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ZombiWurm
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Registered: 10/15/18
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pouring agar without a flat surface
#26367318 - 12/07/19 04:27 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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seems fucking impossible. The agar always splashes up the side of the dish and onto the lid. I'm getting extremely frustrated with wasting materials. I've had great success with Glad minirounds but absolutely zero success with actual petri dishes. Out of almost 60 dishes every single one has been a complete failure. I end up with agar all over my still air box and I don't even see the stuff spill out. Moving them is whole other chore that seems damn near impossible. Why even use them if they are such a pain in the ass and other methods work fine?
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ZombiWurm
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: ZombiWurm]
#26367331 - 12/07/19 04:37 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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I'm gonna get this right sooner or later. I'm not a quitter. It's just really frustrating. I didn't even make enough agar apparently. I had 10 disposable dishes and 5 glass dishes. I think I filled the plastic ones too much due to the uneven surface and didn't have enough for all 10 dishes. Now I have 5 sterile glass dishes to try again tomorrow. I'll make double the agar next time and do minirounds as well as the glass petri dishes. Anyone have a preference of petri dishes glass or plastic? I mean aside from cost effectiveness or them being reusable or what not.
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A.k.a
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: ZombiWurm]
#26367348 - 12/07/19 04:47 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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I got a little spilled and on a lid my first time pouring, I think it was from bumping or fumbling them while the agar was still super thin, it takes some getting used to handling the dishes and lids especially with gloves on.
You may be pouring too much if you’re having that much trouble, 60 is a lot of dishes.
I had been pouring and leaving them in the SAB to cool and realized my surface is slightly tilted cuz one side of the dish would be thicker so I just found something flat and sturdy and made sure it was level before I started and set the fresh dishes on it to cool.
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narmaduke
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: ZombiWurm]
#26367359 - 12/07/19 04:52 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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whats your set up like? you're making it sound way harder than it should be
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ZombiWurm
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: narmaduke]
#26367373 - 12/07/19 04:58 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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I have one of those sterilite 3 tier drawers with a sterilite still air box on top of it. The lid of the box is the base of the still air box. I don't have much room anywhere else to put it. The lid is a little concaved so its like a hump in the SAB.
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ZombiWurm
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: A.k.a]
#26367380 - 12/07/19 05:00 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Yeah it is a lot. I haven't failed once with a miniround though but I like the petri dishes better because it's less space and easier to handle. I just don't want to spend $20 for 4 pre poured agar dishes. That's crazy expensive. I feel like I would have more progress if I wasn't doing every step by myself though. I'd be more successful if I did buy some things already made. Like petri dishes or liquid culture.
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A.k.a
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: narmaduke]
#26367381 - 12/07/19 05:01 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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If you don’t see the agar spill it’s probably sloshing out the sides. The most useful thing I learned from the agar tutorials was to keep them stacked up as high as your hand will reach and lift up the whole stack except the bottom of the last one then pour it, lower the whole stack so the one you just poured is closed, then lift the stack again so that the next empty one is open and sitting on the first one.
This way you don’t have to move them at all until they’re cooled.
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A.k.a
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: A.k.a]
#26367389 - 12/07/19 05:04 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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The lid being curved and also probably flexing as you move stuff has gotta be the problem because I was surprised how easy it was when I finally poured my plates.
I’m not sure but if the lid is flexing up and down it could be creating air currents also.
If you have to use the lid maybe try folding up a shirt and putting it on the edge of the lid so it’s more level with the center then put a towel over the whole thing.
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ZombiWurm
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: A.k.a]
#26367401 - 12/07/19 05:08 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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That's what I did. I lifted the whole stack from the bottom up.
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ZombiWurm
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: A.k.a]
#26367407 - 12/07/19 05:10 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
A.k.a said: The lid being curved and also probably flexing as you move stuff has gotta be the problem because I was surprised how easy it was when I finally poured my plates.
I’m not sure but if the lid is flexing up and down it could be creating air currents also.
If you have to use the lid maybe try folding up a shirt and putting it on the edge of the lid so it’s more level with the center then put a towel over the whole thing.
Thats a good idea. I'll try that until I can get a decent table to fit in that corner then I'll just ditch the lid altogether and just set the SAB on top of the table.
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A.k.a
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: ZombiWurm]
#26367417 - 12/07/19 05:17 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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It worked for me. I have this thing I think they’re called ottomans or something but it’s like a couch with no back or arms. Anyway the cushion is really firm so I figured it would be fine until I noticed my plates were way thicker on one side. So I ended up using clean socks to level it out like putting matchbooks under the legs of a pool table.
Good luck man you’ll get it. I’m positive once you’re able to do it with a solid level surface you’ll have no problems.
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narmaduke
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: ZombiWurm]
#26367432 - 12/07/19 05:24 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
ZombiWurm said: I have one of those sterilite 3 tier drawers with a sterilite still air box on top of it. The lid of the box is the base of the still air box. I don't have much room anywhere else to put it. The lid is a little concaved so its like a hump in the SAB.
I know what you mean, the first time I poured dishes I used the lid as a base and its kind of annoying how all my dishes came out lopsided, but it still worked. On my most recent batch I just removed the lid completely and used my table as my surface. You'll get a small gap running around the bottom but I am almost positive its negligible if you're worried about contams.
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SpunkyMonkey88
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: A.k.a]
#26367441 - 12/07/19 05:29 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
A.k.a said: If you don’t see the agar spill it’s probably sloshing out the sides. The most useful thing I learned from the agar tutorials was to keep them stacked up as high as your hand will reach and lift up the whole stack except the bottom of the last one then pour it, lower the whole stack so the one you just poured is closed, then lift the stack again so that the next empty one is open and sitting on the first one.
This way you don’t have to move them at all until they’re cooled.
So when you do it this way are you setting your lid with the rest of the plates ontop of it, down on the ground or something else inside of your SAB?
That seems like an easy way to contaminate your lid...
Why not stack them, take one off the top, set it down lift the lid, pour the plate, cover it, take the next one and set it ontop of the first one, and pour that....and so forth...?
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narmaduke
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Quote:
SpunkyMonkey88 said:
Quote:
A.k.a said: If you don’t see the agar spill it’s probably sloshing out the sides. The most useful thing I learned from the agar tutorials was to keep them stacked up as high as your hand will reach and lift up the whole stack except the bottom of the last one then pour it, lower the whole stack so the one you just poured is closed, then lift the stack again so that the next empty one is open and sitting on the first one.
This way you don’t have to move them at all until they’re cooled.
So when you do it this way are you setting your lid with the rest of the plates ontop of it, down on the ground or something else inside of your SAB?
That seems like an easy way to contaminate your lid...
Why not stack them, take one off the top, set it down lift the lid, pour the plate, cover it, take the next one and set it ontop of the first one, and pour that....and so forth...?
watch bod pour dishes, pretty sure this is what he is describing.
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ZombiWurm
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The dishes have a lip around the perimeter of the lid on top to prevent the dishes from sliding off of each other so it's not easy to do what you say with ease.
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ZombiWurm
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: narmaduke]
#26367487 - 12/07/19 05:45 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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I'm gonna check goodwill probably for a table. I've put so much money into this hobby. Probably more than I have ever spent on any hobby i've had.
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A.k.a
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: ZombiWurm]
#26367490 - 12/07/19 05:47 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Yeah it’s the bod video.
The lid of the dish you’re pouring is the last thing in the stack you’re holding.
So say you have 5 stacked up, you’d pick up the top four plus the lid for the fifth one so only the open dish is on the ground.
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SpunkyMonkey88
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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: A.k.a]
#26367579 - 12/07/19 06:18 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
A.k.a said: Yeah it’s the bod video.
The lid of the dish you’re pouring is the last thing in the stack you’re holding.
So say you have 5 stacked up, you’d pick up the top four plus the lid for the fifth one so only the open dish is on the ground.
I'll have to look at the video..
So in that scenario would you hold the 4 plates plus 1 lid in one hand while you pour the plate on the bottom?
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A.k.a
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Yeah exactly. Then just drop the next plate on top and keep going.
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blackout


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Re: pouring agar without a flat surface [Re: A.k.a]
#26367835 - 12/07/19 08:34 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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if you have fucked up plates do not throw them out. I am presuming you have single use plastic petris. If you messed up a pour then the agar can be resterilized and used again. If you have messed up plates they can be used as practise plates, without heating them up which will ruin them. The plates can be just washed and let dry.
You can practise pouring plates over and over resuing the same agar and just remelting it over and over. You can also practise cutting wedges and transferring etc.
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