Sneaky moisture loss

[Deano]

Hey Guys,

Unlike me whose stuck at home for the lockdown in NZ,the humdity in my kiln(feezer) keeps dropping. It starts ay 75% and keeps going down gradually,even at lower temps.

I checked the fridge seals and siliconed the heck out potetential leaks but its still dropping....

Heeeeeelllp

hope everyone is well

D

 

[Knucklehead]

Are you using a crock pot for both heat and humidity? When you say lower temps, what are the temps and why is it also dropping? Are you dropping the temps to try to raise humidity?

 

[Deano]

Hello mate,Im using a crockpot for heat and humidity. I dropped the temp on purpose to see if it was the higher temp that was resulting in humidity loss, but no luck...

 

[deluxestogie]

If the Crockpot is the source of both heat and humidity, then the lower the Crockpot temp, the lower the humidity. Also, if the external temperature is warmer, then the Crockpot will be switched on less of the time, so the humidity inside the chamber will be lower.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

What is your normal kiln temp? If you’re already running in the 125-128 range you don’t want to bump the temp any higher trying to kick on the crock pot. If the external temps are up as deluxe suspects, you may have to mist the leaves occasionally since the crock pot won’t be kicking in as often and/or hang some wet towels or more open containers in the bottom to supplement the humidity.

 

[Deano]

Hey guys,thank you for the replies. Knucklehead, I misted the leaves and did that towel trick which has helped.

Im also embarrassed to admit but... Part of the problem was not giving the kiln enough time to heat up and build up humidty..

rookie.

 

[Knucklehead]

Hey guys,thank you for the replies. Knucklehead, I misted the leaves and did that towel trick which has helped.

Im also embarrassed to admit but... Part of the problem was not giving the kiln enough time to heat up and build up humidty..

rookie.

Nothing to be embarrassed about. I have done and will do worse. It’s beginning to sound as though the leaves were still taking up moisture before the humidity inside could completely stabilize. That experience will help other first timers. Thanks for posting.

 

[deluxestogie]

Every kiln is different. So each of us gets to just figure it out by trial and error. For my kiln, the seals have gradually changed over the years since I built it. I have to keep fiddling, to keep it happy.

Bob

 

[Deano]

cheers lads!

fingers crossed I get some nice yellowing soon

 

[Deano]

Hey guys, I started again by removing all leaves and used only leaves of similar ripeness.

Last question...

At 24 hours at 35 oC yellowing is going well.

However humidty is 95% inside the kiln and 98% outside . Will putting in a vent help lower the RH or with such high humidty will it not make a difference?

again thanks alot guys

 

[Knucklehead]

It sounds like you are attempting a flue cure rather than kilning. Kilning is done with cured leaf. Yellowing sounds like flue curing. Could you go through your whole process so we are all on the same page?

 

[Deano]

hello mate,apologies.Yep trying flue curing according knuckleheads method....Coneverted an old fridge.
Crockpot for heat/humidity.

35-40 oC for first 24-48 hours

com fan for circulation.

dont have a wetbulb but have temp and humidity readings.

 

[Knucklehead]

hello mate,apologies.Yep trying flue curing according knuckleheads method....Coneverted an old fridge.
Crockpot for heat/humidity.

35-40 oC for first 24-48 hours

com fan for circulation.

dont have a wetbulb but have temp and humidity readings.

Ive never done any flue curing, just kilning. DGBAMA built a flue curing box and Deluxestogie has done both kilning and flue curing. I’ve read the threads but have no personal experience in flue curing. The guys that have say it’s not hard to do but I hate to steer you wrong. Try those two threads by DGBAMA and Deluxestogie.

 

[Deano]

Ive never done any flue curing, just kilning. DGBAMA built a flue curing box and Deluxestogie has done both kilning and flue curing. I’ve read the threads but have no personal experience in flue curing. The guys that have say it’s not hard to do but I hate to steer you wrong. Try those two threads by DGBAMA and Deluxestogie.

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

If you read my kiln build, it is capable of flue curing, I have just never done it.

 

[Knucklehead]

I see you found DGBAMA’s thread. Here is deluxestogie’s:

Deluxestogie's Endoskeletal Wood Tobacco Kiln / Flue-cure chamber

PART 1 of 4 Endoskeleton. The foam board goes on the outside. Caveat The wood-built kiln discussed here has several advantages over using a dead, upright freezer for a kiln, but will require more work to complete, and will certainly cost more. it weighs significantly less it can be sized to...

fairtradetobacco.com

Here is his first attempt with a trash can flue cure. I’m sure he learned a lot since, but still worth the read:

deluxestogie's Trash Can Cozy Flue-cure Chamber

I've been pondering along the same lines, but for a different reason. My little crockpot sits to one side of the can and I'm now suspicious that this is one of the reasons why my leaf sometimes turns out half brown and half green, the other being improper air circulation. I understand that the...

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[Knucklehead]

P.S. - what varieties are you flue curing?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

hello mate,apologies.Yep trying flue curing according knuckleheads method....Coneverted an old fridge.
Crockpot for heat/humidity.

35-40 oC for first 24-48 hours

com fan for circulation.

dont have a wetbulb but have temp and humidity readings.

Things are looking good. Don't raise the temperature until they are mostly yellow.

Would you mind using Fahrenheit or both? Most of us think in Fahrenheit when flue curing.

 

[Deano]

Hello mate, will do.. I have to keep reminding myself that 90 degrees is not as hot as it sounds to me!