You know how its is. You plant it and water it and worry about it. You read 50 days to harvest, and missed the part about, that being the amount of time on 12/12 light schedule. The two months spent vegging your plants. Its been four months all ready and you just want to have some smoke, and then you run into this 50 days after harvest for curing your bud. That is like forever. I had read Cervantes book and knew there had to be a way to speed up the process, long story short, here is what I made. Again, nothing special, just slight modifications to things Mogie had posted. The color isn't orange it does follow the same principles and I was able to put 17zips in it have then ready for curing in 7 days, no mold, little space.
Then I read Al B Fucts Bud dryer. I don't have an aluminum heat sink, and the soldering iron idea while sound, didn't appeal to me. The idea of a heat source controlled by a dimmer did. So I got a heat source, a 1000watt dimmer, and some other miscellaneous parts. If I were a computer guy, which I'm not, I'd make this neat. Over the next three pages I'll post sets of pictures and tell the story. This is for the non-DIY folks.
Its also the 2000th post. And I'm getting ready to test some bud that spent 2 days in the dryer. I'll let you know the results. And then I'll see you back in the forums. VV

Attached Images

	BudDryerAssembled View.JPG (32.4 KB, 486 views)
	BudDryerTop view.JPG (20.2 KB, 366 views)
	BudDryerBottom View.JPG (24.1 KB, 398 views)
	BudDryerMesh Waste Basket.JPG (25.6 KB, 304 views)
	BudDryerMuffin fan.JPG (24.9 KB, 348 views)

The first picture shows the parts I used to put this together. The cord is off a Microwave oven my neighbor was throwing away. I took it off from inside so i could use the plate to mount the cord to the side of the controller. VV

Attached Images

	The Parts.JPG (25.9 KB, 404 views)
	1000wattDimmer.JPG (27.0 KB, 254 views)
	2 2x4's.JPG (21.7 KB, 244 views)
	2Duplex.JPG (26.1 KB, 238 views)
	AddaBase.JPG (24.7 KB, 281 views)

I installed the plate that came with the cord and installed the wiring. The duplex on the bottom has just three wire, black white and green. The dimmer has just two wires both black and the cord has three wires the same color as the ones from the duplex. Hook the only two white wire together( in my case with this cord because it is a flat cord, the right side is the white wire). Hook the two green wires together. Hook the left side wire to them left side of the dimmer and the black wire from the duplex to the other wire from the dimmer. Shove them all in the boxes and put some covers on all of it to keep water out. To test the control I hooked me table saw through it. The saw pulls a fair amperage so I thought it would be a good test. And here it is all together. VV

Attached Images

	Mark Plate.JPG (22.4 KB, 204 views)
	Front.JPG (25.7 KB, 161 views)
	wiring.JPG (30.3 KB, 214 views)
	Test.JPG (35.0 KB, 222 views)
	AllTogether.JPG (26.4 KB, 282 views)

Ok, so all together and temperature controlled. This would also be a good fan controller. Open the lid and see the drying shelves and the heat source and the first buds to go in it. I put them in there on Tuesday night, this is Thursday. Oh shit, this taste good already, can't wait until it has cured for a week or so. Stop by and check it out if your in the neighborhood. I can't believe it could be dry enough to stay lit in two days. If it makes me pucker it must be good. VV

Attached Images

	TempControlled.JPG (34.2 KB, 264 views)
	FoodDehydrator.JPG (31.3 KB, 342 views)
	Heat Source.JPG (26.5 KB, 300 views)
	Bud.JPG (46.6 KB, 482 views)

I had the container already. Its a 25 gallon So $5.00
I got the Carbon Filter at Menards $10.00
You could use just about anything I liked this $8.00
Large clamps were needed for attaching it $3.00
Dehydrator from Meijers $30.00
Cord (if you need to buy one) $8.00
Muffin fan $10.00
Dimmer $20.00
Misc Parts $3.00
Total $100.00
And smokable in a couple of days. Sure its green, I expected it to be. Al said three days. I trust him. VV

nice and straight forward!

question though

in building a bud dryer, do you think the heating element is necessary for the faster dry? or do you think that enough airmovement would work just fine?


oh, and +rep for sure!

__________________
Lumberjack's personal - my new grow journal (check it out!)

i'll cut you yo

member of pagc

I have been using it without the heating element since last January. It is not necessary....unless you are harvesting more bud than you can put in the dryer and leave there for 7 or eight days. It a space consideration for me. I don't have a cold, dark, dry place to dry it so this is a work around. Cervantes said a guy was using a dehydrator with out sacrificing quality. VV

wow great thanks

yeah i've been trying to figure out where i am gonna be able to dry... and i think a budryer will work best for me...

i'm thinking of getting some silkscreen and making a sort of try or two that can act as shelving inside the bin, with a fan on the top pulling air through some inlets on the bottom... that way i'd just have to lay out the buds in a single layer across the screens instead of hanging them all up and whatnot... plus keif could be collected at the bottom =]

__________________
Lumberjack's personal - my new grow journal (check it out!)

i'll cut you yo

member of pagc

the had some cubes at Meijer that would be perfect for this, yo know like the one kids stack up in their rooms. They were all mesh, around $20.00. I may go back and get some, dry with heat and then rotate to without. I did an experiment with the thermometer. Put the probe on the bottom of the dryer away from the heat it was 23.6 c So I could rotate in ad out of heat if I got those cubes. VV

Never heard of a bud dryer till I got on this site. But this does lay it all out and seems simple to do. Yeah, I would have a hard time waiting the recomended 50 days to properly cure when you just waited months for your smoke to finish.