Since I finally got my grow setup how I like it and Iām consistently producing over a pound per plant it was time to think about processing and long term storage.
I have been following Pedro and Dizzy from Pedroās Grow Room for quite some time and always admired the quality rosin he produces. We talked for well over 6 months before I decided to pull the trigger and go all-in on making myself some top quality fresh frozen bubble hash rosin. Over the past few months I started collecting the equipment I would need and once I was ready I sat down over a few days and took the classes Pedro offers. Yes I could have fumbled through it and learned myself, but I am always willing to spend a little money for a lot of information ā and a lot of information is what he provided me.
With a full grasp of the processes required I went ahead and harvested the last full run from the room, did a shorter dry, then bucked and bagged into the freezer until I was ready.
The first thing I needed was high quality wash bags. I went with Rosin Evolution so I could get full mesh bags that I know werenāt going to fall apart after a few washes. (Like some of the knock-off brands on Amazon that ruined my bubble runs before.)
I also needed a washer, so I went with the 5 gallon washer from Amazon for around $60. Donāt spend the extra money on the same unit with someones sticker on it, thatās just a 4x markup for cannabis buyers.
Originally I had wrapped the washer in bubble insulation, but it wasnāt as effective as I expected. After a bit of testing I finally settled on the Pelle Polare insulated jacket for the washer. The jackets tight fit really helped keep the water/ice mixture colder for longer, so Iām happy with the purchase. I will be doing some testing today on Twitch to compare no insulation vs bubble insulation vs insulated jacket to get some final numbers.
Next up was modifications to the RO system. I setup a new RO reservoir using a 35 gallon trashcan and a float valve. The RO reservoir has a small pump installed in the bottom that goes to my watering wand and flow meter. (The meter allows me to measure out exact # of gallons into a bucket if Iām mixing nutrients.) The wand itself is for washing down the bags with nice and cold (and clean) water.
Since Iām doing this as clean as possible I also wanted to make sure my ice was absolutely clean as well. I purchased a small commercial ice maker and plumbed it up to the RO system. I am now making 100% clear RO ice that can be pre-bagged and stored in the freezer.
The final piece of equipment is the freeze dryer. I went with a Harvest Right Medium Home model, lower cost than the pharmaceutical version but still plenty of space to dry my hash properly. Covid caused a rush of people to purchase freeze dryers so this one has been a long time coming, but I finally have shipping info so I should receive the unit in the next week or so.
Next on our agenda is building a new wall in order to separate the hash room from the rest of the garage. Weāre installing a new subpanel this week that will give me 6 new 20A circuits and then we can start construction.
Weāll be using a simple window AC with a Coolbot mounted in the wall to keep the hash room down to proper temps during processing, and when not making hash the AC will be used to keep the lung room temps in check during our short summers.
A few more weeks of hard work and this all will be ready to be go. I have 2 lbs of trim in the freezer to run as a first test and once I feel like Iāve got the processes down I will break out the big bags. I have around 4 lbs of fresh frozen buds to run, as well as over 10 lbs of jarred/cured flower that will probably make their way through the process as well.
Things are about to get sticky around here!
Jesus H Christ got my stool pulled up and bong loaded
