Greetings, I’ve used the freezer drying and curing method before ,years ago as I’ve been on a hiatus, from one of the old threads @ IC. The method I used was I chopped, wet trimmed and hung the plants in a cool room with the ceiling fan for about three days or so until the stems were still pliable but not too far from snapping. Then, I removed the stems and put the buds in a brown paper lunch sack and into the freezer for a month. After removing them they went into jars with a boveda 62% pack. This was the easiest method for me and produced some of the best weed I’ve ever smoked.
The situation I’m in now is that I no longer have a “frost free” freezer to myself which used to be my kitchen fridge.
Have any of you guys used a non frost free freezer? I understand why it works but thought I’d ask. I’ve looked for a small frost free freezer but they do not exist or are stupid expensive. What I can find is a small chest deep freezer for less than $200 but they are not frost free.
I was thinking of getting a small mini dehu and trying to put that into it like the guys do for wine coolers. I’m not sure if that would work…maybe too cold for the dehu electronics?
Thermoelectric wine coolers are my next choice I guess.
Electric is stupid expensive in our current inflation bs we’re in. I can’t afford to run the AC all day nor in the winter run the Heater like I’d like.
It’s over 100F at 32% outside now and 84F and around 43% inside so shit dries out to fast and it’s the reverse in winter.
So, have you guys used a cheap deep freezer before?
The non frost free freezer would be the way to go because it doesn’t cycle warm air to maintain frost free. A deep freeze is just that, no cycling. But the downside is it will develop frost on the coils based on the frequency of opening and closing.
So, have you used a not frost free freezer and had good results? Is this what you’re saying? And, what to do about the ice that builds up in a chest freezer. Can’t unplug and manually defrost when you got buds curing.
I’m under the impression that the frost free works because it pulls the moisture out of the freezer and thus drys and cures…and thus you don’t have to worry about mold.
When the ice build up occurs, usually every 2-2 1/2 years, I unplug remove items, defrost, dry and restock. A bit tedious but not a deal breaker for me.
Well I’m no expert, but I’ll lend my knowledge about freeze drying in freezers. It uses the phase change of matter when a solid turns into a gas with no liquid phase. Sublime. More Cold the better. Small pieces! Open in the freezer, no container or bags. Takes longer than a freeze dryer. Doesn’t need to be frost free. MAke sure it’s a deep freeze though. Don’t want to use the lame fridge freezers. Place your samples on a metal tray with parchment on top, put it in the freezer, and start waiting.
I used my kitchen fridge freezer several times before, put weed into paper bags and it works like a dream. It is a frost free fridge/freezer though. I can’t do that now as I don’t have that space all to myself anymore which is why I was looking for a small frost free freezer but apparently they don’t exist or are insanely expensive. The thread I got that idea from, over at IC , stated it had to be frost free since that’s how the magic happens to remove the moisture. This appears to be true on the refrigerator (lotus cure to).
To the point, are you saying that you have in fact used a non frost free deep freezer before with success?
The options I’m looking into are.
small chest deep freezer (non frost free)
small 5.0 cu ft refrigerator by danby that states it is frost free in the manual (auto defrost)
Build one of these wine coolers with a dehu in it and controller etc.
I’d like to hear from some of the guys who used the fridge (lotus dry) vs the freezer method vs the wine cooler etc and what they found between all of them. As in…same person tried all or some of those and has a reference to compare.
What I can say, and I’m a layman on weed…is the drying and curing the weed in my kitchen freezer for a month was the best weed I’ve ever smoked. It was full of flavor and smelled awesome and wasn’t all dry and brittle like I thought it would be. Also, it’s was a lazy stoners dream. Chop, trim and put into the freezer and …that’s it.
I don’t want to spend more than a couple hundred no this adventure and want a product that’s going to be robust and last. Which gives me a little thought to the wine cooler, they tend to go tits up after a few years or at least they used to…maybe they got a little better.
That’s a old school one …those last forever. Lucky you.
So, what’s your method? Do you chop and straight into the freezer or do you let them dry for a few days then into the freezer? Do you put the buds into paper bags? How long do they remain in there and at what temp? Do you open the door periodically thought the process?
Edit: I think you said you use no bags or containers. Do you put buds into this freezer just on a pan or plate?
Well that’s the thing I don’t actually dry my buds in there I dry the hash after I made it out of the buds. I can go dry a bud in there now, that’ll be something. I can dry up a puddle of water in 30 days, lol! Freezer burn is freeze drying. I’ll leave it in there for 2 weeks to start. If I prep it right, that should work. Usually I put it in parchment, because that’s non-stick. Not a paper bag. heh heh I’ll do it and take a photo, that’s worth at least 1000 words.
I understand that you’re referencing the process of sublimation where a solid , ice , turns into a vapor. I thought that since a chest freezer was sealed the vapor wasn’t allowed to escape and thus built up as dry ice which causes freezer burn over time.
I assume the reason they mention frost free was because the defrost cycle removes the moisture outside the unit altogether.
I does appear that you’re in fact drying. I’m curious if the “frost free” is an absolute or myth.
Here’s the thread I found out about this years ago if you’re interested.
Dry ice is actually common vernacular for carbon dioxide when it’s solid. Tell you the truth I learned everything I need to know about freeze drying in the freezer from survival forums. They’ll dry anything in the freezer including soup. Freezer burn is literally the freeze drying process at work but called something else.
