Recharging Boveda / Integra humidity packs

[180]

https://rollingmountainkush.com/may2019/2019/05/02/recharging-bovedas.html#

Hey folks, I've wondered whether it was possible to recharge those humidity packs we use to keep our herb happy (Boveda or Integra). Turns out you CAN do it, so don't throw your old ones away. All you need is distilled water, which you can buy at the supermarket. Sweet!

 

[GOZ]

Thanks!!!

 

[digger]

In my experience the best way to rehydrate bovedas is by tossing them in the trash. I used them for a couple years, and they really do steal terpenes. There is another brand that’s a white pack with blue writing that I cant recall the name, they aren’t as bad as the bovedas, but I stopped using any of them. I have found the best thing to do is use that same distilled or ro water and wet a small square of paper towel, squeeze it out and toss that in there. Take it out when they get where you want, might have to repeat if necessary.

But with that being said, the distilled water rehydrate does work. If you choose this route, dont set it and forget it, keep an eye on it. They’ll swell up plump as a grape. lol, don’t ask me how I know lol And yes, you can bring a crunchy one back to life.

 

[GOZ]

In my experience the best way to rehydrate bovedas is by tossing them in the trash. I used them for a couple years, and they really do steal terpenes. There is another brand that’s a white pack with blue writing that I cant recall the name, they aren’t as bad as the bovedas, but I stopped using any of them. I have found the best thing to do is use that same distilled or ro water and wet a small square of paper towel, squeeze it out and toss that in there. Take it out when they get where you want, might have to repeat if necessary.

But with that being said, the distilled water rehydrate does work. If you choose this route, dont set it and forget it, keep an eye on it. They’ll swell up plump as a grape. lol, don’t ask me how I know lol And yes, you can bring a crunchy one back to life.

It sounds like your bad experience with Bodiva's comes from pushing them too far. Bodiva (or any other crystal salt based humidity regulator) is only capable of maintaining relative humidity, in a sealed container, once the RH is established. Reviving dried out buds is not what a Bodiva is designed to do. Adding pure water to hydrate is the way to go if needed, but use a Hygrometer. Don't just guess. When you reach 62% (or 58% if that is your preference), then add the bodiva and close the jar. It will maintain the RH over time for safe storage and will protect certain terpenes from dehydration as well as protect long term storage from mold and mildew. The Bodiva does not set the relative humidity, it maintains it. The bodiva is the part that lets you "set and forget" humidity control (to a degree, I still keep inexpensive hygrometers in the containers to detect the day the Bodiva runs out.

As for affecting terpenes, we're just talking about humidity here. The chemicals in the humidity control packs are inert and isolated. They do not interact with the cannabis in any way other than maintaining humidity within a limited range.

Bottom line: If you are going to store cannabis for more than a month or two, it is important to maintain humidity control and crystal salts like Bodiva are a good way to do it for small volumes of cannabis. For larger ones a more complex electronic system is needed.

 

[GOZ]

"180" I've been thinking bout the Bodiva revitalization. One thing the article did not cover is the drying ability of a Bodiva. Soaking them in water would re-hydrate the pack, but leaving it in water would "over hydrate" the pack and make it only capable of restoring moisture, not necessarily controlling it. To revive 2-way humidity control, we should leave the re-hydrated pack in a dry container with a hygrometer. If you have some over dry herb, use it and it is a win-win. Dry the bodiva (or any 2-way crystalline humidity control) until it achieves the RH it was designed for. Then it should work as expected.

 

[Enceladus]

I smoke premium cigars sometimes in addition to growing cannabis, so I've used Boveda packs for a long time. I have packs that are over a decade old that I've recharged over and over. It's just a semi permeable membrane so the very thing that allows it to work allows it to be recharged. I bought them way back in the day and I still have the same ones.

 

[Green Mopho]

I do find they steal terpenes and also release acetone which can cause some oxidation. Best to just seal real well to trap existing moisture, or add a fan leaf from your veg if you are looking to add a small amount of hydration. I stay away from these packs now too.

 

[Enceladus]

I do find they steal terpenes and also release acetone which can cause some oxidation. Best to just seal real well to trap existing moisture, or add a fan leaf from your veg if you are looking to add a small amount of hydration. I stay away from these packs now too.

There isn't any mechanism at play that could cause them to steal terpenes. I think a lot of this is a false cause fallacy in which someone uses a Boveda pack, they think they have some kind of terpene loss or they really do have some kind of terpene loss, and they the attribute that to the pack without knowing that's the case. Any terpene that interacts with the pack in any way at all had to have already been volatized to begin with. Also, the specific amount of acetone in those packs is lower than what's present in the environment. There is the same amount or more in the air that's in your container. There is acetone produced by your body. A really important thig to remember about chemistry is that it's not either/or. It's about the specific amount of what is present. Everything in the universe is inert at a certain dose, maybe helpful at a certain dose and dangerous at a certain dose. I'm willing to change my mind if you can demonstrate any evidence that the amount of acetone in a Boveda pack causes any measurable oxidation of material. It may even be present because of the ambient air the pack interacts with.

I've used the packs for years with cannabis and cigars. I've had packs in containers of cultivars to which I had the very same thing in another container without the pack and could tell no difference. This isn't evidence because this is just my subjective experience. I'd be very surprised for anyone to demonstrate any mechanism of action and any data of how it steals terps or how it oxidizes product though.

 

[GOZ]

I do find they steal terpenes and also release acetone which can cause some oxidation. Best to just seal real well to trap existing moisture, or add a fan leaf from your veg if you are looking to add a small amount of hydration. I stay away from these packs now too.

I'm curious about the Acetone release. I've never noticed it, but it may be subtle and I missed it. What is the chemistry behind that?

 

[GOZ]

I tried a "recharge" a Bodiva for the first time, and it certainly does work. It's not quite as easy as the initial article makes it out to be, but still pretty simple. I found the soaking has to be thorough. I stopped soaking after a day, when the Bodiva got "gelatinous" and they were not at the right humidity (52% on a 62% pack). I soaked them another day and they were too wet (70%) I had to dry them in steps while monitoring the RH. When they hit 62%, they worked like brand new.

@180 Thanks again for the great tip.

 

[180]

@GOZ You are most welcome!

@Enceladus Thanks for the detailed response. Terpenes volatize, fer sure, no matter how the flower is stored. Methods of storage that preserve terps (vacuum sealing; freezing) tend to destroy the quality of the flower. And oxidation is inevitable if O2 is present in your container. I think growers/packagers of flower could take a tip from the beverage industry and nitrogen-pack their products (it wouldn't surprise me if some already are, but I haven't heard about it). A nitrogen gas purge of the container (to void the O2) would be a good step in the packaging process. I think an O2-scavenging packet of some sort would be a nice thing to have alongside your Boveda/Integra humidity packs.

 

[GOZ]

Nitrogen... Hummm great idea. Turns out Nitro-Brew coffee fans have made a market for nitrogen cartridges in the "whip-it" whip cream format to fit Whip-cream machines, now used to make Nitro-Brew cold coffee. How convenient. I'm just a personal stash hobby grower. I never thought I'd be storing long term, but it turns out every time a new breed matures, the remainder of the last plant hits the shelf. I think I'll give this a try. It may be a year or two before I know how well it worked.

 

[LJFarming]

I am definitely no wizard or scientist

Bóveda or Integra has always worked great for me. Once the flower is PROPERLY dried, cured, trimmed and in its final container I think they are great tools to have. as well as a $5 Bóveda or a $3 integra seems inexpensive to keep a pac good for a couple weeks!

I would never try to recharge them! Integras are 60-70% less than Bóvedas/maybe $2-3 to keep a pack correct for a couple weeks?

If I know I’m going to sit on 1 or more PACs for whatever reason longer than 2 weeks it’s definitely getting vacuum sealed with a desiccant pouch and put in the freezer!

IMO there is not a better way to preserve color, terps, and general quality than freezing it once you know it’s dried and cured properly!

I actually had a conversation with an ole head today about adding Nitrogen Gas and purging the O2 out of the container that will be frozen and enjoyed the knowledge he shared however I have no idea if what he was sharing is correct! I do know I have a bottle of nitrogen for welding in my shop and next time I’m going to put flower in the freezer I am definitely purging the container with Nitrogen that is if my ole ass remembers the potential knowledge I learned today! Haha

 

[digger]

There isn't any mechanism at play that could cause them to steal terpenes. I think a lot of this is a false cause fallacy in which someone uses a Boveda pack, they think they have some kind of terpene loss or they really do have some kind of terpene loss, and they the attribute that to the pack without knowing that's the case. Any terpene that interacts with the pack in any way at all had to have already been volatized to begin with. Also, the specific amount of acetone in those packs is lower than what's present in the environment. There is the same amount or more in the air that's in your container. There is acetone produced by your body. A really important thig to remember about chemistry is that it's not either/or. It's about the specific amount of what is present. Everything in the universe is inert at a certain dose, maybe helpful at a certain dose and dangerous at a certain dose. I'm willing to change my mind if you can demonstrate any evidence that the amount of acetone in a Boveda pack causes any measurable oxidation of material. It may even be present because of the ambient air the pack interacts with.

I've used the packs for years with cannabis and cigars. I've had packs in containers of cultivars to which I had the very same thing in another container without the pack and could tell no difference. This isn't evidence because this is just my subjective experience. I'd be very surprised for anyone to demonstrate any mechanism of action and any data of how it steals terps or how it oxidizes product though.

I didnt have any scientific proof, just my nose and different jars of the same plant with and without those packs. This was after over a year of use. It wasnt a one and done. Now, your white papers and manufacturer information may say one thing, but I know what I experienced.

 

[Dawn Patrol]

I am definitely no wizard or scientist

Bóveda or Integra has always worked great for me. Once the flower is PROPERLY dried, cured, trimmed and in its final container I think they are great tools to have. as well as a $5 Bóveda or a $3 integra seems inexpensive to keep a pac good for a couple weeks!

I would never try to recharge them! Integras are 60-70% less than Bóvedas/maybe $2-3 to keep a pack correct for a couple weeks?

If I know I’m going to sit on 1 or more PACs for whatever reason longer than 2 weeks it’s definitely getting vacuum sealed with a desiccant pouch and put in the freezer!

IMO there is not a better way to preserve color, terps, and general quality than freezing it once you know it’s dried and cured properly!

I actually had a conversation with an ole head today about adding Nitrogen Gas and purging the O2 out of the container that will be frozen and enjoyed the knowledge he shared however I have no idea if what he was sharing is correct! I do know I have a bottle of nitrogen for welding in my shop and next time I’m going to put flower in the freezer I am definitely purging the container with Nitrogen that is if my ole ass remembers the potential knowledge I learned today! Haha

I tried the nitrogen treatment in quart ball jars. Source was canned nitrogen used to spray into opened wine bottles to keep the wine from oxidizing. In the short term (90 days or less) the results were ambigous but longer than that, the flowers became brittle and dry. Keep in mind this was in new quart ball jars with new lid inserts so they did not dry out from exposure due to bad lid seals..

my method now is to dry the buds to about 60-65%, rough trim them and then into freezer ziplocs (thicker plastic, look for the ones with the double strip closure) and then into a five gallon prepper bucket with a slightly lubricated o ring.

This will keep you harvest in outstanding condition and can be supplemented with those oxygen eating inserts for even better results.

 

[LJFarming]

I honestly would grow less if it isn’t gone in less than 3 weeks preferably 2.

There is seriously A LOT to say about fresh weed. Myself and 2 other grow bros try to stay 3 weeks apart for harvest and help each other and buyers out for many reasons. IMO the best reason is fresh weed to smoke every 3 weeks!

Also IMO if you dry and cure and freeze it in the proper container it’s damn near as good a year or 10 years later! It’s like hitting the lottery when I find a jar in the freezer that is a year or more old just like the lottery it doesn’t happen often but when it does. HELL YEA!

Peace guys I’m was in trim jail all day and I am staying at least 10 more days.

Strawberry Gary
Kobe
Black Rose

And one of the dry tents full of shit keeping me in jail!

 

[Enceladus]

I didnt have any scientific proof, just my nose and different jars of the same plant with and without those packs. This was after over a year of use. It wasnt a one and done. Now, your white papers and manufacturer information may say one thing, but I know what I experienced.

I've experienced the opposite with over a decade of use. However I don't think either of our experiences are actual data. I can't tell a difference with the same cultivars stored with and without packets, and I still have yet to have anyone explain a mechanism of action as to how it would affect flavor or "steal terps." I just don't buy it.

 

[GOZ]

I am definitely no wizard or scientist

Bóveda or Integra has always worked great for me. Once the flower is PROPERLY dried, cured, trimmed and in its final container I think they are great tools to have. as well as a $5 Bóveda or a $3 integra seems inexpensive to keep a pac good for a couple weeks!

I would never try to recharge them! Integras are 60-70% less than Bóvedas/maybe $2-3 to keep a pack correct for a couple weeks?

If I know I’m going to sit on 1 or more PACs for whatever reason longer than 2 weeks it’s definitely getting vacuum sealed with a desiccant pouch and put in the freezer!

IMO there is not a better way to preserve color, terps, and general quality than freezing it once you know it’s dried and cured properly!

I actually had a conversation with an ole head today about adding Nitrogen Gas and purging the O2 out of the container that will be frozen and enjoyed the knowledge he shared however I have no idea if what he was sharing is correct! I do know I have a bottle of nitrogen for welding in my shop and next time I’m going to put flower in the freezer I am definitely purging the container with Nitrogen that is if my ole ass remembers the potential knowledge I learned today! Haha

Watch out for Humidity (or lack of it) the Nitrogen will be anhydrous and will dry out your cure. You might need to add a little water after the Nitrogen. The RH regulator packs have a limited range they can manage. sometimes you have to help them out.