Professor Pangloss' 2016 Saga of Folly

[ProfessorPangloss]

Harvest day yesterday. Got a lot of pics to share over a couple posts. Got my knife, spear, and sticks. I wound up running out of room to hang sticks and so I went with the Bob method of 16d nails (of which a bag was conveniently located in the shed) to hang the Pennsylvania Red. I had to cut all my Virginia Bright Leaf because it's mostly ripe or overripe and I had to get off the vacant lot. So I stalk cut it, brought it home, and hung the leaves on coat hangers organized from low to high stalk. Once it yellows, I'll cure as much as I can get in my little fridge, and hang the rest in the greenhouse so it can sun cure.

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

My buddy (the latest in a long line of farmers) was up early, so he surprised me by stopping by with his knife and spear (everyone has their own around here) and helped me tremendously. He showed me a bunch of nifty tricks that actual farmers use, like pushing all the stalks down close together so you can hoist the stick over your shoulder and so forth. He also got a few pics of me working, which is nice for posterity. On a superfluous note of vanity, there's a trick of the light in one photo that implies a bald spit on my head, which I assure you is fictional.
View attachment 18790

 

[deluxestogie]

View attachment 18788

That's a sweet little cart for hauling tobacco stalks.

Bob

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Forget the bald spot, are you like 3 feet tall or are you growing banana leaves?

 

[Alpine]

Those leaves are HUGE! What did you use for fertilizer? Kriptonite??? Hats off to you Prof!
Pier

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

I think the photographer was standing closer to that end of the stick than it appears. It's pretty big, though. That's a stick of Catterton.

In the post above, there's a broken attachment. Here she blows:

 

[Brown Thumb]

Those leaves are HUGE! What did you use for fertilizer? Kriptonite??? Hats off to you Prof!
Pier

Spot on, Very nice job professor.

 

[Brown Thumb]

Freaking camera flash off something is blurring the pic tho.

 

[rainmax]

Beautiful.

 

[Floppy2]

Huh! I did exactly this when I cut down my first ever tobacco plants. It was instinct to get it out of the hot sun FAST! It was over 90 degrees most of this summer in CT.

bjr

 

[Gavroche]

Beautiful plantation bravo but it is necessary to buy a hat professor...for the photo!

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

Believe it or not, I bear a passing resemblance to the VanGogh of my avatar. I have a straw hat - just wasn't wearing it so early in the day.

In other news, exciting happenings at Pangloss Cellars (the subterranean lair of Pangloss Acres). My kiln-slash-flue-cure-chamber is wired and testing. I got the same controller as Bob ($7.50 on eBay), some random electrical stuff (mostly had around), a PC fan (free), a cell phone charger (free), mini crock pot ($10), and an extension cord ($10). So I'm into this for about $27. The broken mini fridge was in the basement. I'm very excited - plugged it all up minutes ago and the temp is rapidly climbing towards the test of 130 Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius). Which is good, because that Virginia leaf in the shed is yellow, so I think that means it needs to go in.

Potential problems: I don't have a vent or a hydrometer. I'm hoping to be able to improvise (ie. drill a hole in something).

So far, it's made 39 Celsius in a matter of minutes.

Edit: never mind the photo. It's a mini fridge with a temp controller and a 2 gang box screwed to the side.

 

[deluxestogie]

You're on your way. You don't need a vent for kilning, but you definitely need one for flue-curing. Try sticking a fat rubber band in the way of the door gasket at the top, for starters.

Bob

 

[Gavroche]

Professor, I am in the same configuration as you: a refrigerator, a heating plate, a ventilator of PC, a pan and some tobacco to be handled(treated) as quickly as possible I look forward to your process to make him(it) at my home(with me) because I did not still understand the scale(ladder) of hygrometry With that of the temperature...



http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/173-Another-Flue-Curing-process

Professeur, je suis dans la même configuration que vous : un réfrigérateur, une plaque chauffante, un ventilateur de PC, une casserole et du tabac à traiter au plus vite... j'attends avec impatience votre procédé pour le faire chez moi... car je n'ai toujours pas compris l'échelle d'hygrométrie avec celle de la température...

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

You're on your way. You don't need a vent for kilning, but you definitely need one for flue-curing. Try sticking a fat rubber band in the way of the door gasket at the top, for starters.

Bob

Thanks, He Who Has Been There Before. Since much of this is patterned after your endeavors, your procedures are important to follow. Are you saying that you just allowed for a tiny crack in the seal of the door, and that sufficed as a vent? On this particular fridge, the gasket is nearly flat - it's not as wide and squeezy as other fridges I've seen.

I have all manner of hardware and xps (green) foam - I could drill a hole somewhere and cover it with the foam when not venting. I guess I just need a suggestion on how big the vent actually needs to be, and when to open it. The leaf I'm about to start is almost all yellow and has lost some moisture, so my reading of the chart with the curve is that it won't take but 3 or 4 days to do this.

 

[Gavroche]

ProfessorP, your refrigerator has a vent(blowhole) normally so that waters of condensation escape or when we de-ice him(it)...

 

[Smokin Harley]

"I got the same controller as Bob ($7.50 on eBay), some random electrical stuff (mostly had around), a PC fan (free), a cell phone charger (free), mini crock pot ($10), and an extension cord ($10). So I'm into this for about $27. The broken mini fridge was in the basement. I'm very excited - plugged it all up minutes ago and the temp is rapidly climbing towards the test of 130 Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius). "
sounds like a mini-version of my kiln. where did you place your pc fan? I put 3 on the top shelf of mine staggered, heat naturally rises so I force it back down . Seems to eliminate dead spots . Good luck with yours.

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

I put mine on the bottom shelf blowing across towards the crock pot. If I get another one, I'll put it at the top blowing down. I figure if I help the convection current move at a higher speed, it'll even out the heat and it's what the air would normally do.

Did you wire yours in parallel or series? I used a cell charger to power the one fan, and someone said online that if the charger under-powers the fan, wiring in parallel would allow the charger to give max voltage to two fans, as opposed to one. I'm not sure why that'd be, but I'm also not an electrician.

 

[deluxestogie]

I did not still understand the scale(ladder) of hygrometry [/FONT][/COLOR]With that of the temperature...

Your version of the chart is missing one of the lines.

Without a hygrometer or wet bulb thermometer, you can adjust the vent based on preventing condensation, but still following the temperature steps.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I plugged the numbers from the chart without rh into an rh calculator the other day and it came up with different numbers.



I don't know how much it matters