Is anyone here using AROYA’s Dry Module in their drying rooms? Or does anyone have the Aqualab 3?
I’m interested in your learning opinions, especially regarding the Dry Module and whether you have noticed more uniformity in the drying process and better overall drier flower character.
From Dr. Newman at MeteoGroup about the Dry Module system she developed:
By using our technology to optimize your dry process, I expect you to see a quick 2% increase in your yields based upon the information you shared and I can not wait to partner with you.
I have not used the aforementioned WA meters. I bought some Chinese bullshit from Amazon, and I still haven’t discerned whether it’s accurate or not. If I were to make a suggestion, buy the good shit 650$ Amazon job does not instill confidence in the user….
I’m def buying the Aqualab 3. It’s a chilled aW meter, the only way to go. At about $12K, it’s def worth it. I wondered if anyone has it because I’m curious about their experiences and any headaches. Thanks.
The Aqualab 3 adheres to ASTM D8196-20 and ASTM D8197-21.
The Aroya Dry Module includes the Aqualab 3. The Aqualab 3 is used for validation of the predicted aW. The Dry Module uses Aroya climate sensors and artificial intelligence machine learning with validated isotherms to correlate temp and humidity to aW for predictive aW for optimized drying schedules.
You can get water activity testing done super cheap at a lot of labs… send a few batches out and test your results against theirs if you’re that unsure.
I wonder about this too. I’m still rolling with bale meters - because they work for all other commodity fibers. I tried the Aqualab 3 and the time to test was longer, plus the interface wasn’t really working for me. I only got to try it for what - 5 days though? Then I had to give it back. I didn’t find the numbers to be vastly different than my handheld, but it meant that someone was legit taking a sample and destroying it each time.
Has anyone else seen improved performance from using this destructive method? Does it work with only partially dry material?
Right now this is what I have.
Humidistat in duplicate for the drying room
Humidistat for each fiber drum for curing time
Handheld moisture content meter for verification
Our aW at the lab is almost point for point matching the humidstats - the lab I use uses the Aqualab 3 for this check.
We’ve got the drying schedule down to 6-8 days by strain at this point. And curing continues in the same fashion through trimming and while waiting on finished test results.
$12k for the instrument, plus the calibration, plus an operator to run it for you every day, plus the destroyed material that goes into the waste bin - seems like a lot to me.
When did you test the Aqualab 3? Did they give you the iPad for an interface? What humidistats are you using?
The destrucitve method (aW meter) works with fresh, drying, and dried material. I think the sample size is what, a gram or two?
That’s awesome! It’s great to read about your experience and success!
I planned to track aW by destructive analysis during cure and long-term post-package testing. But I like how you are monitoring during the cure as well. I think I will copy you and add humidistats to the curing tubs.
My curing/quarantine/manicuring process sounds pretty much identical to yours: while waiting for the QA lab test results, flowers are curing and getting manicured.
That’s only if you’re using the aW meter. The Dry Module is pretty much hands-free. It uses METERGroup climate sensors to track RH and artificial intelligence machine learning to estimate aW and predict when optimal drying will be achieved.
The Aqualab 3 is only used to validate the estimated and predicted aW from the Dry Module’s AI.
