Quote:

---

lipa said:
Lime shower

Florida oysters grown with the lime shower

Lipa

---

Quote:

---

flameclown said:
Lipa, that steam pasteurizer is pretty neat. I'm looking for a more efficient way of pasteurizing, I was thinking of building a cooler with abs plumed in to distribute the steam. I would then hookup automotive hose from the rocker port of a pc to the inlet of the abs. It seems pretty similar to the photos you posted. Have you noticed any stratification of temperature in your tubs?

---

Stratification by  water or cold pockets? There is a hole on the bottom of the tubs for drainage into a 5 gal bucket to capture the water.

Lime shower:

John Holliday introduced me to this method. There are commercial growers that use it. I just had to design my own version of it that would work for me. The lime shower works in the same way a lime bath works "Osmotic Pressure". But, there is a difference. I have noticed lime settling with the lime bath method and there is not much oxygen in it during the soak thus allowing any contaminates that can tolerate it to grow in the stagnate water (not all organisms are destroyed by this method). It is also a waste to drain and contaminate the soil. With the lime shower it works better due to a few factors. There is more oxygen in the water and the stagnation is avoided. Also the water is constantly washing the straw and the lime water can be reused over and over again by just adding more lime to the mix to bring the PH back up to "12" which is where lime takes it in the aqueous solution. You must never shut the unit off!! The small pump it requires is not a big deal. I used a small aquarium pump that cost 12 bucks. As for hydrating the straw.....You put the straw in dry. The straw gets hydrated through capillary action during the 24 hour shower. I use paint strainer bags to hold the material and keep things clean. You can pack it in there as tight as you want it too.

Things that make this method work.

1. Must be done in a sanitary area. Not near nasties.
2. Check the PH every 10-12 hours. Some of the lime gets converted to calcium carbonate also.
3. Let the straw sit in the tub for two hours before removing. The straw only takes as much moisture as needed to hydrate it and usually it is of "perfect moisture content". If you use another material and there is a little water on the bottom place it on some newspapers to draw the excess moisture out. I use a perforated metal sheet on bottom of the top shower bin to allow drainage (like they use for doors).
4. Shred the crap out of the straw. I find a 1/2 shaft is the best.

By the way. This is an excellent way of hydrating straw.

I have been experimenting with different materials lately. These are Pleurotus cornucopia on rice hulls and 5% alfalfa. I have also used shredded paper although it got pretty wet and I had to wring it out, but King stropharias dig it!! Other materials I have used with success are coarse sawdust, woodchips and leaves.


Lipa

Quote:

---

flameclown said:
Lipa, you are my hero. I really appreciate the photos of you and your friends pasteurisation setup.

When I was asking about whether there was stratification, I was more wondering if certain areas of the substrate heat up quicker than others. I worry that the substrate immediately next to the steam vents would reach proper temps much sooner than the peripheral areas.

Also, a 100k propane burner is pretty intense. I imagine you run it at full blast until you get up to temp then throttle it down. Do you get more than one pasteurisation run out of the tank?

---

Quote:

---

I'm sure the osb plywood is gonna fall apart.

---

Quote:

---

dutchfunkle said:
Or you could daisy chain multiple dead deep freezers(already insulated, sealed well and FREE)bigger the better and use your PC to provide steam. I use a propane stove for mine and would guess you could fit close to 2 bales of straw per freezer in burlap sacks. You can check mine out,sorry dont know how to link,but search My BULK pastuerizer to give you an idea of how I do it,hope it helps and good luck!

---