to producing potency herbal medicine tinctures, and pressing is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to do it at home. Pressed marc is not only more concentrated but contains components lost during distillation that would otherwise be lost; in fact, unpressed tinctures only retain approximately 70% of their medicinal properties! Pressing can be accomplished in various ways such as using a screw-type press, hydraulic tincture press or wooden block; but for best results we advise investing in professional-quality hydraulic press instead.

The best tincture presses are constructed of stainless steel, which is both resilient and food grade. Their sturdy frames can be attached directly to a piece of wood or another stable surface for use, as well as offering features that make them easier than other kinds of presses such as an easy bottom-mounted bottle jack configuration that prevents fluid spillage into the tincture.

An important feature is a well-designed disc attachment. Without one, the metal disc that presses herbs could become stuck in the cylinder if not secured to its screw properly. Ideally, the disc should be securely connected but loose enough so tincture can flow up between it and its screw without coming in contact with herb material.

Finally, an ideal tincture press must be easy to keep clean. In an ideal world, this means fully dishwasher-safe to avoid the build-up of bacteria or mold in its inner workings and handle high amounts of pressure required to make quality tinctures.

The Wacky Willy Tincture Press is a professionally designed, high-quality press that is built to last. Crafted from 100% medical/food grade 304L stainless steel for maximum durability and safety of use. Additionally, this press features an accessory set featuring slotted end cap and monofilament 25 micron filter bag - plus more!