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Drying larger amounts of flower on racks: advice


Slippy One

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I have the fortunate problem of more flower than usual this season so 80% of the harvest will have to be spinpro'd then onto drying racks. I'll keep all the main colas on stalks for a dry trim but the rest will be on racks. 

 

Looking around google images, some people have the racks pretty deep with buds, some with loads of space between buds. Is there a sweet spot with how much you can pack onto one of those stackable trays? A few cm's or inches? How often to they need jiggling? 

 

I realise it's not the best way to dry them, and they are dry in around 7-9 days, and lose trichs but it's the only way this year.. 

 

Any tips and advice welcome. :yep:

 

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First tip is line the whole floor with good quality plastic sheeting.  You would be amazed how much hash we lose through harvest and drying.

 

Save all the trim.  Wash the spin pro and run the wet trim for qwiso.

 

Do not but anything even a tiny bit suspect in there.  

 

Id give them as much space as you can afford which is the answer anyhow.

 

Whatever you cant dry, run as qwiso.

 

Also depends how much air exchange you got, humidity blah.  But you know that shizzle.

Nice problem!

Enjoy

;)

 

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Thanks @PhoenixI didn't think of the plastic sheet, thanks for the heads up. I guess somewhere in the middle of well packed nets and reasonable amount of space around them. The room will have a small fan facing away from the plants, and a dehumidifier (I know they're bad) set to 50% RH 1st 2 days, then 60% until buds are crisp enough for the paper bags. How fast should I expect these to dry, is there anything I can do to prevent the dreaded grass smell from over drying?

 

 

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dont put a humidifier in there, you will pull too much moisture out of them, too quickly. 

 

its a sure fire way of turning bud to hay. 

leave them at about 16-18 degrees, and start at about 60% rh ,  for a long slow dry.

fill the racks but just make sure buds arent touching. they will shrink anyway. dont jiggle them either.

expect them to take at least 10-14 days to dry properly. 

Edited by badbillybob
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Thanks @badbillybobI thought the dehum would be ok as the dial would stop operation, but it's quite a beast and can dry clothes very quickly with it's giant rear fan. Duly noted. Cool and dark it is. Slower the better. Should I not jiggle the nets at all? I was worried about flat spots..

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1 hour ago, Slippy One said:

Thanks @PhoenixI didn't think of the plastic sheet, thanks for the heads up. I guess somewhere in the middle of well packed nets and reasonable amount of space around them. The room will have a small fan facing away from the plants, and a dehumidifier (I know they're bad) set to 50% RH 1st 2 days, then 60% until buds are crisp enough for the paper bags. How fast should I expect these to dry, is there anything I can do to prevent the dreaded grass smell from over drying?

 

 

as you describe it...this is about how i do it....yes you need dehumidifier....some times its dry in 4 days.....upt to 6 days....

 

if you think its fairly dry....put all in a closed plastic bag....and leave it there for 3 hours....then on the rack again....this way the buds are a bit wet again...and dry faster... :)

 

if you have a luxory problem...dry fast.... :)

 

big colas i make small also...sometimes there is mold inside...the only way to see it is to cut loose the buds...

 

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That’s interesting to get larger quantities dried faster, then slow it down using bin bags. Seems like a lot of double handling loading them into a plastic bag though. Could the static electric charge remove more trichs? I was thinking just racks, maybe dehum on a higher rh setting like 75% (so just a backup) then brown bag, then jars. 
 

Anyone else use plastic bags to slow the dry? It sounds like a good idea but I’ve never tried it..

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rh should be lower as 65 at all times....or they rot...

 

yes the bags are lots of work...its for speeding up the dry process.....i prefer to play with the humidity setting...if possible

 

be aware....an electric dehumidityfier...does not work under 15 degress celsius....best at 20 degrees....so you might have to heat a bit too.

Edited by DutchFox
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Denug and place in closed shoe boxes for the last three days, it'll stretch the dry quite a way and even out moisture slightly too. 

I've had dope take 3 weeks in shoe boxes.  Not layered deep mind, 2 or 3 layers tops. 

Edited by fatboy77
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7 hours ago, Slippy One said:

That’s interesting to get larger quantities dried faster, then slow it down using bin bags. Seems like a lot of double handling loading them into a plastic bag though. Could the static electric charge remove more trichs? I was thinking just racks, maybe dehum on a higher rh setting like 75% (so just a backup) then brown bag, then jars. 
 

Anyone else use plastic bags to slow the dry? It sounds like a good idea but I’ve never tried it..

if you dry it properly, i.e, not too fast, you dont need bin bags to redistribute the moisture. it will need bin bags for exactly the reason i mentioned earlier (drying too fast, drawing moisture out too quickly) . also more likely to get mould with plastic bags.

and ....again........

step away from the dehumidifier.....

just dont.....

nope....dont even think about it......

unless you dont give a shit about smoking decent weed

 

oh and dont jiggle the nets, you wont get flat spots, you will just lose more trichs. 

Edited by badbillybob
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Just turn the buds over everyday if you don't want the flat spots. I'm not keen on using nets but needs must sometimes and I will use it when I've got too much to dry. I've never tried a spin pro but I'd have thought doing it wet would just obliterate the buds :unsure:

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12 hours ago, Slippy One said:

Thanks @badbillybobI thought the dehum would be ok as the dial would stop operation, but it's quite a beast and can dry clothes very quickly with it's giant rear fan. Duly noted. Cool and dark it is. Slower the better. Should I not jiggle the nets at all? I was worried about flat spots..

Wouldn't worry about the shape slips as long as they dry slow and even.. some turn them I don't think there is much point... I think slow dark cool wins the race for the hay smells.. nice problem to have buddy :yep:

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11 hours ago, Slippy One said:

That’s interesting to get larger quantities dried faster, then slow it down using bin bags. Seems like a lot of double handling loading them into a plastic bag though. Could the static electric charge remove more trichs? I was thinking just racks, maybe dehum on a higher rh setting like 75% (so just a backup) then brown bag, then jars. 
 

Anyone else use plastic bags to slow the dry? It sounds like a good idea but I’ve never tried it..

Slips if you can get your hands on those big fuk off ones for like wheels bins there would be no need to remove from the nets.. straight over the top would work them no need to handle them to much and reduce the static charge too.. I think you said your using racks though so doubt the idea is valid :yep:

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Never thought of that, plus, I'll be in tents with extract control, I could just stop the extract for 2-3 hrs.. :yep:

 

 

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Just now, Slippy One said:

Never thought of that, plus, I'll be in tents with extract control, I could just stop the extract for 2-3 hrs.. :yep:

 

 

Can't you just string the tent out then mate and hang em?

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