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discored
newbie
Registered: 12/18/03
Posts: 34
Last seen: 19 years, 6 months
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hepa and humidifier info
#2263178 - 01/22/04 03:49 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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my friend picked up a huge hepa filter unit today and an unltrasonic humidifier for a total of 13.97$. he was just wondering if anyone has more accurate info on how good hepa is at removing contaminants from the air, and also how extended use effects the quality of the filter. also i'm pretty sure ultrasonic is the best type of humidifier, but he didn't know exactly what steps should be taken to ensure that airborne contaminants aren't coming from his humidifier. he boiled water, and cleaned the whole unit with peroxide, even ran it for a second or so so it would get through the plumbing, rinsed it real good and filled it with the boiled water. he thinks he is beeing paranoid, but i told him better save then sorry i always say. so is beeing overly zealous in ensuring his humidifier is clean and the water is purrified?
me
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Gr0wer
always improving
Registered: 09/16/03
Posts: 6,056
Loc: El Paso, TX
Last seen: 6 years, 19 days
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: discored]
#2263935 - 01/22/04 08:25 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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You shouldnt have to worry too much about contams from the humidifyer because he wont be using it until after colonization and a casing is put on, wich protects it from most contams. Keeping the humidifyer clean of mold every other week or so and using boiled water is a good idea. Boiling will rid of any chlorine wich might harm the mushes a bit, but it not mandatory. Most tap water is clean to begin with because of the chlorine.
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ParanoidSchizoid
Fun Guy With TheFungi
Registered: 04/30/02
Posts: 91
Last seen: 20 years, 1 month
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: discored]
#2264536 - 01/23/04 12:56 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Vinegar is good for removing scale build up in humidifiers. There is also a liquid humidifier treatment that prevents the build up. It's probably some type of water softener. The concern with an ultrasonic is the fact that they can really soak a terarrium, which will increase the chances of mold growth on an uncolonized medium. May I ask where you got the ultrasonic for so cheap? Mine went out and I think the transducer costs about the same as a new unit! And no, there is not a damn thing wrong with being clean! Cleaning your humidifier will ensure a long working life of the unit and will prevent favorable conditions for contamination. Have a great day.
-------------------- Growing conspiracy Everyone's after me Frayed ends of sanity Hear them calling Hear them calling me
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discored
newbie
Registered: 12/18/03
Posts: 34
Last seen: 19 years, 6 months
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thrift store thrift store thrift store its amazing what you can find second hand, well he says he has the humidifier in the his project room, to bring the entire room up to 80% or so, his plan is to slightly open the lids on his large clear handi bin terrariums, and pray to good things dont get fucked up, any advice for him?
discored
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MycoCultures
Stranger
Registered: 01/07/04
Posts: 50
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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the humidifier cleanliness is a good thing to watch, but a glug of h2o2 in container every couple of weeks should keep it from getting any mold... also your friend may need a semi-expensive "minute" timer...or a humidistat and some circuit wiring... because like Paranoid said, they put out quite a bit of liquid...2-3 gallons a day if i'm not mistaken... that is way too much... hour-timers are usually not sufficient for humidity control.
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discored
newbie
Registered: 12/18/03
Posts: 34
Last seen: 19 years, 6 months
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: MycoCultures]
#2278213 - 01/27/04 04:08 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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well he says it seems to be working well. he has been able to keep the room at between 80 and 90 percent and right at 90 degrees, hopefully that hepa filter will keep things clean as he has taken to leaving the lids off of his terrariums.
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OJK
Stranger
Registered: 06/08/03
Posts: 10,629
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: discored]
#2283047 - 01/29/04 05:54 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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If he's humidifying his entire workroom, may I ask what provision he has made for dealing with the excess amounts of water that will build up on the floor? Has he a drain installed? If not, he may run into problems.
-Odium
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ragadinks
MrBeatle
Registered: 10/20/03
Posts: 1,298
Last seen: 5 months, 18 days
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they are selling a lot of ultrasonic humidifiers very cheap on eBay now. It seems as it would be from a bankrupt's assets or something similar. Here is a link and here another one. ( sorry, everything is in german ) Does anybody know if they would work ? Have no experience with them ...
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BrokenBeast
Experimenter
Registered: 08/30/03
Posts: 6
Loc: UK
Last seen: 18 years, 9 months
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: ragadinks]
#2283231 - 01/29/04 08:27 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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That's not cheap - they're 13GBP in UK (less than 20EUR)
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ragadinks
MrBeatle
Registered: 10/20/03
Posts: 1,298
Last seen: 5 months, 18 days
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: BrokenBeast]
#2283297 - 01/29/04 09:03 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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oh, I thought that's cheap because they say that the unit would cost more than EUR 60.- when it would be bought regularly.
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discored
newbie
Registered: 12/18/03
Posts: 34
Last seen: 19 years, 6 months
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: ragadinks]
#2288517 - 01/30/04 10:42 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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he hasn't really experienced much problem with moisture build up on the floor, granted its carpted. he just noticed the other day though that his temp was to high, round 90 or so, he is lowering it, hopefully it will help with his yield, he is about to switch to a 50/50 + casing mixture, he hopes that coupled with his new environmental controls his yield will increase.
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Akrobatik
Chillin
Registered: 01/16/04
Posts: 267
Last seen: 17 years, 13 days
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: discored]
#2289299 - 01/31/04 08:46 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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I have an ultrasonic and it works great, if you have a problem with too much humidity, hook up a couple of 2 liter bottles to it through some tubing. i have a pic but I have to go get it, brb with that pic
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Akrobatik
Chillin
Registered: 01/16/04
Posts: 267
Last seen: 17 years, 13 days
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: discored]
#2289300 - 01/31/04 08:48 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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Here it is
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discored
newbie
Registered: 12/18/03
Posts: 34
Last seen: 19 years, 6 months
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: Akrobatik]
#2322748 - 02/10/04 10:57 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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well after a few weeks of constant humidity the room took on a kind of stinky feet smell, so he took down shop for the moment, thinking it was contamination, however all of the casings look ok. i think he is going to make a large tent to put all his stuff in,
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TeknoJunkie
Pioneer
Registered: 05/27/03
Posts: 38
Loc: The Mountains
Last seen: 18 years, 7 months
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: discored]
#2356851 - 02/19/04 08:37 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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Be careful if you do a tent. Micro climates are always preferred as far as contams go. I have a HEPA filter in my grow room as well and it's saved my ass numerous times. The decent ones all have UV bulbs which kill bacteria.
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Blue Helix
bold hand
Registered: 02/02/03
Posts: 1,565
Last seen: 8 months, 15 days
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: discored]
#2357285 - 02/19/04 11:55 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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Ultasonics are only good for misting or uncased cakes. For cased trays, they cannot and should not be used to keep the humity up because all they can do is achieve 100%. According to Paul Stamets and other experts in mycology, you don't want 100% humidity for well formed shrooms in a cased tray. You want 85-99%, which means you need to constantly move in less-than-100% air because air that is not being moved will go to 100% in no time. I recommend a cool mist humidifier to bring in 98% humid air. You need the type with a disc and a splash comb around it. LOOK IN THE UNIT to find out if it had that. I recommend the unit sold by Kaz in the baby section of most Target stores. The closer you are to 100%, the more you should provide for internal circulation. In a small chamber--say a 30 gallon tank or something like that--the cool mist itself will provide plenty of internal cirulation. For something larger, you might want to introduce a PC fan. The point is that you WANT some evaporation and regular mistings (either manually or through an ultrasonic). Slight evaporation off the shrooms makes them grow correctly.
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amyloid
Stranger
Registered: 03/08/03
Posts: 980
Last seen: 10 years, 2 months
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: Blue Helix]
#2360046 - 02/20/04 03:17 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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this is the second post ive seen from you that refers to ultrasonics. my ultrasonic has served me perfectly, i have it turning on twice a day 12 hrs apart, and staying on for 5 mins. i also use a cool mist humidifier running 24/7, and i have a small high cfm pc fan blowing across the terrarium.
and my cool mist humidifier supplies no where near 98% rh. (calibrate your hygrometer?) so supplemental humidity is definitly required, and an ultrasonic works very nicely for this.
>>Slight evaporation off the shrooms makes them grow correctly.
Teonan had a great post in the thread "optimal o2 for mushrooms" (or something along those lines), that described very well, why a humidity gradient between the mushrooms, and the surrounding air should be present. i think baby hitler started the thread. sorry im too lazy to search for it.
-------------------- "A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." -Al Einstein
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Blue Helix
bold hand
Registered: 02/02/03
Posts: 1,565
Last seen: 8 months, 15 days
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: amyloid]
#2361102 - 02/20/04 08:44 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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amyloid, I use the ultrasonic the same way, as a mister essentially. I also use a PC fan. Our setups are probably very similar.
The hygrometer I have is electronic and was verified accurate using the salt technique (at least it is accurate at 75% rh). I have greatly restricted the output of the cool mist to a garden hose, so in my case, it does seem the output is over 95%. Since my hygrometer maxes out at 95%, I can't tell if it's 98% of not.
Do you restrict the output of your cool mist? What readings do you get off your hygrometer? Why kind of hygrometer is it?
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fresh313
journeyman
Registered: 09/01/03
Posts: 2,537
Last seen: 12 years, 11 months
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Re: hepa and humidifier info [Re: Blue Helix]
#2446447 - 03/18/04 08:07 AM (20 years, 14 days ago) |
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in a foafs experience with a cool mist humidifier. it doesnt put out enough humidity for a somewhat large grow chamber, so to solve that problem use both ultrasonic(humidity) and cool mist(air exchange). have both enter the top of the chamber with tubes. with the ultrasonic tube being on top of the cool mist tube for mist diffusion purposes.
Edited by fresh313 (03/18/04 08:08 AM)
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Blue Helix
bold hand
Registered: 02/02/03
Posts: 1,565
Last seen: 8 months, 15 days
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Cool mists can dry if the air turn over is high enough. [Re: fresh313]
#2446550 - 03/18/04 09:11 AM (20 years, 14 days ago) |
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fresh313, my experience is about the same, and I use a similar setup.
I restrict the intake to the current Target model of the Kaz cool mist by covering it about 3/4ths of the way with duct tape. I restrict the output to a garden hose. If the input is not constricted but the output is, the unit drips water on the floor from too much pressure inside it (the older version of the unit did not do this but the new one does). Using this restricted output/input arrangement the output flow has over 95% humidity according to my cheap gauges (which I calibrated using the salt technique). Why the drying effect at 95% when _The Mushroom Cultivator_ doesn't even mention it? Well, remember evaporation is a function of BOTH humidity and air turn over. We have the humidity in the right range, but have you ever wondered how much air turn over we have in tiny non-commercial setup like this? I have.
In a tiny growth chamber (say with a 4'x2'x1' air space) there is a LOT of air turn over using a garden hose a Kaz unit! It's to the order of a couple hundred times an hour! _The Mushroom Cultivator_ gives humidity parameters of 85%-92% during the cropping stage for an air turn over rate of 1 to 3 per hour, but in this set up the air turn over is effectively 100 times that! This drastically increased turn over doesn't seem to hurt anything?after all, think about how much air turnover you might get on a breezy day in nature--but the high air turn over does generate more surface evaporation. I guess one could restrict the Kaz unit more, but I don't for fear it might ruin the unit. Instead I just counter the extra evaporative loss by using timed ultrasonic mists.
The ultrasonic turns on a few minutes every four hours. That is plenty to keep the bed well misted. If you keep the ultrasonic on longer, it tends to add water to the casing (which you might need sometimes). I won't give actual times because it's going to be different for every setup, so you'll just need to work it out for your particular setup.
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