Definitely frowned upon to touch anything that is not sterile with a utensil after it has been flamed. You are taking it from sterile to sanitary, which is a backwards step.
Also, as a new guys, I can say there is FOR SURE a lot of bad information and misinformation out there. This place is great because while there is old info, there are also people here to correct that old info and point you in the right direction of the up-to-date info.
I like the idea of arm hole covers to prevent stuff floating into your SAB, but do the swing close each time? Seems that may be pushing some outside air into SAB. Maybe remove during work and replace for storage to prevent as much air movement as possible. When I first started I decided to use some painters plastic and a PVC frame to build a positive pressure room to do my sterile work. I planned it, I built it, I used it, and I quickly realized I did not understand some of the finer details (eddies inside the room fucked EVERYTHING up) and the reason no one else was really doing it was because it was far easier, faster, cheaper, and more effective to just use the same KISS style SAB that 90% of people use. There is a reason why so many people were using them; they work.
If the surface of your table is a issue, have you tried a rack to raise everything up. I know some people go without, but when starting out it is a nice bit of a safety net. Dulls the impact of your movements but also saves your lids and tools from touching the "floor" if dropped. Also makes some work easier by being able to have, for example, your plate sitting higher up than your grain jar. I get it man, i really do. I am a tinkerer and constantly invent or reinvent things in my mind. I am not trying to take a shot at you or knock you down. It seems like there are several people here trying to offer genuine advice but are being received as attacks. Yes, there are some assholes in this forum, but even assholes has good advice sometimes. I'm not saying you must follow what the masses are doing (clearly, we are not that kind of people or we wouldn't be here) and it is always ok to listen to advice without acting on it. "It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain and idea with accepting it as truth". Aristotle never said this but a lot of people claim he did and its message is true.
as for cooling your spoon, the easiest and safest way is to dip in agar of either a clean plate, or the edge of the plate you are taking culture from. Even if you don't, similar to flaming the needle of an MSS, the very first myc(spores) that touch the hot metal will die, and everything after that will be fine and sterile. If you must use a ISO towel, I would at the very least keep in the SAB, not open air. The whole time it is sitting there it is subjected to potential contams both from the air, and every single time you reach your arms over it to do work.
You are thinking and that is never a bad thing, but focus on your technique more than you equipment. Mushboy is a bit of a minimalist I believe and advocates dry SAB, no towels, no lid, and I think no rack if I remember correctly. (not trying to speak for mushboy, just have read several of his discussions on the topic). The only thing you need to make this work is Still Air, and good technique. Everything else is just a bonus or a safety net. I would definitely not recommend opening any plate in open air. You might get lucky, you might not. I do all my work in a Still Air Room with no vents or windows or anything to cause currents but the simple act of me walking in and moving around brings and stirs up contams.
If your agar is so soft that you need a spoon to work it, instead of a blade, I would suggest a measuring spoon (tblsp/tsp/etc). Less surface area means less to flame and less chance of contams settling on it.
Truly not trying to attack you or your ideas here. I have had those eureka moments that turn out to be not eureka moments in practice. I assure you, there is better advice here than on youtube or reddit or FB (if that group still exists).
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What a great read. Suggestion instead of attaching hole covers to your SAB tape some tyvek sleeves to your gloves then when you enter the SAB you have a bunch of tyvek blocking air movements in the hole while you work. YouTube: anything you see of YouTube is a copy of teks that where created here. This is why so much of the creation and innovation of this site and the members is interesting.
I recently watched the Gordo Tek vid and most of it was pretty spot on except I disagree with his grain prep, (I think that is the next big area to focus on)
My point is that, if your doing things that work for you. Fuck everyone else's opinion. Most people just reiterate the same shit they have read and take it as doctrine.
Times change, people evolve their thinking. Now we have unmoded tubs and no pours. And that God Damn Humidity Chamber. ( Not a fan) But I have not tried it yet and even though I have an opinion about it, I can't really argue against it...
Edited by Sockadin (03/20/20 10:12 PM)
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