# microwave EO distiller?



## grayceworks (Oct 3, 2013)

http://libertynatural.com/craft/mwv.htm

has anyone seen/used one? 

i like the idea of making EOs in small, fresh batches, and especially making hard to find ones. what do you think?


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## roseb (Oct 3, 2013)

I've seen the video.  However, you need tons of plants to get a small amount of oil.  Do you presently grow the plants for hard to find oils?


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## grayceworks (Oct 3, 2013)

I have a couple things I want to, andI have friends that have some also. just an idea i've been tossing around.


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## lsg (Oct 4, 2013)

I bought one, but I didn't get any essential oils with either rose petals or rosemary.  I did get some nice hydrosol.


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## grayceworks (Oct 6, 2013)

No essential oils came of it? Hydrosols are nice, but not what I need. Hmm.... Do you think it was the amount of blossoms used? Or that the distiller isn't effective?

Sent from my ME301T


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## DeeAnna (Oct 6, 2013)

A little research shows the yield of EO from lavender buds is low -- roughly 0.5 to 2% by weight. You would get roughly the same yield for the chamomiles, geranium, rosemary, peppermint, oregano, etc. Rose EO yield is miniscule -- well under 1/100th of a percent.

At a 1% yield, you'd have to run 100 ounces of lavender buds through the distiller to get 1 ounce of EO. That is a LOT of lavender -- you'd need to grow a bed of about 300 square feet, according to my very rough calculations. When you consider the distiller you are looking at can only take a few ounces of plant matter at a time, that is a lot of time spent in front of the microwave for not a whole lot of return.


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## grayceworks (Oct 6, 2013)

Thanks DeeAnna, that's very useful to know! And yeah, that sounds like entirely too much time microwaving. *sigh* well, there goes that idea lol

Sent from my ME301T


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## DeeAnna (Oct 6, 2013)

Very interesting idea, probably fun to play with, but, yeah, probably not too practical for EOs. If you want hydrosols like LSG explained, that might be another story. I bet that rose hydrosol smells heavenly.


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