Drying / Curing unit solution

[Tman101]

Hi cannabis enthusiasts,

I’m trying develop a solution for consistent drying and curing as I don’t have a room in the house to dedicate to this so it in the shed under the house, which is harder to control.

Of course there is the cannatrol and vivo sun units but they are expensive.

Looking at a wine fridge conversion anyone built one? A thermoelectric ones goes for 100-200 on marketplace

Thanks

 

[VinDeezle]

All depends on how far you want to go and what standards you have. I don't control environment at all, grow or dry/cure and I've never had any bud with hay tastes or anything. Terps are always off the chain regardless.

Tbh I haven't found any difference in how I grow, dry, store or cure anything as long as I throw it in a Grove bag or use a terplock after the initial 7-8 day dry which can vary anywhere from 20-30c.

As long as I bag it before it's too dry I've never been able to tell any difference, and neither has anyone else over 10 years.

Just remember that most people that have travelled the world for cannabis experience in Morocco, Thailand, Africa and more have stated most of the best smoke they've had was dried under the sun on a tin roof or in a shed in the open. Thats despite most of them being a serious commerical enterprise, or being involved with and growing cannabis for years.

We all need too much control now.

 

[Tman101]

That’s an interesting perspective. I like the idea of being able to close the fridge and knowing it’s stable, plus more stealth than having stinky plants hanging around, I have been using a big mattress box with the inline duct at the bottom and hanging them on string at the top. Controlling the environment through the tent or using the tent as a lung, works ok, they get crispy at the tips though. I try and keep the airflow to a minimum but it a balance with RH and temp.

You are right though, with all the tech available we do want to have everything perfect.

Will be starting. New run this week.

 

[VinDeezle]

That’s an interesting perspective. I like the idea of being able to close the fridge and knowing it’s stable, plus more stealth than having stinky plants hanging around, I have been using a big mattress box with the inline duct at the bottom and hanging them on string at the top. Controlling the environment through the tent or using the tent as a lung, works ok, they get crispy at the tips though. I try and keep the airflow to a minimum but it a balance with RH and temp.

You are right though, with all the tech available we do want to have everything perfect.

Will be starting. New run this week.

Good luck...if you can do it with gear off marketplace it's well worth it in that regards. Some of us spend money on toy soldiers so yea I can't speak haha.

I just like to throw some perspective in here and there as mostly everyone I know is going down the kit, numbers, graphs and tech route but still end up carrying on about my weed like it's on another level, and I don't do any of the shit they do.

Just becomes obvious that the experience doesn't always mirror the amount of effort put in. I've always been fascinated by the psychological side of it all too. It's super interesting. People swear blind they can tell the difference, but I've given people buds force dried on a light and bud cured properly, and no-one could tell any difference at the end of the day. Most of the time the difference is placebo as they know which jar they did what with.

 

[VinDeezle]

Yea I always bag mine on stems a bit early so that outside crispiness gets rehydrated by the moisture in the stems before I jar up. Especially if Its 20% humidity haha.

In that case I'll jar/bag it up well early and burp it down.

 

[Tman101]

I go from box straight to jar but even though they are firm and bouncy and crispy on the ends they RH always shoots up to 80% ish and I panic about mould so I get into in the jag out of the jar and into paper bag cycle. Next time I think they are ready I might do 24hrs in brown shopping single layer then into jars.

 

[Tman101]

Excuse my grammar. #wakenbake

 

[VinDeezle]

I go from box straight to jar but even though they are firm and bouncy and crispy on the ends they RH always shoots up to 80% ish and I panic about mould so I get into in the jag out of the jar and into paper bag cycle. Next time I think they are ready I might do 24hrs in brown shopping single layer then into jars.

Thats usually what I do. I'll throw em in a Coles bag for a few days and they rehydrate.. then when I jar it's about 70%. I'll then burp it down for a bit and when it hits 65% naturally I'll either throw it in a Grove or throw a terplock in there to keep it stable.

I made the mistake of taking everything off the stem/branching too early when I started out and had to rehydrate a few bags.

 

[Goonie Goat]

Yep fully agree with Vin. I reckon with the dry and cure you inevitably start off doing shit the first few times around trying to get it all right, then you master it after a while after trial and error.

Theres honestly lots of bad advice regarding it all like waiting for "stems to snap before jarring", sometimes the buds will dry to a crisp way before the stems even begin to snap (if you don't sweat the buds inbetween) ..

As vin said - you don't necessarily need a fridge, although it would be nice.. You just need to get a feel for it and play it by ear.

If your ambient humidity is low you respond by throwing the drying plants into garbage bags to sweat out the inner moisture.

If your ambient humidity is high then you run a dehumidifier so it can dry properly.

Its just a matter of keeping a balance, which might take a few grows to achieve but that's learning.

 

[Tman101]

Yep fully agree with Vin. I reckon with the dry and cure you inevitably start off doing shit the first few times around trying to get it all right, then you master it after a while after trial and error.

Theres honestly lots of bad advice regarding it all like waiting for "stems to snap before jarring", sometimes the buds will dry to a crisp way before the stems even begin to snap (if you don't sweat the buds inbetween) ..

As vin said - you don't necessarily need a fridge, although it would be nice.. You just need to get a feel for it and play it by ear.

If your ambient humidity is low you respond by throwing the drying plants into garbage bags to sweat out the inner moisture.

If your ambient humidity is high then you run a dehumidifier so it can dry properly.

Its just a matter of keeping a balance, which might take a few grows to achieve but that's learning.

I can control humidity with dehumidifier and humidifier. It’s the summer temps that I need to manage. Maybe a portable AC unit might be better than a fridge and run the 3 units to create stability. Thought about getting a separate tent for this purpose. The room is only 2.7 x 3.4 with low ceilings and no open windows. So AC probably best solution.

 

[turbo]

I dry with a smaller tent with inline fan sucking air through a carbon filter and one small usb fan aimed at along the floor of the tent with buds all hanging on the stem separately without touching.

Always done in 7 days like clockwork unless there’s a period of humid rainy weather in there.

Probably lose some terps without all the fancy equipment but it still gets me ripped