DIY dryer

[grass hopper]

Honestly,,nothing much. I string dried mine in my storage room many times. The box i used in Florida because it was more stealth. Although I will say the ones in the box seem to dry faster.
Pic of String Dried...http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=195272&d=1347798704
Pic of box,,the hole in the front is for the computer fan.

i keep reading, the slower the dry, the better. dinafem suggests increasing room or area from 50% rh., 1st couple days to 60% after, to slow dn. drying. slower the better while avoiding mold. does make some sense.

 

[grass hopper]

I use a thermostatically controlled fan, with variable speed control, and 2 light bulbs for heat...I keep it 72 deg, and takes about 3 days to dry, mine does 6 lb. (dry weight) at a time.

Each rack is 40"x24"...1/4"x1/4" square poly screen, same racks I use in my air dry system

What's up Pup ?

quite a setup. semipro anyway. from ur pic, i see a much larger screen size than i was gonna use. i have to draw thru 7 or 8 layers of screen covered with buds. gonna get larger screen openings, maybe 1/8 inch if can find. thanks for that

 

[Hushpuppy]

Hey Bwanabud that's a nice drying rack ya got there. I see you have the big rack and then the smaller box with the lights in it. If you don't mind explaining, what is your process on using those?

 

[bwanabud]

quite a setup. semipro anyway. from ur pic, i see a much larger screen size than i was gonna use. i have to draw thru 7 or 8 layers of screen covered with buds. gonna get larger screen openings, maybe 1/8 inch if can find. thanks for that

What I found through multiple experiments, was that the smaller/finer screen inhibited air flow. this lack of air flow+more bud/screen contact causes mold. The settling/collapsing nature of a bud(meaning flat spots) during it's drying period, caused mold on %80 of the bottom of bud...your mileage may vary.

Hey Bwanabud that's a nice drying rack ya got there. I see you have the big rack and then the smaller box with the lights in it. If you don't mind explaining, what is your process on using those?

Hi Pup, hope you are well friend....
The large racks were originally built for my outdoor grows, I had 500 plants to cycle at a time...I have since switched to all indoor, because of mold/bug/deer/ripper/Leo concerns.

I have 2 large racks > each rack is 8'x2' floor space > each rack has 22 shelves > each shelf = 6.6 sq. ft > 6.6 sq. ft x 22 shelves = 145 sq ft > 145 sq ft x 2 racks = 290 sq ft...so in a 32 sq ft of floor space = 290 sq ft of drying space available.

When you have large grows, being able to manage the sheer volume of harvested plants is the problem...they take up a lot of room. Considering %70 of the cut plants weight is water, the sooner you can process the raw material...and remove the water...the sooner your mold concerns are over. There is a fine line between slowly drying(risking mold), and drying too fast(risk harsh taste)...and getting the harvested product out of the way for new plants to come in for trim. All of this juggling is stopping the new plants from hitting the 12/12 flip, because their seats are taken

So my system works like this:
1)Chop plant/plants
2)Strip main leave and give rough trim
3)Cut buds off, and label strain to individual shelves on rack
4)Allow to dry naturally for 2 days & give final trim
4a)Or ambient conditions don't allow for good drying(too cold/too humid/too much product), insert into controlled drying box.

The light bulbs in the drying box are adjusted by wattage(40w, 60w, 75w, 100w)to control box temp at 10 degrees above ambient...along with auto controls, I can stay in a 3 degree temperature range 24 hrs a day.

Obviously I run larger scale than most, cycling 40x600w HPS lites in 3 stages, non-stop 12 months a year...so getting the "bulk" out of the way, is my biggest challenge.

Hope that answers your question.

 

[grass hopper]

What I found through multiple experiments, was that the smaller/finer screen inhibited air flow. this lack of air flow+more bud/screen contact causes mold. The settling/collapsing nature of a bud(meaning flat spots) during it's drying period, caused mold on %80 of the bottom of bud...your mileage may vary.



Hi Pup, hope you are well friend....
The large racks were originally built for my outdoor grows, I had 500 plants to cycle at a time...I have since switched to all indoor, because of mold/bug/deer/ripper/Leo concerns.

I have 2 large racks > each rack is 8'x2' floor space > each rack has 22 shelves > each shelf = 6.6 sq. ft > 6.6 sq. ft x 22 shelves = 145 sq ft > 145 sq ft x 2 racks = 290 sq ft...so in a 32 sq ft of floor space = 290 sq ft of drying space available.

When you have large grows, being able to manage the sheer volume of harvested plants is the problem...they take up a lot of room. Considering %70 of the cut plants weight is water, the sooner you can process the raw material...and remove the water...the sooner your mold concerns are over. There is a fine line between slowly drying(risking mold), and drying too fast(risk harsh taste)...and getting the harvested product out of the way for new plants to come in for trim. All of this juggling is stopping the new plants from hitting the 12/12 flip, because their seats are taken

So my system works like this:
1)Chop plant/plants
2)Strip main leave and give rough trim
3)Cut buds off, and label strain to individual shelves on rack
4)Allow to dry naturally for 2 days & give final trim
4a)Or ambient conditions don't allow for good drying(too cold/too humid/too much product), insert into controlled drying box.

The light bulbs in the drying box are adjusted by wattage(40w, 60w, 75w, 100w)to control box temp at 10 degrees above ambient...along with auto controls, I can stay in a 3 degree temperature range 24 hrs a day.

Obviously I run larger scale than most, cycling 40x600w HPS lites in 3 stages, non-stop 12 months a year...so getting the "bulk" out of the way, is my biggest challenge.

Hope that answers your question.

semipro, my bad. wow bud, damn. NICE

 

[grass hopper]

I use a thermostatically controlled fan, with variable speed control, and 2 light bulbs for heat...I keep it 72 deg, and takes about 3 days to dry, mine does 6 lb. (dry weight) at a time.

Each rack is 40"x24"...1/4"x1/4" square poly screen, same racks I use in my air dry system

What's up Pup ?

6 lbs. on the big pvc rack, right?? not in smaller light box. where did u find the poly screen?? lights run always?? therm fan runs only when too warm, correct??

pup, really good explanation on curing, drying.