The Sana 702 oil extractor is an ingenious attachment for Sana horizontal juicers. It is made from stainless steel for all parts which come in contact with the oil, as well as aluminum. We tried it with a Sana 707 and it attached very easily using the same locking collar as the juicing unit.
Our first impression was one of solidity. The Sana oil extractor feels very well-constructed, and is simple to assemble. One thing we liked was that there was no heating of the unit required. Any heat is generated by the pressure of the seeds themselves, yet the oil still stays cool coming out of the extractor.
We tried a few different seeds and nuts. We started with flaxseed. The instruction manual mentioned that there can be a squeaking sound with flax, because of the composition of their hulls. We noticed this too with an old open bag of flaxseeds. When we tried with a new bag, there was no squeaking at all. The oil flowed well and had a great taste and aroma. Next we tried shelled sunflower seeds. They did great! Because of their naturally high oil content, they gave the best yield. Poppy seeds went surprisingly well, and were also useful to warm up the oil extractor and clean out any seed bits still inside. We made hemp oil too, and just like the others it was an easy process. We also tried some nuts: almonds and walnuts. Nuts are more challenging, because they need to be cut into small pieces. We tried to chop them with a blender, but that just made a powder. The best would be to use a nut crushing machine, or a chef’s knife, which is what we used. After they were properly chopped, they had a decent oil yield. The walnuts were easier, as they are simple to crush (we crushed them in a plastic baggie using a rolling pin) and have a naturally high oil yield. Finally we tried dried coconut flakes. We found that the best way to process them was to add just small amounts at a time. It was a slower process than the seeds, but we did get a decent yield of super fragrant coconut oil.
We discovered a few tips that helped things go better. First of all, we found the quality of the seeds and nuts really made a difference. Higher-quality or fresher materials were easier to process and had better yields of oil, sometimes very significantly so. It is also recommended to periodically clean the grooves where the oil comes out using the included brush. We noticed this kept the oil flowing better, as sometimes small bits of husk could become trapped there. Finally, cleaning was fast and simple. We used warm soapy water and a brush. Just make sure not to get water on the aluminum mounting unit – there is a bearing inside which shouldn’t get wet – but it doesn’t come into contact with the oil so it didn’t need cleaning.
Overall we were very impressed the Sana oil extractor. It isn’t a device to make huge quantities of oil (for cooking, for example). Instead, it produces fresh cold-pressed oil to use as flavorings or for health purposes. The oil we made was so much better tasting even than the organic oils from the health food store. And the aroma of the fresh oil was heavenly. If you’d like to make small quantities of cold-pressed oil from a wide variety of seeds (and nuts, to a lesser extent), we highly recommend this unit.
That aside, I personally love it, I make my own fresh rolled oats from organic oat groats and I guarantee you it is worth the effort :-)
Homemade oils from good quality seeds or nuts is out of this world too.
It's not a budget item but if you have the extra cash and are committed to using it you will love it.
Hope this helps someone :-)