Drying in a food dehydrator at 70 fahrenheit.....?!!
- Thread starter Salah82
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ltecato
Well-Known Member
Just so happens that I just got a dehydrator and plan to use it, mainly on trim that I am drying out for extracts or to make topicals (coconut oil).
I agree that fast-dried buds are not as tasty as the flowers that are just left out to dry at room temp. But I beg to differ with the doomsayers who claim it will absolutely ruin your weed.
Back 30 years ago when I was just farting around with growing in a closet in Texas, I would get impatient and want to sample a few buds to see if the plant had any potential. I was growing from bag seed, so I had absolutely no guarantee that the genetics were desirable. Hell, lot of times I'd smoke leaves, especially if I could not score any dope off the street.
So I invented my own DIY dehydrator using a metal coffee can with a plastic lid, an electric heating pad like what people use for sore muscles and joints (ha ha) and an aquarium air pump. I poked a few holes in the coffee can lid for air flow. Then I put the hose from the air pump through one hole so it would go inside the can, and I put an aquarium "air stone" or aerator on the end to diffuse the air current. Then I wrapped the heating pad around the coffee can and turned on the heat and the air pump. You know it's working when you can smell the stink coming out of the air holes.
I would put a few grams of material in the setup and let it "cook" and aerate overnight. The material would dry out a lot faster than it would at room temperature with no extra air flow. And yes, the taste was usually harsher and it had more chlorophyll, but the effects were approximately the same as the slow-dried herb. So that way, if I had, say five female plants that were heavy into flowering, I could tell ahead of time which ones were potent and which ones were probably going to be disappointing. Usually, out of five plants, one would be a lot better than the other four and there would be a second runner-up that was almost as good and the remaining candidates would be either so-so or worthless.
But I admit, the main reason I did this was because I was low on head stash and wanted something to put in the bong. But it was still helpful for predicting which plants were going to perform better in the THC department.
Midnight Warrior
Well-Known Member
I got that Herbsnow dryer and it works pretty good. By the end of the 4th day the buds were sticky and smelled very good.
Kept a hygrometer in the top tray to monitor RH and by the end of the 4th day and they were at 58%. Jarred the buds up and 24-48 hours later all jars read lower 60s RH.
Only downsides to it are it relies on the ambient RH and can only fit around 4-6 oz in it.
Midnight Warrior
Well-Known Member
This is my first time growing so I have never hung dry. Only reason I gave this thing a try is I live in an apartment and didn't have the space to have buds hanging everywhere and I am glad I did. Soon as my house is built I plan on converting the closet in the garage into a dedicated drying space. Until that time this machine will suffice.
Nizza
Well-Known Member
I am buying one of these to test. I've done everything from hang dry no trim till dry to dry trim hang and paper bags and the inbetweens.
I'll give my own review of how i believe this works and I'm in the northeastern humid climate for this try. I like the idea of this and we will see if it is a gimmick or not I think it is worth a try because I am also lacking space where I live
I'll give my own review of how i believe this works and I'm in the northeastern humid climate for this try. I like the idea of this and we will see if it is a gimmick or not I think it is worth a try because I am also lacking space where I live
Smokesteve
Well-Known Member
I like a fan in the area but not aimed at the buds.
Growing 33 years. Used every thing you can think of including canatrol. I get same result or better from septree commercial dehydrator that adjust down to 70. Won 2 flower competitions and taking 2nd and 3rd in over 10 other competitions using dehydrator. Everyone online reads bro science and takes it as facts and then regurgitate it everywhere like they have actual experience with it. I bet everyone saying not to use dehydrator never has used one.