DrZiggy's Low And Slow Drying: Maximizing Your Harvest

Trala said:
Thank you so much. And it does :)

I don’t think I can safely go 14 days without over drying tho. But I will try. Once bags are at 35% I’m snorting the mission. Loll

Thanks again Scooby :)
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I think the trick is to NOT open the bags very often. Just gently shake / tumble a bit to reduce flat spots. Several times I thought I dried out too crispy, however after a few hours sealed in the jar at room temp the humidity went over 65% and I ended up moving back into bags in the fridge.

Good luck!
 
GratefulBud said:
I think the trick is to NOT open the bags very often. Just gently shake / tumble a bit to reduce flat spots. Several times I thought I dried out too crispy, however after a few hours sealed in the jar at room temp the humidity went over 65% and I ended up moving back into bags in the fridge.

Good luck!
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Thank you :)

OMG I discovered yesterday all my humidity thingys read different temps.

I have been opening twice. Read thingy, shake it, back in.

It is looking so beautiful. It’s kept its green.

:)
 
How about using a chest freezer controlled by an Inkbird? I am wondering if there is a difference in technology to consider. Wasn't part of the mechanism of this process working due to the fact that a refrig actually removes humidity? As far as I know there is no difference in operation of Refrig vs freezer other than set point. A refrigerator or freezer fan are only for air movement within the space to keep temps consistent, so seems like a small fan inside the drying space of a chest freezer would have the same effect. I would just put the setpoint at 40 deg.
 
birdinaz said:
How about using a chest freezer controlled by an Inkbird?
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If it's frost free and you set it above freezing, it's just a fridge! :)
 
Hey guys..I stumbled upon this thread yesterday and am voraciously stuffing it all into my brain. I'm only up to page 18, but planning to read it's entirety over the coming days. Trouble for me is I'm quickly coming up to harvest here. I do have a small bar fridge I could use, but it is not frost free. Is this a complete no go then for this method? Anyone else using non-frost free? Should I cancel the thoughts of trying this until I have frost free?

Any help appreciated, in the meantime I'll continue reading!
 
BadBeerBreath said:
Hey guys..I stumbled upon this thread yesterday and am voraciously stuffing it all into my brain. I'm only up to page 18, but planning to read it's entirety over the coming days. Trouble for me is I'm quickly coming up to harvest here. I do have a small bar fridge I could use, but it is not frost free. Is this a complete no go then for this method? Anyone else using non-frost free? Should I cancel the thoughts of trying this until I have frost free?

Any help appreciated, in the meantime I'll continue reading!
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I think drying a large amount in a fridge that’s not frost free could be a challenge.

Maybe just start with a small amount.
 
Yeah, I've had it on all day with thermostat and hygrometer inside. I think it'd be too risky. For one, there's zero air flow, and the humidity is just all over the map. From 20%, all the way up to 77%, depending whether it's in cooling mode or not.

Too bad. I was quite excited about trying this. Looks like I'll continue doing the tried and true, hanging in closet method, at least for now.
 
BadBeerBreath said:
Yeah, I've had it on all day with thermostat and hygrometer inside. I think it'd be too risky. For one, there's zero air flow, and the humidity is just all over the map. From 20%, all the way up to 77%, depending whether it's in cooling mode or not.

Too bad. I was quite excited about trying this. Looks like I'll continue doing the tried and true, hanging in closet method, at least for now.
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Hey my humidity was all over the shop too. I shook em up twice daily.

I reckon just do a couple of nugs.
 
BadBeerBreath said:
I might just try a few. Then if no issues, I'll have a good side by side comparison.
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Exactly.

And they smoke different. I always do both a fridge dry and a line dry. Look I say always. I did it once. But going forward I’ll always do both. Lollll
 
BadBeerBreath said:
Yeah, I've had it on all day with thermostat and hygrometer inside. I think it'd be too risky. For one, there's zero air flow, and the humidity is just all over the map. From 20%, all the way up to 77%, depending whether it's in cooling mode or not.
Too bad. I was quite excited about trying this. Looks like I'll continue doing the tried and true, hanging in closet method, at least for now.
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Somebody here had a mini fridge and I think it helped them if they opened the door a few times a day. Just a vague memory but you might be able to find a reference to it here. Might have been @GratefulBud ?
 
InTheShed said:
Somebody here had a mini fridge and I think it helped them if they opened the door a few times a day. Just a vague memory but you might be able to find a reference to it here. Might have been @GratefulBud ?
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Hiya Shed!

I have a small fridge that I modified and added a fan inside for air movement. Most full size refrigerators already have an evaporator fan inside. For the first few days I open once per day and gently shake the bags, and check humidity and temp (NOT inside the paper bags but just the RH of the fridge).

If the humidity goes high - over 60% - I would say yeah open the door several times per day - just for about ten seconds. This will raise temps slightly but that's ok; more importantly it will force the compressor to turn on and THAT will remove moisture. Regular cycling on and off helps to remove moisture. If the compressor does not cycle frequently the humidity could rise.

People think the inside of a fridge is a humid place - it is not. A typical fridge is under 20% RH depending on contents. Although the crisper compartment should be avoided as humidity could rise too much in the small confined space.

Here is my fridge:

Fridge bags

Fridge bags


I added a digital temp controller set to come on at 46F and turn off at 42F. So it cycles frequently. Works just fine for about 5-6 finished ounces of flower. More than that I have to put several bags in another fridge.

For what I gather, the perfect conditions for drying are 60% RH and 60F, with slight air movement (fan not blowing on buds). Inside a fridge you get close to that but lower temps - which extends the drying time. Ideal conditions inside the fridge would be 30-50% RH and 38 to 45F.

If you're like me and do not have access to a temperature controlled room / tent, the refrigerator dry is the way to go!
 
BadBeerBreath said:
Yeah, I've had it on all day with thermostat and hygrometer inside. I think it'd be too risky. For one, there's zero air flow, and the humidity is just all over the map. From 20%, all the way up to 77%, depending whether it's in cooling mode or not.

Too bad. I was quite excited about trying this. Looks like I'll continue doing the tried and true, hanging in closet method, at least for now.
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Hiya Beer Breath!

You should be OK with a small fridge with no fan inside. As long as the temps stay under 50F you should be good. Open the bags once or twice per day the first few days and gently shake around. You'll see they are still very moist but that's OK. After the first 3-4 days resist the temptation to open the bags every day; let them stay just a bit humid and only open the bags once every 3-4 days.

Mine are fully dried after about 14-18 days. They feel crispy dry right after you place in a jar (handle with care), but after a few hours at room temp the humidity slowly rises to around 65% (sealed in jar). Burp jar a few times a day to get the humidity down around 62% and you are golden.

The paper bags help to slow the release of moisture - which helps retain the terpene profile. The low temps help prevent mold. My latest batch smokes really smooth. The only down side I have observed with fridge dry is you lose a bit of the skunky aroma (although I also do a 4 bucket wash and that may contribute as well).

I encourage you to give Low and Slow a try!
 
So I washed my buds, shook excess water off and set them on a rack with a fan in low humidity AZ in my garage for 4 hours. I didn't see signs of remaining water, so I chose the wide mouth jar and mesh screen method and put them in my chest freezer with inkbird set at 42. They have been in there for four days and I have a Govee bluetooth humidity sensor. I did not open the freezer until today. Humidity with the moist buds in there has averaged about 70%, but that is calculated. It cycles between 50 and 80 as the compressor turns on and off to cool the freezer down.

I took a jar out today and sealed a sensor in it. I let the jar come to room temp before putting sensor in. The humidity jumped to 99% in about a half an hour. I just added a fan after that. It is blowing gently over the tops of the jars. I am just wondering if perhaps I didn't get all the water off or if this sounds normal. Should I dry in open air with a fan to make sure all the moisture from washing is gone or do you think I am good?

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birdinaz said:
They have been in there for four days and I have a Govee bluetooth humidity sensor. I did not open the freezer until today
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That's definitely not what's recommended in the thread or what GB mentioned above:
GratefulBud said:
Open the bags once or twice per day the first few days and gently shake around.
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If I had buds at 99% RH for four days I'd be worried I must say.
 
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