Drying advice

[vanlee]

Hi everyone (reading this),

I'm having an issue drying my harvest. It's a meager harvest of perhaps two 24x12 trays of trimmed product, the first taken on June 10th and the second taken on the 20th. Each are segregated to their respective trays and are on a rack inside a tupperware container with a squirrel cage fan on one end and roof exhaust port on the other side.

It's a typical dry box: light proof with a constant and good source of air flow without direct blowing on the product. Here's my issue: relative humidity. I have some hygrometers and have tested the room; it stays at about 80f with 77% relative humidity. I have jarred the longer drying product with a hygro and get about the same RH. I know. That's high, but where I live we're in our 'summer,' which tends to be down right subtropical. The now 17-day harvest hovers around the room's humidity with seemingly no ability to drop lower. Having read the harvest/cure stickies I know what my targets are, and the RH at the output of my dehumidifier is a meager 66%.

I have considered bottling my harvest into their cure jars with some dried beans or rice, and that's where I'm at. I don't want to let the harvest slow-dry over the course of several months because that just seems a little ridiculous if not a threat to the potency of the harvest.

What would you do?

Thanks

Points to consider: Basement location 12-20 degrees cooler than outside, consistently through the warm months
De-humidifier rated for the whole basement, not just the room
No dedicated grow area A/C, but A/C supplies the house (at periods throughout the day)
Fresh air/recycling ventilation supplied to room 15 min on/30 min off 24/7

 

[zubey91]

Youre gonna need a better dehumidifier, maybe get a bigger box to dry in, like a uhaul wardrobe bix with a dehumidifer to get it down to 50...ive noticed cardboard pulls moisture out at a slow rate

 

[bass1014]

build a drying box out of plywood or cardboard.. it will take some of the moisture out of the air better then a rubbermaid tub..

 

[vanlee]

Thanks for your advice so far. I do have a concern.

Wouldn't a box made of material meant to soak up water become unable to soak up more water if it's left in a constantly humid environment?

What else would you consider?

 

[GreenSummit]

cardboard is good advice so far- i would also blast the shit out of your AC, that should lower the humidity some too

 

[turnip brain]

Look into desiccant materials. Bulk clay would probably be a good choice, even silica gel. You could dry it in a oven and reuse.

 

[MYOB]

Buy a good dehumidifier now rather than after you have wasted all the time and $ on cheaper solutions.

 

[jamezsr]

you should dry your weed in a dark room in the basement because the light will absorb the THC
just put a fan in the room and close it
you will be fine

 

[dannyboy602]

you should dry your weed in a dark room in the basement because the light will absorb the THC
just put a fan in the room and close it
you will be fine

That's just plain crazy

 

[mrCRC420]

Aim for this. RH: 45-55%, T: 65-75F.

And do what all them weed nerdz said.

 

[jamezsr]

That's just plain crazy

before you type nasty reply
ask yourself this question
did you ever tried to dry your weed the right way ?
for three years i and every one i know even in youtube dry this way or they put their weed in a net and hang it

 

[Sunbiz1]

Why can't this be dried in the A/C as listed under your points?.

 

[vanlee]

Thanks for the information. Again, I appreciate you sharing your ideas.

The air-conditioning consists of two window units running upstairs. The renter is a cheap ass and rarely runs them, so what air I get is what settles into the house from upstairs.

Grow room ventilation replaces room air, but unfortunately that air is not necessarily less humid or cooler. The dehumidifier I have is, as I've said, rated for the whole basement, not just the two rooms in use. It runs continuously and has managed to keep room air at about 70% RH. It's a damp, leaky basement to boot.

Tracking my harvest I noticed that the older stuff is at 63% and the slightly later harvest is at about 70%. It looks as if, in spite of humidity issues, the stuff is drying, albeit slowly.

I am half considering building a dedicated room just for drying, but as noted before I'd really need to put in a small A/C unit and dehumidifier as well. If that were the case, I'd re-route my vents to that room to pull cool/dry air into the growing areas and ozonate the exhaust.

But all these things are pipe dreams really. One step at a time.

 

[Sunbiz1]

Thanks for the information. Again, I appreciate you sharing your ideas.

The air-conditioning consists of two window units running upstairs. The renter is a cheap ass and rarely runs them, so what air I get is what settles into the house from upstairs.

Grow room ventilation replaces room air, but unfortunately that air is not necessarily less humid or cooler. The dehumidifier I have is, as I've said, rated for the whole basement, not just the two rooms in use. It runs continuously and has managed to keep room air at about 70% RH. It's a damp, leaky basement to boot.

Tracking my harvest I noticed that the older stuff is at 63% and the slightly later harvest is at about 70%. It looks as if, in spite of humidity issues, the stuff is drying, albeit slowly.

I am half considering building a dedicated room just for drying, but as noted before I'd really need to put in a small A/C unit and dehumidifier as well. If that were the case, I'd re-route my vents to that room to pull cool/dry air into the growing areas and ozonate the exhaust.

But all these things are pipe dreams really. One step at a time.

If I am at 65 or higher, I'll generally lay buds out on paper plates for a day, then re-jar. That drops it down about 3-5%, true measuring being taken after at least 12 hours back in jars.

Peace

 

[vanlee]

Thanks sunbiz, I'll have to try that as well.

I appreciate all of you taking your time here. I will have a better handle on the issue now that I have a few more arrows in my quiver.


I also made some cycle changes today for my exhaust. I now run it for 45 minutes and turn it off for 15 during 'lights on.' I noticed working around the lights yesterday that a lot of moist air was hanging just above the lights.

Something transpired.