# Finally got my drying tent together.



## Hackerman

I have been wanting to do this for some time but never had the room or time to get it done.

Well, I really wanted to improve the taste of my smoke so I put together what I believe to be a pretty close to perfect environment for curing and drying.

Pretty simple. A carbon filter with a small duct fan controls odor and pulls air out of the tent.

Fresh air is brought in through the static screen vents in the tent. I have a room humidifier inside the tent that keeps the RH at 60%. I really wanted 65% but it only goes to 60%. LOL It has a built in control so if it drops below, the humidifier turns on. When it reaches 60%, it turns off.

I have an oscillating fan blowing against the walls (not directly on any buds).

I have a standard mesh drying rack and a series of clippy hangers that will hold about 20 colas.

My harvests are usually 9 to 16 plants and about a pound each time. A simple or small drying cabinet is just too small. I had an old freezer but why haul all that weight around. The tent seems to be just about right. It's a 3x5 and holds the 6 tier mesh drying rack, a hanging system for about 20 large colas, the humidifier and the filter setup. Should be just about right for my average harvest.

I always dried everything too fast since the house is usually more like 20% RH. I have a couple test colas and some buds on the rack to test it out. They have been in there about 3 days. Usually, in 3 days, my pot would be a crispy as a cracker. These colas feel more like pipe tobacco. I am watching closely for mold or other problems.

I figure about 8 days at 70F and 60%RH should be about right. The longer the better as far as I'm concerned. 

I'll post any good or bad news as I discover it. I have a new harvest coming in a couple weeks so I 'll be able to test it. 

View attachment dryingtent.jpg


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## RubyRed

looks nice


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## mindtrip

Man, that looks pretty sweet! Congratulations on your hard work paying off. Let us know how it does!


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## Rosebud

Sounds perfect to me Hackerman, I don't that that 5% humidity difference will make a difference.. Can't wait to see how this does.. I am always so exhausted after my outdoor harvest I am not good at drying and curing.  Keep us posted. Eight days huh?


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## KSL

Wow nicely done!  That sounds like it's gonna do the trick, good luck with it.


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## Hackerman

Well, I put 6 Satori in the tent last night and there is ZERO smell. I must say, these carbon filters really work.

We'll see how the actual drying goes in the next week. I am going to be watching real real close for mold. Should be OK at 60%.

From what I have read, the low end is 55%. Once it dries below that, certain terpenes are lost forever and can not be "re-hydrated" back using water, bread, fruit or whatever.

So, keep it above 55%.

Once it is stable at 60% (I am thinking 5 or 6 days but, I guess the longer the better, right?), it will get put in Ball jars with Boveda 62-65% packs to cure for a few months. Opened occasionally to check on the bouquet.

Sound about right?

I wonder how the pot would cure in wood or some container other than glass. And, I wonder what it would be like if I tossed some fresh peppermint leaves in with it.

EDIT: Maybe some Kona coffee beans?


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## Rosebud

I really need to up my game on this Hackerman and you have brought it to my attention. 
So whats the deal with the boveda? I put mine in jars after hanging too long in a dry area, no humidity really, and open daily for 2 weeks, then once a week, and i bet my terpines are being lost, dead, deceased, no more, caput. Thanks for making me feel guilty. LOL


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## Hackerman

If I remember right, that was the topic that actually brought me to MP...

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54451

It's a little outdated now but most of it still applies.


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## Hackerman

A little Velcro and the hygrometer sticks right to the Can outer filter. LOL I have one on each rack and also a remote sender that sends temp and humidity to the receiver on my desk.

Some of the buds on the screen hanging rack were getting a little dry already along the edges. So, I gathered them together a little more to keep it even throughout (as much as I can).

Last few shots are the Pheno#1's that have about 18 more days. They look a lot happier with those other monsters out of the room. The lower bud development on this pheno is amazing. I am going to have an awesome batch of Satori bubble hash. Very green, this pheno. Even under the HPS light they still look green.LOL 

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## KSL

I tried those boveda packs a couple years ago, they're sweet!  My drying process leaves a lot to be desired but those packs helped a ton when I did jar everything up, my place is pretty dry and my bud gets crispy fast.

Nice looking bud BTW


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## Hushpuppy

Hackerman: I think you need to turn off the fan on the inside as the faster moving air will cause the buds to "crisp" up. I also would recommend that you run the exhaust fan on a timer so that you can allow the buds to dry slower. 

The problem is the space within the tent is basically an air bubble that will try to equalize the moisture pressure between the air and the moist buds. As the moisture is stripped away from the plant material into the air, the evaporation process slows down more and more until it stops. The bigger that air bubble is, the more it can draw away from the material at the higher speed, which is increased by the air movement. This rapid evaporation is what causes the buds to get crisp before they are sufficiently "dry". 

In a smaller air bubble, the air will saturate faster and slow down the evaporation sooner. This allows the bud/leaf material to equalize the moisture within to the edges and pores for easier evaporation without the edges getting crispy (and too often trapping wet chlorophyll which will stay green longer).

In your case, you can't decrease the size of the tent. the next best thing is to cut off the exhaust fan and only turn it on for 5minutes per hour. This will allow the 60+% humidity in the air bubble to evaporate for 55mins then the fan comes on and sucks out that air bubble and sucks in a new bubble.


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## Hackerman

You are exactly right and that's exactly what happened. LOL Nice call.

I noticed today that some of the buds (especially on the lower rack) were drying way too quickly so I turned the inside fan off right away.

I will put the exhaust fan on a timer tomorrow. It may be too late for this batch but I have another harvest coming in about 2 weeks and I will definitely do it your way from the beginning, this time. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks, very much.


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## lyfespan

Hushpuppy said:


> Hackerman: I think you need to turn off the fan on the inside as the faster moving air will cause the buds to "crisp" up. I also would recommend that you run the exhaust fan on a timer so that you can allow the buds to dry slower.
> 
> The problem is the space within the tent is basically an air bubble that will try to equalize the moisture pressure between the air and the moist buds. As the moisture is stripped away from the plant material into the air, the evaporation process slows down more and more until it stops. The bigger that air bubble is, the more it can draw away from the material at the higher speed, which is increased by the air movement. This rapid evaporation is what causes the buds to get crisp before they are sufficiently "dry".
> 
> In a smaller air bubble, the air will saturate faster and slow down the evaporation sooner. This allows the bud/leaf material to equalize the moisture within to the edges and pores for easier evaporation without the edges getting crispy (and too often trapping wet chlorophyll which will stay green longer).
> 
> In your case, you can't decrease the size of the tent. the next best thing is to cut off the exhaust fan and only turn it on for 5minutes per hour. This will allow the 60+% humidity in the air bubble to evaporate for 55mins then the fan comes on and sucks out that air bubble and sucks in a new bubble.



burping the tent


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## Hushpuppy

Precisely Lifespan  That's cool how that works. I learned that one the hard way as well. You will have to play with it some each time you harvest as different plants and different amounts of harvest will change the parameters of the drying. Sometimes you will have to turn the exhaust fan up on the timing, or down to control the speed of drying. There's no set rule of thumb on that.


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## Hackerman

Well, I already screwed the pooch on this batch so I jarred it up today with some 65 Boveda packs. We'll see how much it re-hydrates by tomorrow. I don't expect too much.

You said I should delete the oscillating fan in the bottom of the tent. OK, I'm with you on that one.

However, do you think it would be a good idea to have the oscillating fan come on for the 5 or 10 minutes each hour with the exhaust fan? Just to make sure all the stale air hiding in the corners is flushed out each hour when the exhaust fan is turned on?

Anything I should do to help preclude mold from forming? Maybe something in the humidifier water?

Thanks again.

EDIT: Well, once again, I was oh so wrong.... LOL Only a couple hours after jarring the colas, I went back and every jar was over 80%. Most were 90%+. So, I guess they weren't as done as I thought. Good news, anyway.

I laid them back out on the racks until tomorrow.


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## Joe420Camel

.

it unbelievable how much moisture is stored in there.
my last batch was crispy dry due to a mistake on my part.
(I use my flower section to dry, turned the light on to show the wife... forgot to turn it off.  about 20 hours.

Jarred it up with 62% packs and not much hope...
next day you'd thought someone who knew what they were doing had prepared them.

we just need to practice a LOT more  
(cali-o is 2 days down and sooo wet still )

:48:


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## lyfespan

Hackerman said:


> Well, I already screwed the pooch on this batch so I jarred it up today with some 65 Boveda packs. We'll see how much it re-hydrates by tomorrow. I don't expect too much.
> 
> You said I should delete the oscillating fan in the bottom of the tent. OK, I'm with you on that one.
> 
> However, do you think it would be a good idea to have the oscillating fan come on for the 5 or 10 minutes each hour with the exhaust fan? Just to make sure all the stale air hiding in the corners is flushed out each hour when the exhaust fan is turned on?
> 
> Anything I should do to help preclude mold from forming? Maybe something in the humidifier water?
> 
> Thanks again.
> 
> EDIT: Well, once again, I was oh so wrong.... LOL Only a couple hours after jarring the colas, I went back and every jar was over 80%. Most were 90%+. So, I guess they weren't as done as I thought. Good news, anyway.
> 
> I laid them back out on the racks until tomorrow.



distilled or Ro in the humidifier nothing else


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## Hackerman

lyfespan said:


> distilled or Ro in the humidifier nothing else



Really? How come?

I don't have RO and probably won't be buying distilled in the quantity I need. I do let all my water sit out 48 hours before using.


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## lyfespan

Hackerman said:


> Really? How come?
> 
> I don't have RO and probably won't be buying distilled in the quantity I need. I do let all my water sit out 48 hours before using.



build up in the machine


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## Hackerman

I have not had much luck finding a timer that will go on and off every hour as I need. I did find some Autopilot Recycling timers at about $60-80 but nothing on the low end.

Any suggestions on a decent timer that will fill my needs?

Thanks again.


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## lyfespan

Hackerman said:


> I have not had much luck finding a timer that will go on and off every hour as I need. I did find some Autopilot Recycling timers at about $60-80 but nothing on the low end.
> 
> Any suggestions on a decent timer that will fill my needs?
> 
> Thanks again.



second cycle timers, and there's tons of cheap ones out there on amazon. was just discussing this elsewhere too

heres a start point [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Century-Period-Repeat-Timer-Operation/dp/B0184CG9K0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_60_8?ie=UTF8&dpID=415HFnagonL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=1G2T4CBVV04KB9JRSMZJ"]http://www.amazon.com/Century-Period-Repeat-Timer-Operation/dp/B0184CG9K0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_60_8?ie=UTF8&dpID=415HFnagonL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=1G2T4CBVV04KB9JRSMZJ[/ame]


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## Hushpuppy

These are what I use: [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-TM01015-Grounded-Timer-1725/dp/B0055F53HK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1460935550&sr=8-3&keywords=hydrofarm+timer[/ame]

Pull out all of the black pins and the timer stays off. Push in 1 pin for every 15min you want power on.


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## Hackerman

Thanks again for all the help, gang. The intermittent timer is working great. This last Satori harvest has been in the tent for 8 days and there is still no sign of "crunchiness" on the outside of the buds. Especially the colas.  I believe they are sufficiently dry but there no outter crunch and the buds are nice and "spongey"

I am going to jar some of it today at 69 Rh and see if it rehydrates. My guess is that it's about done and should stay pretty stable from here on. I'll find out in the next 24 hours.

Thanks again. I did take a couple samples the other day and the aroma is way way better than anything I have done yet. The taste is still up in the air but it's nice and smooth so I hope it will cure well. We'll see in 3 or 4 months.

Once again, thanks for the tips. They paid off.


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## johnnybuds

Hackerman said:


> A little Velcro and the hygrometer sticks right to the Can outer filter. LOL I have one on each rack and also a remote sender that sends temp and humidity to the receiver on my desk.
> 
> Some of the buds on the screen hanging rack were getting a little dry already along the edges. So, I gathered them together a little more to keep it even throughout (as much as I can).
> 
> Last few shots are the Pheno#1's that have about 18 more days. They look a lot happier with those other monsters out of the room. The lower bud development on this pheno is amazing. I am going to have an awesome batch of Satori bubble hash. Very green, this pheno. Even under the HPS light they still look green.LOL


:dancing::48:


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## oldfogey8

nice thread. just reading this now though it is over a year old. love the bubble of air part. makes a lot of sense. hackerman - how did the 65% rh work out? screwed the pooch on my last grow as well as the dry. had a fan blowing on the buds and they crisped up in a couple of days. the flowers wound up on the harsh side(not sure if it was the dry or the non-organic nutes along with major nute lockout at the end of flower). will be chopping my current flowers in a week or so and want to slow dry them like they should be. thanks...


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