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zepski
Ya Momma
Registered: 10/01/11
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coir never expanded
#17271207 - 11/23/12 09:12 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Today was 1st time i ran into this but, i've read about it before but never had it happen.
I was giving the bucket tek another go. So added my verm and placed my coir brick in the bucket. boiled the water and dumped it in. I came back 30 minutes later to stir the bucket as always and to my surprised there sat the brick no bigger then when i put it in there.
So i took a wooden spon to it broke it up a little and figured hake the bucket get it soaked better in the water. Again i come back 30 minutes later again and still no expansion. so break it up a bit more and wait another hour and same results. I know where this is heading im going to have to just keep breaking it up till its all broken up. Then re pasteurize it on the stove. since I've already lost enough of the heat from opening it several times.
Just wondering how many people have seen this happen? I've read about it once or twice before but never dealt with it like this. When i say that i mean I've had there be chunks in the spots but never a whole brick do nothing. Makes me question the 3 pack of coir i got. lol Guess serves me right for trying to skip doing proper pasteurization this time.
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Tmethyl
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: zepski]
#17271259 - 11/23/12 09:25 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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That is strange, I've had bricks completely hydrate in like 5 mins and be no more solid chunks, you're definitely going to have to pasteurize on stove. Never once seen or personally had this happen.
-------------------- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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zepski
Ya Momma
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: Tmethyl]
#17271323 - 11/23/12 09:37 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Yeah it was weird the brick seemed darker then normal just figured it was what it was. I skipped the step i normally do and break the coir in to smaller chunks was just feeling lazy and instead i have way more work lol.
If the next brick from the pack doesnt expand ill know its just the pack and probably toss the last one out but till then its just a fluke.
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Tmethyl
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: zepski]
#17271336 - 11/23/12 09:40 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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I'm guessing that the brick has more actual coconut shell in it than coconut fibers from the outside of the shell, which would lead to this lack of expansion.
-------------------- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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BEETHOVEN
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: Tmethyl]
#17271537 - 11/23/12 10:35 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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write, email, or call the company who sells the product. I am sure they will do something for you- either mail you a refund, or a replacement, or a manufacturer's coupon to use at a store, or something.
Some companies go above & beyond when you call/email/write to complain or praise, but all do at least something for you, in my experience at least.
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bishlap
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: BEETHOVEN]
#17271565 - 11/23/12 10:42 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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I always separate it in to 5-6 layer/pieces by stabbing it longways with a butcher knife then twisting to break it up a bit prior to adding the boiling water.
how much water dis you add, was there standing water?
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zepski
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: bishlap]
#17271753 - 11/23/12 11:30 PM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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i put 4.25 qts like always and yes it was all surrounding the brick. Nothing absorbed at all till i broke it up a bit.
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zepski
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: zepski]
#17312684 - 12/01/12 12:18 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Well i finally got around to giving it another go today and the 2nd brick of coir from the package did the same exact thing it just floated in the water.
Now i am trying a different 3 pack of coir and crossing my fingers. I dont know why such a thing would be happening but i do know that 1 isnt a trend but 2 is. So lets hope that the trend will be broken with this new package of coir.
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BEETHOVEN
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: zepski]
#17313261 - 12/01/12 06:04 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Um....is it possible you haven't removed the plastic wrapper?
One time when I was really hungover and had to wake up early, I was showering and using a new bar of Dial soap, and I couldn't figure out why the hell it wasn't sudsing up....then I realized I was rubbing the shrinkwrap covered bar of soap all over my body....
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k00laid
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: BEETHOVEN]
#17313303 - 12/01/12 06:20 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
BEETHOVEN said: Um....is it possible you haven't removed the plastic wrapper?
One time when I was really hungover and had to wake up early, I was showering and using a new bar of Dial soap, and I couldn't figure out why the hell it wasn't sudsing up....then I realized I was rubbing the shrinkwrap covered bar of soap all over my body....
this is pretty lolsy.
my guess was that it wasnt coir, but the coco husk.
only op knows for sure
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carnage11
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: k00laid]
#17313330 - 12/01/12 06:31 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Can you break up the brick with your hand? It should flake off and make crumbs. Maybe it's just REALLY compressed.
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twistedty
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: carnage11]
#17313363 - 12/01/12 06:40 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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i have done alot of coir and it has never repelled boiling water.
just sayin
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Trippy_Smurf
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: BEETHOVEN]
#17313520 - 12/01/12 07:36 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
BEETHOVEN said: Um....is it possible you haven't removed the plastic wrapper?
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zepski
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Yes the wrapper is off lol. Also yes it is coco coir its the zoo meds brand i always buy. I can post pics if you wanna see lol. I think the supply i had stashed away has gotten messed up in some way. Because the new pack i open (stored in the same place) the brick also never expanded. Im just going to go buy some more and try again. Its frustrating.
The 2nd time i broke the coir up in small chunks and it just changed to a wet color and stayed compressed. The 3rd time i was upset and just tossed the brick into the bucket with the verm figuring it would work like it has every time before (excluding the recent attempts)
I dont know what could of happened to the bricks since the 1st time it was a freshly opened block of 3. The 2nd time was from the same package but a few days later. This 3rd and last time was from a freshly opened block of three.
The 2 3 packs were purchased at the same time so is it possible i just got coir from a bad batch of bricks? I know not many people have seen this happen or if they have its very rare. Its just baffling to me that its happen 3 times in a row now.
My process is
1) place brick in bottom of bucket 75% of the time i break the coir up in to small chunks usually .5" thick by 1x1 inch chunks 2) add 2 qts of verm 3) boil 4-4.5 quarts (i fill to the same spot on the pot every time i have ever done this(more then i can count) i forget the actual volume of water used) 4) Pour boiling water into the bucket over the cir and verm 5) put lid on the bucket 6) wait 30-40 minutes 7) open and mix contents 8) place lid back on and allow the mix to cool
however i haven't gotten passed 6/7 since the coir is still compressed (usually the brick when expanded will fill 1/2 or more of the bucket these times it not even a 1/4 of the bucket and chunky with standing water in the bottom)
Figure ill pick up another 3 pack and a bag of pre-expanded coir in case the bricks fail me again. I just hate pre expanded coir since its so much more money.
Edited by zepski (12/01/12 08:17 AM)
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Z O M G
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: zepski]
#17313717 - 12/01/12 08:40 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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can you produce a pic of the labeling/wrapping the coir was in?
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zepski
Ya Momma
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: Z O M G]
#17313968 - 12/01/12 10:00 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Coir:
Coir in bucket
Note: those pics where taken just a little while ago and the bucket was made around 2-3am. So thats aprox 10 hours of sitting and still not fully expanded...
Edited by zepski (12/01/12 10:30 AM)
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DynGBreeD
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: zepski]
#17314230 - 12/01/12 11:07 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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I've never had problems with Zoo Med Eco Earth
Had somethin close like that happen though. With a no name brand. Hydrating it was comparable to bringing dirt to capacity... Never turned fluffy, just a sludgy mess.
But I always properly pasteurize. I never use that Damion Tek
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shroom_bee
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: zepski]
#17314294 - 12/01/12 11:22 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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I've had it happen. Not as bad as you describe, but pretty bad.
I put a full brick in, surrounded by verm on each side. The time it did not work, it seemed the verm managed to absorb most of the water.
From then on, when I pour, I pour on the brick, back and forth, and watch it expand. Then I put the lid on an shake the shit out of the bucket. Never was a problem again.
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skippydude
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: DynGBreeD]
#17314304 - 12/01/12 11:24 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Wonder if it is a surface tension thing, that a drop of dish soap would fix?
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Tmethyl
Smear in the shale
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Re: coir never expanded [Re: DynGBreeD]
#17314314 - 12/01/12 11:26 AM (11 years, 3 months ago) |
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Dyn changed avatar
Damions method is not true pasteurization. Works sometimes. I always properly pasteurized subs also.
-------------------- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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