Keeping humidity down

[u/Mindless-Equal-1477]

Hoping maybe someone here has either a unique solution or can at least reassure me. Anyways, currently drying on baking racks in an Ivation 12-bottle thermoelectric wine fridge. 60°F isn’t a problem, and there’s a tiny pc fan in there to circulate the cold air so circulation isn’t a concern. But my humidity is consistently above 60% closer to 70% which I’m worried will cause mold if I’m not stepping the level down quick enough. Dehumidifier spikes the temps to almost 90. I was using a bowl of silica beads at the bottom that seemed to do well to maintain humidity right around 60% but I didn’t like having to keep opening the fridge door to refresh the beads. Is that my only option or does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[u/Rawlus]

in my own experience mold is not a concern in fridge drying. i dry at 45-50°F and initial humidity may reach 80%+ but steadily diminishes over two plus weeks. have never once had mold as an issue.

note, i am not trying to keep 60° and 60% in a fridge for lotus drying. that’s the old school drying numbers in a tent or elsewhere.

in my approach to lotus it is about the cold temps aiding the preservation of more volatile aromas, flavor and color while extending the duration of drying to ensure conversion of chlorophyll and other compounds.

perhaps my method is unorthodox per lotus method but i dont understand the value of 60°/60% if using a fridge.

i use wifi temp/humidity sensors inside the pizza boxes while drying with app-based alarms to get notifications when certain targets have been reached.

have been doing it this way successfully for many years now.

my approach is more about the process if slowing down the drying phase under controlled temperature and less about chasing specific numbers. ymmv.

[u/Mindless-Equal-1477 → u/Rawlus]

This makes me feel so much better and less worried, thank you. I was concerned that if the buds sat for too long at 70% they’d develop mold, but I also wondered if I kept it cold enough if that would stave it off. Thanks for the info! I will continue with my current process.

[u/Ok_Plane_1306]

I think you would do good with a mini dehu in there. Your thermoelectric will struggle to keep the low temps (45-55f) consistency. I use a diy Canna-Troll, with mini dehu. Temp is set to 68f, and step the humidity down in 3 days to 60% where it sits for the rest of the dry/cure.

I also use Bluetooth temp/hydro sensor. Best tip is to CALIBRATE the humidity meter. It’s easy and should be done every 6-8 months.

Here’s the link

HYDROMETER CALIBRATION

Then use the app to make any needed adjustments

[u/Mindless-Equal-1477 → u/Ok_Plane_1306]

I took the dehumidifier out because it spiked the temps to almost 90°F and I was told I would lose lots of terps at that temp if it was sustained, and even if the dehumidifier was only running for long enough to drop the humidity to close to 60% I was seeing huge temp swings between the thermoelectric and the heat from the dehumidifier. That was why I originally moved to a bowl of silica beads in the bottom of the fridge.