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1-2 pound drying tub

Mr. Bongjangles

Head Brewer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Hey everyone, thought I'd take a moment to share my drying tub.



It's nothing revolutionary, but is a bit larger scale than the ones it is modeled after, and with the "shelves" I've found, it can easily dry a pound or 2 of bud at a time.

They are actually cookie cooling racks, available at Wal-Mart in packs of 3 for 9 dollars in the cooking section. They fit magically into the tub, in 3 rows stacked 6 high.



A little expensive to fill the tub with them, but you're looking at 60 bucks or so for all 18, and you can make your own shelves in a variety of ways if you're on a budget.

The tub itself was 14 dollars, and the 4'' fan was 7, so no problems on the budget tip there.

The fan is small, but I'm not after speed drying as it would do in a smaller space, just a large contained area with enough air exchange to prevent any problems while keeping my buds in the dark and giving me the option to run the exhaust through a carbon filter. You could add a 2nd fan or start with a larger one if you want to speed up the process.

As for capacity, each tray holds 1-2 ounces of buds depending on how much fluff is on there (weight after drying.) You can also fill the bottom of the tub with buds, so that is like 3 extra trays worth. 21 trays of space works out to 21-42 ounces of bud, so a tub with these shelves can really dry a lot of herb.

Anyways, here's some random pics of the process. I'm using 1 exhaust hole on the other side from the intake fan that then pushes into an old can33 filter I had around. It's used up for growing, but at the slow rate that little fan pushes air out of the tub, its no problem for the old filter.

If one doesn't want to carbon filter, you can just drill a bunch of small holes on the opposite side from the intake fan.



There's the hole for the intake fan.. If you have a thing of blank cd's around, the lid makes a perfect guide.. Top down, as in the pic.



There's the exact tub I'm using.. Scale up or down based on your needs, but this is the one that fits 3 rows of the cooling trays just right, so I thought a pic of the label might help.



Cheap fan.



There's the old can33 with some material from an air filter I cut up, since I'm pushing through it now.

So that's about all.. Hopefully someone somewhere will find this helpful :D
 

Mr. Bongjangles

Head Brewer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Hey again everyone.. Dropping by with a quick addition..

I added a spacer constructed out of the cd-spindle lid thing.. It wasn't quite big enough, but I cut it down the side and fit it to the fan, then taped it the right size.

I did this so it wasn't blowing right on the top tray when I had it completely full.



With a full load, the buds were ready for jars in about 6 days, btw.
 

Lucky 7

Active member
Very nice; I built a similar one a few yrs back only used a 110vt computer style fan I had left over from a commercial project. It works sweet.

They get about $250 for a ready made one.
 

Core

Quality Control Controller
ICMag Donor
Veteran
nice looking DIY !!
but no DIY stamp??
seems that Pontiac did not notice this one hehehe
 

Phillthy

Seven-Thirty
ICMag Donor
Veteran
yeah this should get a seal of approval ;) i think i am gonna build one of these for fun. looks like a cool lil project.
 

Phillthy

Seven-Thirty
ICMag Donor
Veteran
anyone who knows me knows i am a person of my word... i said i was gonna build one of these and i have started the project ;)

i used the same tub. walmart special ;)
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cut a 6 inch hole in it. here is the rough cut which i later went over with a dremel.
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used a 6 inch duct booster fan with cord...
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all three racks still fit in so now all that is left to do is cut the inlets and wrap the fan with some type of screen so it doesnt suck my buds though. i may try to do some type of filter on the inlets.
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didnt mean to hijack the thread but this was a great idea and needs the DYI seal of approval :joint:
 

ft100

Active member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
o pontiac.........................great diy. need to build me one of these. i think ill go with a 4 inch duct booster for less air (slower drying) and maybe a diy coffee can filter. all good friends. peace and smoke.
 

Phillthy

Seven-Thirty
ICMag Donor
Veteran
yeah i was thinking about speed controlling or timing the fan i got. i had thought about the 4 inch as well. the 6 inch moves 180 cfm.
 
Do you leave the fan on all the time? Or are you controlling the speed in any way?

Could too much ventilation cause buds to dry too quickly?
 

ChronJohn

Member
@Mr. Bojangles: so theres no problem with stagnant air since there's no outtake fan? didnt kno the intake pressure would be enough to force air all the way through the box, venting, and carbon filter. also, (this question directed at poster as well as Phillthy, both designs are cool but i like carbon filter addition better no smell) how long does it take to dry in it and does it try it evenly? just a couple things that came to mind, if those aren't issues then awesome drying tub bro.
 

InPotiTrust

Member
Thanks for doing such a nice write up Mr. Bongjangles...I did mine a little different,i used carbon filter sheets over my pc fan in layers it smells a little but it wont stink up the whole place.I also put small hole in the top as u can see works great.


With some bud inside
 

Mr. Bongjangles

Head Brewer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
@Mr. Bojangles: so theres no problem with stagnant air since there's no outtake fan? didnt kno the intake pressure would be enough to force air all the way through the box, venting, and carbon filter. also, (this question directed at poster as well as Phillthy, both designs are cool but i like carbon filter addition better no smell) how long does it take to dry in it and does it try it evenly? just a couple things that came to mind, if those aren't issues then awesome drying tub bro.

Nah, no problems with stagnant air - the positive pressure keeps it moving. It would be better in the end with an exhaust fan hooked up to the filter to create negative pressure in the tub instead, but I was going for cheap and simple. Looks like Phillthy has done it that way. (Great job btw Phillthy!!!)

In about 6-7 days I'm finding the buds ready for jars, just a day or so faster than when I let them sit out with a fan in the room.

The buds dry evenly for the most part, but, I have noticed the 1-2 shelves directly under the fan dry a little faster than the rest. I've only filled it to the brim a couple of times though, so typically I leave those spots open.

Do you leave the fan on all the time? Or are you controlling the speed in any way?

Could too much ventilation cause buds to dry too quickly?

I leave the fan on the whole time, and I've not found it to be a problem, but the fan is very small.

With a larger fan or different setup, a speed controller would certainly help dial in the drying rate, as you wouldn't want to leave them in a windtunnel the whole time :D
 
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