Evaporative (swamp) cooler for drying room?

[IOSilver]

Hi all,

Newbie here & it's my 1st outdoor grow (I only have two plants)
They're just about ready for harvest & I'm trying to get a drying space/room setup.

I live in central California & it's in the upper 90's here. The room where I want to dry (a spare bedroom) is around 80 degrees & 34% RH according to a hygrometer I placed in there.

As I understand it, the best possible drying conditions for my plants would be around 70 degrees & 55% RH so I am looking at ways to achieve that in the room for a couple weeks.

I know I could buy a digital humidifier for around $50-70 but wondering if I can save some money & get the same results with a portable evaporative cooler I already own.

Has anyone ever tried using an evaporative (swamp) cooler to lower temp & raise humidity in a drying room?
Think it could work?

Appreciate any input/advice..

 

[onionslinger]

If youre not using the room right now why not run it for a couple days and watch the readings? You'll have your own answer. But if you just wanted to swing by and say hello that cool too..

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

it ought to work, but you will need something to control it. a humidistat cost about 25-35 bucks, and will kick it on if the humidity drops below a certain point.

 

[hotrodharley]

Dude, forget the swamp cooler. Trust this West Texas desert rat. Forget it. Just dry your stuff and order some 62% Boveda packs.

Forget the swamp cooler! Be glad you have the low humidity.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

34% rh is pretty low, his shit is going to dry quick, i don't think it'll have time to break down enough of the chlorophyll and sugars and starches. he can get by it by jarring for a longer time, but you could cut out two weeks of jarring with one week of slower drying time

 

[blowincherrypie]

Ive found extra leaves will slow things down some so dont wet trim.. If you give it 4-5 days or so it will be "dry" on the outside but there should still be enough moisture to even things out some when you put in jar.

 

[hotrodharley]

Cut the entire plant off at ground level and hang it upside down. Your RH rises at night as well.

 

[hotrodharley]

Dry it and immediately jar it. Trying to delay drying usually doesn't work in a room or a house etc. Build yourself a drying cabinet and use humidifiers for guitars but have air moving at all times. Those heavy wardrobe boxes from Uhaul and 2 PC fans. One low and one high. Obviously low intake, high exhaust . Run dowel rods alternating so all bud hangs free. Use binder clips on the dowels.

Dry the plant a bit upside down then trim the limbs off individually . Hang in this box. As drying progresses trim the buds off the larger stem. Etc.

 

[IOSilver]

Thanks for all the helpful advice

I liked the suggestion of "try it out & see" so that's what I'm doing...
So far, the cooler's been running 2 hrs. & seems to be working: Humidity is up from 39%RH to 51%RH, but you're right: I need some way to control it so will look around for the humidistat switch you recommended. Thanks for the idea!

If this method doesn't work out, I'm ok with jarring early & burping/re-airing til RH stabilizes.
I bought some 1qt. canning jars, some mini hygrometers to place inside the jars & will order some 62% humidipaks..

I've already made a few mistakes with this grow (eg: plants are rootbound -pots too small & I should've transplanted a 3rd time) but live & learn. I'm just going to see them to the end & plan better next time..
It's going to take some time/experience for me to learn & become proficient at this. I appreciate your help!
I've read drying & curing are very important steps so want to make the conditions as ideal as possible.

FYI: These are Sativa dominant clones given to me back in May when they were on their 4th set of leaves.
I transplanted twice & am growing outdoors in pots in full sun. I think I noticed the first pistils forming around July 4 so they're probably in their 10th week or so of flower. They seem to have completed their final stretch, are starting to smell & fan leaves are yellowing but I'm still seeing some clear trichomes (jewelers loupe) & more white pistils than brown.
I'm hoping the buds will fill out a bit more as they're still fairly small.
It looks like I've got maybe 3-4 weeks left to harvest(?).
What do I know, I'm a noob, lol

Thanks for welcoming me to the forum & all your invaluable advice..Much appreciated
PS: I'm feminized too: This "dude" is a she, lol
Thanks everyone for your help with my 1st grow!
Cyndi

 

[onionslinger]

Just dry your stuff and order some 62% Boveda packs..

Hey Harley

I check these boards regularly and usually just keep my mouth shut as I am far from godliness growing plants. But I often see posts from you and in my meager opinion you're a good dude ..and offer a lot of good and helpful advice, some I've witnessed first hand and others just seem to make sense. So really? Boveda packs man?

I've got 7 grows under the belt now, but only really started curing the last three times using jars. Two runs ago i managed to cure out some super lemon haze and man, i have never smoked any other bud like it when it came to smell or taste. And this is main reason why i grow, period, the end. I cured that stuff for a couple months and it just kept getting better, esp. the potency. But I took it down from 75 to about 60 over a slow period of 4 weeks and i just can't wrap my brain around how these bovedas can replicate a nice slow dry like that.

Let me ask you this, how many days do you think it would honestly take to reach 62% if the buds you were drying were going into a quart jar at say 70%? For the sake of it, say youre drying a half full jar. I appreciate your opinion.

OP

Sorry for the hijack. Those are some nice looking plants. Nice work!

 

[hotrodharley]

Hey Harley

I check these boards regularly and usually just keep my mouth shut as I am far from godliness growing plants. But I often see posts from you and in my meager opinion you're a good dude ..and offer a lot of good and helpful advice, some I've witnessed first hand and others just seem to make sense. So really? Boveda packs man?

I've got 7 grows under the belt now, but only really started curing the last three times using jars. Two runs ago i managed to cure out some super lemon haze and man, i have never smoked any other bud like it when it came to smell or taste. And this is main reason why i grow, period, the end. I cured that stuff for a couple months and it just kept getting better, esp. the potency. But I took it down from 75 to about 60 over a slow period of 4 weeks and i just can't wrap my brain around how these bovedas can replicate a nice slow dry like that.

Let me ask you this, how many days do you think it would honestly take to reach 62% if the buds you were drying were going into a quart jar at say 70%? For the sake of it, say youre drying a half full jar. I appreciate your opinion.

OP

Sorry for the hijack. Those are some nice looking plants. Nice work!

Not trying to relace a good cure with Boveda packs. Trying to tell the OP from years of experience that trying to control humidity with a swamp cooler doesn't work.

 

[hotrodharley]

Let me ask the OP - what was your bud like the last time you dried under these conditions? How fast did it dry?

 

[IOSilver]

The last & only other time I grew was many years ago & heat & humidity weren't an issue then.
It's a lot hotter & drier where I live now.

Re: swamp coolers. I know they become ineffective at cooling once the humidity gets above a certain point.
While it did raise the RH to 55% pretty quickly, it did nothing to cool the room down. It was still 80F inside.
Is this the reason they can't be used for drying?

Re: Boveda 62% Humidipaks. Not a good idea?
I've read they can help prevent buds from over-drying during curing/storage but should not be added to jars until the RH has been stabilized within the proper curing range by sealing/checking & airing buds as necessary for however long it takes. (Is that right?

Pretty much learning all this stuff for the 1st time.. doing a lot of reading & hoping not to botch this too bad, lol
I think if I can figure out the best time to harvest & get it properly dried/stored I think I'll be doing well.

Thanks for your help

 

[hotrodharley]

The last & only other time I grew was many years ago & heat & humidity weren't an issue then.
It's a lot hotter & drier where I live now.

Re: swamp coolers. I know they become ineffective at cooling once the humidity gets above a certain point.
While it did raise the RH to 55% pretty quickly, it did nothing to cool the room down. It was still 80F inside.
Is this the reason they can't be used for drying?

Re: Boveda 62% Humidipaks. Not a good idea?
I've read they can help prevent buds from over-drying during curing/storage but should not be added to jars until the RH has been stabilized within the proper curing range by sealing/checking & airing buds as necessary for however long it takes. (Is that right?

Pretty much learning all this stuff for the 1st time.. doing a lot of reading & hoping not to botch this too bad, lol
I think if I can figure out the best time to harvest & get it properly dried/stored I think I'll be doing well.

Thanks for your help

Dry as your natural conditions allow. Drying bud is going to attract moisture. This is how a Boveda works.

Dry to a decent point and it won't be overnight I promise. Come back and tell them. It will take days. You'll see. It won't be a harsh speed dry like one poster is picturing. A poster I'm assuming who's not a desert rat.

The Boveda is only to help preserve moisture. Although they can help revive overdried bud that is not our purpose here.

 

[IOSilver]

Thanks for the advice

I will hang the entire plants & dry trim later as suggested.
Seems this is the best method due to my high temp/low humidity conditions to avoid drying them out too quickly. (I was kinda looking forward to trying out some wet-trim scissor hash but I guess I can forgo that, lol

Did some more reading on this method & from what I gather, they'll cure pretty well hanging "fully-clothed" this way. It'll take a lot longer (which is a good thing) but the buds will be much closer or even at ideal curing range when it comes time to jar them up after the dry & trim. (Correct?

Thanks for your help!
Cyndi

 

[IOSilver]

I just had another crazy idea I thought I'd fly by you..

What if I were to hang the plants whole & untrimmed upside down from my shower curtain rod, partially fill the bathtub with water, close the door & add a small oscilating fan pointed at the wall for airflow?

My bathroom IS the coolest room in my house with just one small window that I could easily cover for darkness. (I'd dry in a closet but they're all in use & I don't want my clothes to smell like weed, lol)

These plants are still outside in my yard & pretty far from the house but after I open some windows to catch the cool evening breeze my entire house smells like marijuana inside. I imagine they're gonna be really stanky once I bring them inside to dry. Confining that smell to 1 small bathroom might be nice. Also, it'd be easier to control the temp & humidity in a smaller space I bet.
Just a thought...

What do you think, Crazy or plausible?

 

[Stink Bug]

Thanks for all the helpful advice

I liked the suggestion of "try it out & see" so that's what I'm doing...
So far, the cooler's been running 2 hrs. & seems to be working: Humidity is up from 39%RH to 51%RH, but you're right: I need some way to control it so will look around for the humidistat switch you recommended. Thanks for the idea!

If this method doesn't work out, I'm ok with jarring early & burping/re-airing til RH stabilizes.
I bought some 1qt. canning jars, some mini hygrometers to place inside the jars & will order some 62% humidipaks..

I've already made a few mistakes with this grow (eg: plants are rootbound -pots too small & I should've transplanted a 3rd time) but live & learn. I'm just going to see them to the end & plan better next time..
It's going to take some time/experience for me to learn & become proficient at this. I appreciate your help!
I've read drying & curing are very important steps so want to make the conditions as ideal as possible.

FYI: These are Sativa dominant clones given to me back in May when they were on their 4th set of leaves.
I transplanted twice & am growing outdoors in pots in full sun. I think I noticed the first pistils forming around July 4 so they're probably in their 10th week or so of flower. They seem to have completed their final stretch, are starting to smell & fan leaves are yellowing but I'm still seeing some clear trichomes (jewelers loupe) & more white pistils than brown.
I'm hoping the buds will fill out a bit more as they're still fairly small.
It looks like I've got maybe 3-4 weeks left to harvest(?).
What do I know, I'm a noob, lol

Thanks for welcoming me to the forum & all your invaluable advice..Much appreciated
PS: I'm feminized too: This "dude" is a she, lol
Thanks everyone for your help with my 1st grow!
Cyndi

Better pics would help. 3 or 4 is probably about right. What you may have seen is preflowers which indicate sexual maturity. And sexual maturity doesn't mean flowering has begun. I'd hate to see you harvest early and compromise you efforts. Those are healthy looking plants from what can be seen in the pictures.

 

[IOSilver]

Thanks Stink Bug for helping me determine maturity so I can harvest at the right time
I don't want to harvest too early either! I would prefer a more energetic high as opposed to narcotic couch-lock which is why I chose a sativa dominant hybrid & may want to harvest a bit on the early side of the harvest window in an effort to obtain that effect.

I'm trying to get some clearer, detailed pics of these buds for you..
Learning how to adjust my camera as most are coming out blurry.
I posted the best of the ones I snapped today.

In the meantime, I can describe to you what I'm seeing:

Pistils: The pistils on the tops of buds all up & down the stems have browned & curled slightly, but only about 1/4 to 1/3rd of the way down their length towards the calyxes.
Further down the stems I see what looks like some new white pistils emerging & sticking straight out between small newly formed green leaves.

Leaves: Lots of yellowing of big & small fan leaves here & there throughout both plants (this is why I thought they were nearly done) but after looking at the small bud size & seeing clear trichomes I figured it must be a deficiency of some sort so I gave them a dose of Cal-Mag Plus 5 days ago followed by a 1/2 strength dose of Foxfarms Big Bloom two days later. Have yet to notice any difference --fan leaves big & small are still yellowing & dropping here & there & branches are becoming more stalk-like & less all-over bushy in appearance. Small leaves nearest the buds still look green & are a darker green than leaves elsewhere on the plants.These plants have always had a light green pallor to them since the beginning. I thought they were suffering until I read somewhere Sativa tends to be a lighter green.

Trichomes: Using a jewelers loupe I see lots of clear ones & some cloudy (maybe 30%) & on some of the sugar leaves further away from the flowers I spotted a few that look amber. They're all standing up straight.

Smell: They are getting really stinky this past week & are attracting some flies & insects. I plucked off a few small caterpillars today. Still, I'd rather not use any pesticides if I can avoid it.

These plants have had it rough. Super high temps over 100 & hot hot sun, cramped living quarters (pots are obviously too small for them now), possible malnutrition & the stress of having a bad mother who doesn't know how to properly attend to their needs, lol.
I have always adjusted the PH to between 6.3 & 6.8 using PH down before each watering (it comes out of my tap around 8.0). I've never topped or pruned either of them.

I really appreciate your help & will post some better pics for you soon as I master the use of this camera..

Thanks so much for your help!
Cyndi

 

[hotrodharley]

I just had another crazy idea I thought I'd fly by you..

What if I were to hang the plants whole & untrimmed upside down from my shower curtain rod, partially fill the bathtub with water, close the door & add a small oscilating fan pointed at the wall for airflow?

My bathroom IS the coolest room in my house with just one small window that I could easily cover for darkness. (I'd dry in a closet but they're all in use & I don't want my clothes to smell like weed, lol)

These plants are still outside in my yard & pretty far from the house but after I open some windows to catch the cool evening breeze my entire house smells like marijuana inside. I imagine they're gonna be really stanky once I bring them inside to dry. Confining that smell to 1 small bathroom might be nice. Also, it'd be easier to control the temp & humidity in a smaller space I bet.
Just a thought...

What do you think, Crazy or plausible?

Put a hygrometer in there beforehand and see.

 

[IOSilver]

Good idea Harley..
I'll give it a try & see what happens.
Will keep you posted...

Thanks for all your help! Much appreciated
Cyndi