Why I Wouldn’t Recommend a LĒVO C Infuser

If you spend a little time clicking around this website of mine, you’ll notice that most of the content is relatively neutral in tone or downright positive. The world is already a plenty negative place, so, generally speaking, it’s probably best not to push it any further in that direction.

However, my recent experience using a LĒVO C has proven so frustrating that, at $249, I wanted to share the issues I ran into and why I wouldn’t recommend this particular device if you’re looking into making your own edibles in bulk. 

The Many Different Ways to Make Infused Oil

If you’re seeking that sweet, sweet Valhalla, that solid edible high, then take comfort in knowing that multiple paths will ultimately lead to this final destination.

Some paths are slightly longer, some are shorter, some are more expensive, and some are even surprisingly intense! 

The point is, if you fuck with edibles, you’ll pretty easily find a way to satiate your new fascination that fits within your price range and flavor preferences.

Whether that means full-spectrum, RSO-infused 100mg single gummies like Gummy Buds or mega-strength homemade chocolate chunk brownies, you’ll find a way. (I BELIEVE IN YOU!)

Anyone can make infused oil with a $10 Goodwill slow cooker, MCT oil, and bulk flower.

Suppose you prefer to have your hand held, though. In that case, some companies make edible-specific appliances and accessories explicitly designed to make the process of “DIY” edibles even easier. 

There are a few big players in this field, including LĒVO, but there is also the Ardent FX, the Magical Butter Machine, and the Easy Butter Maker in this stoner appliance category.

Each brand has a slightly different take on how they help you in decarboxylating and infusing to make the perfect edibles, but I’ve only tried LĒVO of these, so that’s all I can really comment on now. 

On their sites, the Ardent FX sells for $299.00, the Magical Butter Machine for $224.99, and the Easy Butter Maker for $49.99. You can also get an authentic Crockpot-branded slow cooker online for $39.99. 

The LĒVO C is listed at $249.00, so it’s at the top of the price range (minus the Ardent FX by $50) for home activation and infusion. 

*All prices reflect website pricing at the time of writing and may not reflect current price increases or reductions

Like the good little American consumer I’ve been trained to be, I was impressed with the color options.

Getting an appliance that makes weed oil easy and convenient gave me visions of the first time I used a Tatung rice cooker instead of a steel saucepan to cook rice.

Undeniable Appliance Sex Appeal

Before discussing how it actually worked, we should briefly mention these machines’ gorgeous design.

The product designers who schemed the form factor and color palettes for the LĒVO C deserve a pat on the back because this just looks like something that would blend in perfectly next to an Italian espresso machine and a Smeg refrigerator. 

Of course, function over form; we’ll get to the function part in a bit.

Still, I strongly feel any cannabis brand that is helping to break stereotypes of what cannabis culture was like vs. what it can evolve into is deserving of recognition because the more non-stoners we can collectively “turn on” to weed, the better this world will be.

Alas, while cool designs and bright colors are great, brands still need to deliver the goods.

Here Goes Nothing, Attempt #1

I read the instructions for my first attempt, loaded up my herb, hung the basket in the dry vessel, and hit activate.

I found this process perplexing, as the heating element is only in contact with the bottom of the glass vessel, meaning only the bottom portion of the infusion basket was close to the heat required to activate the bud.

After some time had passed, I stuck my finger into the activation pod to see if the entire basket of herbs was heating despite only the bottom being in close proximity to the heating element.

Sure enough, the top portion of the ground bud was barely warmed..

At this point, it seemed obvious that hanging the flower in an empty pot was not an effective activation method, and if anything was being activated, it was likely only the bottom 5% of plant matter in contact with the bottom of the jar and heating element.

This was my first instance of being confused by the instructions and function of the LĒVO C.

Dubious of its effectiveness, I used some MCT oil I had lying around to infuse what was supposedly my activated herb.

A few tablespoons of oil testing over multiple days afterward left no discernable impact when consumed.

Bummer.

Doing a bit of research online, I found other people who were having issues, confirmed with actual THC % testing devices.

Comment
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This isn’t a good sign, but let’s try again. Maybe it was a fluke?

Activation & Infusion Attempt #2

I needed more cannabis, as that’s the capacity of the herb pod that hangs within the LĒVO C infusion machine, and my first attempt had ended unsuccessfully.  

My local Oregon Bud Company was a logical stop for the weed as their prices have always been fair, and they usually have a decent shake on discount.

For this second run, I chose some decently fragrant MAC #4, as Miracle Alien Cookie strains are usually decently potent. I liked the smell of this for the price. If I remember correctly, it was a special $40/oz deal.

I got home, packed the infusion pod complete with MAC #4, poured in the MCT oil that LĒVO supplied, turned on the LĒVO C, and selected “Activate,” which is the decarboxylation cycle that is supposed to run for 45 minutes at 240° F. 

FWIW, I know the instructions say to hang the herb pod in the dry pitcher for activation, but there simply isn’t enough heat from the bottom heating element to thoroughly activate the pod.

I presumed that adding the oil for activation would allow the oil to reach the correct decarb temperatures, and since the herb was saturated in it, it, too, would become fully activated.

After letting the Activation cycle run, I ran the “Infuse” cycle for 2-3 hours to ensure I maximized the extraction of as much of the cannabis plant into the MCT oil as possible. This cycle runs at a custom time setting at 200° F.

Once the infusion cycle had finished, I picked up a packet of LĒVO gummy mix and followed the instructions precisely to make my gummy mix, which was to be squirted into the silicone gummy molds and set in the fridge. 

Despite following the instructions on the packet perfectly, I noticed that my MCT oil and gelatin wouldn’t mix. Since this was my first time ever doing this, I assumed that that was just excess and that enough had been mixed into the gummies to get the job done. 

Well, fast-forward to the next day. After cautiously trying one gummy and then another and feeling nothing, I could only conclude that all that extra oil sitting on top of the tray was the good stuff, and the gummies themselves hadn’t absorbed any of that oil.

No problem; after running this first activation and infusion cycle, I still had almost a liter of oil that I poured back into the MCT bottle. 

So, I squirted a bit into my tomato soup, fried some eggs in it, and even took a few droppers to the dome, and still nada. 

The only time I felt a slight high was when I covered some chicken wings in MCT oil and seasoning. However, that high was quite light and not what I’d expect from the quantity of oil the wings had been coated in. 

Something wasn’t right here, so I messaged LĒVO support. To their credit, they pretty quickly replied that the default Activation setting at 240° F for 45 minutes was actually for just a half-ounce of flower or half a herb pod full. 

IMO, that should be clearly disclosed up front, as many consumers will likely try to activate a full pod’s worth of herb.

However, they said you need to do two full activation cycles consecutively for a full ounce or a full pod, which is what the LĒVO C is advertised as being designed for.

Well, that kind of takes some of the advertised convenience out of it, in my opinion, if you have to run multiple cycles..

Why not set the default activation to 90 minutes at 240° F for a whole herb pod and then allow users to lower the duration if they were using just half, or who knows, ¼ pod? 

I double-checked the included manual, and sure enough, buried in a long paragraph on activation, it did indeed state a full ounce should be activated twice. 

Okay, not the most intuitive design and not the most obvious instructions, but ultimately a user error, as I had indeed only run my first ounce of cannabis through a single activation cycle.

I would have expected to feel something even with one cycle, but I’m no chemist, so okay, cut that $40 loss on weed and try again.  

Activation & Infusion Attempt #3

Because I’d tried to activate a full ounce with the default activation cycles, I’d ultimately wasted a couple of ounces of cannabis, which was a bummer.

Fortunately for me, I’d just acquired about a gallon’s worth of delicious Orangeade homegrown from some friends, so the initial losses stung a little less financially than they normally would. 

I’d still recommend LĒVO update their instructions very clearly, perhaps in bold, at the beginning of the literature, mentioning that if you’re using the whole pod, you MUST use two activation cycles; otherwise, nothing will happen. 

Nonetheless, the allure of crafting my own gummies was strong, and after grinding up yet another ounce of weed, this time Orangeade instead of MAC, I was ready to do this correctly.

I filled up the herb pod again, but this time, I noticed that the silicone lid that was supposed to secure the top of the submerged herb pod was deformed and did not fit. 

Remembering that the lid was kind of a stinker to get on during the first activation and infusion, I persisted. Ultimately, even after getting the flanges tucked into the metal herb pod, they’d slowly, all on their own, work themselves out. 

I’ve had silicone expand and deform like this on me before, but it was my rubber stopper for the pouring top I’d stuck in a bottle of vinegar. I don’t know how acidic hot MCT oil is or if it was perhaps just the heat itself, but the herb pod definitely won’t stay on now… Great. 

Thankfully, my funnel for pouring the oil back into its original vessel has a metal strainer.

Hence, if the herb pod lets a few chunks of flower float out into the oil, I could easily strain them out later, although at $249.99, I’d expect my lids to fit for more than a single use.

Carefully monitoring the LĒVO C, I selected a second “activation cycle” within a minute of completing the first cycle as the manual and customer support instructed. After both activation cycles finished, I let it infuse for another two hours. 

For the second attempt at mixing the oil with the gelatin gummy mix, we did not follow the instructions exactly because they say to take the mixture off the heat before injecting it into the molds.

That didn’t work the first time, so we left the mixture on the stovetop on low and cooked it for a couple of minutes longer than the packet states. 

I understand gelatin can be tricky, and everyone’s home appliances will differ slightly. Still, we followed the instructions to a tee the first time with abysmal results, so for this second run, it was more intuition and less reading the instructions on the packet. 

And wouldn’t you know it, the oil took to the gelatin and mixed nicely. We let it sit and sprinkled in a bit of sugar, and we finally had infused gummies that looked just like the ones you can buy at the dispensary. 

Elatedly, we dosed one and eagerly awaited what was sure to be a solid high because the MCT oil for this was the re-used, under-heated oil from the first try, then double activated a second time with a whole fresh ounce of cannabis. It should have been potent AF.

But it wasn’t. Frustration mounted as we tried 2, then 3, before, eventually, popping 5 in a row with no discernible effect. What a bummer.

Things weren’t adding up. We used a whole ounce of verifiably fresh cannabis flower, used the provided MCT oil, did two activation cycles as advised, infused, and still nothing. 

Given that the instructions were followed perfectly, my suspicions turned to the LĒVO C device itself as potentially being the cause of the problem because the silicone lid for the herb pod became malformed rapidly after just one use.

Perhaps this device wasn’t adequately tested or is defective?

Activation & Infusion Attempt #4

At this point, I’m just desperate for some infused oil. Given that I’ve previously successfully made potent oil with just AVB (already vaped bud) in a Crockpot, the notion that the LĒVO C was supposed to simplify any part of the process was becoming almost farcical. 

To troubleshoot why I was having trouble, I scrutinized my LĒVO C machine a bit more closely; perhaps something wasn’t working as it should. 

So, I dumped my bunk oil from my last attempt back into the LĒVO C machine and hit activate.

This wasn’t because I thought the fourth time would be the charm, but because I wanted to measure the oil temperature during the critical “activation cycle” to indeed confirm it was reaching 240° F, which is the most commonly cited temperature for effective decarboxylation to occur. 

I used a simple meat thermometer I’d received as a Christmas gift the year before to take a couple of readings throughout the “Activate” cycle, and the highest recorded temperature was 214° F, in oil. 

If the herb wasn’t being heated to required activation temps WHILST submerged in MCT oil then that would also explain why I didn’t get any effects when I tried activating in air in an empty jar for the first run as air absorbs and retains heat much more poorly than oil.

Below is a video of the temperature at the very end of the activation cycle, with just 7 minutes remaining until completion. The long thermometer probe reaches about midway into the glass basin of the LĒVO C machine. 

So it would seem that my machine was not thoroughly heating my oil enough to fully decarboxylate the cannabis contained within, rendering an ineffective final output. 

Since the glass basin sits atop a hot pad, one could assume that the bottom of the basin may reach 240° F, but the bulk of the oil in the middle and top of the container doesn’t. 

This is where LĒVO’s silicon-covered magnetic stirrer bean is supposed to come into play, presumably by spinning in place and circulating the oil all around the vessel so that it has ample time to contact the appropriately heated bottom of the unit. 

With my dark green oil, I couldn’t really see if the stirrer was working, so I emptied my LĒVO C and put just tap water in it to easily see if the magnetic stirrer was stirring the liquid inside. 

As you can see, the stirrer does nothing but sit there, which means it’s not circulating the oil around the container. As such, all the oil above the immediate contact zone at the bottom of the jar will not get hot enough to activate. 

After consulting the LĒVO C instructions again, I found that they specifically say the stirrer is “not needed” for the activation cycles and recommend removing it and only adding it for the infusion process. Hmm… okay?

Feeling satisfied that I’d discovered the reason why my LĒVO C wasn’t working, I ground up yet another ounce of cannabis (4 ounces in at this point which, if you were to buy it all at a dispensary, could easily run you $130+) and mixed that flower and the twice-failed LĒVO-provided MCT oil into my Crockpot and set the heat on low and let it run for 4 hours. 

The result was a wonderfully dark and richly infused oil that, with just a tiny squirt—maybe a teaspoon worth—will turn any meal into a space exploratory adventure because of its potency.

The $40 Crockpot is better than the $249.99 dedicated activation and infusion device! 

Why I Wouldn’t Recommend This Infusion Machine

This was quite a deflating performance for the mighty LĒVO C.

The instructions were not clear, the build quality of the silicone lid for the herb pod was not sufficient to maintain its form after just one use, the stirrer didn’t stir shit, and as such, my oil never reached a hot enough temperature to activate enough THCA into THC to impart any noticeable sensation after consumption. 

Even more perplexing, they say not to use the stirrer during the activation process. How else is the entire, tall liter of liquid supposed to heat evenly if the heat source is a small heat pad at the bottom of the glass basin?

Also, the notion that the internal air temperature would heat the full pod better than if it were submerged in a liter of oil doesn’t make sense on activation.

Considering my deflating experience, I cannot recommend the LĒVO C if you’re looking to get into edible making.

Doing a quick search on Reddit, it doesn’t seem I’m alone in these regards, with multiple accounts from various frustrated LĒVO C customers trying to get their infusion machines to work:

• 2 different infusions without effects
• Poor decarboxylation after 2 cycles (dry)
• Glass basin cracking during the activation cycle
• The activation feature flat-out doesn’t work
• Disappointed first-time user (low potency)
• Dry pod not reaching activation temperature threshold
• Glass basin blowing up within 20 seconds of activation cycle

If you’ve got an old, slow cooker lying around, I’d stick with that.

Perhaps the Magical Butter Machine, Ardent FX, or Easy Butter Maker would be better options, although I haven’t tried them. 

As much as I was disappointed by the brand’s failure to perform as advertised, I’m more disappointed in the brand overall.

Clearly, they’ve got some brilliant product designers and marketers on staff, as the machine’s aesthetic and the design work regarding packaging and branding are all lovely. 

Cannabis culture needs to be shared with more people than just the stereotypical headshop stoner demographic, and cute little infusion machines like the LĒVO are a great “olive leaf” in terms of making cannabis (edibles) less scary and more approachable to the layperson. 

Who knows, perhaps the original LĒVO is fantastic. If you check out YouTube, you’ll find tons of rave reviews, but as shared previously, there are also people whose machines don’t seem to work as intended.

Mistakes happen, and sometimes, defective products slip through the cracks. That said, the fact that my oil didn’t activate, the stirrer didn’t stir, and the silicone lid of the infusion basket distorted after the first infusion all point to an overall unrefined product that needs further refinement.

So the moral of this story is to just decarb your cannabis in your oven or in a Crockpot on the cheap instead of going out and buying a dedicated machine at $249.99.

I should have just stuck with what works, as the Crockpot method was ultimately the more reliable and efficient option.

If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!