hamloaf said:

Just thought I'd share to let you all know not everything is all peachy & hunky-dory all the time.  Failure meets us all.  It's what we do with said failure that defines who we are as cultivators.

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you're awesome ham.

invitro said:

What gauge needle did you use?  Was that the culprit?

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No man, not exactly.  At least not in the way I think you are thinking.

There are 2 separate needles to this rig.  One needle is the luer locking needle that is used to dispense the culture. 

The other needle is a large (would guess 12 gauge) "aspiration" needle. 

The aspiration needle goes down into the culture via' the injection port, no-tilt LC lid-style. 

At the end of the aspiration needle that remains outside the culture is a coupling that the plastic tube connects to, and runs to the gun from. 





Shoving the sterile aspiration needle into the culture through the injection port was the culprit. 

As the needle was pushed through the injection port, the needle took a big bite out of the injection port and swallowed it.

Wasn't until AFTER the gun and tube had been connected, receiving jars wiped with iso and placed into the downstream of the flowhood, and closures to media vessels had been loosened that the clog was discovered. 

Further evidenced by the pulling out of the aspiration needle for inspection only to discover that chunks of red injection port were lodged/jammed up in the needle.  Case closed. 

This method has been tested several times using plain water in a jar, but low and behold, as soon as it comes time for business the sucker jams. 

tourrat said:

Was there pieces of port floating in the lc?  Or were you not using the modified tube lids?

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Nosir.

The exact LC featured in this experiment.  ATL#7.

blindingleaf said:

that sucks dude.

can u just connect the aspiration needle to the lc "semi-permanently" during PC cycle and it stays in there during LC colonization, so when its ready to use, u just connect the hose?
i dunno if that makes sense cause I'm not sure i follow how the tubes are connected.  just wondering if the wide gauge aspiration needle can be permanently affixed to LC lid?

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Morelman said:

Morelman's No-Tilt LC Lid


I have wanted to do this for awhile.  Been collecting the components, but had not gotten around to finishing it.  Thanks to egodeathflux for getting me started again.

The intention of this lid design, is to eliminate the three handed vulcan maneuver of tilting the jar, pulling the syringe plunger while at the same time keeping the barrel of the syringe in place.  Also I wanted a larger bore to draw up thicker LC's.


Look Familiar?


Tools and Materials:
Not Pictured

• Gorilla Glue
  
• Loctite Plastic Bonding System or Silicone
  
• Tubing Cutter
  
• Hammer
  
• Drill
  
• 5/32" Drill Bit
  
• 1/4" Drill Bit
  
• Plastic Lid
  
• Syringe Filter
  
• Injection Ports (2)
  
• Gasket
  
• Jar
  
• 5/32" OD Brass Tube
  
• Flavor Injector
  
• Marble or Stir-Bar
  
  

There is some prep work that goes into these lids.

If you are doing pints, use a ruler and mark the brass tube and cut into three 4" sections with the tubing cutter.  Reem one end of the center 4" tube.  You won't be able to stick the turkey needle inside that section to glue it together unless you do.



Now use the tubing cutter to cut the tip off the turkey injector needle above the divots near the end.



Take one of the 4" sections and cut it in half to make a couple 2" sections.  You will use one of these to punch a hole in one of the self-healing injection ports.

Put the tubing cutter away, you're done with it.

To put the needle and tube together.  Take the brass tube and stick it in a glass of water.  Apply a thin coat of Gorilla Glue to the center of the turkey needle shaft.  Take the brass tube out of the water and insert the needle into the wet end as you're twisting the tube with you fingers.  Wipe off the excess glue and sit it upright to cure.  Check it in about five minutes and wipe off any excess (foaming) glue.  It will foam once more but let it go.



Put the Gorilla Glue away, you're done with it.

Punch a hole in one Injection port.


The injection port stretches during the punch process, so you end up with a hole that is actually smaller than 5/32".  It fits tight around the brass tube.



Drill a 5/32" hole in the lid for the filter.  On a small mouth lid, I mark it 1/8" less than half of the radius (towards center) so that a 25mm Whatman will sit flush on the lid.  If your filters are a smaller diameter just mark and drill at 1/2 the radius.
Across from this hole, drill a 1/4" hole and then another 1/4" hole at either six or twelve o'clock for the injection ports.  Drilling  the second 1/4" hole is optional since you can inoculate through the aspiration needle if you have to.  Injection ports are cheap, so don't be frugal with them.

Put the drill away, you're done with it.

Prep and glue the syringe filter into the 5/32" hole.  Insert the injection port with the hole in it across from the filter and the other (if applicable) into the second 1/4" hole.  If your needle/tubing combo has cured.  Insert it into the injection port with the hole in it.

Apply a thin coat of silicone to one side of the gasket and press it inside the lid.  Wipe any smudged silicone off with a paper towel and let the silicone cure overnight.



Place a marble or stir-bar in the jar and screw your new lid on.



Remove the luer-loc fitting from the barrel of the flavor injector.



Squeeze some silicone through the threaded end, wipe off the excess and let it cure overnight.



The aspiration tube will want to "burp" nutrient broth if you screw the lid on with hot liquid inside.  The plugged fitting will keep this from happening and it also keeps possible contaminates out. 



If you PC your LC, the lid should not be tightened all the way down until after it has cooled completely inside your pressure cooker.

Inoculate through the injection port, or aspiration tube if you didn't add the second self-healing injection port.

...And Wait


Within a few days you should start seeing germination.


____________________________

Over-Engineered Version

I want to thank Wirenut for taking me to task on the aspiration tube.  I think this design is far superior.

Additional Tools and Parts List:

• 10-32 Standard NF Tap
  
• Vise or Vise Grips
  
• 9Ga - 316SS Tubing
  
• 11/64" Drill Bit
  
• Female/Female Luer Adapter
  

Begin by tapping out the hub of the needle to a 10-32 UNF thread.  Make sure it goes in straight.



Make the 5/32" hole and one 1/4" hole the same for the filter and one injection port.  Make the third hole smaller and as close as possible to the edge of the lid, I used an 11/64" bit.  If you have a tap and die set, use the #21 bit.



Now use the tap and thread the smaller hole in the lid.



Follow the same procedure for the brass tube from the original design.  Stainless steel is harder than brass so you don't have to reem it out.  Now glue the needle inside the 9Ga. stainless steel tubing.



The flavor injector hub has a silicone washer.



Screw the hub into the threaded hole in your lid.



Flip the lid over and screw the aspiration tube onto the threads.  You can use loctite or gorilla glue if you want it permanent.







In order to aspirate from this male fitting you will need a female/female luer adapter.  There are different styles in a variety of materials.  The metal adapters are expensive IMO.  The one pictured is PP and you can find suppliers that give out free samples.  I ordered a free sample of five from Value Plastics.



The aspiration tube goes all the way to the bottom.



Please rate this Tek if you like the design.  Thanks...

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