Just wondered if using the likes of Silica Gel is a valid option to speed up drying times?

there have been numerous posts about this and the general thought is that it may dry it out too quickly

And you also need loads of it to remove the amount of moisture in a crop, it'd cost a fortune.

If you need to speed dry a bit of your harvest so you don't have to buy while you're waiting, then use an oven, the top of a TV or similar.

Leave the bulk of your crop to dry properly and then seal it up to cure it as per the Knowledge Base articles.

Speed drying buggers your crop. Full Stop. But if you gotta, you gotta.

how about a small dehumidifier???.... dont know if it would work... mabey leave hanging without it running for mabey 2 days then switch it on???

like i said dont know if it would work..... see what replies i get

sizzle

This stuff comes for free with most IT supplies, I can get my hands on loads of it. But if it damages the crop, the it is a no go, I want 100% and dont mind waitign for it if need be.

Cheers for the heads up.

It doesn't come in kilo tubs though does it? It comes in little disposable bags weighing a couple of grams. You'd need thousands of them for it to make an appreciable difference You're looking at about a tenner/kilo trade price for silica gel.

a product called Damp rid is very good to have in the drying room and probally usefull in the flower room, watch the vid says its ok for plants..


the chrystals draw water from air and hold in a catchment, dont buy the ready to use container too expensive but buy in the 2kg container and make ip your own tray to hold chrystals.

4x containers of 500g in my dry room was draining about 150ml per contaner per day.




http://www.damprid.dsiwebbuilder.com/index.asp?cat=56350

I use something called calcium chloride as a drying agent. It has a similar texture to gravel, though it crumbles to a powder very easily.
i use it for the first 24 hours when the wardrobe's full of bud and the weather's overcast/raining. if it's hot and sunny, i don't use it at all.
i pour it into a dish and place underneath the hanging plants. 24 hours later, there's a pool of water where the powder was. remove and chuck away.
i have tried using it all the way through drying. my plant was powder dry in 5 days. the resulting smoke was harsh. I think thats from the chlorophyl still locked in the leaf. i find that using it for the first day has no adverse effect on flavour.
It's a lot cheaper than sillica gel too. don't ask me where to get it from in the uk though, try the pharmacy for starters ?

the slower you dry it the better....

Also don't forget that silica gel and other dessicants can be dried out and re-used, just pop it in the oven on a low heat for a while. So you only have to buy it once.

I agree with what has been said by other members though, only speed up your drying if you have no other choice - it's best to control your environment to give a slow, controlled drying process over a period of several days. It makes a major difference to the final product. I'd test it with a small amount first in a sealed container. You might alternatively want to look at food dehydrators and also the suggestion of using a small heat source such as a power supply or set-top box.