Drying Box Design: Will it work?

[Kola320]

60 degrees is just fine buddy mine actually got dried at around 50 this time when i paper bagged it out. IMHO I think 60% humidity for drying is too high and flirting with disaster. My humidity is around 30% never let it get above 35% I have never had any problems drying my bud out. But if I were to walk into my room and I started seeing mold on a lb of bud it would be a really sad day. Even in flower I slowly drop my humidity down to like 20% the last few weeks of harvest. 2 reasons 1st don't have to worry about bud rot or mold, 2nd helps increase tric production and gets a frostier bud. You can ask 1 question and can get 8 different answers on how guys do things on here some of them being there preference, some being out of convenience, its what you find that works for you many , many different ways.
I have a question for you if we flower in 40 to 50% humidity why dry in 60% humidity ? Were did you come up with that % humidity for drying ?....... In veg we run 60% to 70% humidity ballpark, when I clone I run 80% with a dome. so now lets put this in the right order. Clones 80%...Veg 60%... flower 45% ..... drying 60%. As your old math teacher would say which one doesn't fit. We bring humidity down it's whole life why go back up are you thinking a slower dry ? I'm still a newb so I ask a lot of questions cause we can all learn from each other I don't care how many grows I have I'll always be a newb I'm open to learning more.

 

[Dr Jay Rolla]

60 degrees is just fine buddy mine actually got dried at around 50 this time when i paper bagged it out. IMHO I think 60% humidity for drying is too high and flirting with disaster. My humidity is around 30% never let it get above 35% I have never had any problems drying my bud out. But if I were to walk into my room and I started seeing mold on a lb of bud it would be a really sad day. Even in flower I slowly drop my humidity down to like 20% the last few weeks of harvest. 2 reasons 1st don't have to worry about bud rot or mold, 2nd helps increase tric production and gets a frostier bud. You can ask 1 question and can get 8 different answers on how guys do things on here some of them being there preference, some being out of convenience, its what you find that works for you many , many different ways.
I have a question for you if we flower in 40 to 50% humidity why dry in 60% humidity ? Were did you come up with that % humidity for drying ?....... In veg we run 60% to 70% humidity ballpark, when I clone I run 80% with a dome. so now lets put this in the right order. Clones 80%...Veg 60%... flower 45% ..... drying 60%. As your old math teacher would say which one doesn't fit. We bring humidity down it's whole life why go back up are you thinking a slower dry ? I'm still a newb so I ask a lot of questions cause we can all learn from each other I don't care how many grows I have I'll always be a newb I'm open to learning more.

Not sure why i said 65% humidity for drying.....cause i just went and looked at my notes from the reserch i did and it says 45%-55% for humidity levels for drying........this is for inside the dry box!!!!

Thanks for catching that tho and setting me straight......

So what are u suggesting for humidity inside my dry box?........is 45%-55% ok?
im not worried about inside the grow tent...i think i have that under control.....

Thanks again your help!!

 

[Kola320]

My suggestion and this is where I leave mine is around 30 to 35%. And I would suggest you try a lower number like 30 and you can always tweak it down the road if your not happy with the results.

 

[Dr Jay Rolla]

Just a little add on to last message.....

i actually have written in my notes that lower that 45% RH will dry buds too quickly....
and that higher that 55% increases chances of mold.....

I must have been medicated when i wrote that will be able to raise humidity to 65% lol.....cause i already knew better than that.

Again, im glad you caught that and pointed it out to me because if it wasn't instilled in my brain before.....it definitely is now lol.


What kind of spacing do you need between the stems and buds when you hang them to dry?.......i would imagine just enough so they aren't touching?

I have 7 Auto-flower plants.....I know 4 of them(3gallon pots) i should get a decent yield on(not sure what a decent yield would be for an auto tho lol).....the other 3 were planted in smaller pots (2gallon) and they are all a little bit smaller, growing very nice but a little smaller than the other 4. One of the small ones i actually pulled out of my tent for a week and had it just in a window sill in my basement(55degrees and minimal light) because i thought it was a hermie.....turned out it was just a swollen calyx.....so after a week i put it back in the tent. This one was actually in a 1 gallon pot to start now that i think about it...it was the only one with that small of a pot.....so after a few days back in the tent i decided to transplant it into a 3 gallon pot(which i had 1 extra 3gal pot due to one of my plants dying early on...I had 8 to start). So shes transplanted and its been almost a week and she looks good....shes growing. Shye didnt have any of the under growth that all the other plants got......so basically its starting to flower and its doesnt have a bunch of bushy growth on it....it seems really under developed....but i think she is growing fast......i just hope she had enough time to produce to her full capabilities.

Anyway with all that said.....and with my plants and all other variables......
....i was told i could expect about 7 ounces.....roughly an oz per plant......i wouldnt complain about that but i was hoping for more than that.
.....Do you have any idea how much i could expect to yield in dry weight?....if not no biggie just wondering.

I really want to make sure i have enough room to dry it all.

 

[Kola320]

I've only run the heavy weight auto and my average is 4 ounces per plant dry good pull for an auto most autos you are lucky to get a ounce dry when your done. Most don't like autos but I do being as I have a separate room for veg and flower I will run my autos with my clones and push to my flower room. Works great for me cause I monster crop so I take clones in flower but autos are a great way to get a feel for your plants wants and needs. Being a newb just making it threw your first grow is and accomplishment in itself when you have bud to show for it. you get better with each grow my auto was my biggest yield when I ran her I was happy felt like I finally achieved something, This last round I harvested 5 photos and pulled 27 ounces dry, 4 in 5 gal pots and 1 in a 3 gallon pot.
My spacing I use trays don't hang mine I trim mine finished and put them on drying screen racks

 

[Dr Jay Rolla]

That is really nice how you set that up.....nice clean and professional looking.

Ok i have a question....

I dont understand what your talking about when you say you have a separate room for seedling, clones, and veg......and a different room for flower????
Im not understanding how this works or how you have that set up......i know you mentioned that i could possibly still do it with a tent but i have no clue how your setup or what the purpose of it would be.......im sure theres a good reason.

i guess if you could just explain that to me like i'm completely dumb.....i would like to understand how this is working cause maybe it could help me.....besides that on my next grow im going with photos and throw a few autos in on the side.

 

[Kola320]

Thanks for the compliment I only like to do things once so I tend to make stuff too nice LOL.

No problem buddy it's really simple once you wrap it all in your brain. I run 2 rooms so I can run perpetual I have a veg room were my lights are only running 18/6 so I can flower in there. But I have my flower room where I run 12/12 to finish my PHOTO plants out.
Now here's what I do I will start 4 autos and 4 fem photos in my veg room I only keep my photos in my veg room for 5 weeks then move them to my flower room where I start my 12/12 light cycle. It can take 2 to 3 weeks to show sex waiting on pistols to start popping. Ok now were around 8 weeks my autos are pretty much done so they get harvested theres around a lb for the 4 girls..... now I go back to my flower room and start taking clones I monster crop if you don't know what that is it's just taking a clone from a flowering plant they grow goofy and more branches and nodes = more bud sites = more bud.. you following still ?
With those clones I just took it can take a couple weeks for roots now were at 5 weeks on the other 4 girls if there indicas most harvest out around 9 weeks so with the clones I get a good 4 weeks till they go to flower and my other 4 girls are harvested out with a lb+ harvested. See the pattern every month I can harvest a lb or better with 2 rooms = never out of bud You just keep cloning and harvesting saves on ordering seeds too. The only time I really shut down is when I do changes to my room, venting and new exhaust this round. You follow

 

[Dr Jay Rolla]

Very good explanation man....

....i love to have a set to harvest a LB per month...wow....

.....how does that do on your electricity bill??
...what kinda of lights do you have in your veg room?....and in your flower room?.....i have an MH and HPS both 400w..
...would i need another ballast and hood?

I guess my biggest concern would be electricity bill....

So if i would set this up.....i would need another tent as well as another box or freezer for drying?

 

[Kola320]

My veg I have 2 - 4' t-5's 8 bulb don't even notice them on the electric bill. My flower room I have a 1000 HPS but want to add a 600 to go with it shortly. I have a 6" fan pulling fresh air into my veg room plumbed into a 12x12 acme box I built pushing all the exhaust into my flower room with my portable ac and my humidifier and a 8" exhaust fan pushing it all out. Ya a lot of electric running when both rooms are going adds about 300 a month in the summer and bout 200 in the winter. But weigh that with a lb a month and it pays for itself pretty easily.

this is my veg I didn't take a finished picture yet maybe I'll take some 2 morrow once ya see it your gonna want one lol

 

[Kola320]

Your 400 covers like a 3x3 footprint so anything beyond that your gonna want more light but if you did a veg tent also you can use a t-5 a led something to help lighten the electic cost. You would want another tent if you were gonna try the way I go get a few grows under your belt first and I would be more than happy to help you toss something together I love designing my room as much as growing

 

[Dr Jay Rolla]

Hey that sounds great to me...

and yea i would like to get a few grows under my belt before i make a drastic changes....
..i figured the first 1 or 2 of growing will be a lot of learning and getting the feel for things...

...my desire to achieve success in growing marijuana is just gets bigger and bigger everyday....its such a fun rewarding hobby!

 

[Dr Jay Rolla]

Hey Kola....

...i agree with you about having just as much fun designing your grow rooms.
ive actually had just as much fun trying to design this dry box....it definitely something i need and wanted to make make myself in order to be cost efficient.....but the whole process of designing it and getting all these great ideas to throw around as well.....it adds an element of pride when you build it yourself......

I'll definitely take you up on that offer for help designing something bigger, better, and more efficient.......when the time comes!

 

[KingJohnC]

Part of drying cannabis is to allow the moisture to leave the buds evenly so that they may be properly cured. You want 70° Fahrenheit and 50%-60% humidity to dry your buds evenly throughout until the buds just snap from the stems of the branches and are ready to be placed in storage containers for curing. You want a cured 62% humidity for your dried buds