I’m sitting around enjoying a unexpected day off from toiling for the man and this idea crosses my mind while looking at pictures of others plants drying and curing.
I notice what looks like so many refrigerator shelving racks being used to dry,and or cure their plants just hanging in the breeze. Well this thought shoots through my addled brain that a actual working refrigerator could be used as a dehydrator. Has anyone actually used a refrigerator as a dehydrator? I have a spare refrigerator in the garage nice and clean. I might very well give it a test.
3 Likes
I haven’t tried it, but the RH in a refridgerator is very low (a lot of people try to dry at around %60 RH). You’d probably want a fan in there for air movement to mitigate moisture issues (dew point, wet flowers+cold air=liquid H2O forming).
4 Likes
Most refrigerators already have a fan built in but another one added for circulation would certainly be easy to do, even some small computer fans at shelf levels
I’ve heard of curing in the freezer before, but not a fridge 
3 Likes
Personally, I’d stay away from the fridge. The relative humidity in a fridge varies widely and if you have to open it for any reason to check on things you run the risk of having moisture from the warmer outside air condensate on whatever you have inside. Don’t think a tiny fridge fan would give enough circulation and although microorganisms multiply much slower at those temperatures, they still do and it is dark in there. The RH will only drop slowly if the door isn’t open and you would probably have to be extra careful as to not knock off your trichs due to the colder temp.
I kept a few grams of oil in my fridge once and after taking some out after a few days to smoke my nail was sizzling like some moisture had somehow gotten in.
Could always test it out with something small and see what happens. I’ve wondered if drying/ curing at lower temps would preserve or slow degradation of some of the more volatile taste and flavour compounds.
Good luck with the fridge adventure! What’s the worst that can happen? You lose a small amount of bud in the name of science!
6 Likes
I’ve freezer cured twice now after hanging for 6 days. It works pretty well. Freeze-dried bud at 60% rh in 12 days. I’m with @neogitus, the refrigerators RH is too high, slowing the process and risking mold/bud rot.
1 Like