Cooler sweat cure

[screwdriver]

Well, its time for another round with the cooler. I made the last mods for this cooler. I've got my eye on a better container, but not my hands. I've added an extra heater, some fill tubes and a drain for all the condensate. The best mod was the new set of shelves.



I shouldn't need to open it for very long and the temp will maintain better. So after I warmed it up I clipped off some fan leafs to try again. The first run of leaves went better than expected so I'm giving it another go. I'll be put some bud in there shortly.

 

[screwdriver]

This is the next round for the cooler. I really loaded it this time with some new shelves. I'm maintaining about 46c and a bunch of humidity to keep the bud from drying too fast. Normally it would take about two and a half days for one shelf. It really shouldn't take much longer, but I did put some larger buds that may take a little longer.

 

[screwdriver]

It was late last night so I finally got around to take some close ups.

The first pic is the air drying bud second pic is the cooler sweat. Just starting pics, but the trics are probably under 10% dark amber and more are changing.

 

[screwdriver]

I took out all the buds that looked like they were cured. Cured is when the leaf material has changed color. The rest are a little larger in size and will stay in the cooler. Cured buds were dry enough to put into my humidor (jar with a hygrometer).






Happily smoking.

 

[medusa22]

i love this thread, so i decided to make my own diy curing chamber, so i just took one of those mini domes used to root seedlings, and filled it with hot water, dropred a aquarium heater in it at max strenght, and covered the thing with the dome...then isolated it with towels and ducktape, left however a small hole for air to come in...

my only prob is at the moment there is not much air comming in in order for the dome to be at 45cº...how much air do they need??:S

will post pics tomorrow or so...

 

[medusa22]

btw 2 days have passed and they still smell like hay, you said you removed yours after the smell of hay ended?or when they changed color?

cause they seemed to have changed color already, thanks

 

[medusa22]

ok i think i might left them in there too much time lol...the buds all came out drenched in water cause of the high temps...and totaaly brown like tobacco...nice smell though...

i put them in the oven to dry the surface so it wont create mold...after that ill put them air drying then the cure....

they were brown and even though they were drenched they had a nice smell, and the water i used was all yellow :s strange thing for sure...

 

[screwdriver]

I had color change after two days for the most part. The density, temperature, humidity, all have a role to play in the amount of time it takes to complete. With an aquarium heat the temp may not get high enough to complete the process in two days.
So far to date I've had best luck with around 40c. I've tried higher around 48c, but I couldn't control the humidity very well and I thought they dried too fast. Still far better and faster than air drying.

When you say "drenched" I hope that it was only condensation droplets that could be wicked up with a paper towel. You only need to air dry, the bud should already be cured if done correctly. Post some pics of the container that you used. What was your temperature that was maintained? Did you take any pics of the progression? I take them every 12 hours because thats when I have to get into it to refill the water, check for condensation and monitor temp.

I started using distilled water because there was so much mineral deposits that by the end it looked like sand in the bottom of the glass.

As for how much air is needed. My next chamber will be large enough for a exhaust fan, but with the coolers volume I just use natural convection with holes down low and holes in the lid. In the cooler, the lid is hollow, most of the condensation is contained within the lid with a small drain hole off the back away from the bud. I do get droplets on the bud when I open the lid, but dry them off.

Hope it worked out for you.

 

[medusa22]

thanks for your reply, i will post pics as soon as i find the charger of my nikon

i used only the aquarium heater regulated to full power...and that made the dome the plants were in about 55 celsius(probably 90 or 95% humidity, dont have a hygrometer)

On the other hand when i opened a small lid to allow the air to circulate using a fan, the temps would be about 40% with high humidity also.

the water bellow was yelowish, the buds are all brown (much like tobacco)which is nice, but still with that hayish aroma :s (now they air drying)
hopefully when they are cured in jars the sweet smell will appear

i had really wet buds, as i only used a fine screen...and the screen also got some condensation of vapor so...they were really moist(not drenched, im water curing manicure leafs at the same time, and they were moist, but not drenched like the water cured leafs)

you also had the same hayish odor?

thanks

 

[screwdriver]

No, I don't get the "hayish" smell. The humidity should really be around 80%, but that is difficult to maintain in a small cabinet. The air flow thru your container could be used to regulate humidity if the heater could supply enough heat to compensate for the cooler air entering.

I avoid too much condensation dropping onto the bud because I see in curing fan leaves, where the water droplets sit on the leaf too long the area of leaf turns browner fast.

To dry, I just removed some of the water and left the heater on. I have the two coffee cup warmers. When water is removed from one heater the humidity drops way down and the buds dry in a couple of hours. After the buds cool to room temp I though them in jars for storage and monitor the humidity.

 

[medusa22]

yeah my buds are all brown like tobacco...and have the hay smell(not as much as it was when the cure was beeing done but still very hayish), guess i did it wrong...

probably too much condensation on the buds, guess i have to rethink mything...

the buds were covered by a fine layer of water...this should have caused the brown factor, and the hay smell

im now putting the thing in jars...will cut the stems with the buds to try to push some aromas out

they smokable and smooth though...

next time ill make it to perfection love this method...

 

[screwdriver]

they smokable and smooth though...

That's the most important part!

I've never had the hay smell using this method. I think the hay smell has more to do with an abundance of nutrients (mainly nitrogen) that is given too late in flower. Enough time for the plant to o.d. right before the chop. Then drying too fast in air.
With this method, when you see the color change, you know that the innerds of the leaf are breaking down for a smooth smoke. Then again you can wait a couple of months for nature to do it on its own schedule.

 

[CantBe2High]

Warm water cure?

Warm water cure?

How about modifying this idea to use the aquarium heater with a regular water cure, but keep the water temp at a fairly warm temp, like the 40-50 degrees C? It would seem this would just speed up the water cure, and what is being done here is a warm moisture type cure, at high humidity, so a warm water cure would just be 100% RH. The warmth probably just speeds up all the flushing and chlorophyl breakdown the water cure normally does.

I love the stoner innovation shown here ...

 

[screwdriver]

That sounds like a good stoner idea. I think your heat range is correct, but I don't think you can get that with an aquarium heater and I would also try to use a steady stream of warm water like a very slow moving warm river.

I've tried water cure a couple of times, but didn't enjoy the taste.

Here's the latest cooler cure(2 days) and air dry(still drying)

 

[Murphy]

I'll be back with my version once I work it out in my head.......
Great Info