Complaint Review: Critical CO2 Ltd. - Calgary Alberta

Having had years of coursework in seperation processes, distillation, mass transfer, thermodynamics, and years of experience in the lab I can assert there is so many variables to pull off extraction, with or without compression. SCCO2 extraction must be carried out under the most exact conditions, carefully manipulating the CO2 density to coax the extract into soln. w/ C02.

I have fabricated, and functional tested, test benches to 30,000 psi, have worked under most cited author in field. This process is as close to magic as it gets, mainly because not even my professor who has worked in field most of life cannot put into words the phenomenon od SCCO2 extraction.

From what I can tell from custy results, the equipment was not operated in a careful concise manner, did not operate the gear correctly.

Or, even worse, this is simply a ploy by his competition to try to remove Jim Durwood from THEIR sandbox? 

The difficuty in using this equipment to extract THC or CBD stems from expensive regulatory threasholds one must meet to, lawfully, carry out extraction. States in USA, where weed is legal, still require thousands of dollars in lisensure fees etc. to lawfully operate this equipment, CANNOT just expect to go home and blast in your basement, local building ordinance have requirements on top of the fee, getting a CO to carry out this extraction might be 10x cost of equipment. To think one will just uncrate this equipment, push a button, open valve and get shatter is so unreasonable, not going to happen.

I noticed Jim didn't have best bed side manner, so to speak, but these complaints are petty, malicious, writing by someone who has some other issues. If custy wants to carry out highly sophisticated extracttion using such equipment, custy must aslo be willing to put in the years necessary to understand process being mastered. Custy has no right to mailgn Durwood because of custy's lack of technical prowess.

Look at custy's worksheet to notice he tried to pull off first extraction in less than an hour???? Custy needs more time on gear.

I'll buy his machine, give me a call at 303-482-6843. I'm a buyer of Durwood's gear all day long!

This man is truly a con man! But he's actually worse than that! Because he's taking advantage of people who are sick and desperate for relief, and he's taking them for thousands of dollars!

And it doesn't stop there! Because his machine consumes thousands of dollars worth of product, and it yields practically nothing!

If you contact him and tell him that you're not getting out anything for the expensive product you're processing, he says it's your fault that you're not doing it right!

So if you're sick or ill, and you need relief, the only relief you're going to get by purchasing his device is relief of the money you paid for it!

If there's anybody who disagrees with us, we'd be happy to sell you this machine at a fraction of what we paid for it. Because truly, it's only worth its weight in scrap metal!

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I have attached an image showing partial actual results from Critical CO2 extractors. The full test results are available upon request to [email protected].

Following is what the complainant said with my responses incorporated:

I'm really glad that someone finally spoke up about the Critical CO2 LTD company and Jim Durward. I stumbled across a link to this complaint on a marijuana forum. I purchased one of his system in February of 2016. I encountered the same experience as the person in the previous complaint. Mr. Durward told me that I needed to purchase the system in a few days or the price was going to increase because of the exchange rate. This was an out right lie.

The price did increase due to the exchange rate and declaring otherwise is an outright lie. The price often changes when the exchange rate changes significantly. There is nothing abnormal about this. Any potential buyer has every right to not make a purchase.

He appeared to be an honest person I explained to him that I was purchasing the system to make cannibas oil for my daughter who has cancer and it seems to be helping her the most at the moment.

I don't know who this person is - a name would help.

He explained to me that the system would meet my needs and guarented if I followed his instructions I would receive 8-14% yield every run.

This is a totally false statement. I have never made ANY yield guarantees as I have no control over how a user operates the system. No manufacturer guarantees yield.

This would be a huge time and money saver for my family because this would save me trips from Nebraska to Colorado. After receiving his deceiving product I found the heating element did not get hot. When I discovered this I immediately asked for a replacement. Mr. Durward said that his product worked and that I was lazy and incompetent. I asked if I could return the part for a working one and he said that I could not return it because it was used for cannibas extraction.

This is also completely false. Not one person has complained about a heater - to replace it would be trivial and if I was notified during the warranty period it would have been replaced immediately. To say that I would refuse to replace a broken heater because it was used for cannabis extraction is ridiculous on its face - the heater never contacts cannabis and it's unlikely I would even ask for it to be returned because it's not worth the cost of shipping.

This brought tears to my eyes because my daughter was having a bad day. I was appauled by this but at this point in time I did not have any money remaining and my daughter was almost out of medicine so I searched the internet for a new electronics system for the heating element on the extractor. I was able to order a new one online and install it.

I'm sorry but I simply do not believe you - you have never called me about a heater. If you did buy a "new electronics system", please show me, and the rest of the world, the receipt.

I was finally able to get the system running and I was surprised to find that I only was able to produce 1gram of cannibas oil.

Why would you be surprized? What do you compare it to? You have provided zero information about what parameters you used or what your raw material was. Your ability to perform extractions is 100% dependent on how you operate the system and you have never contacted me about extraction parameters. 

I feel that I was ripped off because my family saved for months to get that system for my sick daughter. We would have not been able to afford it without help from the church and other communiity members.

I feel that I am being wrongly accused, and my extractor maligned, for totally unsubstantiated reasons. If the complainant would identify him/herself this would be easier to resolve.

We used the system a few more times until the home made filter screen he sold us fell apart after about three uses.

The filter tube is not home-made and it is totally normal for some plastic to shed during the first few uses - the shedding does not pollute the extract and does not affect the filter function. I am more than will to replace the filter but I was never asked to. 

I was going to buy another one since my family is stuck with this thing but I refuse to give this scammer anymore of families hard earned money. I don't see anyting high end about this machine besides the price tag. I hate when people try to take advantage of sick people in the marijuana industry some people really care about providing quality medicine and products to the public. Then we have people like Jim Durward who just want to make a quick buck no matter what.

I got into this business to offer an alternative to the very expensive recycling machines - this would allow those who need it to have it. I don't need to make a quick buck - I have lots of money made the old-fashioned way - hard work. The machine is totally custom built using high-quality parts.

I urge people to stay away from the Critical CO2 LTD company. There are plentry of other extraction companies in the United States.

Please tell us who these "plenty of other extraction companies" are that offer the same specification for the same or lesser price. I know of only one - the OCOlabs you refer to below.

I wish that I would have known about Ocolabs before purchasing this crap machine. They even offer a 30 day return policy. Do yourself a favor run from Critical CO2 LTD. The sad part about this situation is that my sick daughter is the person suffering the most. 

At the end of the day, I'm sorry you feel that way but I am left wondering why you never contacted me about this before this complaint - and let me be very clear, you did not. If you had, this probably could have been resolved.

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I'm really glad that someone finally spoke up about the Critical CO2 LTD company and Jim Durward. I stumbled across a link to this complaint on a marijuana forum. I purchased one of his system in February of 2016. I encountered the same experience as the person in the previous complaint. Mr. Durward told me that I needed to purchase the system in a few days or the price was going to increase because of the exchange rate. This was an out right lie. He appeared to be an honest person I explained to him that I was purchasing the system to make cannibas oil for my daughter who has cancer and it seems to be helping her the most at the moment.

He explained to me that the system would meet my needs and guarented if I followed his instructions I would receive 8-14% yield every run. This would be a huge time and money saver for my family because this would save me trips from Nebraska to Colorado. After receiving his deceiving product I found the heating element did not get hot. When I discovered this I immediately asked for a replacement. Mr. Durward said that his product worked and that I was lazy and incompetent. I asked if I could return the part for a working one and he said that I could not return it because it was used for cannibas extraction.  

This brought tears to my eyes because my daughter was having a bad day. I was appauled by this but at this point in time I did not have any money remaining and my daughter was almost out of medicine so I searched the internet for a new electronics system for the heating element on the extractor. I was able to order a new one online and install it. I was finally able to get the system running and I was surprised to find that I only was able to produce 1gram of cannibas oil. I feel that I was ripped off because my family saved for months to get that system for my sick daughter. We would have not been able to afford it without help from the church and other communiity members.

We used the system a few more times until the home made filter screen he sold us fell apart after about three uses. I was going to buy another one since my family is stuck with this thing but I refuse to give this scammer anymore of families hard earned money. I don't see anyting high end about this machine besides the price tag. I hate when people try to take advantage of sick people in the marijuana industry some people really care about providing quality medicine and products to the public. Then we have people like Jim Durward who just want to make a quick buck no matter what. I urge people to stay away from the Critical CO2 LTD company. There are plentry of other extraction companies in the United States. I wish that I would have known about Ocolabs before purchasing this crap machine. They even offer a 30 day return policy. Do yourself a favor run from Critical CO2 LTD. The sad part about this situation is that my sick daughter is the person suffering the most. 

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I have been identified but the complainant has not identified himself. I often get questions about poor results and they are almost always based on the same issue - lack of liquid CO2 in the extractor. The requirement for adequate liquid CO2 is clearly set out in the manual and it always amazes me that people would buy a complex, high-pressure machine and not read the manual thoroughly.

Although the complainant has not identified himself I believe I know who he is and after his first complaint the told me that his CO2 supply tank was empty. I must say that it's difficult to imagine how any person buying this type of machine would not know if a tank was empty or full. When I further asked how many cycles he had run he told me only two. This is analogous to a person complaining about not being able to play a Santana guitar solo without ever previously picking up a new guitar and having no guitar-playing experience. I personally have used the same type of machine many times and I have been able to achieve CO2-used-per-gram ratios of less than 2lbs per gram.

Critical CO2 manufactures general-purpose extractors. They are not only used for cannabis extraction and a variety of materials can be used as feedstock. As far as how much raw material can be held, the extractor in question CAN hold well over a pound if the material is ground fine enough. But some materials will react better with a courser grind and this will reduce the amount the extractor can hold. The level of grind is up to the operator.

As far as the cannabis residue issue, no responsible person would become involved in the transport of cannabis, even as residue, across an international border. 

Critical CO2 reserves the right to substitute components with others of equal or better specification. This is posted on the website.

Critical CO2 sells machines that operate to the advertised specification but we cannot control what the operator does or does not do when it comes to operating the machine.  I have designed the machines in question and I have probably operated them more than anyone else. I can say with authority that it is the operator that makes extract and that the machine is only a tool - and it is a poor artisan who blames his tools.

If the system arrived damaged, please post a picture of the damage.

Regarding "not honest about what the system yields" - yields what? THC, CBD, oil-by-weight, wax, any of the aforementioned by the gram? From what material- stems, leaves, flowers, seeds? At what density - 500 kg/m3? 800 kg/m3? At what temperature - 60F, 90F, 120F, 150? From what cycle time? From what decompression rate? The list of variables goes on and the operator needs to practice with the various combinations to achieve better levels of production. 

The complainant states that the "System does not produce good quality extract" - this claim is ridiculous on its face. The quality of the extract is determined by raw material genetics - the machine cannot alter the chemistry of what is extracted. 

If I was buying something complicated and expensive I'd ask up-front about the return policy.

The complainant needs to look in a mirror if he wants to identify the basis of the problem.