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cheezits
Stranger


Registered: 02/22/11
Posts: 11
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Humidifier = bad?
#14404466 - 05/05/11 09:58 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Ok I'm definitely confused to why it wasn't working, but I am happy that I am getting some mushroom growth.
So here is my fruiting chamber
http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/14339091
Except that I never had pinning while my humidifier was on. When the humidifier was turned on, my cakes started to bruise badly with no pinning. The slight pins I had before, seemed to have died. I had assumed the first time around it was from too much air being blown in, so I limited the amount of air with a garden hose. Except even still I had no pinning for weeks. So I finally decided to shut off the humidifier completely and just resort to good old fanning several times a day.
Within 3 days I'm starting to get good size mushrooms on a few cakes. I'm kinda afraid I may have completely messed up on the other cakes and that they might not pin at all, but only time will tell.
The cakes are still in the same fruiting chamber as before, but without the humidifier on. I am getting good sized mushrooms. Why weren't they growing with the humidifier on? I thought constant air exchange and 95% humidity was what they needed. Any ideas to why now they are growing with it off?
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Sillicybin
Registered: 02/14/05
Posts: 2,134
Loc:
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Re: Humidifier = bad? [Re: cheezits]
#14404522 - 05/05/11 10:12 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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If the humidifier was constantly on, that could be the reason. If the mycelium never had a chance to allow the water on the surface to evaporate, it was drowning. In order for mycelium to absorb air, it cannot be wet on its surface. If the surface is shiny, it can't breathe.
Misting them until they're shiny isn't a bad thing, as long as they are left alone to let that mist evaporate. This process encourages primordia formation.
I like to run my humidifiers in a cycle so that the humidifier clicks on about the same time the tub hits RH in the low 90s%. It'll bring it back up to 99%, and then let it gradually swing back down... rinse/wash/repeat.
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cheezits
Stranger


Registered: 02/22/11
Posts: 11
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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The thing is that they were never shiny or that moist. Although humidity was up in the 90s, it seemed dry in there.
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Ajaxx
Amateur Mycologist



Registered: 03/06/11
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Re: Humidifier = bad? [Re: cheezits]
#14404576 - 05/05/11 10:23 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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monotubs > everything else
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Sillicybin
Registered: 02/14/05
Posts: 2,134
Loc:
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Re: Humidifier = bad? [Re: cheezits]
#14404577 - 05/05/11 10:23 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
cheezits said: The thing is that they were never shiny or that moist. Although humidity was up in the 90s, it seemed dry in there.
That does sound plausible based on the bluing, which could mean that they were somehow under-humidified....
I'm wondering, then, whether your hose setup was causing so much restriction that much or most of the water mist is not actually making it into the tub (and is condensing inside the hose.) Perhaps the draft created by the air movement actually caused the air to wick moisture out of the mycelium?
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cheezits
Stranger


Registered: 02/22/11
Posts: 11
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Quote:
Sillicybin said:
Quote:
cheezits said: The thing is that they were never shiny or that moist. Although humidity was up in the 90s, it seemed dry in there.
That does sound plausible based on the bluing, which could mean that they were somehow under-humidified....
I'm wondering, then, whether your hose setup was causing so much restriction that much or most of the water mist is not actually making it into the tub (and is condensing inside the hose.) Perhaps the draft created by the air movement actually caused the air to wick moisture out of the mycelium?
That seems more likely that it was the air that wicking the moisture due to the draft. That was my initial thought, but I don't quite understand how to fix such a problem.
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Sillicybin
Registered: 02/14/05
Posts: 2,134
Loc:
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Re: Humidifier = bad? [Re: cheezits]
#14404702 - 05/05/11 11:00 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
cheezits said: That seems more likely that it was the air that wicking the moisture due to the draft. That was my initial thought, but I don't quite understand how to fix such a problem.
You'll want to modify your setup. You can either go to just perlite/shotgun style like others in the previous thread suggested. This is the cheapest, easiest, most reliable and proven method.
-OR-
You can modify your hose. You'll want to make it as short as possible and as large (diameter) as possible, with the least amount of rough surfaces/bends as possible. You can also try positioning the humidifier above the tub so that the water does not have to work against gravity to make it into the tub.
-OR-
You can ditch the coolmist and pick up an ultrasonic humidifier. Personally, I've used both, and I prefer the ultrasonic hands-down.
There are a lot of options. I hate perlite myself because it's messy, so my setup does not use it. Since my greenhouse plastic dried up and became unusable, I started using a storage trunk I ported an ultrasonic to using plastic/clear 3/4" hose, and an aquarium pump pushes in fresh air to compensate for having no FAE holes.
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cheezits
Stranger


Registered: 02/22/11
Posts: 11
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Quote:
Sillicybin said:
Quote:
cheezits said: That seems more likely that it was the air that wicking the moisture due to the draft. That was my initial thought, but I don't quite understand how to fix such a problem.
You'll want to modify your setup. You can either go to just perlite/shotgun style like others in the previous thread suggested. This is the cheapest, easiest, most reliable and proven method.
-OR-
You can modify your hose. You'll want to make it as short as possible and as large (diameter) as possible, with the least amount of rough surfaces/bends as possible. You can also try positioning the humidifier above the tub so that the water does not have to work against gravity to make it into the tub.
-OR-
You can ditch the coolmist and pick up an ultrasonic humidifier. Personally, I've used both, and I prefer the ultrasonic hands-down.
There are a lot of options. I hate perlite myself because it's messy, so my setup does not use it. Since my greenhouse plastic dried up and became unusable, I started using a storage trunk I ported an ultrasonic to using plastic/clear 3/4" hose, and an aquarium pump pushes in fresh air to compensate for having no FAE holes.
I was also thinking of placing the cool mist on a timer to come on for 5 mins, 5 times a day in addition to moving it higher above the fruiting chamber. Seems like a good idea, and it would be the easiest change for me. I was thinking just to do that much since the humidity is good enough with it off, and the only factor that I need to regulate is the FAE. With the cool mist on a timer, it should provide adequate air exchange with the recommended times. Its like a automated fanning system.
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Anarchyfest
Dead Skin Mask



Registered: 04/18/10
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Loc: South of Heaven, usa
Last seen: 9 months, 17 days
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Re: Humidifier = bad? [Re: cheezits]
#14405105 - 05/05/11 12:39 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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were you still misting, while using the humidifier? that part is always needed when working with cakes. you probabaly mentioned if u did or not, and i over looked it.
-------------------- If you must live by the sword, then you will die by the sword.
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anonjon
Partially Right

Registered: 11/03/08
Posts: 6,322
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coolmists do not maintain good humidity. They are better used to just provide short intervals of fae. I doubt it was really maintaining 90 if your cakes were bluing. I'd guess you were closer to 80.
-------------------- The above post is fictional, hypothetical, or downright nonsensical.
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cheezits
Stranger


Registered: 02/22/11
Posts: 11
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Re: Humidifier = bad? [Re: anonjon]
#14405638 - 05/05/11 02:41 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
anonjon said: coolmists do not maintain good humidity. They are better used to just provide short intervals of fae. I doubt it was really maintaining 90 if your cakes were bluing. I'd guess you were closer to 80.
Well the humidity was above 90% majority of the time, yet it did drop below occasionally. You are right to believe that cool mists do not maintain good humidity. Also, I concluded that when the cool mist is left on continuously, it seemingly wicks away the moisture from the cakes due to the large amount of air flow. Cool mists are good for FAE only in short intervals. We'll see how well this will work now. I have the cool mist on a timer to come on 6 times a day, 5 mins each time. Hopefully that should be enough FAE for my cakes.
The humidity in the fruiting chamber is well over 95%, but I am wondering if I should still continue to mist them. If so, why?
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anonjon
Partially Right

Registered: 11/03/08
Posts: 6,322
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Re: Humidifier = bad? [Re: cheezits]
#14405781 - 05/05/11 03:13 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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because water will get pulled into the fruitbodies and needs to be replenished. of course in addition there is some small amount of evaporation ocurring.
-------------------- The above post is fictional, hypothetical, or downright nonsensical.
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