Extracting oil from birch bark, lamps, cooking

[778 neighbour of some guy]

Instructional videos about how to extract the oils from birch bark for lighting, since its fire i guess one could also use it for slow cooking your food like on a candle or a few candles.

Could be good camping fun trying to make this oil or in case of shtf, you have a usefull skill when your torch batteries run out

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Lamp.

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[GoodETxSG]

Very cool... Have used "Pine Needles" in a similar fashion before.

[WhiteFeather]

Very Awesome!!!!!

[Nanoo Nanoo]

Finally some useful information :-)

I was getting tired of all the propaganda :-)

N

[Octavusprime]

I cannot yet start threads due to my post count but here is a link on how to make a still with a teapot and a video on making one with a pressure cooker. These stills are focused on making alcohol but one could also distill essential oils using this method OR use the alcohol to make tinctures of any alcohol soluble essential oil. IE: birch oil, hemp oil, mint, etc

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/moon1.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNq28DDjlA0

For collection of oils one would make a basket for your plant mass that is suspended over the boiling liquid. Collect all vapors if you don't know the boiling point of said oil. The oil will separate (float) from the water. Now place the liquids in the freezer. Remove once the water freezes and the liquid oil will be on top to be collected. Below is how to distill mint oil but could be applied to the birch oil. He uses a modern still but it gives you an idea of the process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRZc3kaHyM

The OP has an easier method but my concern is over the degradation of the healing compounds due to heat. Using a true distillation one can collect these oils and all the benefiting compounds without risk of destroying them due to excessive heat.

http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/health-benefits-of-birch-essential-oil.html

[soleil]

yes, very very cool!

[Shannow]

Back when I was preparing for Y2K (and don't discount that stuff didn't happen as making it a hoax, a lot of people did a lot of work, and there could well have been power supply problems - I work in power stations, and the risk was not only real, it was present), one of the "universal cures" that I came across (from Frugal Squirrel's home page for patriots IIRC) was "bone oil"

Oil extracted from bones, in much the same manner as the birch oil above...was lowish temperatures IIRC, and was supposed to be red/black and smelled "meaty"...and was good for joint pain/arthritis/ and ligament/cartilage damage.

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[Octavusprime]

An extract of bone marrow would be amazing. A source of many immune responses in the body. Moms good old fashioned chicken broth is essentially boiled chicken bones.

[Snowflower]

Goode, you did this with pine needles? Way cool. I don't have birch growing here, but have lots of pine needles. I want to try it! Light at night post electricity and batteries, post solar power, post anything from this age!