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badsponge

Registered: 12/20/18
Posts: 872
Loc: SoCal
Last seen: 11 months, 8 days
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Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization
#27011144 - 10/29/20 09:16 PM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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I've been soaking oats for 18-24 hours, then sterilizing them in an AA75x, no problems. I recently expanded my grow so I need to sterilize about 150lbs a day. I built a 55 gallon drum sterilizer with a 1500w heating element, prepped oats the same way, run it for 24 hours, but many bags come out mushy. But some don't, and I can't figure out why. I'm using Unicorn 14A bags, 3000g (6.6lbs) oats per bag, pressure sealed, and filter patch is folded under. Anyone else experience this?
I've also tried it with millet and it never got mushy. But the price of millet has skyrocketed here, so I reluctantly went back to cheaper oats.
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Stipe-n Cap


Registered: 08/04/12
Posts: 7,623
Loc: Canada
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: badsponge]
#27011717 - 10/30/20 09:23 AM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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The extended time under heat will cause all of the water in the oats to turn to mush. I'd stick with the millet if you're doing atmospheric sterilization. You'll likely have the same result with any large grain that holds a similar amount of water.
Edit* you may have over hydrated your oats as well, try using less water if you do another run with them and see how that works.
Edited by Stipe-n Cap (10/30/20 09:54 AM)
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badsponge

Registered: 12/20/18
Posts: 872
Loc: SoCal
Last seen: 11 months, 8 days
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: Stipe-n Cap]
#27012071 - 10/30/20 12:50 PM (3 years, 2 months ago) |
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Are there any other grains that are well-suited for a steam sterilizer? Millet has increased from $18.25 to $26.95 per 50lb bag, vs oats at $14 per 80lbs, so I was trying to save $$$. Maybe milo?
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nogoodnamesleft
Stranger than average



Registered: 09/19/20
Posts: 413
Loc: Melmak
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: badsponge]
#27090904 - 12/15/20 05:13 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
badsponge said: Are there any other grains that are well-suited for a steam sterilizer? Millet has increased from $18.25 to $26.95 per 50lb bag, vs oats at $14 per 80lbs, so I was trying to save $$$. Maybe milo?
Check out Milo. It’s cheap and small grain like millet.
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badsponge

Registered: 12/20/18
Posts: 872
Loc: SoCal
Last seen: 11 months, 8 days
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: nogoodnamesleft]
#27290864 - 05/02/21 06:39 PM (2 years, 8 months ago) |
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I finally figured out why the grains were mushy. The side of the bags that were in contact with a metal surface (barrel walls and false floor) all had the burst grains. I tried it with oats and milo, both equally mushy if they were against metal.
I fixed that problem by placing bath towels on the inside of the barrel. It takes 5 bath towels to keep the grains from bursting.
However, does anyone know a more elegant solution? The inside of Bubba's Barrels don't have any insulation. How does one run grain in those without bursting against the metal? Or is the higher rate of burst grain just a fact with barrels and no big deal?
I'm getting requests to build sterilizers for friends. They know my barrels don't have the production quality of Bubba's, but I feel the bath towel solution is kind of ghetto, even if it's for a good buddy. I'd just like to build something nicer if possible.
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Stipe-n Cap


Registered: 08/04/12
Posts: 7,623
Loc: Canada
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: badsponge]
#27290885 - 05/02/21 06:47 PM (2 years, 8 months ago) |
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Large atmospheric steam sterilizers are best used for gourmet sawdust production blocks. Large cereal grains become mushy after 24 hours of cooking. Most gourmet farms us 75x for grain spawn
If you want to use atmospheric steam for grain spawn I would recommend using seed. This may help, seeds do not hold as much water. You said that your milo becomes mushy, so perhaps get a pressure cooker and start growing gourmet
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badsponge

Registered: 12/20/18
Posts: 872
Loc: SoCal
Last seen: 11 months, 8 days
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: Stipe-n Cap]
#27290889 - 05/02/21 06:53 PM (2 years, 8 months ago) |
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Dammit, you're right. I think I'm trying too hard to fight against physics, and I won't win.
Oh well, they also want me to build them two pasteurizers. I can just tell them to use the barrels for that, and they'll just have to stick to pressure cookers for grain.
Edit: And yeah I'd love to use millet, but the price has skyrocketed since covid. It's just not an economical option.
Edited by badsponge (05/02/21 06:55 PM)
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Stipe-n Cap


Registered: 08/04/12
Posts: 7,623
Loc: Canada
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: badsponge]
#27290894 - 05/02/21 06:58 PM (2 years, 8 months ago) |
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Why would you need to build a large pasteurizer anyways?
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badsponge

Registered: 12/20/18
Posts: 872
Loc: SoCal
Last seen: 11 months, 8 days
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: Stipe-n Cap]
#27290947 - 05/02/21 07:28 PM (2 years, 8 months ago) |
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They want it, got the money to pay for it, and I want their money . I don't know anything about them or their operation. One of my biz partners knows them. I bet they don't even need it. They're probably just more people jumping on the growing bandwagon thinking they can make a profit on shrooms bc it's becoming more mainstream.
I actually grow full time with two other guys. One of them is a grower who clings to decades old practices, the other handles marketing and knows shit about growing. I tell them things like "We don't need to pasteurize coir bricks, just use Eat's unbucket tek." But my grower partner will "prove" I'm wrong bc of something Stamets wrote in the 80s, and the marketing guy just agrees with him.
So what I think is happening is some noobs want to get into big time growing, marketing guy tells them I can build them equipment, and they only think they need it bc they saw some Youtube videos that say they need it. I don't think they need it, but if they want to throw money at me, well ok.
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Stipe-n Cap


Registered: 08/04/12
Posts: 7,623
Loc: Canada
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: badsponge]
#27290968 - 05/02/21 07:40 PM (2 years, 8 months ago) |
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Lol, sounds about right. If noobs want to spend their money you might as well accept.
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Violet


Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: Mushy oats after 24 hour steam sterilization [Re: Stipe-n Cap]
#27291146 - 05/02/21 09:34 PM (2 years, 8 months ago) |
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As was already said, nobody is really doing grains this way. Even a day at atmospheric pressure sterilization may really just be an extreme super-pasteurization, which mostly just aims to repress contams enough to be colonized over. If you're using a big barrel to steam mushroom substrates, then you can supplement them and use significantly less grain, or even use sawdust spawn - oh right, Cubensis, uh, coir spawn? - to use one spawn jar for 8-16 supplemented bags. This reduces grainspawn production so much that your AA75x will be more than enough.
-------------------- Intentionally or not, here in mushcult we are purveyors of love culture and enlightenment movement. Let's try to act like it! PODS TEK - Growing Invitro with BRF/verm or Grass Seed containers The simplest, quickest, safest tek! For beginners, culturers, lazy people, stealth lovers, contam haters, and alternative seekers! • Violet's Teks and Posts •
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