Cannabis Drying/Curing Refrigerator - Build Questions - Need Help!

Backyard_Boogie · Mar 8, 2022

Im a longtime grower of both indoor and outdoor. Space is a premium in our home and as such the hanging and drying process can be a bit challenging. I live in Southern California and our summers are hot and we get very little rain with common dry patches. Humidity regularly goes below 20%. Over the years I have always chopped my plants and hung them to dry inside my closet with a humidifier/dehumidifier controller. During the winter months when the temps are cooler I will sometimes hang the plants upside down in my garage grow tents once again with the humidifier/dehumidifier controller. My wife is getting tired of the whole house smelling like Kush so I want to move my entire drying/curing operation into the garage permanently. During the summer months my garage gets well over 90F which is a big no no for drying. Originally I was gonna bite the bullet and purchase one of these nice Cannatrol units for $1600...

However after reading on their website I see that this unit is only designed to be operated at room temperature. This does me no good because my garage is over room temperature most of the time. I read around on a few of the other grow forums and it looks like people have modified traditional refrigerators to be used for drying/curing. Can anyone comment on this? Perhaps someone can send a link or article my way that can assist me in this build. Apparently there is a way to rig the refrigerator so that it can cool off while putting out no extra humidity. Is this true? I'm a pretty handy person and can likely tackle a build so long as its not too difficult. Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks!

Anthem · Mar 8, 2022

Backyard_Boogie said:
Im a longtime grower of both indoor and outdoor. Space is a premium in our home and as such the hanging and drying process can be a bit challenging. I live in Southern California and our summers are hot and we get very little rain with common dry patches. Humidity regularly goes below 20%. Over the years I have always chopped my plants and hung them to dry inside my closet with a humidifier/dehumidifier controller. During the winter months when the temps are cooler I will sometimes hang the plants upside down in my garage grow tents once again with the humidifier/dehumidifier controller. My wife is getting tired of the whole house smelling like Kush so I want to move my entire drying/curing operation into the garage permanently. During the summer months my garage gets well over 90F which is a big no no for drying. Originally I was gonna bite the bullet and purchase one of these nice Cannatrol units for $1600...
View attachment 1224225
However after reading on their website I see that this unit is only designed to be operated at room temperature. This does me no good because my garage is over room temperature most of the time. I read around on a few of the other grow forums and it looks like people have modified traditional refrigerators to be used for drying/curing. Can anyone comment on this? Perhaps someone can send a link or article my way that can assist me in this build. Apparently there is a way to rig the refrigerator so that it can cool off while putting out no extra humidity. Is this true? I'm a pretty handy person and can likely tackle a build so long as its not too difficult. Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks!

Try looking up home brewing beer. I know they use refer's in a similar fashion.

ComfortablyNumb · Mar 8, 2022

While you are at it, look up how to freeze dry weed. An old reefer is perfect for it.
Dry and Cured in 36 hours.

freezeland2 · Mar 8, 2022

Backyard_Boogie said:
Im a longtime grower of both indoor and outdoor. Space is a premium in our home and as such the hanging and drying process can be a bit challenging. I live in Southern California and our summers are hot and we get very little rain with common dry patches. Humidity regularly goes below 20%. Over the years I have always chopped my plants and hung them to dry inside my closet with a humidifier/dehumidifier controller. During the winter months when the temps are cooler I will sometimes hang the plants upside down in my garage grow tents once again with the humidifier/dehumidifier controller. My wife is getting tired of the whole house smelling like Kush so I want to move my entire drying/curing operation into the garage permanently. During the summer months my garage gets well over 90F which is a big no no for drying. Originally I was gonna bite the bullet and purchase one of these nice Cannatrol units for $1600...
View attachment 1224225
However after reading on their website I see that this unit is only designed to be operated at room temperature. This does me no good because my garage is over room temperature most of the time. I read around on a few of the other grow forums and it looks like people have modified traditional refrigerators to be used for drying/curing. Can anyone comment on this? Perhaps someone can send a link or article my way that can assist me in this build. Apparently there is a way to rig the refrigerator so that it can cool off while putting out no extra humidity. Is this true? I'm a pretty handy person and can likely tackle a build so long as its not too difficult. Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks!

If I were going to do a DIY drying refrig I would cut a duct hole in the side. Pop rivet a dryer duct fitting to it over the hole. Put a Inkbird sensor in it and duct it to a dehumidifier. Run the dehumidifier off the Inkbird. The refrigerator thermostat should control temp.

Backyard_Boogie · Mar 8, 2022

freezeland2 said:
If I were going to do a DIY drying refrig I would cut a duct hole in the side. Pop rivet a dryer duct fitting to it over the hole. Put a Inkbird sensor in it and duct it to a dehumidifier. Run the dehumidifier off the Inkbird. The refrigerator thermostat should control temp.

What would happen if I just put the little dehumidifier and inkbird right inside the fridge down on the bottom? So instead of cutting a whole in the side just set it in there and then close the door. The magnetic door seal might simply close shut on the chord so long as its not too fat. I know the fridge will make high humidity so the machine would be running nonstop to counter for this but do you think it could work? Remember the target temp is 60 so that means the fridge will likely be set on its highest temp setting therefore it will run only half as much. Thoughts?

freezeland2 · Mar 8, 2022

Backyard_Boogie said:
What would happen if I just put the little dehumidifier and inkbird right inside the fridge down on the bottom? So instead of cutting a whole in the side just set it in there and then close the door. The magnetic door seal might simply close shut on the chord so long as its not too fat. I know the fridge will make high humidity so the machine would be running nonstop to counter for this but do you think it could work? Remember the target temp is 60 so that means the fridge will likely be set on its highest temp setting therefore it will run only half as much. Thoughts?

The exhaust of the dehumidifier will be hot.

freezeland2 · Mar 8, 2022

Only one way to see if your idea will work. Do a test run with no bud to see if it’s even feasible to control the environment with a dehumidifier inside. Must be a big ass refrigerator or miniature dehumidifier, lol.

Backyard_Boogie · Mar 8, 2022

freezeland2 said:
The exhaust of the dehumidifier will be hot.

This is the tiny Dehumidifier I have. It's an Amazon special its little only good for tiny bedroom or closet up to 225 square feet. My wife uses it in her bedroom when Im not using it for a harvest. It only pushes out a tiny little bit of air when its running and to my knowledge not very much heat at all. Very minimal. If it doesn't put out too much warm air you think it could work?

freezeland2 · Mar 8, 2022

Backyard_Boogie said:
This is the tiny Dehumidifier I have. It's an Amazon special its little only good for tiny bedroom or closet up to 225 square feet. My wife uses it in her bedroom when Im not using it for a harvest. It only pushes out a tiny little bit of air when its running and to my knowledge not very much heat at all. Very minimal. If it doesn't put out too much warm air you think it could work?
View attachment 1224229

Do a dry run test and see if you can establish the target environment.

Bluntsmoke · Mar 8, 2022

ComfortablyNumb said:
Cured in 36 hours.

Bullshit! Curing is a time process just like wine

ComfortablyNumb · Mar 8, 2022

Bluntsmoke said:
Bullshit! Curing is a time process just like wine

Wrong. The whole action of curing is to get rid of the chlorophyll. That's what makes it harsh and hides the full flavor.
Chlorophyll sublimates with water at very low temps which allows it to be quickly extracted along with the water.

Bluntsmoke · Mar 8, 2022

ComfortablyNumb said:
Wrong. The whole action of curing is to get rid of the chlorophyll. That's what makes it harsh and hides the full flavor.
Chlorophyll sublimates with water at very low temps which allows it to be quickly extracted along with the water.

Hell nah those trichomes have to cure plain and simple. You can't turn a plum into a prune in 3 days. Same applies for bud

ComfortablyNumb · Mar 8, 2022

Bluntsmoke said:
Hell nah those trichomes have to cure plain and simple. You can't turn a plum into a prune in 3 days. Same applies for bud

Trikes don't cure. They degrade.

Moe.Red · Mar 8, 2022

Bluntsmoke said:
Bullshit! Curing is a time process just like wine

Define cured.

You can directly jar up freeze dried weed which eliminates the smell which is what the op is going for. You can still put those jars on the shelf for a month if you want to. I can say that to me freshly freeze dried weed is pretty harsh in a pipe. I would not call it cured in the traditional sense. Chemically it is tho and can be put directly into extraction processes if that is what you are doing. Cure is more about taste if you smoke it.

Bluntsmoke · Mar 8, 2022

ComfortablyNumb said:
Trikes don't cure. They degrade.

They cure and sweeten up. That's why fresh kief hash even needs to cure so does fresh pressed rosin

Bluntsmoke · Mar 8, 2022

Moe.Red said:
Define cured.

You can directly jar up freeze dried weed which eliminates the smell which is what the op is going for. You can still put those jars on the shelf for a month if you want to. I can say that to me freshly freeze dried weed is pretty harsh in a pipe. I would not call it cured in the traditional sense. Chemically it is tho and can be put directly into extraction processes if that is what you are doing. Cure is more about taste if you smoke it.

Cured means taste like it's supposed to and look like it's supposed to. 3 days in the freezer isn't cured weed imo

ComfortablyNumb · Mar 8, 2022

Bluntsmoke said:
They cure and sweeten up. That's why fresh kief hash even needs to cure so does fresh pressed rosin

No, trich's do not cure. I'm not sure where you heard that but it's Bro science. False info.
A trichome is at its highest potency when the head is swollen and milky. Anything past that is less.
Read the captions on the pics.

The Cannabis Ripening Process: Steps, Stages & My TOP 12 Natural Bloom Enhancers — Ed Rosenthal

Learn all the details about the cannabis ripening process in this visual guide & discover my favorite marijuana bloom enhancers.

www.edrosenthal.com

Moe.Red · Mar 8, 2022

Bluntsmoke said:
Cured means taste like it's supposed to and look like it's supposed to. 3 days in the freezer isn't cured weed imo

By that definition I agree with you.
If we are truly talking about freeze drying here as in under vacuum then it changes the appearance to something you would not appreciate

Bluntsmoke · Mar 8, 2022

I hang dry 5-6 days then refrigerate afterwards for a day or two. Bud comes out compressed and smelling good but takes at least 2 weeks after before I would consider it somewhat cured

Moe.Red · Mar 8, 2022

I’m just saying you guys are both right and talking past each other.

Cannabis Drying/Curing Refrigerator - Build Questions - Need Help!

Cannabis Drying/Curing Refrigerator - Build Questions - Need Help!

Backyard_Boogie

Anthem

ComfortablyNumb

freezeland2

Backyard_Boogie

freezeland2

freezeland2

Backyard_Boogie

freezeland2

Bluntsmoke

ComfortablyNumb

Bluntsmoke

ComfortablyNumb

Moe.Red

Bluntsmoke

Bluntsmoke

ComfortablyNumb

The Cannabis Ripening Process: Steps, Stages & My TOP 12 Natural Bloom Enhancers — Ed Rosenthal

Moe.Red

Bluntsmoke

Moe.Red

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