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deathcapforcutie



Registered: 01/15/20
Posts: 69
Last seen: 3 years, 5 months
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Starting agar today
#26478474 - 02/10/20 12:02 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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Someone quoted Machiavelli is a post about using agar, "The wise man does at once what the fool does finally." Sorry, can't recall who posted that but I decided to study up and jump in. (It wasn't really "at once" but I only started a few weeks ago.) I picked up agar at the international market and settled on some "Twist and Store" containers from Target, about the same price as the ones by Glad, also PP5, seem sturdier, clear sides, very flat bottoms. Prepped those, mixed agar, spooned it in, wrapped in foil, and into the Presto they went. On Saturday I picked up a good tool- a mesh grill basket that fits perfectly into the bottom of my PC and keeps my plates just out of reach of the water. $1.99 well spent.
 I stacked 12 plates on that and used the canning rack that came with it on top of the plates to make sure they stayed put.
 And they stayed exactly where I put them because I taped three quarters to the weight and hummed along at 15 pounds with no rocking, no noise, quiet as can be. Another excellent tip.
 At any rate, I have 11 WBS jars on a shelf I noc'd from a MSS almost two weeks ago that are (being cautiously optimistic) looking better than I'd hoped, despite quite a few mistakes that I don't plan to make again. I made a SAB last week (90 quart) and a small alcohol burner to flame what needs flaming. Mostly I just want to say that being older than the average person here (I'm fairly certain) I'm trying to be patient and learn from everyone here who knows what the hell they're doing. I much appreciate everything posted here and I hope I'll be able to contribute something in the future.
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Psicomb


Registered: 01/13/18
Posts: 4,635
Loc: the womb
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Excellent, excellent, excellent!! excited to hear how it goes. you won't regret giving it a try.
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When we constantly pull things apart trying to see how it works, we may end up with only an understanding of how to destroy something - nick sand
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iwh678
Budget Mycologist



Registered: 01/22/14
Posts: 396
Loc: USA
Last seen: 1 year, 6 months
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Re: Starting agar today [Re: Psicomb]
#26478509 - 02/10/20 12:28 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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I'm kinda curious what the idea behind the quarters is. Adding weight should increase the PSI in the PC.
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deathcapforcutie



Registered: 01/15/20
Posts: 69
Last seen: 3 years, 5 months
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Re: Starting agar today [Re: iwh678]
#26478513 - 02/10/20 12:35 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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I can't recall whose tip that was, sorry, but taping three quarters to the top of the weight keeps it from rocking at 15 pounds and lets you either increase the pressure a little or it keeps the thing quiet. I've only used mine twice before today and both times it was hissing and rocking constantly just a bit below 15 pounds. Today my temp dial was actually set lower to maintain that. I will say that it requires a little more attention since I don't know at what pressure it'll rock now but I watched it like a hawk until I knew exactly where to keep the burner. It didn't make the sloshing, turbulent sounds like it did previously.
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Sockadin



Registered: 01/03/10
Posts: 7,244
Last seen: 2 months, 20 days
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Yeah the rockers are a pain. This is why I finally saved my pennies and got a AA. I don't know about the quarter trick. Sounds like it could be dangerous.
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Jxshy12
Stranger

Registered: 03/27/19
Posts: 114
Last seen: 1 year, 5 months
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Awesome man! Agar is very rewarding and fun once you get the hang of it. And the quarter trick from BOD works wonders! No danger in it just simple as the three quarters acting as a weight. Best of luck with everything!
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SpunkyMonkey88
Stranger



Registered: 10/08/19
Posts: 1,331
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Re: Starting agar today [Re: Jxshy12] 1
#26478620 - 02/10/20 01:42 PM (3 years, 11 months ago) |
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You're on the track to success bro for sure...only thing I can reccomend is ditching the alcohol burner for a torch. Those alcohol lamp flames dont get too hot and I noticed when I used them I could only get my scalpel blade red hot, not the handle...got a little butane torch and I can light the whole thing up from top to bottom... way faster too.
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deathcapforcutie



Registered: 01/15/20
Posts: 69
Last seen: 3 years, 5 months
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Quote:
SpunkyMonkey88 said: You're on the track to success bro for sure...only thing I can reccomend is ditching the alcohol burner for a torch. Those alcohol lamp flames dont get too hot and I noticed when I used them I could only get my scalpel blade red hot, not the handle...got a little butane torch and I can light the whole thing up from top to bottom... way faster too.
Well...I'm totally new at this but I would have thought getting the whole handle of the scalpel would be something of a negative, no? Short of that, though, I guess I'm open to picking up a torch. Sterilization aside it'll be good for freaking out the wife who's already a little not-real-happy about this whole endeavor, lol.
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SpunkyMonkey88
Stranger



Registered: 10/08/19
Posts: 1,331
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Quote:
deathcapforcutie said:
Quote:
SpunkyMonkey88 said: You're on the track to success bro for sure...only thing I can reccomend is ditching the alcohol burner for a torch. Those alcohol lamp flames dont get too hot and I noticed when I used them I could only get my scalpel blade red hot, not the handle...got a little butane torch and I can light the whole thing up from top to bottom... way faster too.
Well...I'm totally new at this but I would have thought getting the whole handle of the scalpel would be something of a negative, no? Short of that, though, I guess I'm open to picking up a torch. Sterilization aside it'll be good for freaking out the wife who's already a little not-real-happy about this whole endeavor, lol.
haha yaup I'm very familiar with the not-so-happy wife thing...but yeah you probably don't wanna torch a scalple where you pick it up lol I was just saying "top to bottom" as a reference as to what the torch can do... I would usually torch as much of the scalpel as I could before it started to the point where I could feel the heat through the handle (an inch or two above the blade)... but either way it's just way more efficient...alcohol lamp will work but you can spend 10 bucks for a torch and I guarantee you'll be way happier with it... just my 2 cents mayne.
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rm1024
Familiar Stranger
Registered: 11/05/18
Posts: 62
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plus with a torch you dont need to get it cherry. A torch uses a much more concentrated heat so you dont need to get things cherry as you might be inclined with an alcohol lamp. the only shitty part about torches is the piezo igniter can go on them (which just happened to me), then you just gotta use a lighter to get it sparked. A can of butane lasts forever too.
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