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jimmybob
Stranger
Registered: 06/01/09
Posts: 24
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a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help
#11361119 - 11/01/09 06:04 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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ok so last spring and summer i had a lot of luck in my new hobby. no contams, ever...just lots of bountiful harvests. then one day i got a little cocky & thought contams could never happen to me and i got a lil sloppy..as in i didnt flame sterilize the needle between every jar and i didnt clean the bathroom as thoroughly as i usually do. sure enuff, to my surprise n dismay..that batch was bad. so that humbled me off my high horse and i proceeded with caution with the next 2 innoc sessions, cleaning everything and flame sterilizing n all that...but only produced more bad jars. since my initial bad batch i have produced 3 more bad batches (with a lone survivor jar here and there). im cursed now it seems. im thinking my problem is my pressure cooker. it has no psi gauge on it, just a little rocker that gives a vague indication of the pressure inside by how hard its rocking. also, i soaked the contam'd jars in bleach after discarding their contents outside of the house, and re-used them. so im thinking i need to buy a real pressure cooker w/ a gauge
i have read up on contams on the forums, but if anybody would like to offer advice from experience i would really appreciate it!
-------------------- i'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.
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MLBjammer
Invitro Freak
Registered: 02/24/06
Posts: 560
Loc: Southeastern USA
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: jimmybob]
#11361192 - 11/01/09 06:43 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Build yourself a glovebox. I would guess that your contam. issues are stemming from you working in open air. Are you working from your own spores, or are you using vendor-supplied syringes? Usually contams happen if one is not extremely sterile with spores and/or tissue.
As far as your pressure cooker, that is a common design. When the rocker is gently knocking, that means it is at 15 PSI. Some pressure cookers vary, though. Look up your model and check the specifications if you can.
Every failure is a lesson which teaches one how to succeed in this hobby. Good luck.
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Doppelgangerbanger
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Registered: 10/15/09
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Last seen: 14 years, 4 months
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: MLBjammer]
#11361389 - 11/01/09 08:12 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Why innoc in the bathroom? It's dirty in there.
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Sinoc
Jugglin' fool
Registered: 10/28/09
Posts: 651
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: Doppelgangerbanger]
#11361408 - 11/01/09 08:18 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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I agree with doppel. Wouldn't you have more luck spraying like 2 cans of air sanitizer in a small closet and trying in there? Well, that's what I was planning to do anyways. closet, disinfectant, shower cap, gloves, painter suit.
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simbad42
wanna see big boom!!!
Registered: 07/21/09
Posts: 4,231
Loc:
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: Sinoc]
#11361437 - 11/01/09 08:26 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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you might have a dirty print if it's a print, is it a print?
-------------------- amu (q)and (a) VVV AMUs Free Active/Edible/Exotic Spore Print or Syringe or Edible Culture Trade Thread VVV for i am a sinner in the hands of an angry god, bloody mary blessed are you among cocktails, i pray for my death which i hope is soon. amen
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Man5
Stranger
Registered: 09/12/09
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: simbad42]
#11361470 - 11/01/09 08:36 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Here's an oddball thought... what tek are you using? If you're worried about the PC, maybe take a step back and try some good ol' fashioned BRF cakes sterilized by the steaming method, following RR's tek to the letter.
Hopefully all should go well with that, you can get some nice fruits as well as your confidence back out of the dealie, and step your game back up from there!
Just a change of pace to get back on track and reassert yourself. Good luck either way!
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jimmybob
Stranger
Registered: 06/01/09
Posts: 24
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: Man5]
#11361546 - 11/01/09 09:08 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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ok sorry let me provide additional info....my bathroom is actually very clean...i totally clean everything down w/ mr clean anti-bac multi-purpose cleaner..i remove everything in there that isnt a fixture, i wash the shower curtain in bleach..spray lysol in the air, etc..then i put a towel by the door crack to prevent drafts...then i take a shower w/ anti-bac soap and then i use my still air glove box (which i clean b4 each use). i have had contams from using the karo-tek spores (which i had wonderful luck with previously) i have had contam jars from using fresh vendor spores as well. i used vendor spores and my own spores in one innoc session and all the jars were bad so i know it wasnt the spores. i have only tried the pf tek method thus far...everything was going so well, i just dont know whats going on now..*sigh*
-------------------- i'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.
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nexus1946
Rebel
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Posts: 2,315
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: jimmybob]
#11361648 - 11/01/09 09:37 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Make sure your jars, lids and all tools required are very clean and sterile. I wash everything with soap and hot water prior to use.
Build and use a still air/glovebox. If you don't have a flow hood this is the only way to go.
Spray the entire work area with Lysol/Oust/whatever including the interior of the still air/glovebox, then wait for 30 minutes for it to settle.
Wipe down everything that goes into the still air/glove box with alcohol.
Flame sterilize the syringe between each jar.
Pressure cookers without a gauge are fine, just make sure you start timing it after the first blast of steam is released through the rocker and not before. Then you can turn down the heat till rocker is just slightly 'hissing'.
-------------------- Gypsum/Drywall Tek The Story Of Russell The Texas (Cube) Bear The human race's prospects of survival were considerably better when we were defenceless against tigers than they are today when we have become defenceless against ourselves. -Arnold J. Toynbee
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cyb3rtr0n
searching for truth
Registered: 05/06/09
Posts: 1,832
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: jimmybob]
#11361684 - 11/01/09 09:43 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Grain jars, or brf? Do you wear gloves? what type of lid are you using? how are you prepping the LC?
have you made any control jars? -prep a jar and sterilize it just like the rest. Set one jar aside and don't inoculate it. Doing this may help you determine if it is jar prep not being sterile, or something wrong with your inoculate.
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jimmybob
Stranger
Registered: 06/01/09
Posts: 24
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: cyb3rtr0n]
#11367415 - 11/02/09 06:27 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
Grain jars, or brf? Do you wear gloves? what type of lid are you using? how are you prepping the LC?
have you made any control jars? -prep a jar and sterilize it just like the rest. Set one jar aside and don't inoculate it. Doing this may help you determine if it is jar prep not being sterile, or something wrong with your inoculate.
-brf jars -i have gloves attached to the glove box, but i dont wear gloves other than that -i have a glove box made out of a clear plastic storage tub. i usually tape the sides of the lid to the tub after i snap it onto the tub but i didnt do that the last few times.. -as for the LC prep...i go by a DIY i read on these forums...microwave a micro-safe plastic container for 5 min. then snap down lid, wait to cool and flame ster. needle b4 innoc....then after a week i put in fridge...and my fridge is very clean... -i have not made any control jars...i think i should i think something i did that was not good is not put enuff water in the PC the last few times...i think i need to have the water actually touching th jars a lil bit
anyways, thanks for the input guys
-------------------- i'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.
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Beelzebozo
www.beelzebozo.org
Registered: 10/08/09
Posts: 179
Loc: Funny...
Last seen: 6 years, 9 months
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: jimmybob]
#11367638 - 11/02/09 08:22 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Depending on how many jars your doing you should just inoculate in front of the stove. its just as good as a flow hood but doesn't give you a whole lot of time. If you make self healing jar lids then you will be god of no contamination. It also really doesn't matter what pressure your PC is just as long as its in there long enough.
-------------------- Wood growing shelf mushroom The Tree it came from along with it's brothers and sisters Buy a goddamn hydrometer and calibrate your fucking SGFC!!!
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cyb3rtr0n
searching for truth
Registered: 05/06/09
Posts: 1,832
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: Beelzebozo]
#11367680 - 11/02/09 08:35 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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the PC's pressure does matter. Also, a stove is not "just as good as a flowhood".
Most stuff you read here is based on maintaining 15psi. So, if your PC was only capable of maintaining 10psi, you would have to adjust(increase) the time. sorry my PC has a gauge, so I haven't had to research the actual conversion, but search may help.
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Epilson Lyrae
Armed with hammers
Registered: 04/07/09
Posts: 5,561
Loc: Woody Creek
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Re: a sad & demoralizing tale of beginner's luck....plz help [Re: cyb3rtr0n]
#11368029 - 11/02/09 10:00 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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I have a cheap PC and even with something to keep the jars off the bottom, the water always touches my jars. I have read that it isn't supposed to but I have no way around it and it works out fine. Just make sure that the rocker is barely rocking while you work and go the allotted amount of time and you should be ok there.
-------------------- "Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." H.T. I've come to believe that the heart is the filter of the enlightened mind. Epilson Lyrae
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