I don’t disagree with you, but I guess my argument would be that trichomes don’t contain water, so what about the plant drying would make them more likely to crack? While the sugar leaves may crumble and the fan leaves may crumble easier, we don’t dry the bud to the point that it’s crumbly, so I’m not inclined to believe trichomes will fall of a well dried bud any more than they will a fresh undried bud. Totally just a debate though. I haven’t found tons of folks who feel there’s a difference the way I do, but it’s something I definitely believe is there. Will have to do a blind sample soon… I may be alone on my hill and that’s okay too haha
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No a great discussion indeed, my friend.
Although I do agree with alot of what you’re saying. Maybe we both agree that a drier bud would release a resin head easier - I therefore feel that if a plant is 1% drier, does that mean the resin head falls off 1% easier (simplifying obviously)? I do also feel that trichomes would contain some level of moisture in them, given them that they have a function of absorbing water.
I also like the way French Cannoli refers to resin heads as the fruit of the plant. When he does his first very short wash, he talks about the most ripe heads falling off first, which produces your top quality. In this same mentality (although I may be comparing apples with resin heads), would resin heads fall off a dry or dead plant easier than all other fruit fall off when dry or dead?
As mentioned, I assume this is why they screen or sift with dry plants and rub wet plants.
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Bro, in saying ALL of this. I only wet trim cause I find it easier and it suits my process more. Haha. Nothing to do with end result at all.
As mentioned though, love the discussion and opportunity to learn from others experience.
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Just wanted to chime in with my thoughts on the Cannatrol and making your own. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing it in a converted tent, fridge, box, or giant room. The control loops are what’s important.
In the Cannatrol for home use (the small wine fridge looking system), ambient air temp is set at 68F, not because it is the most optimal drying temperature but because the efficiency of Peltier devices as dehumidifiers drops significantly as ambient temperature drops. In a larger system, where phase change cooling is used, 60F ambient is used as it’s much easier to achieve dehumidifier plate temps at or slightly below the dew point using phase change cooling, and lower temps reduces volatilization of lower boiling point terpenes.
So with that in mind, here’s what you need to mimic a cannatrol:
-ambient air temp sensor
-ambient RH sensor
-dehumidification plate temperature sensor
-variable speed fan control for dehumidification plate/fins
You cool the ambient air until it matches your set point. You cool your dehumidification fins until they’re just below your dew point so as not to cool your space below the ambient set point (dew point calculated from the actual ambient temp and RH). Then you run your fan speed higher the further above your RH target that you go. This pushes more air over the cool dehumidification fins which of course draws more moisture from the air.
The home cannatrol may also use variable current to control the peltier cold side temperature, I’m not really sure. This would make some sense though as the peltier is both cooling the air to the ambient set point and also affecting dehumidification. It could run at the max cooling efficiency current when the ambient temp needs to come down, then scale back to only get the heatsink fins down to the dew point once ambient is at the target.
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Haha we are on the same coin. Getting close to seeing each other.
Interesting article for sure, but they don’t differentiate between trichome types. There are quite a few and they do play different roles. I’d be hard pressed to believe we are seeing water concentrate in the heads themselves… since that’s what we are after during hashing. And good full melt doesn’t sizzle. I still don’t think trichomes themselves fall off easier, but the plant matter is easier to manipulate. Have you ever tried to sift wet material? The water in the plant comes out and it becomes really hard to manage… that’s why folks wash fresh frozen. And all love to Frenchie, RIP. But, I don’t think many of the things he said were really backed by science. He was a passionate cat though. Either way, it is fun conversation and it’s totally possible to measure the force needed to break stalks when dry or wet… we just need the tools and time! Curious conversation.
And really appreciate that write up @grow
It is expensive because it does maintain such a tight margin. I don’t think it doesn’t work, I just don’t like some aspects about it. Though I know you’re just sharing your knowledge. Thank you. Very well worded.
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Fantastic points my friend! Such an interesting conversation. I’m sure one day we will have a definitive answer.
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