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Offlinekingleonidas
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Another agar condensation question
    #26927121 - 09/09/20 08:33 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Hey everyone,

Total noob here trying to get the hang of agar. I know there are lots of threads out there about condensation, but I've tried all of the advice without any luck. I just did a pour of 10 plates. I used a water bath to have my agar at exactly 120 degrees F before pouring. I left my dishes stacked after pouring and only the bottom 4 plates are without condensation.

The plates have been sitting in my SAB for almost three hours and there is still lots of condensation. All of the advice I have seen says that only the top plate will have condensation if left stacked? Yesterday I tried a pour with the same protocol and left them sitting all night with the same issues.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Sorry for the long post.


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Offlinedaysbetween
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927187 - 09/09/20 09:10 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Just put a mug of hot water on the top of each stack after pouring, then leave em be and let them cool.


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InvisibleMateja
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927200 - 09/09/20 09:19 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

I pour at maximum 45C (113F) and never have condensation.
But my plates cool slowly and room temp where the SAB is in, in which the newly poured unwrapped petris are standing is pretty stabile/constant so there isn't much that will cause condensation. I'd observe the environment more closely in which you pour and I'm sure you'll figure it out real soon. Like for example try to leave them stacked at all times when you're not using them, don't keep in places where the temperature swings, and pour a tiny bit cooler and you'll definitely eliminate alot of condensation that way and further also possible contam vectors in form of moving water, you never want that on the top of agar. Gl


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Offlinekingleonidas
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: Mateja]
    #26927207 - 09/09/20 09:29 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

I'll try a bit cooler. The very first time I tried pouring I had the water bath at 120 and it got clumpy while pouring. I tried the hot mug trick during yesterday's trial, but it didn't seem to help at all. Thanks for the feedback!


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Offlinekingleonidas
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927214 - 09/09/20 09:32 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Would pouring thinner help too? I've been pouring my plates about half full.


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InvisibleMateja
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927217 - 09/09/20 09:36 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Yes it would! Good thinking! I pour very thin anyway it saves agar, less condens and easier to cut wedges imo.


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OfflineDancing with Bears
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927218 - 09/09/20 09:36 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Let em cool before you wrap them. That’s key. Helps if the room you wrap them in is as cold as the place you will store them. Hard to do if you are storing long term in fridge, but the closer ya get the better.

Whatever it counts for I just slapped a 10 month old pleurotus on grain that had an entire puddle covering the top of it. 5lb master bag of grain made it to 100% with no signs of contamination.


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Offlinekingleonidas
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: Mateja]
    #26927264 - 09/09/20 10:13 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Quote:

Mateah said:
Yes it would! Good thinking! I pour very thin anyway it saves agar, less condens and easier to cut wedges imo.




Awesome! Thanks, I'll try that. Right now I'm just pouring a bunch of plates, not worrying about contam or anything. Just trying to get everything fine tuned.

Dancing With Bears, from what I've read I'm not too worried about the condensation hurting anything. But being the noob I am, it's a real pain in the ass to have to put a hot cup on my agars every time I want to talk a look out how they're growing. So I'd like to fine tune my process to get a nice clean pour.


Edited by kingleonidas (09/09/20 10:13 PM)


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InvisibleMateja
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927283 - 09/09/20 10:32 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Bacteria needs moving water to spread its colony, it doesn't have mobility to move around the substrate on its own like mushroom and mycelium can, this is the so called contam vector which you're trying to avoid. I
And idc personally if I have condens on the lid, but if I have water on and around the culture then I probably wouldn't use that as inoculation plates unless I was somehow sure.


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Offlinekingleonidas
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: Mateja]
    #26927313 - 09/09/20 10:57 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Quote:

Mateah said:
Bacteria needs moving water to spread its colony, it doesn't have mobility to move around the substrate on its own like mushroom and mycelium can, this is the so called contam vector which you're trying to avoid. I
And idc personally if I have condens on the lid, but if I have water on and around the culture then I probably wouldn't use that as inoculation plates unless I was somehow sure.




Makes sense, thanks again for the help. I'm going to try and keep fine tuning my pours until I get clean results.


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Invisiblesh4d0ws
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927332 - 09/09/20 11:12 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Sometimes I let them sit in an SAB with arm holes covered with saran wrap for 3-5 days to really get all the condensation out of there. Might just need to let them sit a while longer.

I use a infrared temperature gun before pouring my agar and I almost always end up with at least a couple of the top plates having condensation.

Even if I let the agar cool down so much the last bit of agar is hardening as I pour it, still 9 times out of 10 I will get condensation on top 2-3 plates




:shrug:


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InvisibleFunky Monkey
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927334 - 09/09/20 11:17 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

:didntread:

Sorry I didn't read this whole thread but saw a decent dude helping you, so I assume you are getting what you need so I will say this:

Get to know and love the Search Engine before you learn agar. It will save you and everyone a ton of time as you will LIKELY find the answers to your questions have been answered unless you are getting into things pretty deep. I have participated in these threads many times and even did so a few days back...

Here's the deal: Get a temp gun, and you won't have to guess how hot your pours are and a lot of condensation will be prevented. After that do the hot cup thing on top of the stack after you pour and let it go to room temp from there with the cup cooling naturally with the stack. Condensation will be greatly lessened of you just do these things, and if there ends up being any condensation in the plates down the road because of slight fluctuations in ambient temperature then do the hot cup thing again and keep it moving. :rockon:

Edit: he beat me with the temp gun thing 🤘


Edited by Funky Monkey (09/09/20 11:42 PM)


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Offlinekingleonidas
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: Funky Monkey]
    #26927341 - 09/09/20 11:30 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Quote:

Funky Monkey said:
Get to know and love the Search Engine




No worries and thanks for the feedback. I did search and tried all the feedback I've seen thus far, but have still been having issues.

Quote:

Funky Monkey said:Here's the deal: Get a temp gun, and you won't have to guess how hot your pours are and a lot of condensation will be prevented.




A temp gun is definitely on the wish list. But I have been using a water bath and I let it sit at temp for a couple hours before pouring. So I'm pretty damn sure I'm getting the temps I want.




Quote:

Funky Monkey said:if there ends up being any condensation in the plates down the road because of slight fluctuations in ambient temperature then do the hot cup thing again and keep it moving. :rockon:




I think that's what it comes down to. Being a noob, I'm wanting these things to be crystal clear, but I'll have to deal with some slight condensation on some plates and just coffee mug them when I want to check. Thanks for the help!


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InvisibleFunky Monkey
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: kingleonidas]
    #26927352 - 09/09/20 11:44 PM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Quote:

kingleonidas said:
A temp gun is definitely on the wish list. But I have been using a water bath and I let it sit at temp for a couple hours before pouring. So I'm pretty damn sure I'm getting the temps I want.




There's that, and then there's knowing. Just my two cents. :shrug:


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OfflineWunFunGai
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: Mateja]
    #26927370 - 09/10/20 12:12 AM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Hi!

Thanks for posting this. I'm in the same boat. Just poured my first 20 plates a month ago and was afraid of it seizing up on me before I was done and worked pretty hot *ouch*.

I had two stacks of 10 plates (500ml media bottle) and put a hot cup on one as a test and it worked OK, but I'm pretty sure I poured too hot. I let the plates sit for a couple days unwrapped, which helped clear up a bit. A few with what I felt was excessive condensation I tried working around by snapping the plate like a frisbee without throwing it to get liquid to an edge then "rolling" it out.

I got an IR temp gun now and am wondering what a good temp is to give me a more comfortable pour without having it solidify before I was done. I'd rather do everything in one go to keep exposure minimal.

I'm a noob still so I'm probably slower than a practiced agar guru. Average room temps is in the 80s with 55-60% humidity.

I'm just figuring I'll shoot for 120f and see how it feels to touch, and give that a whirl and hope it's not too hot, and I'm fast enough. :undecided:

Would be great to see posts from folks who have walked this path before with advice or experiences to share.

I'll read anything shared and post up my process and results when I do plates in the next day or so.

WFG :smile:


--------------------
The Official TNF Reccomended Teks & Methods
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D3monics Perfect Transfers and Agar Tek

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Offlinesporecap
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: WunFunGai]
    #26927404 - 09/10/20 12:33 AM (3 years, 5 months ago)

I pour my agar between 122-120F, using 400ml for a sleeve (20) of plates
like described in Bod's Agar TEK
BOD's Comprehensive Agar TEK

Then I leave them stacked and unwrapped in the SAB for about 2-3 days and all condensation has cleared up.


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OfflineWunFunGai
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: sporecap]
    #26927522 - 09/10/20 03:26 AM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Quote:

sporecap said:
I pour my agar between 122-120F, using 400ml for a sleeve (20) of plates
like described in Bod's Agar TEK
BOD's Comprehensive Agar TEK

Then I leave them stacked and unwrapped in the SAB for about 2-3 days and all condensation has cleared up.




Thanks! I'm doing the same and it's worked for me. Knowing it works for others is super helpful.

Has anyone benchmarked how long 500ml agar takes to go from 185f to 117f? Rough timeframe? It may be different for each recipe but looking for any input for reference...

Will post findings on my next pour.

WFG :smile:


--------------------
The Official TNF Reccomended Teks & Methods
Bod's Simplified Cultivation Methods <-- Awesome!!!
D3monics Perfect Transfers and Agar Tek

No matter where you go, there you are... - Buckaroo Banzai

You gotta be here, if you're not all there...


Edited by WunFunGai (09/10/20 03:31 AM)


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InvisibleLotKid
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: WunFunGai]
    #26927766 - 09/10/20 07:37 AM (3 years, 5 months ago)

Just let them sit at room temp. The condensation always dissappears. Unless you have crazy temp swings.

I pour hot. I dont bother to check temps or go thru any complicated cool down proceedures. Pour a few hundred plates and you'll see what i mean.

 



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Offlinekingleonidas
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Re: Another agar condensation question [Re: WunFunGai]
    #26966422 - 10/02/20 05:56 PM (3 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

WunFunGai said:
Hi!

Thanks for posting this. I'm in the same boat. Just poured my first 20 plates a month ago and was afraid of it seizing up on me before I was done and worked pretty hot *ouch*.






For what it's worth I am finally pretty happy with my pours. I think what really did it is stacking higher. When I first posted I was doing stacks of 10 and only my bottom 4 plates or so were clean. Now I do stacks of 15 and all but maybe the top 3 are clear of condensation. Hope that helps.


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