Vortex's Lab: 4x4 Secondary Garden & Experimental Thread

[multiVortex]

Hey my trimbag should be here tomorrow I’ll post in my journal thoughts to be sure
Nice harvest!
Pleasure to read thanks!
Namaste

Thanks North! Pushing 2lb from an auto run in a 4x4 puts a smile on my face for sure.

The trimbag infor will be great. I’ll be on the lookout for your update!

 

[multiVortex]

** Auto Cure Build Update **

Simple to do. Took longer to gather the pieces and setup to do it than it did to actually make a few buckets. (I made 4 for now.)

There are many ways to do this, but here is how I went about it.



Bucket Parts (per bucket):

• 1 bucket (3.5 or 5 gallon)
• 1 gamma seal lid
• 1 paint strainer/mesh bag (the 5gal bucket ones that are like a big mesh bag with elastic)
• 2 air line check valves
• 1 air line "tee" fitting
• 1 air line coupling fitting (join 2 air tubes together)
• air tubing (1/4" OD, 3/16" ID.... which is normal size)

Equipment Parts:

• air pump (size varies depending on number of buckets
• air distribution manifold (depending on pump size, number of buckets, etc)
• air tubing (lengths depend on number of buckets and distance, etc)
• Outlet timer that can be set in at least 1-minute increments

Tool list:

• Drill
• 5/16" or 15/64" drill bit
• 7/64" drill bit (or something small that can punch a hole in air tubing)
• glue/silicone caulk/sealant

Build Steps:


1. Attach the gamma lid to the bucket.


2. Drill 2 holes with the 5/16 or 15/64 drill bit.

The first hole will be in the side, below where the edge of the gamma lid stops.

The second hole will be 1/2"-1" from the bottom of the bucket.

3. Cut a length of air tubing, about 12"-16" or so. Enough to make a circle at the bottom of the bucket. Connect the two ends to the Tee fitting. (See the very first image in this post.)


4. Switch to the 7/64" bit, or grab what you're going to use to punch holes in the air tubing. With the Tee fitting towards you, place 4 holes in the tubing in an "X" type pattern. BE CAREFUL to ONLY go through the top wall of the tubing, and not all the way through. You want a hole on top, not top and bottom. Go slow, take it easy. Drill slow, punch careful, etc.


5. Cut a short (3/4"-1") piece of air tubing. Connect it to the Tee.


6. Connect the outlet side of the check valve towards Tee.


7. Cut another short length (6" or so) of air tubing, and connect it to the inlet side of the check valve.


8. Run the tubing through the bottom hole, from inside to out, and gently pull through until the check valve gets to the hole. Push the check valve a little to try and plug the hole snugly.


9. Connect the "coupler" to the end of the air tubing on the outside of the bucket.


10. Cut a short (4" or so) length of air tubing, and connect it to the OUTLET side of the second check valve.


11. Pull the tubing through the top hole (from inside to out), and again pull it to where the check valve snugs up into the hole.


12. Once satisfied with the outcome, go ahead and add a little sealant (glue, caulk, flexseal, etc) around the outside of each hole. You could probably add some inside if you really wanted to, but I didn't bother. I may after I see how it runs.

13. Plug air pump into timer, connect manifold (if used), and hook up an airline from there to the BOTTOM line (where the coupler fitting is) of the bucket.


14. Set the timer to run the air pump as needed. Early on it could be twice a day, then on to once a day, then once every 3 or 4, then once a week, etc. From here on out it's like burping jars. Depending on air flow, number of buckets, etc, you'll need to determine the length of time to run the air pump for a decent burp of the bucket.




How it works:

This works by pumping air into the bottom; the check valve keeps it from going back out the bottom. The container (in this case, the bucket) builds a little pressure, which is then released through the top check valve. As this valve is exit only, it keeps air from coming back in from the outside. This shouldn't build much pressure, just enough to bleed out the top check valve. IF you find it builds too much pressure (like using a higher volume pump than you should, but it was what you had or whatever), add a second outflow valve at the top of the bucket to help speed up depressurization.




Things to consider:

a) With placing the buds in a paint strainer, you could put different strains in the same bucket.

b) A 3.5gal bucket should be good for about 1.25lb, give or take. A 5gal should be good for up to 2lb. It all depends on the size of flowers. Fill it like you would jars, about 3/4 of the way full or so.

c) Add one of the big Boveda (or Boost) 67g, 62% packs after the first week.

d) A remote hygrometer can come in handy if you're curious about the RH in a bucket. Open bucket, place the sensor inside, and let it sit a few hours to stabilize. If running several buckets of the same harvest and strain, leaving one in a single bucket would probably be good enough. They should all be fairly close to each other. But you can move it around if you want to.


e) You could also use smaller containers (like half-gallon jars, one gallon jars, etc), but make damn sure it can keep the lid on when air pressurizes the inside during burping. If using glass, BE CAREFUL AF when drilling the holes in the glass. Get a drill bit the is made to drill glass. If you mess up and hurt yourself, that's on you. I'm not responsible for ya.


f) Enjoy not having to burp dozens and dozens of jars!



I'm really looking forward to this setup. I'm even tempted to move the Mx Airlines from 8 quart jars into a bucket instead. However, as it's already been over a week, the daily burps on that should be winding down by the end of the week. If I had a smaller container (there's only 6oz of it) I'd consider doing it, but will leave it where it's at. But those will be the last jars I burp manually!



Note: I am not responsible for anything you may do, or if you break something, hurt yourself, or whatever. This is simply a write-up of how I made mine, with some additional thoughts if I were to do it with different containers. This build was inspired by Derek Gilman. (Watch video here...)

 

[Northern Hydro]

Thanks North! Pushing 2lb from an auto run in a 4x4 puts a smile on my face for sure.

The trimbag infor will be great. I’ll be on the lookout for your update!

I'll try to remember to tag you for sure ,!!! Dhl says by end of day ! Let's hope ..
.I recently did ONE, 4 jar plant and got annoyed , tried the spinner which does a half ass job with semi wet bud , but it's sloppy so I have high expectations for the trim bag with the same 4 jars. It brags that you can do it with dry weed ,whereas the spinner would just grind your bud to dust .

 

[multiVortex]

Agreed. The tumbler works in the same way, just not in a bag, and you turn a crank instead of shaking the bag.

So far, I think the trimpro is at the top of my list. I like how it operates, and that it's only taking what goes below the grate. I think that would be good enough, and I'm (personally) alright with just a hair of sugar leaf. Once it is dried and cured, it really don't make for much difference. The end result is pretty much like trimming the leaf back to the calyx anyway, but maybe 3%-4% more left than with scissors.

I still have a bunch of research to do on it all still, but I'll be pulling the trigger on something in the next few days so it can be in place before I have another full tent to bust.

 

[Northern Hydro]

I’m going to be busy for an hour or so and then I’ll give it a whirl.

The only complaints I have heard is that it ships in original packaging.. DHL repackaged it but it came across the boarder so I have no doubt that customs thinks they know where this item will be used hahaha

I should have bought locally and regret ordering on line .
I will post my experience in my latest journal in about an hour .. namaste !!

 

[multiVortex]

I do have a local option for a bag, so that isn’t terrible. Could probably get it off amazon for about the same. (one of the few things the local store hasn’t jacked the price up a ridiculous amount on yet.)

Still think I’m leaning to the bag as the third option though, but seems like it would still be viable to consider.

 

[multiVortex]

Starting to put together the next run. First on the agenda is to build a small platform to put the Lab on. Some 2x4's on end, 3/8" plywood, screws, and we're good to go. Putting it together will take me about 5 minutes. Already have the wood cut, so we're just peachy on that front.

Getting the tent onto it? Meh, 30 minutes.

OK, maybe another 5 tops.


I would have liked to have gone with 2x6, or even 2x8's on end, but I only have 4.25" of space to work with. Thank you stupid builders and your stupid HVAC trunks. Bastards.

If you're keeping score, I'll have just barely a quarter of an inch clearance. Good enough, I guess. That's 3.5" width of the 2x4, plus 3/8" (11/32", technically) for the ply.

Looks like I have all the pieces I need (I've collected most over the past couple of months), so now it's time to get started. Time is short, so it will probably take a couple weeks of here and there, but it is what it is.

 

[multiVortex]

Alrighty. I think I have a trimmer decision.

I'm going to think it over just a little more, but last night I think I came to the decision on the small Tom's Tumbler. (TTT 1600 handcrank model.)

For a mechanical trimmer, it's about as gentle as you can get.

This particular model it rated for 0.5-1.0lbs of flower per batch. It does go by size more than weight, and you're supposed to fill it no closer than 2" below the axle.

That's all fine and dandy, but where I had a concern was on a smaller run. Like an auto that popped out 1/4lb, or maybe 1/3 of a pound. It says a 1/2lb minimum, but recommends a 3/4 minimum if possible. Again, still keeping in line with the fill level.

So this was my main concern initially. Then I thought it through. I've seen people making DIY versions, and while I have the skills to do it, time is short. But it did give me an idea. Why not make a divider? Cut a circle with a diameter the same as the drum ends, put a hole in the middle for the axle, then cut it in half so it can go on without having to take the machine apart?

And there we go. Problem solved. So for smaller batches that's what I'll do.



To be perfectly honest here, the trimpro was (obviously) at the top of my list initially. Overall it fits best with my current routines. However the biggest thing I kept seeing was that things get sticky. Not just the blades, not just the sides, but everything does since it has a fan to blow/suck down into the collection area. That means a ton of cleaning, and taking the whole thing apart to get down into the motor axle, and all that kind of shit.

This is where I started looking at the tumbler a bit harder, ran across the batch size issue, thought it through, etc.


And here we are.


The trimbag would be an option too, but honestly if part of the reason is to save the ol shoulders, the trimbag wouldn't quite do it. While this tumbler does have a handcrank, it shouldn't be too terrible to slowly turn it for a few minutes. Not great, but not horrible. I could upgrade and get a motor for it, and I may do that later down the road. For now though, this looks to be the better compromise for what I need.

I'd love to get something fancy schmancy (like a green bros or a centurion pro), but I wasn't willing to drop anything near $3k for a damn trim machine. Coming in at $400, I think this will do just nicely. If I want to upgrade it later, I can.



I did look at other crazy contraptions, like the auto scissor/shaver types. I figured you would probably spend as much time cleaning those as you would trimming, what with gummed up blades and all. Not to mention if you sneeze or something you could trash a nice bud.


This will take an adjustment to the process, and I'll be switching to dry trimming. What I'm a tick confused on is they say you want your "internal moisture" to be about 5%-10%, where the outside leaves are crispy. Seems like that would be bad, m-kay? You know, what with curing and 63% and all that shit. But maybe that's an internal moisture percentage, and not what the RH value ends up being.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯



Maybe I'm misinterpreting it though. It says chop plant at base and hang to dry. Should take 4-5 days at 70F/50%RH. So that seems like it should pretty much fall in line with normal practice for a dry, trim, then cure.


Either way, this is most likely what I'll order up. Rigging the separator won't be hard. I'll have to see the actual size once it gets here. It may be something as simple as a bucket lid would work. Even better. Other than that, just a way to keep the two halves together, and then attach it to the axle so it spins. I guess it wouldn't really need to spin, but I wouldn't want the netting to get frayed from it not spinning around.

Not that it looks like I'll need the separator any time soon, as the next batch I'll be trimming next month should be about 1/2lb per plant anyway.

Although that does make me think that if I needed to trim two different, small batch strains at one time, it would be possible with the divider in place. So I guess there's that option as well.


Trimming aside, I did a little measuring and figuring last night. I don't really need to put the tent on a platform to raise it up. The pipe comes out of the tent and hits the res just right. Figuring about a 1" drop over a 4ft-5ft span is plenty (which it is so water runs in desired direction), that puts the pipe right about the top of the milk crates I have.

Here's where a slight fork in the road lies though. I most likely will need to put those crates (or the buckets) up another 2"-3", or I can just put the tent on the damn platform. Not sure which would be better. I say this as there really isn't much room to wiggle with on the height of the drain pipe, and once I factor in the height of the individual bucket drains, it may be a close call. Although I guess the easiest thing would be to just put the platform inside, and make it two pieces. One across the front, one across the back. Whatever, I'll figure something out I'm sure.

Anywho, gotta get back to things and keep on goin.

 

[multiVortex]

Tumbler ordered. They claim if you order before 3pm Pacific Time they ship out the same day. We'll see. Either way, it will be here in time to get put to work next month.

 

[multiVortex]

Well, it's true. At least it is today. Just got a notification a few minutes ago that it's shipping out. I'm guessing it will be here Monday, since it's UPS ground.

 

[multiVortex]

Lemmy is dry, and just right in just over 4 days to move into the next phase.

Final dry weight.....









17.25oz (490g)

Green Crack:​	2.87oz
Six Shooter:​	3.85oz
Blue Dream:​	4.23oz
Mexican Airlines:​	6.04oz
Super Lemon Haze	17.25oz
	------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 34.24oz (971g)

Grams/watt: 1.942





So there is now two 3.5gal buckets, plugged up to air lines and getting burped automagically for 15min every day. Will add a humidipak (67g, 62%) in a week. I did add one of my remote hygrometers to one of the buckets to keep an eye on things.


I have to admit, I'm pretty stoked at Lemmy breaching the 1lb mark. I was thinking around 12oz, but damn she pulled a nice surprise.

 

[multiVortex]

Had a test nug of the Green Crack last night. She's cured a full 5 weeks so far, so almost there.

She was excellent. Very nice "get shit done" type buzz. Still has that creeper trait, so that's nice. (I like a good creeper now and then. )


Six and Blue have been curing for 3 weeks, but have not had a test of those yet. They're just now starting to express their terpene profiles, so maybe I'll try them this weekend. I'm not really in a hurry for them, but you know how curiosity is.

The Mexican Airlines is just into her 3rd week of curing, but coming along well.

Then of course, Lemmy started the cure process yesterday. For the first few days I'll be keeping an eye on her and turning the auto-burp on manually as/if/when needed.

I've been thinking over a way to use one of the mini hygrometers on each bucket, but so far haven't found a viable option. The best (and I use that term loosely) I've come up with was to cut a hole in the lid, and then glue/seal it in place. Other option would be one with a sensor probe, but haven't got that far. A wire through a hole would be easier to seal though.


Anyway, just a fair warning that it's going to be a bit boring up in here for the next week or two as I switch things over to get ready for the next run.

 

[multiVortex]

Yes. Yes we do know how curiosity is.

Just puffed up some of the Six Shooter. She’s cured for 3 weeks, and almost smooth. Still just a tick harsh, and by that I mean ever so slight of an edge to her. Maybe 5% left to go there.


Effects started to kick in after about 5 min, and slowly building. Will let it go and update tomorrow.

For where she is in the cure, I’m not expecting to be fully blown away. I’m expecting her to be pretty decent though, about a 7 or 8 out of 10.

 

[Pennywise]

Should be an excellent strain.

 

[multiVortex]

Well, it's tomorrow. So how was the Six?


She did pretty well. Took about 30min to really get set in, and it was pretty much what I was expecting from her, that good indica numb feeling. Watched the tube for half an hour or so and off to sleep. Slept really well and did the trick. Once fully cured she’ll be on point.


This evening I’ll try the Blue.

 

[Pennywise]

Good to hear the Six is a good one, we can all use better sleep.

 

[multiVortex]

She's pretty nice. I know where she's at now, and what she should become. I was highly unmotivated, maybe even into a bit of couch lock, but not quite to that "completely stupid" level. More along the lines of "moderately ignorant," but still semi-functional if you can find the motivation.

I couldn't. So I watched some South Park and conked out.

 

[Pennywise]

Comfortably dumb lol

 

[multiVortex]

Well that’s one way to put it.

 

[multiVortex]

Swapped a sample of the Green Crack with someone the other day and have a report back. To quote, “high as giraffe pussy.”


Well, alrighty then. Guess she came out ok then.


Just took a wee taste of the Blue Dream. Not quite there yet, only about halfway through the cure (same as with Six), but she’s already pretty nice. Maybe 7.5 or 8 out of 10. About the same level of smoothness as Six.

It’s Blue Dream alright. Exactly what you would expect for effect.





Got started on the plumbing for the next run. Have the return and supply lines plumbed for the res, as well as the anti-siphon valve. Probably don’t really need it, but better safe than sorry I suppose.

Next up will be the internal portion of the return line, and then the supply. Using the floraflex manifold and flow valve.

Next weekend I'll also be switching the exhaust back to just the Lab. Picked up a 4” fan for the Dev Lab, and will hook that up next weekend as well. That will help on a lot of things.