The risk of dehume failure is higher the harder one works the equipment. The results of failure would be significantly worse if there were harvests at different stages of drying.
Not saying it can’t be done that way, just suggesting that it shouldn’t be. Like I said earlier in the thread, I have watched the methodology you mention nearly destroy companies. Why unnecessarily risk significant problems when one doesn’t have to?
I agree with you it’s not ideal, and that if I was to design a space I wouldn’t do it this way either.
But the logic stands that as long as your dehus are able to keep up, there’s no issue with bringing wet plants in.
And if you have big enough dehumidifiers you won’t be working them all that hard to create a failure.
We’re on the same page, I’m just playing devils advocate here
And in thinking about it a bit more, just re-staging the harvest/growing cycle to harvest one every two weeks and fill the container would fix the problem. The only “issue” (which really isn’t an issue) would be that until the cycle is reestablished in the appropriate format, some of the rooms may get an extra week of grow time.
Why is this something that no one else is discussing? So easy and requires zero capital investment!
Edit: I like playing that Devil’s advocate, too. @cyclopath is the master of playing that role! Makes us more critically think, and I appreciate it.
How about just installing a 12" can fan instead of an AC unit to move the air?
I’d recommend a second container to dry in. I ran 2 separate 2500sf drying spaces for hemp last year. 800 pints of dehumidifiers in each with fans. Field to super sack in 4 days. Refilling half of a space, even with a wall dividing it, while the other half was almost dry messed it all up. Not quite like starting over, but pretty close. Only made that mistake once…
If you’re trying to keep the environment ac’d and separate from one another how would the can fan help?
We are talking about harvest 2-40’ containers not acres
we’re still talking about adding wet material to 50% of a drying space. My ceilings are higher, and my space is about 5 of his containers but I’ve also got 4x the dehumidifiers op is talking about so we’re not too far off on space vs dehumidifiers. With enough dehumidifiers I’m sure it’s possible. 2 quest 115’s is probably not enough to be adding wet material to the space.
Is there anything similar to a mini-split ac set up for humidity? I have no experience in large scale drying but mini split acs are common here
But my question still remains: why encourage an inferior system that remains significantly more prone to be problematic? Product degradation and production timeline issues are significantly more likely and would require additional CAPX with the system everyone else seems to be encouraging.
Can one of the respondents in the thread answer as to why changing the harvest schedule to every two weeks (filling the space to capacity and allowing desired dry times and conditions) or switching to a 6 day dry cycle (utilizing that extra week to cure appropriately) are inferior to spending more money on a system that may or may not work?
I’m really baffled that no one else (except maybe @FicklePickle) seems to feel the same way I do about it. Just because one can do something doesn’t always mean they should…
Because as a farmer sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. You play the cards your dealt.
We wouldn’t be using containers at all if we were the dealer. Lol
Pun intended!
I’m not encouraging the use of one space, quite the opposite brother. I see all the same potential problems( and then some) from trying to use one room to dry two alternating crops continuously. I completely agree, 6 day dry in one container, or 13 days in 2 containers.
I’m not even arguing for the purchasing of a second container. Re-staging the harvest schedule to once every two weeks is more what I am suggesting as the other alternative. It may slightly slow production, as one may have to wait to repopulate a room or two, but all of those issues should be remedied withing eight weeks, thereby eliminating the issue at ZERO additional cost.
My goal is to help the OP without requiring additional capital, which can be hard to come by these days, and eliminating unnecessary, problematic systems. All of this can be done pretty easily. Glad you and @FicklePickle agree.
I was just here to say it’s possible, especially if you’re in a bind.
Moving the schedule is without question the best route, but I don’t think anyone would be here asking if they had that option already available
This is the easy fix. Plant 1 container, wait two weeks and plant the next.
The option is always available; it’s just a matter of how hard (and persuasively) one wants to fight for it. One or two weeks’ stalled harvests clogging up the only drying room can make for a rather persuasive argument when all else fails.
@BG305, my thoughts about temporary, slowed production are assuming production has already begun. They also want 2 “rooms” drying in one container. They’d need to plant them two at a time, two weeks apart.
I do 7 day dry downs all the time and have zero issues.
Settings:
Day 1: 65F and 60% humidity
Day 2: 65F and 58% humidity
Day 3: 65F and 56% humidity
Day 4: 65F and 55% humidity
(Humidity reading should naturally drop below 55% but keep dehuey setting at 55%)
Day 5: 65F and 55% humidity
Day 6: 67F and 55% humidity
Day 7: 67-68F and 55% humitiy
(If humidity drops below 50% before day 7, buck down and place in totes that have tops to seal them so no air can get in or out and keep them in the room at temperatures listed above)
So how did your harvest go? Did the drying work the way you wanted?
It hasn’t been too bad actually. Winters here are dry as hell so there’s a humidifier being fed RO that’s running in there almost 50% of the time. In the summer the A/C units were running a lot and rather than dumping heat into the main warehouse area we had to duct everything outside. The downside to this is that we are stinking out the whole neighborhood with the terps that I’d rather keep circulating in the drying room. I really wish we had something more passive with slower moving air, but since our warehouse isn’t cooled this was the best option. Either way our flower tastes and smokes great so while the setup isn’t ideal not ideal, it will definitely do for a while. I just have to convince the bosses to get at least a little A/C in our main warehouse 
Any pics of the setup you could share? We’ve been tossing around ideas to use our reefers for drying. From your post I can’t tell if you ended up using a reefer or another part of your warehouse?