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OZZ
K.I.S.S.
Registered: 06/08/02
Posts: 1,011
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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High ambient RH effecting drying ??
#1584292 - 05/28/03 07:46 AM (20 years, 9 months ago) |
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All I can say is WTF !
My foaf has recently been having a PITA tryiing to dry his crop, all the conventional methods are falling short. Mainly the fan drying, granted the job is getting done but it is taking around three days of fan drying and about three in a dessicant chamber to get it done(on small fruits even) which is WAY to long IMO. He even went out and spent $129 on a American Harvest Gardenmaster pro, installed a toggle to disconnect the heating element to try to help the cause. Wouldnt ya know, small sized shrooms barely starting to shrivel after 12 hours !! Really pisses a guy off to spend that kind of cash and end up with something that doesnt work worth a shit. I repeat WTF !!??
In trying to figure out what the hell is going on he placed his top hyrgometer in various places throughout the house and it is reading around 56 %. Im wondering if this is the cause ? He has had crops at this time of year several tmes before and had no probs what so ever, although hes not sure of the ambient humidity at those times he cant beleive its that different from the previous two years. Could this really be the cause of such a difference in drying times ??
He lived in Florida for awhile and used a dehydrator exclusively with no probs and I guarentee the ambient humidity was at least as high if not higher than what it is here. The only diifferent variable there being he was ignorant and kept the heating element in tact. Hes wondering if he got a bunk AM dehydrator ! ?? If so hes already modified it so I guess hes shit out of luck.
But anyone have any clue ?? It about has to be the high humidity doesnt it ??
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mycofile
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 01/18/99
Posts: 2,336
Loc: Uranus
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Re: High ambient RH effecting drying ?? [Re: OZZ]
#1584437 - 05/28/03 09:26 AM (20 years, 9 months ago) |
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Yeah, it's a bitch to dry crops in high humidity.
The solution is to combine the two methods, rather than use them in succession. Build a large dessication chamber, that also has a fan in it moving the air around. This is the fastest way to dry shrooms, and is not affected by the ambient humidity.
BTW, a dehydrator with it's heating element disconnected is what? A fan.
Better than a toggle switch would be a dimmer switch hooked up to the heating element. Use a thermometer on the bottom rack and adjust the dimmer till temp is about 110. Then you'll get some heat (not too much), and air from the fan. I'd still go with the fan in the dessicator in your situation though.
-------------------- "From a certain point of view" -Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi PM me with any cultivation questions. I just looked at my profile and realized I had a website at one point in time on geocities, it's not there anymore and I have no idea what I had on it. Anybody remember my website from several years aga? PM if so please.
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OZZ
K.I.S.S.
Registered: 06/08/02
Posts: 1,011
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Re: High ambient RH effecting drying ?? [Re: mycofile]
#1584538 - 05/28/03 10:28 AM (20 years, 9 months ago) |
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Thanks - I realize that a dehydrator with the heating element disconnected is just a fan but I figured there was more to it such as the design of the trays and air flow within the dehydrator. This dehydrator already has a reostate attached to it adjustable from 90 to 155 deg., however Ive read that they can be off by as much as 15% and since my friend is concerned with conserving maximum potency he installed the toggle so he can turn the heating element completely off or turn it on allowing for normal function and adjustable temperature with the factory installed reostate, hes thinking 110 deg. would degrade potency, or at least he would rather take the better safe than sorry approach. I just wish I knew that it was actually the higher humidity this year than the two previous years, but by looking at all the factors it about has to be the problem my friend is experiencing........I think ?? So if he decides to go yet a different route and design a dessciator with a fan, would the objective be to simple circulate the air in the chamber gently or to have FORCEFUL air blowing across the shrooms to pull moisture from them ?? Building a dessicator with a simple fan to gentely circulate the air seems a easy enough task, but getting one that has forcefull air crossing the shrooms but designed in a way to not disturb the dessicant, all the while being large enough to have a decent capacity that he needs ..... will require a little more thought.
Edited by OZZ (05/28/03 10:31 AM)
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Sorted
Monkee
Registered: 12/26/98
Posts: 301
Loc: UK
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Re: High ambient RH effecting drying ?? [Re: OZZ]
#1584883 - 05/28/03 12:16 PM (20 years, 9 months ago) |
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I'd be surprised if 56% humidity is causing problems...a lot of places are higher than that all the time..like here it's often 70%+ here throughout the year and I've never had drying problems like that...are you sure your hygrometer's definately reading correctly?
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jakeholman
crotch rocketsrule!
Registered: 02/24/03
Posts: 503
Last seen: 17 years, 19 days
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Re: High ambient RH effecting drying ?? [Re: Sorted]
#1585076 - 05/28/03 01:05 PM (20 years, 9 months ago) |
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http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Forum2&Number=535625&Search=true&Forum=Forum2&Words=drying&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=534329
this is a version of a bulk drying method found on another post-looks good. and unless your toggle is visible from the outside, you can possibly scam your money back, just hook teh wire back up so it works and take it back. Jake H
-------------------- The above statement is fictitious and for entertainment purposes only. I do not use or condone the use of illegal substances, nor do I use or condone the use of legal substances in an illegal manner.
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OZZ
K.I.S.S.
Registered: 06/08/02
Posts: 1,011
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Re: High ambient RH effecting drying ?? [Re: jakeholman]
#1586114 - 05/28/03 06:30 PM (20 years, 9 months ago) |
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Thanks a ton, that link looks great.
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