How to Make FECO (Full Extract Cannabis Oil)

To make FECO, decarboxylate cannabis at 115C (239F) for 40 minutes, soak it in food-grade ethanol at 10 ml per gram for 3 to 6 hours, filter, then evaporate the alcohol off below 80C (176F). The result is a thick dark oil.

That is the whole process. The detail below decides whether a batch is usable: which alcohol, how long to soak, how to get the solvent back out safely, and how small a first dose has to be. If extraction is new to you, start with the beginner’s guide to extractions.

What is FECO, and how is it different from RSO?

FECO stands for full extract cannabis oil. It is a long ethanol soak that deliberately pulls more of the plant than a quick wash does: cannabinoids, terpenes, chlorophyll, waxes and plant pigments all come across. That is why finished FECO is near black and tar-thick rather than golden.

RSO is the same general idea under a specific named protocol. Rick Simpson’s original instructions used naphtha or 99% isopropyl alcohol and two short washes of a few minutes each. Most people making “RSO” today are actually making FECO with food-grade ethanol and calling it by the more famous name. The full background is in what Rick Simpson oil (RSO) is.

One point of honesty. RSO carries widely circulated cancer-treatment claims, made by Rick Simpson and repeated across forums. Those are claims, not findings. There is no clinical evidence base supporting home-prepared cannabis oil as a treatment for any disease. This page is a preparation method, not medical advice.

Neither FECO nor RSO contains any carrier oil. Nothing is added. The word “oil” describes the texture, not an ingredient.

Which alcohol should you use for FECO?

Food-grade ethanol at 95% or higher. Nothing else is acceptable for anything you plan to eat.

Ethanol boils at 78.4C (173F), low enough to drive off below the temperature that degrades cannabinoids. Anything under about 90% ABV carries too much water, and water will not leave at that temperature, so you finish with a wet syrup instead of an oil.

There is a fuller breakdown in the best alcohol for making FECO, including what is available by country. For where the naming gets muddled between the two, see is there oil in RSO and FECO.

How do you make FECO step by step?

Quantities below are for 28 g of dried flower, which yields roughly 3 to 5 g of finished oil.

You need: 28 g dried flower, 280 ml food-grade ethanol at 95%+, a 1 litre glass jar, a fine mesh strainer, unbleached coffee filters, a wide shallow glass or stainless dish, a pot for a water bath, a digital thermometer, and 10 ml oral syringes.

1. Break the flower up, do not powder it. Pea-sized pieces. Powdered material passes through filters and puts more chlorophyll and plant fibre into the finished oil.

2. Decarboxylate at 115C (239F) for 40 minutes. Spread the material one layer deep on a lined tray. Anything between 110C and 120C (230F to 248F) works; hotter is faster but costs terpenes. Skip this step and the oil stays mostly THCA, which is not intoxicating when eaten. See the complete guide to cannabis decarboxylation for the chemistry.

3. Cool completely, then soak at 10 ml ethanol per 1 g of material. For 28 g, that is 280 ml. Seal the jar and leave it at room temperature, around 20C (68F), for 3 to 6 hours, agitating for 30 seconds every half hour. A 24 hour soak pulls more of everything, chlorophyll and harsh taste included. That trade-off is the point of why time matters in cannabis extractions.

4. Filter twice. Pour through the mesh strainer and press the plant material firmly to recover trapped solvent, then pass the liquid through an unbleached coffee filter to catch fines. Expect to lose 30 to 40 ml of ethanol to the spent material.

5. Optional second wash. Return the strained material to the jar with 140 ml of fresh ethanol for 30 minutes, filter, and combine. This typically adds 10 to 20% to total yield. Where the rest of the losses occur is covered in cannabis oil extraction efficiency.

6. Evaporate the ethanol over a water bath at 85C (185F). Pour the filtered liquid into the wide shallow dish and stand the dish in a pot of water held at 85C. Heat the water in a kettle and top it up, rather than running a burner under a dish of alcohol vapour. Work outdoors, or with a window open and a fan pushing air out. Expect 2 to 4 hours for 280 ml.

7. Purge the residue at 60 to 70C (140F to 158F) for 30 to 60 minutes. Once visible bubbling stops there is still solvent in the oil. Hold the low heat until the surface goes still and glossy. Home purging without a vacuum chamber will not reach a laboratory zero.

8. Load into oral syringes while warm. FECO is nearly immovable once cool. Scrape it with a silicone spatula, draw it into 10 ml syringes, and store capped, in the dark, below 20C (68F).

Is making FECO at home dangerous?

The soak is not dangerous. The evaporation is, and it is the step people get hurt on.

Food-grade ethanol at 95% has a flash point near 17C (63F), so its vapour is ignitable at ordinary room temperature. That vapour is about 1.6 times heavier than air, so it pools at bench level and runs across a floor rather than rising away.

The rules that follow are short:

• No open flame anywhere in the room. Gas hob off, pilot lights out, no candles, no smoking.
• No exposed electric element. A glowing ring, a toaster, an electric heater and a light switch being flicked are all ignition sources. Use a water bath heated away from the vapour.
• Ventilate. Outdoors is best. Indoors, an open window with a fan blowing air out, not a recirculating extractor.
• Never heat a sealed vessel. A closed jar of warming ethanol builds pressure and will burst. Every evaporation vessel stays open.
• Food-grade ethanol only. Never isopropyl, never denatured or methylated spirits, never fuel-grade alcohol, for anything that will be eaten.
• Accept that residual solvent is real. Home-made FECO retains some ethanol. That is a reason to purge properly and a reason not to pretend the product is lab-clean.

How much FECO is a starting dose?

Start at 2.5 mg of THC. For most homemade FECO that is a portion around a quarter the size of a grain of rice.

The arithmetic matters. 28 g of flower testing 20% THC holds about 5,600 mg of cannabinoids. A home extraction recovering 70 to 85% of that leaves roughly 4,000 to 4,800 mg of THC across 3 to 5 g of oil. A grain of rice weighs about 25 mg, so a rice-grain portion of that oil can carry 20 to 30 mg of THC, eight to twelve times a beginner edible dose.

Work out your own numbers with the potency calculator rather than guessing. Then titrate: take a measured dose, wait a full two hours, and increase in the same small increment every few days rather than doubling. Onset for anything swallowed runs 30 to 120 minutes, which is why redosing early is the most common way people have a bad time. The complete edible dosage guide covers the timing, and can you overdose on THC covers what a very high dose actually does.

FECO taken orally is an edible. Every edible caution applies, at higher concentration.

What usually goes wrong with homemade FECO?

Four failures cover most ruined batches. The alcohol was too weak, so the oil never thickened. The material was powdered, so the oil is bitter and green. The evaporation was rushed on direct heat, so it scorched. Or the flower was not decarbed, so the oil does nothing when eaten.

Only the last is recoverable, by holding the finished oil at 115C (239F) for a further 30 minutes.

Frequently asked questions about FECO

How long does it take to make FECO?

About 7 hours end to end: 40 minutes decarb, 3 to 6 hours soak, 30 minutes filtering, and 2 to 4 hours evaporating and purging.

Can you make FECO without decarboxylating first?

You can, but the oil will be mostly THCA and will not be intoxicating when eaten. Decarb before the soak, not after.

Is FECO the same thing as RSO?

No. FECO is the general method. RSO is one named protocol within it, originally using naphtha or isopropyl and two short washes rather than a long ethanol soak.

How much FECO does 28 g of flower make?

Roughly 3 to 5 g of finished oil, depending on material quality, soak length and how thoroughly you press the spent plant material.

Can you use vodka to make FECO?

No. Vodka at 40% ABV is 60% water. The water will not evaporate at ethanol’s boiling point and you finish with a syrup rather than an oil.

How do you store FECO and how long does it last?

In capped oral syringes, in the dark, below 20C (68F). Stored that way it stays usable for over a year, though terpenes fade first and potency declines slowly.

Is a whole grain of rice too much for a first dose?

For most people, yes. A rice-grain portion of oil made from 20% flower can hold 20 to 30 mg of THC. Start at 2.5 mg and work up.

The equipment used for controlled decarboxylation and infusion is covered at NOIDS Herb Lab.