Oast project: Heat or no heat?

[BadWolfOregon]

I'm contemplating build an oast, seeing as I keep getting my hands on wet hops and I lake the space to dry in the open and doing 8oz at a time in the dehydrator is a pain in the tuckus.

So... I've looked at lots of designs and think I have the general idea of where I'm going. My one remaining question is: do I use a heat source or not?

Obviously I'd want to keep it low, but a little heat and speed the process up without being too detrimental. My thought (trying to keep it simple) was to just put in a small light bulb, possibly an appliance bulb.

Is it worth it, or should I just recirculate the air and go au natural?

Thanks!

 

[bionut]

Unless you are in a very humid enviroment i would go with out a heat source. A simple fan will do the job.

 

[TheCrackpot]

I agree. If you can keep the air moving around the hops constantly, you should be able to have them dry in a few days. Without the heat source, you eliminate the possibility of all sorts of unintended consequences.

 

[thaymond]

A box fan works wonders. Keep it simple. Heat is not your friend.

 

[tjpfeister]

I used 36 2'x2' screens last year, powered by three fans, one per stack of 12. This works great until you approach the 20% moisture mark and humidity becomes a major factor.

So rather than heat- I propose a dehumidifier. Either run it somehow inline with your incoming air, or use it in a confined space. I have just such a unit set aside, but I will not be harvesting my field this year.