using the microwave to dry buds

VaporMan

Member
does this decrease potency? i notice that the center of the bud gets really hot, steaming actually. also, is mold killed by the microwave? Thanks for the replies.
 

Bob Marley Chiefs

New Member
does this decrease potency? i notice that the center of the bud gets really hot, steaming actually. also, is mold killed by the microwave? Thanks for the replies.
dont listen to these guys...maybe you want to have a taste test, or maybe just maybe your out of medicine...but anyway, dont microwave your buds...instead get a glass baking pan...place the buds on this pan and put your oven on the lowest temp it can go...leave your oven door open to the first notch where it stays open at...place the pan in the oven alittle bit off the edge of the oven rack...the open oven will keep the bud from overheating and the evaporated water can escape...check every 10 minutes for apx. 30-40 minutes...it is important no to forget to check it...it will not ruin you weed but will dry the shit outta it till its all crunchy and shit...well good luck bro
 

Brick Top

New Member
At temperatures over 85 degrees THC begins to break down so what is needed is increased flow of low temperature fairly dry air.
 
I think most every grower has waited for seven or eight so weeks into flower and is dying to sample their bud so they nip one and then want to quick dry it. In doing so many will take so much away from it that it really does not closely represent what it should be.
 
I think people need to redefine quick dry. If you have waited this long what would a half-day or a full day more be to wait to get a good idea of what you have?
 
Pick a bud that it not to thick and put it I front of a blow dryer, about 4 or 6 inches away, without the temperature turned up so it just blows room temperature air that is slightly heated by the running of the fan. Check it in a few hours and see if it is getting close. What's a few hours after months?
 
A small bud might be ready and a thick bud not half close to being ready but again you pick something smallish and check and when about right try it. It will still taste like hay or lawn clippings but you will not have lost THC to heat.
 
There are other ways too but most everyone has a blow dryer around.
 
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chitownsmoking

Guest
just break the bud down and let it dry naturally in a cool dark low humid place. should be dry enough to smoke in like 2 days
 

HowardWCampbell

New Member
This is what I use, from the growfaq:

Contributed by:Apollo11Genius

I have tried most of the quick dry methods in the current quick dry FAQ. The quicker ones usually didn't produce good quick dried bud (oven, microwave, etc) and the longer ones did produce quicker dried buds but not QUICK dried buds When I say quick, I mean I need my buds ready in at least less than half an hour!!!

I found the most convenient, quick, and least destructive way to quick dry weed for me is with a piece of equipment that almost all of us have -- a plain ol' TOASTER!

What I do is set my toaster on a low setting (1-3). Mine also has a 'defrost' setting which is supposed to make it cook for a longer time, although that's not necessary for this method. You'll need to expiriment with your particular toaster to find out which settings works best for you.

The goal is to heat the bud enough so that the moisture within the bud evaporates, but without vaporizing or bursting the THC-laden trichs by overcooking them (or burning the bud itself!). The low toaster settings usually will accomplish this.

My method is to take a piece of foil about 4"x4" or so. I take small buds no wider than a finger and no longer than your thumb or pinky and place them into the foil. I make essentially a dugout out of the foil for the weed to go into so it doesn't fall into the toaster (essential!) the foil on the sides and going up to the top of the bud and maybe a little over but not completely enclosing it (enclosing the foil will cause it to retain moisture). Also do not wrap tightly we don't want to burn the bud on the foil. Personally I use the new nonstick foil, but that's also not necessary.

Put the foil dugout containing the weed lengthwise onto the top of one of the toaster slots and let it sink down about 3/4-1" into the toaster. Use the wide foil on the top/side to spread over the top outside of the toaster to keep the foil/weed from falling down into the slot.

Run the toaster. Allow it to set a couple of minutes until it starts to cool down (a lot of RESIDUAL heat is used to evaporate the moisture... we want to heat it up as much as possible without burning or vaporizing trichs, then let the residual heat absorbed by the toaster and foil and radiated by the toaster coils slowly bake the weed in between operating the toaster. Optimally I run the toaster about every 4 or 5 minutes. Repeat until the bud is dry to your likings. I usually flip the bud in the dugout every 2 or 3 gos to make sure it doesn't burn and dry the bud evenly. Within a half an hour you will have decently burnable bud. The smaller the buds the quicker the drying.

To get the best results, let it sit longer between operation (like closer to 10 minutes) to allow the heat to full dissipate and go for about an hour instead of 30 minutes. The bud will be much more thoroughly dried (the quicker method can leave the insides a bit moist still on thicker buds, but no moisture than i've bought many bags of KB ) with the longer method.

I find using this method I usually get about 80-90% of the potency of properly dried (but not cured) bud -- with a slower dry you can keep almost all the potency. The key is not overheating.

As far as the taste goes, if you grow with chems I don't know what your buds will taste like as I don't. I grow 100% organic and my quick dried buds are perfectly tolerable and as tastey as most commercial sensemilla and definitely better tasting than schwag! If you are wanting to do a lot of quick drying, I recommend going organic as I wouldn't want to taste unflushed chem buds!

My buds quick dried look like my regular dried buds... they aren't all messed up from some freaky quick dry and they can be dried on short notice!

One final note, much like regular dried buds they do retain some moisture inside unless you take the longer time to completely dry them out with the quick dry (which IS possible -- just takes longer), so if you do not smoke them immediately, they may regain some of the moisture lost just as fresh dried buds put in a mason jar will regain some moisture when you first put them in a mason jar.

A word of caution AND advice -- as many will tell you, drying is part of the process of activating the THC in the trichomes. Smoking wet weed is a WASTE as it doesn't burn well and you barely get high off of it (unless you don't have a tolerance) -- be sure to give it at least 20-30 minutes and make sure the outside is dry to the touch and inside is no moister than a bag of kb you've gotten that's on the 'moist' side -- and for advice, taking the longer time to completely dry the bud will result in more potent buds than only a partial drying. Added on: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Viewed: 7977 times



I find one low toaster cycle to be roughly equal to 24 hours of drying. I just flip the bud over every cycle. The longer you go between cycles, the better it tastes.


I like brick top's idea, as well. I just don't have a hair dryer.
 

VaporMan

Member
wow, thanks for the info. no more microwave for me. I did not realize that THC needed to be "activated" by drying and curing. why is this?
 
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chitownsmoking

Guest
if the bud isnt dry enough it will give you a weak ass high if even any.
 

growrookie1

Well-Known Member
Use Dry Ice Curing. It's the best quikest way...So far, that I know of. Use the same weight of dry ice that you have of bud. put Ice into a stirofome ice cooler put your bud into a strainer and set it on top of the dry ice and then put the lid on. come back an hour later and take your bud out. Then let it dry anouther hour or so in front of a fan. If you try it. Let me know what you think. You keep the most THC this way... That I know of, so far.
 
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Illegal Smile

Guest
If you have a vaporizer you can vape it green. Doesn't taste so good and you'll also be doing a lot of water vapor but it works better than destructive quick-drying methods.
 

dgk4life

Well-Known Member
but r u medical or just fiending out.. cause if your medical i understand the NEED to quick dry and sell yourself short on quality but if your just fiendin out i would just say and im not bullshittin if u pull the hairs off of corn cobs the golden bunch at the top and smoke em u will get high.. no bs . my buddies and i did that once like 5 yrs ago when we had nothin ..
 

Brick Top

New Member
wow, thanks for the info. no more microwave for me. I did not realize that THC needed to be "activated" by drying and curing. why is this?


When harvested some THC is in a non-psychoactive form. During the normal drying process and then the curing process the non-psychoactive THV has a chance to become psychoactive and that means more potency.
 
So you do not activate THC in that it all has to be activated but some will not turn psychoactive until certain conditions exist and for a certain amount of time.
 

HowardWCampbell

New Member
When harvested some THC is in a non-psychoactive form. During the normal drying process and then the curing process the non-psychoactive THV has a chance to become psychoactive and that means more potency.
 
So you do not activate THC in that it all has to be activated but some will not turn psychoactive until certain conditions exist and for a certain amount of time.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it thca that is converted to thcv? I was under the impression that the decarboxylation process converted the thca to a more potent form of thc...?
 
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