The growing large plants, outdoors, thread...

[Trinity Gold]

Drying large plants, off the grid...

Drying large plants, off the grid...

This year I am going to need a lot more drying space than I had last year ...I'm thinking about using army command post tents with either wood stoves or propane heaters...

Any one ran a set up like that before? Kind of rugged but I know people who have dried in hoop houses and it worked fine until they collapsed due to weather...

What type of heat source is better? Propane or wood?

Propane makes water when it is ignited...but compared to all that fresh produce is the humidity produced really even noticable? Especially if I have my big Dri Eaz 3500 dehums going?

Wood heat would make dry heat and plenty of it but would I also need to run a dehum? Can I oversize my wood stove so I dont need to fill it all the time?

Those with wood stove drying experience, what did you do to not have your herb get that smokehouse smell to it ?

 

[Yes4Prop215]

interesting question....as i know the harvest/curing/trimming is gonna be a bigger pain in the ass than the actual growing of the plants.....

 

[Insouciant]

.............wrong thread

 

[guest8905]

This year I am going to need a lot more drying space than I had last year ...I'm thinking about using army command post tents with either wood stoves or propane heaters...

Any one ran a set up like that before? Kind of rugged but I know people who have dried in hoop houses and it worked fine until they collapsed due to weather...

What type of heat source is better? Propane or wood?

Propane makes water when it is ignited...but compared to all that fresh produce is the humidity produced really even noticable? Especially if I have my big Dri Eaz 3500 dehums going?

Wood heat would make dry heat and plenty of it but would I also need to run a dehum? Can I oversize my wood stove so I dont need to fill it all the time?

Those with wood stove drying experience, what did you do to not have your herb get that smokehouse smell to it ?

your right bro

propane =wet heat
wood = dry heat

sounds like the propane would work well with your dehum machine.

Different wood makes different heat obviously, so some oak and hard wood will require less stoking as say some pine or something. With a good stove you should be able to stoke with oak and it should go all night and still have coals in the a.m.

only way to avoid the smell of smoke is to not let smoke near your buds.

imo if you have some propane heaters and some dehums those might be easier, but woodstoves are probably cheaper to run in the long run but would require more setup too

just my 2cents. good luck tg, a few nice barracks would work cool, perhaps a few large canvas tents, or a giant barn frame......

 

[sog army]

My homey used hoop houses last year with support. i believe 20ft wide 10ish tall with a 6X6 post and a center beam to hold it all together with conduit straps at the roof cap and on the sides..

I was planning to do the same with large dehueys going off genny then into totes for the ladies to clean up.. Good to know we are all thinking about the same stuff these days.. gonna be an awesome fall.

 

[organic P]

tg: dont burn wood. it will ruin the taste/smell of your flowers.

 

[Trinity Gold]

Organic P



Thank you for your opinion...But if you're going to tell me something like that tell me why you think that and what you did to experience that end result and what you think you could have done different to prevent it. That way I can actually get something out of the input you are trying to give me.

As you can see in my post I stated "Those with wood stove drying experience, what did you do to not have your herb get that smokehouse smell to it ?" I am aware of the risks of drying with a wood stove and it is SUPER important to me to maintain the highest quality in the medicine I am producing or else I feel that I might as well have not done it at all if the final produce isn't AAA grade.

So again...If you have done the wood stove trip and gotten the Smokehouse Special out of it, what did your set up consist of? How close was the stove to the ganj ? Were you opening and closing the stove a lot? How did you have the chimney ducted? Did you metal tape everything completely shut and then heat wrap it? What kind of air circulation did you have in the room? What do you feel you could have done in order to avoid the disaster?

Thanks

 

[nomaad]

TG... the problem with army tents is that they are not insulated... it will be difficult to manage the humidity and temps without it.

A Farmtek style hoop structure 2 car garage reinforced with foil/bubble/bubble/foil insulation glued to its inside would be ideal. A second layer if you can afford it. I'd do a propane heater over wood and rock about 4x65 pint dehu's in a 2-car garage sized hoop.

Wood heat- IME: hard to keep it as low as you want your temps. With 4 dehu's pumping out warm dry air into a properly insulated building, you may not need to use too much heat... my ideal temps for drying are 50-60...... I'm going for slow and steady... propane heat allows me control and for curing, I want to have as fine control as is possible. I have found that getting the herb into a 45% humidity, insulated environment as fast as possible is the key to keeping the color and taste perfect.

 

[organic P]

TG... fair enough, fairly useless to you you without the facts. my buddy had a spot in shasta mountains wood stove bottom floor, drying racks in loft in open area above stove total area maybe 700 square feet. i dont know how often the stove wast stoked etc. i just know it ruined a few dozen pounds. and imo it just seems like too risky a proposition to have this AAA quality medicine getting smoked out during cure. Even with precautions.

commercial dehumidifiers provide ample heat and should be more than enough in a sealed insulated room. Especially the big boys that you have!

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

Organic P



Thank you for your opinion...But if you're going to tell me something like that tell me why you think that and what you did to experience that end result and what you think you could have done different to prevent it. That way I can actually get something out of the input you are trying to give me.

As you can see in my post I stated "Those with wood stove drying experience, what did you do to not have your herb get that smokehouse smell to it ?" I am aware of the risks of drying with a wood stove and it is SUPER important to me to maintain the highest quality in the medicine I am producing or else I feel that I might as well have not done it at all if the final produce isn't AAA grade.

So again...If you have done the wood stove trip and gotten the Smokehouse Special out of it, what did your set up consist of? How close was the stove to the ganj ? Were you opening and closing the stove a lot? How did you have the chimney ducted? Did you metal tape everything completely shut and then heat wrap it? What kind of air circulation did you have in the room? What do you feel you could have done in order to avoid the disaster?

Thanks

Hey T....Ive been drying my harvest for years with a wood stove. IMHO, it's one of the most important phases of my whole process. The wood stove gives a slower, more natural drying process that other heat sources dont provide including ordinary furnace heat. Providing of course, you use the right wood: oak, almond, walnut etc. Nothing with high pitch content! Anyone who says it gives the meds a smokey taste is just plain dumb, living in a teepee or is holding the bud over the coals on a weenie stick. Does a wood stove in your house make your Ceasars salad taste like wood?

Obviously, the stove has to be installed properly with no leaks and be large enough to heat the room where the buds are being dried. If you fire up a woodstove and 5 minutes later ya cant find the door, well yea, everything including your nutsack is going to smell like smoke! Duh!

My wood stove was located in my basement and heated an area of about 30ft x 30 ft. The stove was already installed, I just took advantage of the wood heat. I keep it burning 24 hours which wasnt unusual. If youve ever lived in a house with a wood stove for primary heating, you fire it up in late Oct and dont shut in down til late May.

In your house, if the stove is installed right, there should be no real threats or danger. It's just a wood stove. If you dont have one already installed, installing one can be dicey for someone who hasnt done it. In regard to installing one in a tent, they do make outfitter tents that have the stove flange already sewn into the canvas and all you have to supply is the stove and pipe, but they can be spendy. A decent size flanged outfitters tent can run $2500.00 and go up real quick.

The down side is the canvas offers little or no insulation which means constant feeding of the stove and difficult constant temp control. The woodstove flanged tents are designed for the woodstove to be only supplemental heating and for camp cooking purposes, not for an ongoing 24 hour heating/drying operation.

Drying in a tent of any kind is going to be inherently dangerous whether using wood, propane or electric. And all will require constant 24 hour supervision. In the end, IMO, it's a hard way to get things done...

 

[nomaad]

The down side is the canvas offers little or no insulation which means constant feeding of the stove and difficult constant temp control.

If there is one thing that should be taken from this conversation it is the quoted portion.

Insulation, insulation, insulation. Uninsulated structures are nearly impossible to keep at a constant temp or humidity. Good drying/curing/preservation of color depends on it.

the wood/propane question is moot in my mind really. Any one of them done right for the structure you are using will work. If you can employ thermostatic control, even better. The kind of heating would depend most on what works for your location. Radiant heating in a poured floor would be my ultimate choice in a perfect world.

 

[ROOTWISE]

Here's my little cuties of 2011 before installing final trellis layers. I'm happy to see all the gorgeous gardens growing this year. I can't help but think that this thread has helped make it happen. I know Tom's "Big Container" inspiration originally got me going back in Overgrow days, and now to see the torch being carried by everybody here and in this thread has pushed the limits in a BIG way......Smiles Everybody, Smiles!!

Witches Weed

Random Group Shots

 

[Yes4Prop215]

damn rootwise love that greenhouse reminds me of a christmas tree farm....

 

[Butte]

Damn healthy, Rootwise! Looking forward to seeing that greenhouse full of flowers!

 

[chef]

Some haze hybrids

Some haze hybrids

After 30+ years of indoor... my first outdoor crop!



Some of my Haze Hybrids N of 45N @ 2000ft.
Mom to the hybrids, lower right.

Starting to crown & stretch a bit, showing a few hairs. A few of my Heri/Chems are budding already...

Open air so far, but getting a Bimini top for morning dew this Fall.
Getting wrapped in chainlink & a few mean ass dogs real soon too lol

edit: lil guy/gal in the middle is a volunteer. Best guess is a Heri/Chem F2?

 

[Pressed4Time]

Holy jaysus what did I just find? Great thread, gone readin!

 

[Butte_Creek]

Trinity gold and nomaad,
did you have go to county and fill out paper work to acquire a pest id in order to purchase your mycostop?

Grow organic needs a pest id to sell me mycostop

 

[canned abyss1]

Here are some pics of my outdoor, not nearly as nice as everyone elses, but better than nothing.

 

[Dr. Purpur]

Hey canned, real nice plants, cool cage too. Your doing just fine.
DP

 

[NorcalBob]

OHHH yeah!

OHHH yeah!

Listening enjoyment : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m0bI82Rz_k&feature=fvwrel

Wow! Everyone's gardens are looking Incredible, really something to behold. So much focused energy for our beloved plant, I cant wait to see what the culmination of it all brings. Rootwise your spot on sir, this thread has been an inspiration and an amazing learning tool. It's takin my outdoor experiences to a new understanding, and I'm just tipping the iceberg. Thanks again Gents~ Few shots of the garden as of today. Few plants have a little magnesium deficiency, but I've given epsom and molasses today to counter. Not the best timing with a few a week in already but....

Gf/Bb Bluetooth grin


Casey Jones


True Blueberry


sssdh 4 Sd x GF/Bb


Blue Cindy


Plat OG & Blue Cindy and Mental Floss down the leftside


Much love~