Mini fridge drying setup attempt with "lotus drying method". Please tell me if this is a dumb idea or not. Details on fridge included.

[neneboob]

So, it's getting hot, and it's only going to get hotter. Our grow setup is getting up to 80F already though so we are getting worried about drying in there. I've seen the "lotus drying method" is pretty popular, but I'm not seeing much info on if I'm an idiot for using a mini-fridge or not. This fridge is a manual defrost, so it's not a "frost free" model which is very clearly what I've seen recommended. I'm hoping we can get by with starting with it being bone dry, making sure it's opened regularly for air exchange, and possibly some moisture absorbers if that's not a horrible idea.

The plan is pretty standard. Cut, and get the buds into paper bags no more than 30g per bag. fold closed and secure then lay bag on side. Every day for the first few days rotate bags and gently shake contents. After 1-2 weeks test room temp buds in jar with hydrometer until at least 70% or lower. Then cure like normal in a jar.

Supplies:
small mini fridge (picture below) it's a Galanz 2.7 Cu Ft - NOT FROST FREE
Inkbird temperature controller to set fridge to 60F
Paper bags
very small USB fan

And I'm really not sure if this is a bad idea or a good one, but I'd like to have some Moisture absorbing bags (the hanging ones people put in closets) for the first few days as the fridge is obviously a bit small. Is that overkill? is this a stupid fking Idea? Is it better to just use the regular fridge at it's normal temps?

Seriously any and all feedback is totally welcome this is one of my first few dries so chances are I don't know what you do. TELL ME YOUR SECRETS.

 

[phxazcraig]

I'm interested to see how this comes out. I live in Phoenix, and there is no way I can achieve optimum drying conditions (about 60% RH and under 70F).

Here in Phoenix, I'm lucky if I can keep the temps down to 76F, and the RH then will be something like 10%. If I hang the plants to dry for 2 days, they aren't done, but in 3 days they can be crispy. So anything to slow down the drying is an idea worth considering.

What I've done to try to slow things down a bit is to have bushier-than-usual plants. I have more sugar leaves than many, and I think it helps to slow down the drying to do more dry trimming and not a complete wet trim.

My idea is basically like yours - get some sort of refrigerator (or wine cooler) that can be set as warm at 65F, then use an Inkbird humidity controller (already have one) and some sort of fan to control the humidity. Ideally I'd stretch a 3-day dry into a week or more.

What I've done is to get things under about 70% by hanging partially-trimmed cut branches in a closet for 2-3 days, then trim to completion and put the buds in Grove bags. I then open those bags and fluff them several times a day until the buds quit sticking to the bag walls. That tends to happen when the RH is consistently under 65%, which I measure with a couple of humidity meters in each bag. I think the Grove bags are more forgiving than glass jars, and once the RH stays around 62, I just seal up the Grove bags and leave them in a dark closet.

 

[neneboob]

My idea is basically like yours - get some sort of refrigerator (or wine cooler) that can be set as warm at 65F, then use an Inkbird humidity controller (already have one) and some sort of fan to control the humidity. Ideally I'd stretch a 3-day dry into a week or more.

What I've done is to get things under about 70% by hanging partially-trimmed cut branches in a closet for 2-3 days, then trim to completion and put the buds in Grove bags. I then open those bags and fluff them several times a day until the buds quit sticking to the bag walls. That tends to happen when the RH is consistently under 65%, which I measure with a couple of humidity meters in each bag. I think the Grove bags are more forgiving than glass jars, and once the RH stays around 62, I just seal up the Grove bags and leave them in a dark closet.

Yeah I'm over here googling seeing if I can figure out some way to only lower the humidity to 60 and no lower without electricity, but unless I want to get a pound of those Boveda 2-way 62% bags I'm not really seeing a good way to do it.

However I am curious about your fan idea. You wanna just cut a hole, and wire up a fan that only turns on if the humidity is too high, and kind of just accept the cool air loss from the hole for the fan?

 

[phxazcraig]

The part of my plan that hasn't be solved yet is how to flow air into the fridge. I'm thinking of a tube coming, with a fan somehow driving the airflow. Getting fan and tube connected together is a problem I've not solved, nor do I have an idea how big the tube diameter should be. Could be as small as an aquarium air pump and associated tubing. Something that small might be able to run almost continuously without lowering fridge temps.

Of course in theory, practice and theory are the same. In practice, they aren't.

 

[neneboob]

After some incessant googling I have found there might be a decent option without electricity. Apparently baking soda starts to absorb water at a relative humidity of around 76% at 25°C (77°F), and below 48% at 40°C (104°F). I'm struggling to find where that math came from to calculate 60-70F, but that should absorb at least some of the humidity. Even if that keeps it down to 80RH in the first few days it could get the job done before the mold has any chance to find it's way in.

Also @phxazcraig as a guy who loves his 3d printer. You also sound like a guy who could have some fun with one if you don't already own one. Just saying. https://www.printables.com/model/873025-fume-exhaust-air-grille-with-one-way-air-valve < something like this 1 way air flow and as you were saying humidity controller and fan does make some sense at least.

 

[Grownsince95]

I use a 30 gallon tote with a PC fan rigged to a homemade blow off valve on top and an inkbird controller set to 60%. Ambient room temp is about 70 degrees and the buds come out great.

 

[neneboob]

I use a 30 gallon tote with a PC fan rigged to a homemade blow off valve on top and an inkbird controller set to 60%. Ambient room temp is about 70 degrees and the buds come out great.

Oh wow that's pretty great. This is a great option if we can find a cooler part of the house, because I for sure have a tote somewhere that can be sacrificed. Do you hang the bud up in there? and if so how?

 

[Grownsince95]

Oh wow that's pretty great. This is a great option if we can find a cooler part of the house, because I for sure have a tote somewhere that can be sacrificed. Do you hang the bud up in there? and if so how?

I put them in brown paper grocery bags and shake em up once a week. I usually hang them inside the tent first for a few days first until the first signs of dryness. Enough not to make a sticky mess in the bags.

 

[Ninjadogma]

I gotta make something like that tote box, although I prefer to hang dry. Last week we had PERFECT drying conditions the whole week. It was time for me to harvest so of course, that a-hole California weather decides to drop the humidity down to 28%. So now I'm doing what I gotta do.

 

[Grownsince95]

Oh wow that's pretty great. This is a great option if we can find a cooler part of the house, because I for sure have a tote somewhere that can be sacrificed. Do you hang the bud up in there? and if so how?

If you're looking for a solution straight from chop I may have misunderstood and misled you a bit. The way I do it they still need to hang a bit first so they don't all stick together and get moldy. I suppose you could just hang them in there less densely so the evaporation doesn't overpower the fan CFM. I haven't tried it like that though.

 

[Grownsince95]

I suppose the tote I made is more of an auto burping/curing device. They stay in there between 2 weeks and a month depending on how full I pack it. I've found the more that's in there the better it performs. I take them out and put them in jars when the humidity stops going over 60%

 

[bookstrap]

So, it's getting hot, and it's only going to get hotter. Our grow setup is getting up to 80F already though so we are getting worried about drying in there. I've seen the "lotus drying method" is pretty popular, but I'm not seeing much info on if I'm an idiot for using a mini-fridge or not. This fridge is a manual defrost, so it's not a "frost free" model which is very clearly what I've seen recommended. I'm hoping we can get by with starting with it being bone dry, making sure it's opened regularly for air exchange, and possibly some moisture absorbers if that's not a horrible idea.

The plan is pretty standard. Cut, and get the buds into paper bags no more than 30g per bag. fold closed and secure then lay bag on side. Every day for the first few days rotate bags and gently shake contents. After 1-2 weeks test room temp buds in jar with hydrometer until at least 70% or lower. Then cure like normal in a jar.

Supplies:
small mini fridge (picture below) it's a Galanz 2.7 Cu Ft - NOT FROST FREE
Inkbird temperature controller to set fridge to 60F
Paper bags
very small USB fan

And I'm really not sure if this is a bad idea or a good one, but I'd like to have some Moisture absorbing bags (the hanging ones people put in closets) for the first few days as the fridge is obviously a bit small. Is that overkill? is this a stupid fking Idea? Is it better to just use the regular fridge at it's normal temps?

Seriously any and all feedback is totally welcome this is one of my first few dries so chances are I don't know what you do. TELL ME YOUR SECRETS.
View attachment 2399231View attachment 2399232

I used to dry my stuff in an 87 cadilac in paper bags... in the desert.. could smoke it in 16-48 hours ... here's a tip from google "Decarboxylated weed is not the best option for smoking1. While it has a higher THCA: THC conversion rate than freshly cut cannabis, it doesn't offer additional benefits when smoked. Smoking decarboxylated weed could lead to more intense side effects like dizziness, paranoia, or hallucinations4. The vast majority of THC content in marijuana is THC-A, so you need to decarboxylate it by smoking or vaping to get high5." https://greencamp.com/decarboxylation/ .. find a good decarboxylation chart... If you can leave it in your car on a hot day with the windows up in a paper bag... you won't get that greeny burnt taste... ... something goes wrong in an oven.. i don't like it.

 

[neneboob]

If you're looking for a solution straight from chop I may have misunderstood and misled you a bit. The way I do it they still need to hang a bit first so they don't all stick together and get moldy. I suppose you could just hang them in there less densely so the evaporation doesn't overpower the fan CFM. I haven't tried it like that though.

^ Questions on this.
Do you chop the big fan leaves for the hang dry?
How long do you hang dry for before sticking the bud in a bag? What are you looking for to know it's ready?

It's probably unnecessary, but so far I'm pretty happy with the tests I've ran with our fridge limiting it to ~65F and using some baking soda fridge boxes to absorb any moisture over 75% in between "burps" (humidity stops going down after 75% in my tests). I'm hoping if we just hang dry it for 24-48 we can avoid a humidity spike at the start.

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I use a 2x2x3 tent with a drying rack in it. There are circulation fans inside and an exhaust fan on top. It works quite well.

I think having the right amount air flow through the tent is very important for drying. What's "right" is in this case is based on practice. I use a variable speed 120mm computer fan and keep it on a low speed to keep the buds from drying too fast.

 

[Grownsince95]

^ Questions on this.
Do you chop the big fan leaves for the hang dry?
How long do you hang dry for before sticking the bud in a bag? What are you looking for to know it's ready?

It's probably unnecessary, but so far I'm pretty happy with the tests I've ran with our fridge limiting it to ~65F and using some baking soda fridge boxes to absorb any moisture over 75% in between "burps" (humidity stops going down after 75% in my tests). I'm hoping if we just hang dry it for 24-48 we can avoid a humidity spike at the start.

Yeah just the big ones that aren't going to form a protective layer over the buds. I get a feel for the leaves that gravity will pull down to form a protective sheath over the buds and leave those on. It takes at least 2 or 3 days to get a nice crispy outside with a fan pointed at the wall and almost constant exhaust. As long as the ambient temp isn't above 74° I set the exhaust fan to go off at 5O% rh.

Once those outside leaves get enough crunch that they won't rehydrate it goes in the bin. Better to have nice long sticks to stand up in the bag but obviously there's gonna be popcorn buds too.

I've experienced with those mesh laundry baskets too but I like the bags better

 

[Ninjadogma]

Oooooh I'd suggest reading up about drying and curing in the educational pages of the Farm.... But how do you know you've got it dry enough to go into a jar? The litmus test is to bend one of the side buds on a branch and if the stem snaps, you're there, or you're really close. To test, I pull a few buds off and put them in a jar with a hygrometer and see what the jar humidity looks like after a few hours. It should be below 70% at this point but might be higher than 62%. Sometimes I'll trim and jar it when it's around 68% and just leave the lids off for a day or two to drop a little more before closing and periodic burping. I've also finished by sweating them in paper bags for another couple days. It slows down the outer bud drying and allows some of the moisture deeper in the buds to draw outward. If I'm only high by a couple points I do the jar trick.

 

[Grownsince95]

Oooooh I'd suggest reading up about drying and curing in the educational pages of the Farm.... But how do you know you've got it dry enough to go into a jar? The litmus test is to bend one of the side buds on a branch and if the stem snaps, you're there, or you're really close. To test, I pull a few buds off and put them in a jar with a hygrometer and see what the jar humidity looks like after a few hours. It should be below 70% at this point but might be higher than 62%. Sometimes I'll trim and jar it when it's around 68% and just leave the lids off for a day or two to drop a little more before closing and periodic burping. I've also finished by sweating them in paper bags for another couple days. It slows down the outer bud drying and allows some of the moisture deeper in the buds to draw outward. If I'm only high by a couple points I do the jar trick.

The way I'm doing it my tote does all the burping on its own. When they first go in the fan will cycle every 10 mins. A month later it's doing it once a day. When it stops cycling the buds will be dead ass 60% for at least a week before they drop anymore because it stops venting. Then they go in jars but they're done, no more burping.

At least until I can't resist giving them a sniff!

You can see in the pic it's actually set to 61 but it's at 58. The inkbirds are great because you can control the range of when they turn on and off.

 

[Paperclips43]

I put them in brown paper grocery bags and shake em up once a week. I usually hang them inside the tent first for a few days first until the first signs of dryness. Enough not to make a sticky mess in the bags.

You mentioned your ambient room temp was 70degrees. What is your average local humidity there and/or in the lung room when they’re curing in that tote set up?

 

[Grownsince95]

You mentioned your ambient room temp was 70degrees. What is your average local humidity there and/or in the lung room when they’re curing in that tote set up?

About 50-55% rh

 

[Crazyformes]

I'm interested to see how this comes out. I live in Phoenix, and there is no way I can achieve optimum drying conditions (about 60% RH and under 70F).

Here in Phoenix, I'm lucky if I can keep the temps down to 76F, and the RH then will be something like 10%. If I hang the plants to dry for 2 days, they aren't done, but in 3 days they can be crispy. So anything to slow down the drying is an idea worth considering.

What I've done to try to slow things down a bit is to have bushier-than-usual plants. I have more sugar leaves than many, and I think it helps to slow down the drying to do more dry trimming and not a complete wet trim.

My idea is basically like yours - get some sort of refrigerator (or wine cooler) that can be set as warm at 65F, then use an Inkbird humidity controller (already have one) and some sort of fan to control the humidity. Ideally I'd stretch a 3-day dry into a week or more.

What I've done is to get things under about 70% by hanging partially-trimmed cut branches in a closet for 2-3 days, then trim to completion and put the buds in Grove bags. I then open those bags and fluff them several times a day until the buds quit sticking to the bag walls. That tends to happen when the RH is consistently under 65%, which I measure with a couple of humidity meters in each bag. I think the Grove bags are more forgiving than glass jars, and once the RH stays around 62, I just seal up the Grove bags and leave them in a dark closet.

Suggestion if 2 days isn't enough....and 3 days make them crispy.... just pull them at 2 and 1/2 days. Problem solved..