Bud dryer - manicured to smoke in 3 days

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
one thing leads to another and then i'm typing a bunch of stuff in your thread!
This is one of the few places in this world where you can blame the drugs and have it understood as perfectly normal. ;)

could i put one of these https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/63004-my-3-carbon-filter.html over the fan? would it eliminate the odor?
Looks like it would work pretty well.

would it hinder airflow too much?
Axial fans are not very good at pushing air through high static loads as caused by obstructions. You don't need much airflow through the bud dryer for it to work, but neither do you need to pop any fan motors, which can occur if the output of an axial is fully blocked.

I usually suggest centrif blowers for carbon filters, but that's over the top for a bud dryer. I think you might be better off with a very large cylindrical filter with thinner walls that would present a low flow resistance. Hard to make with granules and cloth, I know. You can buy activated carbon in sheets which might be a better form of the material for this application.
 

SomeGuy

Well-Known Member
Hey Al! I finally used my dryer on a couple plants worth. Works great for me without the element. I used it to dry for about 3.5 days and have been curing in jars since. its only about 10 days since harvest and the buds already start to smell dank. This was just a good stealth option for me. I added flat carbon filter over the intake fan to keep out dust as well. :) no dust on my buds :)
 

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
SG, good deal!

You might swap the carbon filter on the intake for a piece of nylon stocking. Will trap dust as effectively as the carbon filter but will flow more air. Use the carbon on the outlet.
 

SomeGuy

Well-Known Member
SG, good deal!

You might swap the carbon filter on the intake for a piece of nylon stocking. Will trap dust as effectively as the carbon filter but will flow more air. Use the carbon on the outlet.
the carbon filter stuff is actually on both intake and exhaust.. it was the only filter material I left on-hand..LOL.. Looks like a little more will be going into my dryer in the next couple of days :) Ill try to remember to take pics of the dryer being loaded.
 

david6767

Well-Known Member
Hi, nice piece of kit - just a couple of quesstions.

Firstly, would like to point out that I'm not too knowledgable about electronics - so bear with me!

Is it a 240v system, fans , heatsink etc? Or are they 12v through a transformer?

If so what sort of transformer do I need?

coud you also go into a bit more detail on how you wired it up, especially the heat sensor and resistors?

thanks for any help you an offer.:mrgreen:
 

david6767

Well-Known Member
could you also explain how the heatsink works please - sorry if this is painfully obvious to others - do you wire it up? where does it draw the heat from?
 

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
Hi, nice piece of kit - just a couple of quesstions.

Firstly, would like to point out that I'm not too knowledgable about electronics - so bear with me!
This may not be the project for you if that's the case.

There's soldering throughout this project and also disassembly of the thermostat module required to relocate the thermistor from the ckt board of the thermostat for remote mounting in the airstream. The thermistor must be removed from the thermostat and relocated for this to work correctly.

Is it a 240v system, fans , heatsink etc?
Yep. Resistors don't care what voltage you apply (up to their flashover rating which is probably at least 600V). A transformer is not needed.

coud you also go into a bit more detail on how you wired it up, especially the heat sensor and resistors?
This is the schematic for BudDryer v2.0:



The thermistor (temp sensor) from the thermostat has been desoldered from the thermostat's ckt board and remotely mounted inside the dryer using some thin gauge wire, in the warm air stream.


Note tiny little blue thermistor near bottom of the fan outlet. Hotmelt glue is used to keep the thermistor in place.

Any questions? (ducking) :D
 
Last edited:

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
hah, 'doalude'! You're giving away your age. You probably know the significance of the number 714, don't you? :lol:

Yep, if that commercial dehydrator will go down to 85F, it'll work pretty well. Just VERIFY with a thermometer that that's what it's doing.

I haven't had any time off from the op (or the cannabis boards) for a while, so I'm going to get lost for a while.



If you can read this, you know where I'm going. ;)

I'll be back in a few weeks.

bula bula!
 

SomeGuy

Well-Known Member
Hey Al. Been a bit busy but here are the pics of my dryer. No heating element, just ambient air. Intake & Exhaust have the carbon impregnated filter material over them. Pretty simple and works great. I should mention that I just dry till the bud is crunchy on the outside and a small stem snaps but the bigger ones are bendy. Then I cure in jars. Enjoy:)

P5210146.jpgP5210147.jpg

P5210149.jpgP5210150.jpg

P5210151.jpgP5210152.jpg

P5210153.jpg
 

DrGreenFinger

Well-Known Member
Hey Al. Been a bit busy but here are the pics of my dryer. No heating element, just ambient air. Intake & Exhaust have the carbon impregnated filter material over them. Pretty simple and works great. I should mention that I just dry till the bud is crunchy on the outside and a small stem snaps but the bigger ones are bendy. Then I cure in jars. Enjoy:)

quote]

whats your capacity?
 

SomeGuy

Well-Known Member
whats your capacity?
About two whole plants that would be about 3.5' hight and bushy. So maybe what would turn out to be dry is 3 to 4 ounces, but weight varies with variety so really two plants. Im using a medium size tote. Im sure a bigger one could hold LOTS more. :)

OH.. and smell isnt much of an issue using the carbon filter stuff.
 

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
Hey Al. Been a bit busy but here are the pics of my dryer. No heating element, just ambient air. Intake & Exhaust have the carbon impregnated filter material over them. Pretty simple and works great. I should mention that I just dry till the bud is crunchy on the outside and a small stem snaps but the bigger ones are bendy. Then I cure in jars. Enjoy:)
Well done. :)

Yep, I'm just back from holidays myself. Wouldn't believe how hard it was to get my computer... AND my op... back out of bongjockey's able hands. :D

Yep, my earliest incarnation of the bud dryer didn't have a heater either. Several ppl have built them without one. They do work without a heater but take longer to get the job done.

Crunchy on the outside and bendy stems is exactly how I gauge the moisture content as well. Once to that point, they go in a tupperware type box for a day or so until the moisture content equalises. Takes about half a day for that.

If you do overdry your buds, it's a simple matter to rehydrate them. Put the buds in a plastic tub with a dampened paper towel for a few hours. Fixed. :)
 

SomeGuy

Well-Known Member
YUP! I love it this way as it is super stealth. I can sit the tub on my storage shelf and nobody even looks at it..LOL I am building some cabinets currently to get out my closet. I think the confined space will be good for limiting me..LOL
 
Top