AmaxB
Well-Known Member
I heard they were going to come out with a new Super Jumbo - Extra Big Can and plan on opening a new plant not far from me to make em....
deluxestogie's Trash Can Cozy Flue-cure Chamber
- Thread starter deluxestogie
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DonH got me thinking about the crock pot in a small cozy can. Would something like this provide enough heat? Two could be used, price comparable to one crock pot. Also, a small water container could be used for humidity when using the cozy can as a kiln. Using a gravity fed jug to keep the containers full would eliminate the need for a large water container in the kiln. http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-MWBLK-Mug-Warmer/dp/B000CO89T8/ref=pd_sbs_ac_3
Another, stronger option: http://www.amazon.com/WX1-Coffee-Ca...1376243338&sr=1-1&keywords=Bunn+Coffee+Warmer
Another, stronger option: http://www.amazon.com/WX1-Coffee-Ca...1376243338&sr=1-1&keywords=Bunn+Coffee+Warmer
DonH
Well-Known Member
Crockpot is fine. Read the beginning of the thread where Bob details how he made this. We used the smallest and cheapest crockpot you can find, 2 qts., and it will heat the can up to 165 no problem. So kiln temps aren't a problem.
I was thinking more in terms of the space a crock pot takes up.
DonH
Well-Known Member
That would probably work if you had a low pan for water and put it right on the coffee warmer.
When I bought the 2-quart Crockpot for this project at Walmart, it was on sale for $3.94. They are routinely sold at ~$10. Why spend five to ten times the money (for something with rubber feet), in order to fit maybe a dozen more leaves at a time?
Bob
Bob
DonH
Well-Known Member
My first flue cure is finished! Opening the can it smelled like peach pie. Some leaves had dried with significant green, but most are either yellow or red. Next time I will let the yellowing process go longer. The other thing I did wrong was the humidity didn't drop enough in the wilting phase. I didn't have the lid cracked open enough. I fixed that for the leaf drying and stem drying stages, which both went pretty much by the book. So there was a little trial and error but I'm psyched about this method. Last year my stems weren't dry until November. Now I just have to wait six months to let it age more before I smoke it. NOT!!! I'm trying this stuff out tonight as soon as it rehydrates!
Next batch tomorrow (if it doesn't rain) I have to try to stuff 60 or more leaves in.
Next batch tomorrow (if it doesn't rain) I have to try to stuff 60 or more leaves in.
Congratulations!
Give us a photo.
Bob
Give us a photo.
Bob
DonH
Well-Known Member
I'll get some pictures of the leaves once they're rehydrated. And I'll get some pictures of the setup when I load it again.
Bob, your setup and instructions worked like a charm. Since I had a remote hygrometer, I could monitor the changes in humidity, and they came very close to the professional numbers in Amax's chart. The last reading was 13% humidity after the stems dried.
marksctm
Well-Known Member
Good job DonH,
I wonder what percentage of leaf sets green in a commercial setup.
They got have leaf that sets green I would think.
DonH
Well-Known Member
I just smoked one made from a tip of a Bright Leaf. Very smooth and sweet. I can't believe that 7 days ago this leaf was on a live plant! If it tastes this good now I am looking forward to what a couple of months aging will do.
Here is a picture of the tip.
Here is a picture of the tip.
DonH
Well-Known Member
I tasted two more leaves. One was dark brown and was one of them that looked "cooked" after the yellowing phase. It developed brown spots during yellowing which was why I decided to end the yellowing phase even though other leaves had green veins. The "cooked" leaf tasted very harsh. About like you'd expect a week old leaf to taste. So I tasted another which had decent color and it tasted OK but a little young.
I was lucky I guess that the first one I tasted was the best. I also got more green then I thought once I brought the whole rack of leaves inside. Some had green backs and yellow fronts. So next time I will take the yellowing phase farther. And maybe do an intermediate 110F to 118F phase like Amax's chart has for vein yellowing before setting it at 120F.
I was lucky I guess that the first one I tasted was the best. I also got more green then I thought once I brought the whole rack of leaves inside. Some had green backs and yellow fronts. So next time I will take the yellowing phase farther. And maybe do an intermediate 110F to 118F phase like Amax's chart has for vein yellowing before setting it at 120F.
leverhead
Well-Known Member
Try this link
http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT86201023/PDF
Pages 28 - 29 have a little information. The time period would predate any of the rack systems. So I would assume the leaf was strung onto sticks, with no blowers, just natural venting forces. Pretty much the same set-up as the cozy can.
marksctm
Well-Known Member
Thanks for posting the link Leverhead,
So, in this test, depending on under yellowing, normal yellowing and extended yellowing, you could expect about 3% green of the total, in under yellowing, to about 1% green of the total, in normal and extended yellowing? if I'm correct?
Amazing Bob,
last year you came up with Trash Can Cozy, And this year the Perique Press.
Both of which are very affordable and practicable for home growers.
Many Thanks Sir,
What do you have up your sleeve for your next project?
That's music to my ears! Congrats! Thanks for the quick taste test. A lot of what I have researched say the yellowing temp should be a few degrees higher than the ambient temp, for what it's worth, you may want to try a lower yellowing temp. Also, read somewhere that the lower the yellowing temp, the sweeter it is. Another peanut gallery suggestion, air cure a "control" leaf at the same time, compare the yellowing progress. Keep up the good work.
leverhead
Well-Known Member
I think those numbers imply some experience, picking and curing. I did much better this year than last, but still no where near those numbers. Uniformity all the way through is a hard thing to do, for me. I did well enough last year and this year to take next year off flue-curing Virginias, next year I'm going to do a 55 gallon cozy can for flue-curing Turkish.
DonH
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the suggestions on yellowing. And yes, I'll have to air cure some of my flue cure leaves because most of my flue cure varieties are getting ripe all at once and I won't have room in the can for all of them. But I do have air cured Bright Leaf from last year and I compared it to the fresh flue cured and the flue cured actually tastes better and more aged than the air cured aged for a year which is smooth but still has a bit of grassy taste. What I plan to do once the flue curing is done is kiln last year's air cured Virginia.
Leverhead's link to the flue-curing article is much appreciated. In reading it, I found the values in many of the tables to be fairly obtuse. Some results are reported as percent change, while some are reported as percent of dry weight, and change in percentage points--very confusing.
In their analysis of "standard" flue-curing, I converted the mish-mash of data into actual change (i.e. if the measured amount of a constituent went from 20% of the dry weight to 40% the dry weight, then that is a change of +100%).
Flue-cure change from green leaf to fully flue-cured
Bob
In their analysis of "standard" flue-curing, I converted the mish-mash of data into actual change (i.e. if the measured amount of a constituent went from 20% of the dry weight to 40% the dry weight, then that is a change of +100%).
Flue-cure change from green leaf to fully flue-cured
- Starch: 81% reduction (during yellowing, continues during cure)
- Free reducing sugars: 147% increase (mostly during yellowing)
- Levulose: 146% increase (mostly during yellowing)
- Sucrose: 322% increase (during yellowing, continues during cure)
- Protein: 12% reduction (during yellowing, continues during cure)
- Nicotine: 12% reduction
- Oxalic acid: 11.5% reduction
- Citric acid: 5% reduction
- Malic acid: 1% increase
- Pectinic acid: 23% reduction
- pH: (5.55) unchanged
So, flue-curing dramatically raises the sugars, and leaves the pH at green leaf value (5.5). Most of the other changes in constituents are not particularly significant. Minor variations in the flue-cure schedule (temps, duration) have only minimal impact on the result.
Bob
DonH
Well-Known Member
I loaded up the can for the second run. This time I managed to fit in 52 leaves. Bright Leaf and Del Gold. I did it by running the aluminum fence wire I use to string leaves perpendicular through the angle iron. That way I fit 4-5 leaves on one side and 4-5 on the other.
Good job ! !
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