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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Dialing in humidity...
#24017765 - 01/17/17 03:49 PM (7 years, 13 days ago) |
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I built an automated grow chamber.

Using a cool mist humidifier, a funnel and some half inch tubing.

I installed a fan and made a filter from tyvex and a yellow NO TRESPASSING sign I trimmed.

And a WH8040 humidity controller.

I've got five BRF/verm jars inoculated with PE spores 12/23.

Getting there.

I have 10 lbs of pasteurized bulk substrate and 5 lbs of casing that I ordered from shroomsupply.com. Not trying to advertise for them necessarily, but their website is laid out in a way that helps a beginner make a plan. You see stuff on there and say, "Why would I need that?" and go searching. shroomery.org in conjunction with shroomsupply.com have been an excellent springboard for me. Oh, and I bought the Let's Grow Mushrooms series. That one I will come out and openly advertise for. Buy it. Now. Go.

I picked up three small Sterilite containers that fit perfectly inside my grow chamber and covered the bottoms with foil to keep the light only on the top.

In about a week, or whenever the cakes tall me they're ready, I'm going to blend them up and shake them into my bulk substrate and let them colonize.
Now my questions.
The humidity outside of my grow chamber sits at about 29%. Is that a good humidity level for colonization of the BS?
On the Humidifying FAQ it says "For casings: 92h dropped to as low as 82h during fruiting." I can't remember where, but I've also seen people say that evaporation is a key component for pinning...does that mean that I should set my humidifier to turn on at 82h and turn off at 92h so that evaporation can occur?
I have other questions too...but I can't think of them right now haha.
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sofloshroomster
Stranger

Registered: 11/12/16
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: 7718]
#24017808 - 01/17/17 04:04 PM (7 years, 13 days ago) |
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from what ive been reading it is better to crush your cakes up by hand inside a ziplock bag instead of grinding them up because it takes longer for the mycelium to re-colonize. But then again i havent tried this yet but i am going to soon by breaking up cakes and spawning to coir/verm bulk sub.
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,281
Loc: where?
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although you dial in fresh air. not humidity.
4-5inches of perlite would do the same thing in that same tub with the holes on all six side
cool build though.
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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Quote:
sofloshroomster said: from what ive been reading it is better to crush your cakes up by hand inside a ziplock bag instead of grinding them up because it takes longer for the mycelium to re-colonize. But then again i havent tried this yet but i am going to soon by breaking up cakes and spawning to coir/verm bulk sub.
Interesting. I'm going to look into that. Thanks for the heads up.
Quote:
mushboy said:

although you dial in fresh air. not humidity.
4-5inches of perlite would do the same thing in that same tub with the holes on all six side
cool build though.
Thanks, man. I looked the shotgun chamber over and decided I didn't want to deal with perlite at all. Just seemed like a hassle.
Can you elaborate a little bit on dialing in fresh air? I've got my fan on a timer to blow two minutes every six hours. I can set it up a zillion different ways though...thoughts?
Edited by 7718 (01/17/17 06:27 PM)
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,281
Loc: where?
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: 7718]
#24018259 - 01/17/17 07:17 PM (7 years, 13 days ago) |
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dealing with fans and sensors seems like a way bigger hassle then wetting a bag of perlite.
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dmppb
On course


Registered: 11/11/11
Posts: 1,043
Loc: universe
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: mushboy]
#24018313 - 01/17/17 07:37 PM (7 years, 13 days ago) |
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can you please explain how you connected that humidity controller?
-------------------- ...and when you loose control ; you'll reap the harvest you have sown.
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LogicaL Chaos
Ascension Energy & Alien UFOs




Registered: 05/12/07
Posts: 69,360
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: mushboy]
#24018326 - 01/17/17 07:42 PM (7 years, 13 days ago) |
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Quote:
mushboy said:

although you dial in fresh air. not humidity.
4-5inches of perlite would do the same thing in that same tub with the holes on all six side
cool build though.
If u had a CO2 detector, you could turn on your mister when the CO2 got too high.
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dmppb
On course


Registered: 11/11/11
Posts: 1,043
Loc: universe
Last seen: 2 months, 17 days
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Quote:
LogicaL Chaos said:
Quote:
mushboy said:

although you dial in fresh air. not humidity.
4-5inches of perlite would do the same thing in that same tub with the holes on all six side
cool build though.
If u had a CO2 detector, you could turn on your mister when the CO2 got too high.
you mean turn on the fan ?
-------------------- ...and when you loose control ; you'll reap the harvest you have sown.
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LogicaL Chaos
Ascension Energy & Alien UFOs




Registered: 05/12/07
Posts: 69,360
Loc: The Inexpressible...
Last seen: 2 hours, 39 seconds
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: dmppb]
#24018587 - 01/17/17 09:28 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Right. i meant fan.
Some humidifers have fans, which is what i originally meant.
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freespeech
disciple



Registered: 12/12/08
Posts: 1,745
Loc: PNW
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: 7718]
#24018625 - 01/17/17 09:50 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Quote:
7718 said: I built an automated grow chamber.
Using a cool mist humidifier, a funnel and some half inch tubing.
I installed a fan and made a filter from tyvex and a yellow NO TRESPASSING sign I trimmed.
And a WH8040 humidity controller.
Quote:
7718 said: I looked the shotgun chamber over and decided I didn't want to deal with perlite at all. Just seemed like a hassle.
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Mad Season
hookers and blackjack



Registered: 09/16/12
Posts: 12,666
Loc: Canada
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: freespeech]
#24018697 - 01/17/17 10:36 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Oh I wish you luck OP. Just remember that if you can mist it enough to keep it constantly damp and glistening with NO pooling water, you don't need any humidity. FAE and a glistening surface is much more important than any amount of humidity.
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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: dmppb]
#24018708 - 01/17/17 10:39 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Quote:
dmppb said: can you please explain how you connected that humidity controller?
Yeah, I could explain it...but honestly, the video I watched did a much better job than I would.
He hooks everything up correctly, but I believe he sets his humidity parameters incorrectly. I followed his instructions and did not the range I wanted. I went to my instruction manual and read it <i>several</i> times and got it figured out.
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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Quote:
LogicaL Chaos said:
Quote:
mushboy said:

although you dial in fresh air. not humidity.
4-5inches of perlite would do the same thing in that same tub with the holes on all six side
cool build though.
If u had a CO2 detector, you could turn on your mister when the CO2 got too high.
Whaa?! More gadgets? Nice!!
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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: Mad Season]
#24018718 - 01/17/17 10:46 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Quote:
Mad Season said: Oh I wish you luck OP. Just remember that if you can mist it enough to keep it constantly damp and glistening with NO pooling water, you don't need any humidity. FAE and a glistening surface is much more important than any amount of humidity.
My main goal with all the electronics was to have something I could set and forget...your post makes me think that I've not quite achieved that.
I think I need to do more research to fully understand what you mean. This is new info for me. Everything I've read has talked about relative humidity being the key...is misting something that I will still need to do with this set up?
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mushboy
modboy



Registered: 04/24/05
Posts: 32,281
Loc: where?
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: 7718]
#24018728 - 01/17/17 10:51 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Quote:
7718 said: your post makes me think that I've not quite achieved that.
not even by a long shot. build a sgfc. use perlite. forget all that fancy shit.
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Mad Season
hookers and blackjack



Registered: 09/16/12
Posts: 12,666
Loc: Canada
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: 7718] 1
#24018737 - 01/17/17 10:55 PM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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I've got a couple threads and quotes for ya lol. This is all stuff that's only been set in stone over the last few years.
High humidity is more of a crutch for us, and not necessarily better for the mushrooms. It reduces the amount of evaporation happening, so you don't need to mist as much. Everyone has preferences on humidity vs fae. Personally I always aim for higher FAE because I get the best fruits from high fae.
Quote:
cronicr said: The thing to remember(which is something i find misunderstood) is that the most important humidity you have is surface humidity, in other words it really doesn't matter if your fc has a rh of 40% or 99% as long as there is room for evaporation to take place the humidity that is important sits on the surface.
This is our goal with every fruiting chamber we use is surface humidity, with our monotubs we dial them in to achieve this, with our sgfc's we mist as needed to achieve this, with our gh's we (depending on your set up)use something like an ultrasonic humidifier as a timed mister to achieve this because once we have this we can focus on fae which is a great tool for everything your substrate wants for many reasons, the more the better
The reason we grow in a high humidity environment is simple, mushrooms have no skin and lose moisture to the environment very easily and if they lose more then is being pumped in they simply die. This is an easy fix just simply misting your fruits
Which leads me to my adventures with no fruiting chamber
From: https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/21288129
This is my own experience with open air growing in such a dry climate: https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/22105120
Tbh as long as the humidity is above 55% you'll be fine, and won't see any cracked caps.
Automation is basically impossible with cakes since they hold so little water and need to be replaced with misting frequently. Mono's and bulk is where it's at for "automation"
Edit: Although a quick look over again says you're doing bulk lol. Maybe I'm just crazy but I'd just take those trays and fruit it in a monotub style chamber. No perlite or gizmos needed, and as automated as it gets..
Edited by Mad Season (01/17/17 11:03 PM)
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RealityCzech
Entropy enthusiast


Registered: 12/29/16
Posts: 90
Last seen: 6 years, 3 months
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: Mad Season]
#24018877 - 01/18/17 12:17 AM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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I get wanting to build just for the sake of building. I love to tinker... so for a long time my incubator had light, fan, and temperature all being run off a Teensy 3.1. It was neat and fun to build, but it did eventually fail and I lost a ton of grain spawn to a runaway thermal event (that's what I'm calling it).
If you're doing it as an ars artis gratia thing... awesome! If you're more interested in growing mushrooms, keep thinking KISS. SGFCs, monotubs, cakes, misting, and a ton of other simple and effective methods have been developed and proven by numerous growers. If you're not working with cubensis you might have to tweak things a little, but a lot of these things work well with a number of other species.
Either way, I am watching this thread... I love the automation stuff just on its own merits!
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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: Mad Season]
#24018947 - 01/18/17 12:58 AM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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Quote:
Mad Season said: I've got a couple threads and quotes for ya lol.
Thanks man, that was extremely helpful. I appreciate you addressing my questions and helping me understand instead of just telling me to do it your way. You, sir, are a badass. 
Quote:
Mad Season said: with our gh's we (depending on your set up)use something like an ultrasonic humidifier as a timed mister to achieve this because once we have this we can focus on fae which is a great tool for everything your substrate wants for many reasons, the more the better
This. I really feel like what I've built is a mini greenhouse. If it had shelves and aesthetically resembled a Martha, I think people would look at it differently. It's got the ultrasonic cool mist humidifier on a timer of sorts (humidity controller) and a fan (on an actual timer) that can control the FAE.
Maybe I'm wrong...maybe I still haven't grasped what I'm misunderstanding - which is totally possible...I'm not going to pretend I'm anything but a newby - but from my perspective, it seems to me that I've built a Martha tub. Marthub if you will haha.
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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Quote:
RealityCzech said: I get wanting to build just for the sake of building. I love to tinker... so for a long time my incubator had light, fan, and temperature all being run off a Teensy 3.1. It was neat and fun to build, but it did eventually fail and I lost a ton of grain spawn to a runaway thermal event (that's what I'm calling it).
If you're doing it as an ars artis gratia thing... awesome! If you're more interested in growing mushrooms, keep thinking KISS. SGFCs, monotubs, cakes, misting, and a ton of other simple and effective methods have been developed and proven by numerous growers. If you're not working with cubensis you might have to tweak things a little, but a lot of these things work well with a number of other species.
Either way, I am watching this thread... I love the automation stuff just on its own merits!
Sorry for your loss, dude. That hurts.
I supersize with you on the KISS bit...but for whatever reason, the automation and electronics just made more sense to my brain. It felt like it would be a lot easier to prevent my inexperience from getting in the way if I didn't have to rely on my THC encrusted memory as much.
So yeah lol...not exactly art for the sake of art, but I did have a hell of a fun time planning and executing my design. Fingers crossed on its functionality haha. Thanks for checking it out! See you around, man.
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Mad Season
hookers and blackjack



Registered: 09/16/12
Posts: 12,666
Loc: Canada
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: 7718]
#24019473 - 01/18/17 09:45 AM (7 years, 12 days ago) |
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https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/19058333
Kinda reminds me of the thread. I'm definitely not saying it won't work. It will just take dialing in. You wanna keep your substrates glistening with NO pooling water. Once maintained, up the FAE as much as possible without getting rid of that glistening surface.
This is easy in theory but it took me many months to maintain a glistening surface like a boss, so you should expect LOTS of trial and error.
https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/23999053
This should help.
The reason people recommend sgfc is because it was basically designed already with all these things in mind, and already dialed in. You're actually adding more work to yourself by figuring out how to dial a new chamber in.
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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: Mad Season]
#24073173 - 02/07/17 06:15 PM (6 years, 11 months ago) |
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Alrighty, I've got the humidifier set to take my chamber up to 93% RH and then cut off until it reaches 63% RH. At 93%, the mist is thick enough to give that glistening layer that was mentioned to the bottom of my tub...so I'm assuming that when I have colonized substrate in there, the glistening layer will accumulate on top of it in the same way it did on the bottom of the tub. When the humidifier kicks off, it will give the moisture that's condensed and collected on the surface time to evaporate.
63% RH at the low end is a working number. I'm really not sure where to set this yet, but I do know that I want to provide enough time for the moisture on the substrate to naturally evaporate off before the humidifier comes back on. The thing that I'm going to have to be conscious of is that the substrate itself provides moisture...so, the RH may never drop to 63% and the humidifier would not kick back on to remist...which would be a major fail.
The fan is set on a timer that has 20 separate on/off settings, so I've programmed it to run for 36 minutes and then kick off for 36 minutes. Filling the entire 24 hour cycle with only 20 options was really annoying. Reminded me of the hot dog bun conspiracy haha. The fan provides large amounts of turbulent, swirling air flow throughout the entire day...and since the humidifier is set to kick on and remist before everything dries out, I won't have splitting caps.
Now if I could get these damned jars to colonize I could actually do some testing. I still have five jars of PE colonizing (since 12/23), but I went ahead and did five jars of Pink Buffalo (1/16) because I wanted to go with a strain that had faster colonization times and higher yield.
This is myc growth, yes?

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7718


Registered: 12/21/16
Posts: 77
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Re: Dialing in humidity... [Re: 7718]
#24661994 - 09/26/17 04:13 PM (6 years, 4 months ago) |
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I fucked up. 110%. Virtually nothing about what I've posted in this thread is a good idea.
#1 - There are way, way too many holes. You need two holes, one for the humidifier and one for the fan...that's it. I've since taped all of the rest of them up and am much happier because it actually holds the humidity in.
#2 - The RH range needs to be 1%, not 10-30% like I'd done at first. The combination of having a zillion holes and a wide range caused the chamber and the trays to flood because the mister would have to run for so long so often.
#3 - The fan cycle was wrong too. Fanning for five minutes every couple hours is excessive and causes the fruits and casings to dry out too quickly. I now have it set to run for one minute every four hours and it's a lot better.
So...no holes, RH range set at 93-94%, fan cycles every four hours for one minute. With these changes, the chamber really is set and forget. Still some misting every once in a while...like every 24-48 hours...but no fanning and great results.
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