Above: My homegrown blueberry kush bubble hash, dried in a freeze dyer.

What is a Freeze Dryer?

Freeze Dryers are dehydrators with better science. Freeze Dryers remove the water from the frozen hash by reducing pressure inside the machine and increasing the temperature enough to sublimate the water. Water vapor escapes the hash, or food, and is collected on a condenser.

Freeze Dryer use a calculated and precise process that takes several hours.

Freeze Dryers use a process called lyophilization – which means removing water from a frozen product, under a vacuum, allowing the ice to change from a solid to a gas without liquefying as water first.

Best Freeze Dryer: Harvest Right

Harvest Right has been leading the freeze-dryer market and bringing affordable freeze-dryers to the home consumer for several years. Freeze Dryers have become more affordable, more accessible, and more reliable thanks to Harvest Right.

In years past only expensive commercial and pharmaceutical grade freeze-dryers were available. 

Harvest Right Freeze Dryers are easy to use thanks to their advanced automation software. Their Home Pro Freeze Dryer is affordable and achievable at $2500.

Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Models

Harvest Right sells 4 different versions of Freeze Dryers. The Home Pro and Pharmaceutical are most popular for home users. The Scientific model is overkill for most and the Commercial grade Freeze Dryers are much more expensive.

Home Pro vs Pharmaceutical

Both the Harvest Right Home Pro and Pharmaceutical Pro are great units for the at-home hash maker. The biggest difference between these two units is the tray capacity and height allowance.

The Pharmaceutical Pro freeze dryers use more trays, but each tray has less height allowance.

For hash, tray height doesn’t matter because frozen bubble hash will already be in flat wafer form.

The Pharmaceutical Pro has a higher capacity and will dry more hash per cycle.

The Home Pro has more flexibility to freeze dry things other than bubble hash – like bananas, candy bars, giant marshmallows, etc.

Both the Home Pro and Pharmaceutical freeze dryers work perfectly for drying hash.

The Home Pro is more affordable and more agile in its tray capacity. 

If you don’t plan on using your freeze dryer for anything other than making hash, Pharmaceutical freeze dryers offer the maximum tray space. But if you plan on freeze drying foods, the Home Pro units are better.

Scientific & Commercial Freeze Dryers

Harvest Right sells Commercial-grade freeze dryers as well as scientific models. These upgraded options are better suited for professional use. The Scientific freeze dryers offer customizations and fine-tuning of the freeze-drying process. These features are more suited for a chemical lab than a candy maker or hash extractor.

Commercial freeze dryers have a larger capacity and extreme dependability. These units are built to be used daily.

Freeze Dryer Oil Changes, Filtering & Pump Options

Routine maintenance and upkeep of freeze dryers have improved in recent years. Just a few years ago these devices would require manually filtering the oil every 3 or 4 uses.  Modern Harvest Right Freeze Dryers have built-in filters and can go 30+ uses in between oil changes.

Alternatively, Harvest Right now offers a premium Oil-Free pump as an upgrade option. The Oil-Free freeze dryer pump is considered maintenance-free and costs an additional $1495.

Is the $1495 Industrial Pump Worth It?  Probably not. Even with daily use these freeze dryers can now go a whole month without dealing with the oil. This upgrade is from an era of freeze dryers where the oil needed to be filtered every 4 or 5 uses. 

Next Level Hash for Home Growers

Home growers and hash washers looking to take their bubble hash to the next level will gain tremendous improvement with a freeze dryer. Home growers are already enjoying the freshest, highest-quality cannabis. 

Freshly pressed hash rosin from homegrown, hand-washed, and freeze-dried bubble hash is hands down the best cannabis experience available.

Using Freeze Dryers for Both Food & Hash

Most home growers will only be washing hash once every few months at most. Perpetual harvest-style growers may be washing hash monthly, but that is still once-per-month usage on a device that costs thousands of dollars.

Get the most value out of your freeze dryer investment by freeze-drying foods in-between hash washes.

Freeze Dryers are so useful in the kitchen. Fruits and veggies become crispy healthy snacks, or preserved to be rehydrated years later. 

Freeze-dried veggies and herbs can be pulverized and used in soups and seasonings. 

And the best thing ever – freeze-dried candy. Freeze-dried Skittles, Nerds, and Laffy Taffy are amongst the most popular freeze dried candy snacks sold online.

Home gardeners will find themselves using a freeze dryer heavily during harvest time. Freeze drying is a great alternative to canning and pickling.

Must-Have Freeze Dryer Accessories

All Harvest Right Freeze Dryers come with everything you need to get started. There are a few extras worth investing in if you plan to maximize your freeze drying efforts.

Parchment Paper vs Tray Liners

The nonstick tray liners are good for fruits and vegetables, but hash makers will want to line their trays with parchment paper.  Amazon sells parchment paper by the roll. 

How to Dry Hash with a Freeze Dryer

1. Freeze your freshly washed hash in the regular freezer first.
2. Set Freeze Dryer Tray Limit to 45 F
3. Set Freeze Dryer Freeze Time to 4 Hours
4. Set the Final Dry Time to 10 hours
5. Check Hash for dryness at the end of the cycle 
6. If more dry time is needed, close the door, close the drain valve, and add dry time