Bubble hash micron sizes describe the screen in each bag: 220, 190, 160, 120, 90, 73, 45 and 25 µm in an eight bag set. The 220 holds the plant, the 190 and 160 pull out contaminant, the 120, 90 and 73 catch the best heads, with full melt usually in the 90 and 73, and the 45 and 25 catch the fine grades.
What bubble bag micron sizes mean
Bubble bag micron sizes give the width of the openings in each bag’s screen. One micron (µm) is a thousandth of a millimeter, so a 73 µm screen has holes 0.073 millimeters across, about the size of a mature resin head, the trichome head the whole wash is after.
Every bag follows one rule: the smaller the number, the finer the screen. The bags nest from the finest in the middle to the coarsest on the outside, so each one keeps the heads too big to pass through it and lets the rest fall to the next. Screens are also rated in lines per inch, where a higher count means a finer mesh; a video on Bubbleman’s channel walks through the conversion.
Bubble hash micron sizes, bag by bag
Bubble hash micron sizes in an eight bag set run from the 220 µm work bag to the 25 µm bag. The set’s own labels, with each bag’s color:
| Bag | Job | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 220µmBlue | Work bag | Holds the plant material |
| 190µmGreen | Clean-up bag | Contaminant; cooking grade at best |
| 160µmRed | Contaminant removal | Food grade, low quality |
| 120µmOrange | Crystal collection | Great quality |
| 90µmBlack | Crystal collection | Incredible quality |
| 73µmYellow | Crystal collection | Prime quality |
| 45µmWhite | Crystal collection | Large yield, secondary grade |
| 25µmPurple | Crystal collection | Food grade, low quality |
Those labels are a starting point, not a promise. Full melt usually lands in the 90 and 73, but every plant has its own range of head sizes, and the best of it can turn up elsewhere. How to run the bags is in how to make bubble hash.
Which micron bag makes the best hash?
Which micron bag makes the best hash depends on the plant, but the 90 and 73 µm bags are where full melt usually shows up first. Hash makers rate how cleanly each grade melts on a star scale; the bag numbers tell you where to look.
90 micron hash
90 micron hash is often the top grade of the wash. The 90 was the last bag Bubbleman added to the kit, taking it from seven bags to eight, and he calls it the most profound bag in the set.
73 micron bubble hash
73 micron bubble hash is the classic full melt grade. Before the 90 existed, the 73 caught the best heads of the wash, and Bubbleman’s step-by-step still calls it the full melt bag: if your bubble is going to bubble, it’s often found here first.
120 micron hash
120 micron hash is a big headed grade with a little more plant matter in it: great quality by the set’s labels, a nice grade of bubble in Bubbleman’s words. Strains with large heads can put their best resin here.
45 and 25 micron hash
45 and 25 micron hash are the fine grades. The 45 often comes out the lightest colored hash of the wash, blonde to white, and gives a big secondary yield; the 25 holds the tiniest heads, and with some sativas it is the full melt bag.
160 and 190 micron hash
160 and 190 micron hash are mostly about cleaning. The 190 catches contaminant before it reaches the good bags, and the 160 pulls out more of it, which Bubbleman says made it a profound bag in its own way. Big headed plants can still put real resin there: in one run of dried trim on Season 12, Episode 33, his 160 and 190 grades came out as lovely hash, testing around 60 percent THC.
4 bag vs 8 bag sets
A 4 bag set and an 8 bag set make the same hash; the 8 bag set just sorts it into more grades. The 4 bag set is a 220 work bag, a 160 to pull contaminant, the 73 for the prime grade and the 25 for the rest. The 8 bag set adds the 190, 120, 90 and 45, so you can see where your plant’s best heads actually land. Bubble Bags’ own guide to choosing micron bags says the same: neither set guarantees a quality or a yield.
How the micron sizes came to be
The micron sizes in a bubble bag kit came together one bag at a time. The first kits went from the 220 work bag straight to a 73, and whatever fell in between landed in the 73 with the good heads. The 160 came in to pull that contaminant out of the 120 and 73. The 250 was dropped for a 45. And the 90 came last: Bubbleman says there was no 90 micron bag in water extraction until he added it, and after the eighth bag he stopped adding numbers.
From the archive: Bubbleman on the bags
From the archive, Bubbleman on the bags in his own words, recorded live on Season 12, Episode 14, Skully Vibes draws live. Tap a time to hear that moment.
You pull that 73 or 90 bag, and as you scoop it out, you leave a thin layer of heads that haven’t rinsed off yet. And it literally, in 30 seconds of being warmed, will just grease into an invisible coating over the thread of your bags.
On keeping full melt coldThe 90 micron bag was the last bag that I added to the bubble bag kit. There was no 90 micron bag in the world of water extraction… It took the kit from a seven bag to an eight bag.
On adding the 90The 90 bag was probably the most profound bag. Well, in a different way. The 160 was a profound bag because it pulled contaminant out of the bags that was ending up in the nicer hash down the road, like in the 120 or God forbid the 73.
On the 160Just throw some of it through the bags and tell me if 25 through 190 melts, because if it does, then I will agree with you that you do have some of the best weed… That’s super rare.
On the bags as a test of the plantI saw it in Switzerland in the early 2000s at Breeder Steve’s place, and I remember being very surprised that they all were like melty and bubbly, all from 190 to 25 micron.
On a plant that melted in every bag
Keep the best grades cold
Keep the best grades cold, because the finer and cleaner the resin, the faster it melts. Bubbleman’s warning: pull a 73 or 90 bag of full melt, leave a thin layer of heads on the screen, and within 30 seconds of warmth they grease into an invisible coating on the mesh. For the top grades he keeps the collection cold, with ice under the bucket, and works fast.
Micron size questions
Micron size questions, answered from Bubbleman’s instructions and his episodes:
What micron is best for bubble hash?
The best micron for bubble hash is usually the 90 or the 73 µm bag, where full melt most often lands. It depends on the plant, though: the best grade can show up in the 120, the 45 or even the 25.
What is 73 micron bubble hash?
73 micron bubble hash is the resin caught in the 73 µm bag, the classic full melt bag. Before the 90 µm bag existed, it held the best heads of the wash.
What is 120 micron hash?
120 micron hash is the grade caught in the 120 µm bag: bigger heads with a little more plant matter, rated great quality in the 8 bag set.
What is 25 micron hash?
25 micron hash is the finest grade, the tiniest heads and broken resin. The 8 bag set labels it food grade, though with some sativas the 25 is the full melt bag.
What is 160 micron hash?
160 micron hash is the coarse grade caught in the 160 µm bag. It is mostly contaminant, food grade in the set’s terms, but plants with large heads can put good resin there.
Do you need an 8 bag set?
You don’t need an 8 bag set to make good hash. A 4 bag set, the 220, 160, 73 and 25, makes fine bubble with fewer bags to pull; the 8 bag set lets you separate and compare more grades.
Sources for this micron size guide
Sources for this micron size guide, from Bubbleman’s own published material and his show:
- Bubble Bags FAQ: the 4 and 8 bag sets, bag by bag, bubblebag.com
- How to make cold water hash with Bubble Bags: Bubbleman’s notes on each bag, bubblebag.com
- How to choose the right micron bags for bubble hash, bubblebag.com, and the micron vs LPI video on Bubbleman’s World, both linked above
- Hash Church Season 12, Episode 33: grade testing in a dried trim run, Buzzsprout
- Hash Church Season 12, Episode 14: Bubbleman on the 90 and 160 bags, linked above