K sorry I rarely check the site anymore.. but you should absolutely be fine doing small/medium size runs at home without a gauge especially with a weaker pump. My gauge broke a year ago and I never bothered to replace it.
Basically I just break the seal every couple minutes for the first 10-15 minutes to get plenty of reaction and muffin-ing and shrinking back down.
After most of the visible reactions vastly slow down, you can turn the vacuum off but leave it on heat (around 115ish) for a few minutes and it will give it a smoother, less bubbly look.
I generally am using butane so for me, I will have a 12 gram patty, spread thinly, about a 6 inch circle. I purge in a 10 inch pot that looks like you would cook pasta in it. After I get it spread as thin as I can by inflating the muffin as large as I can manage at the beginning, I generally purge for around 6-10 hours depending on thickness and visible reaction.
This generally makes me a very stable snap and pull that if bent/pulled slowly it stretches but if done quickly it shatters. I can then winterize it with good etho to remove more of he waxes and plant fats and can generally then easily end with a more traditional “shatter”
If I would have kept the un-winterized product on purge for 18-24 hours, I can get a more wet, sugary, slab that seems to sweat and degrade a bit (not quickly, but depending on storage can be a couple days, can be a couple weeks, can be never) as crumby and waxes can via auto-buddering.
If you take your purges product then increase heat at the end without vacuum, and whip it with a small tool or toothpick, you can end with a more creamy, waxy, or buddery product.
Most important thing to remember is to never just expect exactly what you want. There are so so so many variables that without a proper lab setting and equipment, you can never expect to control them all. Because of this, you will often end up with 2 different products, both created by the same starting material with no visible or discernible differences.
Moisture, ambient temperature, and loads of other variables can drastically change your end product.
Hope something I said helps ya a bit!! Unfortunatly I’ve had to do most of my learning from trial and error and trying to find intelligent sources online who can share what they have learned. I live in a very red state and fully understand the dangers, but I do my best to be safe and go as far as wearing a gas mask my brother “acquired” from the marine Corp after a tour. Hazmat suit as well.
But always be safe and best of luck!! Let me know if you have any other questions and I will do my best to answer if it’s something I can help with!!
