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krypto2000
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Registered: 12/05/06
Posts: 11,579
Last seen: 4 years, 3 months
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Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun?
#18841151 - 09/14/13 01:41 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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This is after the soak/boil if it's not assumed. I've done it for outdoor grows with success (and grown the jars/spawn indoors of course), but the reason I've moved to outdoor is because of so many trich contaminations indoors. I believe most of my indoor issues come down to too wet of a substrate (and possibly grain spawn) and possibly contaminated spore inoculations since for over a year now all of my prints have been acquired through trades and until recently I had not been using agar.
The only potential issues I see with drying it outdoors is the wind introducing new ungerminated spores (I wouldn't think anymore would be introduced than letting it dry inside though anyway?) and flies which introduce outside contaminants.
For ~2 years now I've been drying my grain in the sun since it's a lot quicker (it takes me well over 2 hours indoors, I don't know why, and that's with vigorous stirring). My jars have rarely if ever shown signs of contamination, it's only after spawning them that trich shows up, and it's always, and only, trich. I would think as far as trich I could even dump trich spores in the spawn as it dies fairly easily, pasteurization for instance should kill roughly 100% of trich, not to mention a full pressure cooking. As far as the flies go I just put a towel over my strainer and they can't do anything to get in, but in the past when I hadn't done that I noticed no perceivable difference in the end product either.
It may seem like I'm answering my own question, but until I get a series of successful indoor grows and/or pinpoint what I'm doing wrong I'm just trying to check along the way at anything I might be doing that could be remotely suspect.
I've said it before, but at my old place, which was far from clean, I'd work in the open air, do G@G transfers in the open, though otherwise practice sterile procedures, and I do believe my grain was for the most part over saturated back then even tbh, yet I'd have a contaminated bin probably at most out of one in ten, at least before the first flush (and usually later than that). I really do not know what I've been doing differently besides using traded spores (maybe that's all it is?), but something I'm doing is wrong for sure so until I figure out what I need to keep double checking my procedures as such. So sorry for the long post and possibly unnecessary explanation for my asking, but I've never seen it mentioned why or why not as to drying them indoors, so does it matter if you dry it outdoors?
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Mush4Brains
LOOL HACKED!!!

Registered: 07/31/13
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: krypto2000]
#18841159 - 09/14/13 01:43 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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You really shouldn't have to do that since the boil should keep the outside of the grains hot enough to make all the water evaporate.
Either way, it doesn't matter, it is all going to be put through a PC cycle anyways.
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krypto2000
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Registered: 12/05/06
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: Mush4Brains]
#18841304 - 09/14/13 02:45 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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That's what I figured, 'it's all going through the PC anyways'. The only reason I question it is that we soak them overnight, at least in part, to germinate spores so they're more vulnerable to PCing. Is the whole grain prep really just for moisture content?
Lately I've been trying to prep my grains in various different ways to see the difference in the end product. I always rinse them after boiling because I've noticed they get sticky on the outside as starches/sugars leak out of the grains from the boil (and this can be noticed by the clouding/darkening of the water after simmering/boiling). At the *very* most 5% of my grains have popped, but I'd put it closer to 2% or less fwiw, and I don't think I mentioned it but I'm always using WBS too if that makes a difference.
Yesterday I rinsed them with hot water and found that it didn't reduce this stickyness too much, I suspect it may have brought more out actually due to the heat. Today I rinsed them with cold water and found the grains to be much less starchy/sugary, although obviously it will take much longer to dry them this way.
With the hot water (plus a fan on low speed I might add) it took me about 2 hours to dry. Today I think my grains are just about there and it's been maybe 4 hours since I rinsed them, I moved them out into the sun maybe 1-1.5 hours ago (which dramatically speed up the process and did a more consistent job). For both of these I used a fan on a low speed to help with the drying process as well as stirring them around at 15-30 minute intervals.
Unless you lay out your grains right after boiling on a flat towel or giant pan I just cannot understand how you could possibly get them dry in ~90 minutes, much less 30. I'm convinced anyone's grain that dry in 30 minutes must be prepping a single jar at a time in an arid desert, it just makes sense no other way.
I've read various teks rather thoroughly and either I'm just incapable of comprehending them or there are other factors involved simply not mentioned. I even have one of the colanders used in a tek and it just does not work remotely the same for me as it does for them as far as the drying process is concerned, not to mention the colander itself alows for a lot of the grains to fall right through it since the holes/slits are too big. Part of the reason my grains dry slower is because I'm using a mesh 'basket', but I'd rather not lose grains in the process yunno, it just seems... wrong, it just bothers me whenever I here the 'clink clink' of dropped grain falling into the sink.
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CaptainPuffy
Marbles Lost


Registered: 06/08/11
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: krypto2000]
#18844331 - 09/15/13 12:13 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Which grains are you using? Rye? Typically, my grains aren't sticky unless I let a bunch of them explode. It's best to rinse the grains off before you soak them rather than rinsing them off after. The heat/steam from the boil is what should dry your grains.
I boil mine with coffee and gypsum. I do not rinse them after boiling; I just allow the steam to dry them. The gypsum helps with clumping and sticky-ness. Two swift bangs against one of my jars and it's all broken apart.
I'd recommend that you look into your spawn preparation for the source of that sticky-ness.
Hope that helps,
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Stromrider
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Registered: 06/02/13
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: CaptainPuffy]
#18844350 - 09/15/13 12:19 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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If you want to hurry up the drying of the grains after the simmer a hair dryer works well. Learned that trick from the master FrankHorrigan himself
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Sockadin



Registered: 01/03/10
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: Stromrider]
#18844451 - 09/15/13 12:44 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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OK so I heard that part of the question was, why do we really boil grains. I would love an answer to this question. I was using RGS and followed Violets advise as far as boil some water dump on seed, let soak for 30 mins then drain. My spawn looks dry 1/2 through colonization....
Do you neeeeed to boil the grains??
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Stromrider
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Registered: 06/02/13
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: Sockadin]
#18844535 - 09/15/13 01:14 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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We bring the grains to a boil after soaking to get them hot so the water will steam off the outside of them in the colander
I soak for 12 to 18 hours. I don't simmer my grains at all. I stick them in the stock pot, turn it on high, and as soon as the water comes to a boil I dump them in the colander
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krypto2000
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Registered: 12/05/06
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: Stromrider]
#18844551 - 09/15/13 01:22 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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I'm using WBS. I rinse before and after a boil and allow few to none burst .
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Stromrider
This must be the place


Registered: 06/02/13
Posts: 7,338
Loc: Dept of know what I'm say...
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: krypto2000]
#18844560 - 09/15/13 01:24 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
krypto2000 said: I'm using WBS. I rinse before and after a boil and allow few to none burst .
Well there is more than one way to do things and everyone has their own personal preference. You just got to figure out what works best for you
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PrinceShroom
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Registered: 04/01/13
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: Sockadin]
#18844578 - 09/15/13 01:31 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Sockadin said: OK so I heard that part of the question was, why do we really boil grains. I would love an answer to this question. I was using RGS and followed Violets advise as far as boil some water dump on seed, let soak for 30 mins then drain. My spawn looks dry 1/2 through colonization....
Do you neeeeed to boil the grains??
Its the best way to ensure even moisture through out the grains too. Expecially with WBS as you have different sized kernels.
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Sockadin



Registered: 01/03/10
Posts: 7,244
Last seen: 3 months, 14 days
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Re: Anything wrong with drying grains in the sun? [Re: PrinceShroom]
#18845708 - 09/15/13 06:23 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Thanks for the advise, sorry for thread jacking again.
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