GrowTech's Fuct Herb Quick-Dryer [Rubbermaid]

So I just completed (to as much as my needs require) Al B. Fuct's quick dry cab. I took plenty of pictures, so I decided to throw an additional guide on forum for how I built mine.

Mine can be used with hanging strings up, building chicken-wire shelves (i recommend the plastic alternative to chicken wire), or just about any other method of drying your herbs.

So first... to do this without spending a time, you would need no more than the following:

Parts I used:

• 1 Rubbermaid 18 Gallon Roughneck tub w/ snap-on lid.
• 2 12volt PC fans (out of a server I trashed years ago).
• 2 Plastic PC fan covers (were attached to the fans).
• 8 Snap in plastic screws (They were holding the fan covers onto the fans)
• 1 radio shack power adapter of equal voltage and amperage.
• 1 razor blade for cutting your holes in the roughneck.
• 1 wood screw for starting holes in the roughneck for the snap-in screws.
• Tape, scissors, miscellaneous stuff that everyone should have (See picture)

Here is a picture of all of the supplies I had available (just in case I needed it).



So, considering I had all of the parts to use (aside from the heat sink, and a couple other minor parts, either of which I did not need), I decided to get started on building my drying cabinet...


So here are the steps I followed to complete my prjoect:

1. Clean your tub, lid, PC fans(they get dusty), and the fan covers thoroughly.
2. Use your fan covers, and a sharpie to trace out the holes you will be making. Remember to have one fan on top, and one fan on bottom.
3. Use your sharp razor of destiny to cut through the dense flesh of your rubbermaid box. A true ninja pulls the loose flap to easily angle each slice to achieve a perfect circle, the other ninjas just scrape out piece by piece.
   
4. Once your holes are made, place the fan cover over the hole to confirm that the cut is right. While the fan cover is aligned, use the sharpie to mark the holes you will make for your snap-in plastic screws.
5. Use your wood screw to get the holes started, after using your wood screw you may want to stick the scissors in the hole to bore out the hole faster while being careful to not overdo it.
   
6. Now that you have 5 holes on each side (One vent hole, 4 screw holes) you can mount your first fan. Align the fan cover on the outside of the box, over the hole, and put the plastic snap-in screws into the 4 holes. Push your fan into the snap-in screws on the inside of the box.
   
7. Complete the same cutting, screwing, clipping procedure on the other side but either higher or lower. (The idea being air should move AROUND the box, and NOT STRAIGHT THROUGH the box)
8. Drill a hole in the bottom of the box, small enough to tightly hold the power plug in.
   
9. Insert the power plug, and connect the wires to the fans. The positive leads on both fans will be connected to each other, the negatives connected to each other, and both will be connected to the corresponding leads on the 12 power connector.
   
10. Use your masking tape to tape down the wiring so that it is not at risk of being disturbed at any point by your hurricane force winds.
    
11. Air dust everything out, and then wipe it down once more with a damp rag to confirm all plastic debris are out of the environment.

And there you have it. That pretty much sums up the build of MY fuct quick-dryer. I ran this, and everything has been good and runs solid for long periods of time without any issues. Depending on the area in which you live, you may need to introduce heat/cooling/humidity to the environment to prevent issues. Now I need to decide whether I want to build shelves, or hang wires or...

This has made a wonderful addition to my grow, and now I don't need to utilize the same environment that I grow in, to dry my herbs. I highly recommend Al B. Fuct's design to anyone who has the parts laying around and would rather build a quick-dryer than spend $150+ for one of equal or lesser quality elsewhere. I'll probably add an on/off switch in a week or so, but it isn't really needed that badly.

The total build time took me 2.5 hours including the time I spent on the Live Chat kickin' it, and a couple of smoke breaks. All in all, I'm happy with what I got:



Hope this can help somebody! Remember to Visit the Live Chat
Feel free to post any questions or comments.

This turned out awesome dude! +Rep!

realy nice idea.

as for shelf/hanger. you could have both, on one side have a ladys stocking cut open too form a fine gauze you can place buds on. and two curtain rings (screw in type) fixed on the other side with some cord too clip larger colas on.

light buds on the stocking side and, damper buds/ large colas on the cord side hanging.

have you thought about filtering incoming air, removing fine dust and rubbish. there are some pc fan filters on the market. i have a large problem with dust and rubbish coming in from the road i live on. my pc clogs every month its that bad so would hate too see inside a bud dryer in my room. would you think adding a filter would help keep drying area free from airborne dust/rubbish and not tainting any buds.

Tamzi

I made the intake higher up, and the exhaust on the bottom to avoid problems with dust. I will have to see how they do. This box will be in an 99% dust free environment.

I just looked into it, there are are companies that sell PC Fan filters: PC fan filter - Google Search

I might buy one from a local supplier, in addition to a power switch.

This fan filter would actually look nice. I just wish the rubbermaid roughnecks had thicket walls, so the fan could be flush with the walls of the tub, on both sides. Of course if that were the case, it would be awfully hard to cut the holes using a razor.

GrowTech said:

This fan filter would actually look nice. I just wish the rubbermaid roughnecks had thicket walls, so the fan could be flush with the walls of the tub, on both sides. Of course if that were the case, it would be awfully hard to cut the holes using a razor.

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that is sweet. looks like a carbon pad, and that gave me an idea. once it has been clogged up, cut the filter away, purchase a carbon filter pad and hotglue in place.

those filters could help stealth micro cab grows too, wonder if they block light out


Tamzi

what if you want to hang it from the roof with wire such as,,,do u need to put the cap on the rubbermaid to prevent light? the only holes are 1 for intake 1 for out take,,and u keep everything else closed up?

I'm not entirely understanding the question...

hi floyd.

yes buddy the lid will stay on your dryer while your nuggs dry out. growtech has the intake and outlet venting staggered, so intake is higher than the outlet or vice a versa. this allows air to be drawn in and then past/over nugs/buds.

the idea is too have the unit closed/clipped down, your buds inside have a constant breeze passing over and around them, allowing for a nice even drying period. it also brings down the amount of time drying takes.

you could place hangers on the lid and suspend them too dry. most dryers have shelves fitted inside at different hights, the nugs/bud is then placed on these shelves and the lid paced back onto the dryer. the shelving can be made from fine gauze, womens stockings, fruit bags, and even those little bags that come with clothes cleaning tabs. the choices are endless.

hope that helps

Tamzi

Thanks for the post Tamzi! +Rep

GrowTech said:

Thanks for the post Tamzi! +Rep

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no problems GT glad i could help explain. is good too see ideas like this. keep up the good household modding.

floyd. im not sure about drying buds in the dark. maybe another member can explain if this is good or not required.

Tamzi

Thanks a ton for making this but when drying how bad does it smell?

-Thanks.

It smells, but I don't mind the smell. It's not unreasonably difficult to install a filter on it. I would investigate the one made using only walmart parts(2 pencil holders, a pair of black socks, and some other random stuff), as it is quite small, and may work well inside of the rubbermaid. You can find the DIY on the sock filter deal on the DIY forums here at RIU.

Yeah, I planned on using the one on the carbon filter as well, I did buy from Activated Carbon but now I need those steel mesh pencil cups.

I'll be making one of these now that I know how to do it step-by-step. Thanks, GrowTech, for posting this!

catnips said:

I'll be making one of these now that I know how to do it step-by-step. Thanks, GrowTech, for posting this!

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Glad I could help!

I like your avatar... that cat looks nice

How do you remove the green taste from the buds, that home grown taste?

udirtydogg said:

How do you remove the green taste from the buds, that home grown taste?

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What homegrown taste? LOL.

i think he means the grassy or hay taste,,,
1) u have to flush out the chemicals before harvest(mostly the nitrogen)
2) dont pic mature or premature budd
3) dry yr budds slowly not fast
4) most important,,,CURE in glass jars for minimum of 4 weeks,,,if u do all this,,yr budd will taste good