One of the hottest products on the market today for home growers is the automatic dry and cure machine called the Cannatrol Cool Cure. The thought that you can get pin-point accuracy and 100% stable drying and curing while being completely hands off seems like a complete game changer.
In this article I’ll reveal how I’ve dried and cured for the past 13 years and how drastically different it is now with the Cannatrol. I’ll also provide a complete review of the Cannatrol, including as many details as relevant and will also talk about the pros and cons of this machine.
Video Review
If you prefer reading instead of watching a video, then just keep reading.
Disclaimer: I’m not being paid for this review. I personally don’t accept money for reviews. I have mixed opinions on that; I’ve come across many reviews that were paid and they talk 100% positive and hide the negative. That’s just not me. You will definitely hear both good things and bad things about this machine.
I did reach out to Cannatrol and ask them for a discount code for my audience. They said they don’t do discount codes but gave me a special link that you can click on to see the best price available right now, a discount for multiple-units, and a military discount.
How The Cannatrol Works
I’ve been using the Cannatrol Cool Cure for over 7 months now. I started with storage and then did a dry and cure cycle when I had plants ready for harvest. Here are some of the specifications:
- Dimensions: H 28.25″ x W 17.75″ x D 20.5″
- Weight: 60 lbs.
- Internal capacity: 2.49 cubic feet and it holds 4-5 pounds of dry flower. Wet load should not exceed 2.2 pounds.
- Wattage: 70 watts
So if you had this unit on for 24 hours a day and your cost per kWh is $0.12 cents (like it is in my state), then you’re spending about $6.05 per month on electricity. Not bad.
You can set both the temperature and dew point (the dew point relates to relative humidity). By using temperature and dew point, vapor pressure is controlled. In their user manual, Cannatrol recommends 4 days of drying at 68°F temperature and 53°F dew point. They recommend a 4-day cure cycle at 68°F temperature and 52°F dew point, and then for storage, they go back to 68°F temperature and 53°F dew point. This is a little bit different from the 60/60 rule that many of you like to dry and cure at. You can absolutely change the temperature and humidity on the Cannatrol to 60/60 if you’d like, I just figured it was relevant to mention their personal recommendations.
You may be wondering why they don’t go with the common 60/60 method; I found their answer in this video that’s on their YouTube channel:
Drying in a Grow Tent vs Cannatrol
I’ve been gardening for 13 years now and all of those years I would set up a specific area for drying each harvest. I’ve dried in spare bedrooms, bathrooms, but usually dry in a grow tent that I’m not growing any plants in. I had to ensure proper air flow with oscillating fans, proper air exchange with either an inline fan or opening my grow tent 1-2 times a day to exchange the air. I had to make sure my humidifier had water in it at all times; many of you use a dehumidifier instead due to being in a different climate. I had to hang a temperature and humidity monitor near the buds, and I had to squeeze the buds (or snap the stem) and remove them from the drying environment before they became over-dry. Once dry I had to put them into jars for storing and then burp the jars at least 1-2 times per day for at least the first few weeks.
I don’t have to do any of that anymore with the Cannatrol. Simply harvest the plant, put into the Cannatrol, and then turn on the unit. They mention to wet the sponge (that they provide) and set it on a shelf on the second day of drying (and beyond) and I had to empty the drip pan on the back of the unit twice when on a dry cycle, but both of those things are very easy.
Pros and Cons of the Cannatrol Cool Cure
Let’s get into the pros and cons of this machine.
Pros:
- Hands off drying, curing, and storage
- No setting up a dry environment
- No inline fans or oscillating fans
- No filling humidifiers or emptying dehumidifiers
- No burping jars
- You can adjust the temperature and dew point to what you desire
- Unit is small/compact. It doesn’t take up a lot of space.
- Unit can be locked (2 keys provided)
- Low noise, maximum 35db
- 1 year warranty covering parts and labor
Cons:
- Only one size option
- Controller on top of unit takes up space
- Some smell
- Flat spots can occur on buds if not flipped over after 24 hours
- No app control
- Price
Is the Cannatrol a Wine Fridge?
I actually released a video with information on the Cannatrol a few months back and there were at least a few people who compared it to a wine fridge – they said that it would actually work better. Unfortunately, we had at least 1 person follow their advice and the result was very bad. They purchased a wine fridge and attempted to dry their plants in it. After checking on their buds just 3 days later they realized the buds were already over-dry and they had a strong hay smell. With a wine fridge, you can set a specific temperature, but can’t set the dew point or relative humidity. The inside of a wine fridge is actually too low of humidity and the plants will dry too fast. I put a hygrometer in my wine fridge and it showed 22% relative humidity – so super low.
Now if you’re just talking about storage, thumbs up in my opinion. That’s what I used for storage prior to using the Cannatrol. I used glass mason jars with a humidity pack in them and I also used Grove bags that were heat sealed; both of those worked great.
But I wouldn’t compare a wine fridge to a Cannatrol and I caution people who are thinking about purchasing a wine fridge for drying.
Is the Cannatrol a Humidor?
The other thing people are comparing the Cannatrol to is a humidor, because you do have control of the temperature and some control of the relative humidity – key word “some.” Someone linked me to a Whynter CHC-120S Stainless Steel Humidor, and I looked deeper into it. That unit does have an adjustable thermostat with a temperature range of 50ºF – 66ºF but that unit doesn’t have a way to adjust the humidity; it will automatically go up and down between 62% to 75%, which depending on the temperature, is more susceptible to mold. It’s also smaller than the Cannatrol so it can’t hold as much.
The humidors that people linked me require a humidity pack or beads and specify the humidity adjusts within a specific range. So they don’t have pin-point accuracy where you can digitally set the dew point or relative humidity and the unit stays there like the Cannatrol has the ability to.
How is the Quality with the Cannatrol?
Since the buds are held at a steady temperature and humidity in the Cannatrol, the cannabinoids and terpenes are preserved instead of being volatilized. Also, the buds maintain their stickiness. When I take a bag out of the Cannatrol, the smell quickly becomes evident. Additionally, when I grind up the bud, I get hit hard with the terpene profile. Even after storing buds in the Cannatrol for 6 months, they remain green and do not turn brown like they would if stored at room temperature or higher. The taste is still there as well. I’ve had so many jars of bud over the years become so bland due to storing them at room temperature, which leads to terpenes volatilizing. It’s awesome that the buds retain their taste, smell, and color after so many months.
Is the Cannatrol Worth It?
All in all, I personally think the pros outweigh the cons and I will absolutely continue to use the Cannatrol. It has made drying so much easier and I no longer have to worry about over-drying. I actually have branches in there from 2 months back that I have been avoiding trimming. As I’m sure many of you know, that process can be very tedious and time consuming. I’ll get to it eventually though 🙂
