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 shroomer17
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Registered: 08/31/05
Posts: 516
Loc: Canada
Last seen: 5 years, 4 months
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 Drying coir in a dehydrator? 
#9795665 - 02/14/09 01:21 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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I can only find coir in very large bricks. Much larger than I would want to use at any one time. Currently I have to use a knife to pry off chunks of the coir brick, visually estimating how much coir I will need, and then hydrate it. I would ideally like to hydrate it all at once, then dry it and store it for easy use. Would it be safe to put coir in a dehydrator? I'm afraid that once it gets too dry, the air movement would lift the dryest coir into the air and it would get all in the fan and motor or whatever. Worst case scenario maybe cause a fire. Does that sound possible to you guys? What do you think? Any other suggestions as to how I could dry coir (keep in mind it must be done inside, its the middle of winter here). Thanks
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Stimpy913
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: shroomer17]
#9795722 - 02/14/09 01:31 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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I would definitely not do that. Lay it out and let it dry on its own in a shoebox or something. Cardboard box. It shouldn't get moldy if you lay it out thin and let it dry itself out. Maybe set it in sunlight. Oven or something.
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Edited by Stimpy913 (02/14/09 01:32 PM)
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 artizen
JEFFERSONIAN
Registered: 12/16/08
Posts: 1,996
Loc: HOME SWEET HOME
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: Stimpy913]
#9796360 - 02/14/09 03:35 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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1 brick makes appox. 8 qts. when i only need a bit i mark it on the plastic in 4 equal parts and cut it with a circular saw ( 2 qts. per piece ) it's not nearly as messy as it would seem, very little waste. if you don't have a circular saw i suppose you could use a hand saw.
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IN LOVING MEMORY
1.6.1917 - 4.3.2010
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archivist
5-HT
Registered: 06/06/07
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: artizen]
#9796419 - 02/14/09 03:49 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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I was going to post a few pictures of what I do to break coir without using any cutting tools, but I didn't think it was going to be all that useful since most people use a whole brick at once.
Coir is compressed in layers which means that you can take a flathead screwdriver and jam it into one end to separate the layers. Stand the block of coir on its end and hit the end of the screwdriver with a hammer. I usually split the brick in half that way to create two thinner bricks of coir. From there, it's easy to use your hands and snap those into half or thirds. Hydrate what you're going to use, and save the rest.
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Proud supporter of the canning jar industry.
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tahoe
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: artizen]
#9796428 - 02/14/09 03:51 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
artizen said:
1 brick makes appox. 8 qts. when i only need a bit i mark it on the plastic in 4 equal parts and cut it with a circular saw ( 2 qts. per piece ) it's not nearly as messy as it would seem, very little waste. if you don't have a circular saw i suppose you could use a hand saw.
That makes me laugh. When I first bought some coir and i wanted to cut it I busted out the skill saw. I suppose one could take a hammer and hit it a few times
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Stop experimenting half way through your first grow. Grow it to maturity, watch it, learn from it. Do this a few times then experiment with different ideas and figure out what works best for you.
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veda_sticks
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: tahoe]
#9796483 - 02/14/09 04:06 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
tahoe said:
Quote:
artizen said:
1 brick makes appox. 8 qts. when i only need a bit i mark it on the plastic in 4 equal parts and cut it with a circular saw ( 2 qts. per piece ) it's not nearly as messy as it would seem, very little waste. if you don't have a circular saw i suppose you could use a hand saw.
That makes me laugh. When I first bought some coir and i wanted to cut it I busted out the skill saw. I suppose one could take a hammer and hit it a few times
lol
we got a tim the tool man
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shroomer17
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Loc: Canada
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: veda_sticks]
#9796670 - 02/14/09 04:45 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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I'm not talking about the standard size coir bricks.. the bricks I get would be about 4-6 times the volume of the standard ones. I've used about a third of it so far by just busting off portions each time, which has been rather difficult and time consuming.
Since posting the question, I hydrated what was left of my coir brick.. squeezed out as much moisture from the coir as i could by hand (this was a little time consuming) and laid out about a third of it on some extra lids for some storage containers i'm not using. The other 2/3 is sitting open in a large tub. The humidity in the room is pretty low, so if I keep mixing the stuff around a couple times a day I think it will dry reasonably well.
This will be so much more convenient to use than leaving it in brick form.. I can now dry mix my substrates beforehand and simply hydrate & pasteurize when needed.
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artizen
JEFFERSONIAN
Registered: 12/16/08
Posts: 1,996
Loc: HOME SWEET HOME
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: veda_sticks]
#9797633 - 02/14/09 07:45 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
veda_sticks said:
Quote:
tahoe said:
Quote:
artizen said:
1 brick makes appox. 8 qts. when i only need a bit i mark it on the plastic in 4 equal parts and cut it with a circular saw ( 2 qts. per piece ) it's not nearly as messy as it would seem, very little waste. if you don't have a circular saw i suppose you could use a hand saw.
That makes me laugh. When I first bought some coir and i wanted to cut it I busted out the skill saw. I suppose one could take a hammer and hit it a few times
lol
we got a tim the tool man
i was gonna use a miter saw, but it was cold out in the work shed and i had the rechargable circ. saw in the house. i suppose a table saw would give you perfectly equal pieces though. oh, and don't call me tim. lol
shroomer17
where do you get bricks that big and how much are they?
 coir slaves
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HCA AMU
IN LOVING MEMORY
1.6.1917 - 4.3.2010
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shroomer17
Stranger
Registered: 08/31/05
Posts: 516
Loc: Canada
Last seen: 5 years, 4 months
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: artizen]
#9801182 - 02/15/09 05:12 AM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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I get them from the Hydroponics store and if I remember correctly are like $10-20
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Vermonster420
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Registered: 10/09/08
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Re: Drying coir in a dehydrator? [Re: shroomer17]
#9801419 - 02/15/09 08:02 AM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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band saw or hack saw works best, I even take the small bricks and half them with a masons chisel (with the grain) to use in 3 gal buckets.
1/2gal hot water (180f)
1/2 brick coir
1qt verm
1pint spent coffee
3qts spawn (actually 2.25qts grain qts not full) per bucket
I have a lid with a hole in it which I use for mixing the sub... a sheetrock blade on a 1/2" drill stirs through the lid to eliminate mess. The water cools quickly to 160 as it mixes then I cover and let sit to cool for a few hours before spawning. I usually spawn to shoeboxes after that. I get 2-3 trays per bucket and this way I can pasteurize 6 buckets in a few hours. Works great.
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