Lowering humidity while drying

[billyboy]

Hey All - hope your grows are going well.

I harvested over the weekend and am in the tent drying. I'd like to lower the humidity some, but don't really want to get a dehumidifier in there (really don't want the additional electricity expense or to bother buying one and messing with it). I have a heater so can manage a temp right around 70 degrees to bump on when necessary, and can run the blower to dump heat as needed. But humidity in the ambient air is 60-65% and I'd like to be closer to 50%

Anyone have any humidity lowering advice, tips or tricks? I am drying in my tent and so have a controllable environment.

[Rik]

Hey there billyboy, nice looking harvest you got there. Might help a little:

DampRid FG50T Moisture Absorber 4 lb. Hi-Capacity Bucket-for Fresher, Cleaner Air in Large Spaces-2 Pack, 4-Pound, white, 2 Count https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZXXLQTR...KYCS0WXFC9X40H

[billyboy]

You 'da man Rik. I asked the wife and she had some on hand. Very cool.

[LemonBud]

How do you control the humidity level and what is the leveling out point for the humidity Thanks

[Rik]

LemonBud I wondered the same thing and asked on Quora back in February (calcium chloride is the active ingredient in DampRid):

https://www.quora.com/Does-calcium-chloride-stop-drying-surrounding-air-at-a-certain-relative-humidity

[billyboy]

LemonBud I am trying for 70 degrees and 50% humidity as per the drying and curing guide

Between the heater and the blower I can keep the temp within a degree or two of 70, but was having trouble with the humidity because the outside air was "wet" (65% +) I had no dry air to bring in. Running the heater will drop the humidity some. I'll see how the DampRid does after 24 hours.

[9fingerleafs]

50 is too low. Specially if you spread out the colas and have airflow. I like to keep it at 60 and never go below. You can always dry a bit more and aerate often but it’s hard if you overdry to get life back into those buds

[Puglover1]

I was going to suggest a few buckets of rice ... I have the opposite problem here.

[billyboy]

Hey 9fingerleafs - I have pretty much taken the GrowWeedEasy.com tutorials and guides literally and at face value and have had really amazing results. So that is why I am trying to keep to 70 degrees and 50% RH. When I go to cure I get a great result when I have been able to dry that way. My problem is I moved. The last place I was in a dry cool basement so shedding heat and humidity was easy. Now my tent is in a three season porch and more subject to the elements.

Does 60% RH add a lot of time? As we move through Spring I am fighting more humidity and heat and do not want any sort of mold or rot to creep in. As you can see here temps and humidity are going up and that is after I out the DampRid in there ("there" is a 4x4x7 Secret Jarden).

[9fingerleafs]

Well it’s important to note that relative humidity is relative indeed. So other factors play a mayor role like temperature, atmospheric pressure and dew point. For my climate drying at 50% not only takes less time but the drying occurs unevenly. The moisture inside the bud has no time to reach the surface. So dry on the outside and moist near the branch. If you keep going until the branches are dry then the bud is crispy dry and loosing trichomes and falling apart.

I don’t even measure the time it takes to dry. I always have plants hanging and I touch the buds as I walk by. I’d guess around 6 days or so.

[DeadlyFruit]

Lots of people here try to extend their drying time rather than hasten it because they feel it improves the cure so I don’t think 60% will be a problem. Keep in mind 62% is a desirable humidity in your jars so it shouldn’t be a problem from a mold perspective during drying. I have the opposite problem usually - air too dry and I have to really juggle to keep the bud from going crispy on the outside before the insides and twigs dry enough for jarring.

[billyboy]

Great feed back - thank you