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alive
Psychedelic Farmer



Registered: 08/24/08
Posts: 89
Loc: Washington
Last seen: 8 years, 9 months
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uv sterilization safety
#17964149 - 03/16/13 11:51 AM (11 years, 2 months ago) |
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so i was concerned that my hepa flow hood might not be as clean as it like it. so ive been looking into uv sterilization, i am aware that uv light mutates dna and this is how it kills virus' and bacteria alike, it also is effective when exposed to human dna causing mid to long range health concerns for things like cancer and other weird diseases. i actually got a lab grade uv sterilizing light recently, the flow hood is installed in a flow hallway as it were and there is a small gap between the top of the hood were the intake is and the ceiling of the hallway. the bulb plugs at a 90 degree angle to a regulating box which i wedged between the top of the hood and the ceiling of the hallway so that the bulb is going down into the box were the fan is, i can see the reflection of the light on the ceiling but cannot see the light directly. my question for those who are familiar with such things is what level of safety/exposure would you say is occurring if i sit in front of this hood with the uv on? and if there are any recommendations for procedures/modifications to minimize exposure/maximize safety also any other related information you might have concerning sterile work space and health/safety
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God Stamet
wannabe Stamets


Registered: 07/01/12
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: alive]
#17964589 - 03/16/13 02:10 PM (11 years, 2 months ago) |
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check out what RR told me about my flowhood having a uv light here
i scrapped it as a bad idea. seems that there is no use for a uv light in mycology. i'd say get rid of it. if the only thing it does is give you a greater chance of getting cancer i'd say it's not worth it.
-------------------- I have caught the Mycology bug! Not just here for the ride, i'm here for life. How I do my bulk substrate just another mushroom capsule TEK
Edited by God Stamet (03/16/13 02:15 PM)
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t3chnobily
Strangest


Registered: 02/04/12
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: God Stamet]
#17967606 - 03/17/13 07:35 AM (11 years, 2 months ago) |
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I don't know about no use in mycology. Just not useful in a flowhood. Would be rather nice inside a humidifier set up/duct work to keep the slime down.
OP more info on your hood and the problems you are having will help pinpoint the contamination source.
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Myco_Militia
Farmer
Registered: 11/08/12
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Loc:
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: t3chnobily]
#17977814 - 03/19/13 02:59 AM (11 years, 2 months ago) |
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Gosh... More and more dissemination of misinformation. Yes, UV lamps work. You must be careful though.
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PussyFart
Retired Cultivation Extrodinaire



Registered: 04/08/12
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Quote:
RogerRabbit said: We've known for years that UV has no place in mycology. You're not re-inventing the wheel, but rather using a square wheel that has already been disproved. I own a commercial mushroom farm and know and deal with dozens of others in the business and not a single one of them uses UV. Disregard bad advice from other noobs pretending to know what actual mycology labs do and use. RR
^^Real Mycologist.
--------------------
THIS HOBBY IS NOT FOR THE IMPATIENT! PLEASE BE PATIENT, DON'T BE A PATIENT! A Tale of 10 Isolates, GT Cluster Clone Monotubs, RR's Let's Grow Mushrooms DVD, SGFC(Shotgun Fruiting Chamber), Monotub Tek, Damion5050's Coir Tek, TL's Tek List, Frank's Tek List, EvilMushroom666's Pasteurization Tek, How It Should & Shouldn't Look - NEW CULTIVATORS GUIDE *** *** AFGHAN KUSH GROW LOG *** ***
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God Stamet
wannabe Stamets


Registered: 07/01/12
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Quote:
Myco_Militia said: Gosh... More and more dissemination of misinformation. Yes, UV lamps work. You must be careful though.
dig deep and maybe you won't spread mis-info guy. could have read the thread i linked in 2 minutes and saved yourself a bonehead comment. notahacker did and then linked a quote for you!!
-------------------- I have caught the Mycology bug! Not just here for the ride, i'm here for life. How I do my bulk substrate just another mushroom capsule TEK
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure



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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: God Stamet]
#17988349 - 03/21/13 07:20 AM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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It seems many people simply do not understand that a UV lamp which can destroy germs on a surface, can't penetrate deep into a substrate. 
A flowhood is going to filter the contaminants anyway, so there's no need even if a UV light could be safely installed. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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Myco_Militia
Farmer
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Loc:
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: God Stamet]
#17997799 - 03/23/13 02:32 AM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
dig deep and maybe you won't spread mis-info guy. could have read the thread i linked in 2 minutes and saved yourself a bonehead comment. notahacker did and then linked a quote for you!!
If you read your own thread you wouldn't contradict yourself by saying things like "if the only thing it does is give you a greater chance of getting cancer i'd say it's not worth it."
Also, I may not have credentials of growing mushrooms to sell or get high. But UV lamps do work to sterilize surfaces. Not substrates - I never said that. So my statement that UV lamps work is still correct.
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God Stamet
wannabe Stamets


Registered: 07/01/12
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Quote:
Myco_Militia said:
Quote:
dig deep and maybe you won't spread mis-info guy. could have read the thread i linked in 2 minutes and saved yourself a bonehead comment. notahacker did and then linked a quote for you!!
If you read your own thread you wouldn't contradict yourself by saying things like "if the only thing it does is give you a greater chance of getting cancer i'd say it's not worth it."
Also, I may not have credentials of growing mushrooms to sell or get high. But UV lamps do work to sterilize surfaces. Not substrates - I never said that. So my statement that UV lamps work is still correct.
way to admit you were wrong.
-------------------- I have caught the Mycology bug! Not just here for the ride, i'm here for life. How I do my bulk substrate just another mushroom capsule TEK
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Synth Ethics
substitution


Registered: 05/18/09 
Posts: 5,525
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Quote:
RogerRabbit said: It seems many people simply do not understand that a UV lamp which can destroy germs on a surface, can't penetrate deep into a substrate. 
A flowhood is going to filter the contaminants anyway, so there's no need even if a UV light could be safely installed. RR
so the only reason it has no use is because it's overkill, right?
at work we have a huge HEPA filtering machine with an UV lamp inside it. this beast will clean the contaminated air of a big room in 30minutes
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alive
Psychedelic Farmer



Registered: 08/24/08
Posts: 89
Loc: Washington
Last seen: 8 years, 9 months
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Quote:
Synth Ethics said:
Quote:
RogerRabbit said: It seems many people simply do not understand that a UV lamp which can destroy germs on a surface, can't penetrate deep into a substrate. 
A flowhood is going to filter the contaminants anyway, so there's no need even if a UV light could be safely installed. RR
so the only reason it has no use is because it's overkill, right?
at work we have a huge HEPA filtering machine with an UV lamp inside it. this beast will clean the contaminated air of a big room in 30minutes
sooo...ya, this is my impression..and based on the fact that its used for "this beast" leads me to believe that it can indeed aid in cleaming the air, so as long as you ensure that its enclosed(so as not to expose yourself), i would think it could only help ones chances of cleanliness...and based on my understanding of sterile procedure being that you take all steps available to you towards sterility in order to ensure success, i dont understand the resistance to the idea. maybe someone can break it down as to why uv sterilization is completly inefective, or counterproductive?
-------------------- diagonally parked in a parallel universe
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PussyFart
Retired Cultivation Extrodinaire



Registered: 04/08/12
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: alive]
#18006617 - 03/25/13 12:42 AM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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There is simply no need, as RR pointed out.
You would be using it alongside a sterile air flow, which is all anyone needs.
If your goal is to waste your time, resources and money, then go for it.
--------------------
THIS HOBBY IS NOT FOR THE IMPATIENT! PLEASE BE PATIENT, DON'T BE A PATIENT! A Tale of 10 Isolates, GT Cluster Clone Monotubs, RR's Let's Grow Mushrooms DVD, SGFC(Shotgun Fruiting Chamber), Monotub Tek, Damion5050's Coir Tek, TL's Tek List, Frank's Tek List, EvilMushroom666's Pasteurization Tek, How It Should & Shouldn't Look - NEW CULTIVATORS GUIDE *** *** AFGHAN KUSH GROW LOG *** ***
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God Stamet
wannabe Stamets


Registered: 07/01/12
Posts: 774
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: PussyFart]
#18007433 - 03/25/13 07:22 AM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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flow hoods are small and the air goes in and shoots right out, no time for cleaning the air like in a big system. i'm sure it would wear out your filter over time to.
-------------------- I have caught the Mycology bug! Not just here for the ride, i'm here for life. How I do my bulk substrate just another mushroom capsule TEK
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Strata
Stranger
Registered: 03/23/13
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Loc: UK
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: God Stamet]
#18007589 - 03/25/13 08:19 AM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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We phased them out at work - yes they're good at sterilising surfaces ( including the surface of agar ) but they tend to be more trouble than they're worth - anything even remotely shaded doesn't get decontaminated, some spores aren't affected and the light is really nasty.
We only ever had them on timer to run in rooms which were closed whilst the UV was running, they are after all designed to kill cells indiscriminately - they can cause 'sun' burn, even after brief exposure and are a great way to get cataracts. I got burnt years ago after a couple of minutes exposure just where there was a gap between my glove and labcoat sleeve.
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fastfred
Old Hand



Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 6,899
Loc: Dark side of the moon
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: Strata]
#18065718 - 04/06/13 03:10 AM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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UV lights work great. Sad to see misinformation getting so vehemently parroted earlier in this thread.
UV is cheap and effective. It's widely used in flowhoods and sterile transfer rooms.
You turn the light on when you leave, and off when you're in the area. Pretty simple, many are just hooked into the light switch. Every time you start working you know everything in the room/hood that's not hiding in the shade is as dead as dead can be.
-------------------- It drinks the alcohol and abstains from the weed or else it gets the hose again. -Chemy The difference between the substances doesn't matter. This is a war on consciousness, on our right to the very essence of what we are. With no control over that, we have no need to speak of freedom or a free society. -fireseed "If we are going to have a war on marijuana, the least we can do is pull the sick and the dying off the battlefield." -Neal Levine (MPP) I find the whole "my drug should be legal but yours should be illegal" mindset disgusting and hypocritical. It's what George Bush and company do when they drink a cocktail and debate the best way to imprison marijuana users. -Diploid
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God Stamet
wannabe Stamets


Registered: 07/01/12
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: fastfred]
#18066924 - 04/06/13 12:17 PM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
fastfred said: UV lights work great. Sad to see misinformation getting so vehemently parroted earlier in this thread.
UV is cheap and effective. It's widely used in flowhoods and sterile transfer rooms.
You turn the light on when you leave, and off when you're in the area. Pretty simple, many are just hooked into the light switch. Every time you start working you know everything in the room/hood that's not hiding in the shade is as dead as dead can be.
you're hilarious captain know it all. just hilarious
-------------------- I have caught the Mycology bug! Not just here for the ride, i'm here for life. How I do my bulk substrate just another mushroom capsule TEK
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PussyFart
Retired Cultivation Extrodinaire



Registered: 04/08/12
Posts: 22,502
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: God Stamet]
#18067413 - 04/06/13 02:19 PM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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--------------------
THIS HOBBY IS NOT FOR THE IMPATIENT! PLEASE BE PATIENT, DON'T BE A PATIENT! A Tale of 10 Isolates, GT Cluster Clone Monotubs, RR's Let's Grow Mushrooms DVD, SGFC(Shotgun Fruiting Chamber), Monotub Tek, Damion5050's Coir Tek, TL's Tek List, Frank's Tek List, EvilMushroom666's Pasteurization Tek, How It Should & Shouldn't Look - NEW CULTIVATORS GUIDE *** *** AFGHAN KUSH GROW LOG *** ***
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alive
Psychedelic Farmer



Registered: 08/24/08
Posts: 89
Loc: Washington
Last seen: 8 years, 9 months
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: PussyFart]
#18102848 - 04/13/13 01:27 PM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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so just putting an update. as i stated i already have the uv light for free and there is a box around my fan with a small gap between the top and the ceiling. the light is easily inserted into the box, to increase effectiveness i am painting the inside of the box with a white coating so the the uv will bounce all around in the box, it will not harm me or my hepa since it is not in contact with either. im not sure how much it may or may not help, but im doing it because its already done and i dont see any indication that it harms anything at this time.
-------------------- diagonally parked in a parallel universe
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fastfred
Old Hand



Registered: 05/17/04
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Loc: Dark side of the moon
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Re: uv sterilization safety [Re: alive]
#18102902 - 04/13/13 01:45 PM (11 years, 1 month ago) |
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Blowing air past the UV is not a very good method. UV can sterilize still air in a room because it has time to fry all the contams floating around.
Your exposure sterilization time will depend on a lot of factors, but it's most likely in the range of a several minutes. Blowing contams past it for a second won't do much. It takes a little time to deliver a lethal dose to contams.
-FF
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