Hello! I want to show you how I built my steamer. Its a simple twist on the SHROOMSISAY01 build.
 
The main difference being that I'm utilizing the steam to sterilize in not 1 vessel, but 4, and maybe more hear soon. As well as utilizing silicone hose and garden fittings. It did take a few trials which I will also go over.
First and foremost you will want to read THE SHROOMSISAY01 BUILD. Let me also say I couldn't have done this without not only his help obviously, but a huge thank you to deadmandave for being such a huge resource since I've joined this community (he helped me wire it), as well as my dad and grandad (who if werent around I probably wouldnt know the difference bwtween a screw and a nail and a amp and a volt. There is a parts list on SHROOMS THREAD, and if anyone has any questions there are plenty of people around here with steamer experience with brains for the pickin.
I was steaming with propane. A pain and expensive, but it did the trick, even with some kinks, it was alot of power, and kind of dangerous. You can see ghe steamer still on the burner in this pic
First things first, we needed power. Luckily we had a open 50amp breaker we got installed for our RV we used to live in, the system itself takesablut 23 amps. Dont have 25 amps? You could probably run half of my setup off of a 2300watt(ish) setup on a 15 amp breaker. (Check your electrical math)
Dont fuck around with electricity or you might regret it more than I did. This is actually from a heater and extention cords!
So my dad taps into the 50 amp line, breaking off a 25 amp line, which we run to behind the garage and start making a headboard to attach all the components.
He works on wiring the board while I work on getting the holes drilled into the main vessel to attach the componets into the drum. We have a 5500w hot water heater, a low water cutoff sensor that will kill the whole system if it drops below that point, the tempurature probe and out float valve which will keep the water at a set level.
 
The main vessel build is exactly what you would expect from a standard steamer. Similar models from Bubbas Barrels are $3000 not including shipping. I got the barrels from a scrap yard, 4 for 45. Silicone tube was like 150 for 50ft i think, parts were probably 2-300, insulation another 50 between the boards and spray foam. I can fit about 600lbs of hydrated substrate between the 4 vessels.
Which brings me to my twists. The difference vetween my steamers and others I've seen is that I'm able to utilize the steam between multiple vessels, nearly quadrupiling production. Another option would be to skip thr 55gallon drums and do this to a stock tank, which I will do after we take our next step forward. Anything you do to these drums could be replicated with another metal container. Ive even considered making a steam shed, which I could roll entire racks into, this will actually probabpy ve whats next.
Above I've attached 3 silicone hoses to the lid.
I found the silicone on amazon ((LINK) Compared to black iron tube, I know theyre not permanent, but for the price, manueverability during startup, and general durability just based on the last 6 months, i would say they are a good option
I made the attachments with simple brass garden hose clamps.
Now ive done this several ways to try and maximize efficiency.
Originally I had all the hoses feed from the top of the main vessel, directly into the bottom of the other 3. What happened here is water would pool in the bend of the hose beneath the other vessels, causing it to block and not recieve steam. I mediated this by drillijg a small hole in the hose at the bend, it did work, better with propane, I assume because of the added btu force.
I then tried feeding the steam through the top of the recieving vessels, didnt work well, it would not make its way to the bottom.
I then tried feeding the steam through the top and bottom, which worked about as well as feeding it through tue bottom....
Then!
  
I tried feeding it through the side on the bottom, pretty much as low as possible on the side, also ensuring the hose doesn't have a bend for water to puddle. This worked great!
I used bricks and some 1/2" square link fencing for a false bottom in the additional vessels. I wrap the edges of the fence in foil to keep it from puncturing bags.
I use bricks and a bbq grill(not pictured) for a false bottom on the main vessel
Prior to feeding the steam like this the 3 vessels were much more inconsistent, usually varying from 20-40 degrees farenheight, anywhere from 160-200. Now they stay much more even, usually at 200, esspecially with the insulation theyre more even throughout the individual vessels as well. See pictures of readings at bottom of threadd.
I had to drill a couple 1/3(about) inch holes in the bottom to allow the water inside the vessel to drain. (See above pics.)
I made all the holes with metal holesaws, I'll have to double check but i think a 3/4" is perfect for the garden hose and then a 1/2" inch for the probe and low water cutoff, then a 1" for the actuap float valve, im really glad i invested in a small holesaw set, they are very nice. Drill slowly or you risk tearing the metal. And if you fuck up a hole silicone plug stoppers work well with silicone around the edges to fix holes. I even gorilla taped some holes on both sides then rubbed silicone over the tape to make a seal on some, works well!
I also have several rubber/silicone/Orings/ grommets I've gone through for sizing.
I used O-Rings and plumbing tape to secure the floatvalve from leaks. Ive found standard sized hose leak grommet things that go on the inside of the hose, can also be stretched around the threads to prevent leaks when using them to connect the hose fittings to the barrels and lids.
Essentially what you do for all of the hose fittings is:
1. Drill the hole to fit snug with the male hose end fitting, the male end will go through the inside of the barrel or through the inside of the lid. Put the male end through either.
2. Put a silicone hose gasket, thats meant to go inside the female fitting, on the outside around the threads of the male. The silicone gasket should be holding the male fitting between the barrel at this point.
3. Get a female hose attachment, doesnt hurt to have a gasket inside, and attach that to the male piece that has been placed through the hole. Bam! You know have a place to attach the silicone hose!
I was using weldless bulkheads, then ran out, tried the garden hose method and its treated me great! Much cheaper and easily available.
And I'll retake this picture becuase sadly its all I've got right now and I'll need to make a list of a couple I'de like to add.
But here you can see the difference in connecting to a bulkhead vs a gardenhose attachment
I redid this several times in a couple months, thats why the pics are inconsistent even.
Whats great about this is i can use the main vessel in conjuction with any additional vessel as I see fit.
Because I added these valves on the main lid that I can close or open as necessary, they can also work as a relief vent.
I insulated with 2" foam board, made a couple circle cuts for the lid. Used spray foam to hold it all together and fill in the cracks. Its pretty messy but I was in a rush and have been plans for the next build. I also used hot water heater tube insulation to insulate the hoses.
GASKETS FOR BARRELS!
Ive ordered cheap gaskets off amazon, but youll need to thouroughly sand and clean the area it will need to be attached to and use high quality high temp silicone and let it cure for 48 hours.
Or you can order gaskets that go around the barrels from bubbas barrels but they are kind of expensive.
You can also use wax paper, but it will need to be replaced every few uses.
I have also encountered problems with bags in the main vessel blocking the hoses, I have used ceramic plates and bricks to remedy this.
Before buiding this I had alot of questions about how efficient this would be. And I still do a bit. Just a few weeos ago i actually found a well made video by someone going over the variables that would make truly maximizing steamers output much morr understandable. In this video he goes over how btus corelate to steam production as well as vessel size
From Oak and Spore in Australia, this guys great
And to tell you the truth have I made all my calculations and did all that stuff? No.
But my blocks colonize and fruit just swell.
Honestly I've been running it for 30 hours, just because I have little room for the steam to pass since its so packed, they are 12lb bags, about 52 on average. I may experiment with 24 and even less, but I need to do a run with a probe in a bag so I can see where the temps are at, I plan on feeding a wired probe through the bottom, where I assume its coolest, and track steam until 212f. I cant risk a run right now.
And actually as you can see here, after checking ive realized, my barrels are closer to 190. Which I have noticed before
I havent found this an issues with 5-7lb blocks for 24 hours or 12lb blocks for 30, the main vessels is always 212. Removing a vessel would most likely make 2 and the main one 212, but this works for me.
     
If you'de like to learn more about how steamers work I suggest you look into Atmospheroc Steam Sterilization AS WELL AS Super Pastuerization, Stamets has some good info in his books (which you can find for free online and evne on this wevsite i believe.) As well as threads on this site as well. Without pressure it takes much longer to sterilize. If you are unfamiliar with srerility assurance levels (SAL) I also suggest becoming familiar with that. Put simply sawdust and wheat bran is "cleaner"(has a lower bioburden) than grain, so it is easier to sterilize, making steamers a better option for bulk production. Although people do use steamers for grain spawn it can be inconsistent and for me has tended to contain minimal amounts of bacteria even at 30 hours.
Additional pictures..
   
I hope someone can see this a utilize it in someway. I couldn't imagine not having all this space for production, we rely on it alot at this point. I couldnt imagine having to do 3 or 4 seperate runs and mixes just eto do what we do on a weekly bases. I hope someone will see this and make a bigger steamer than they thought, and grow more mushrooms than expected.
Ive used this successfully for months.
Thank you all. Much love.
KEEP FARM3N!!
Edited by Farm3r (08/26/21 01:50 PM)
|
Threaded
Previous
Index
Next
Grow Bags 
Bulk Substrate 
Unfolding Nature: Being in the Implicate Order 
Bulk Cannabis Seeds 
Certified Organic All-In-One Grow Bags 
Spores for European Microscopy
Some of these posts are very old and might contain outdated information. You may wish to search for newer posts instead.
Farm3r 
Edit 
Reply 
mattymonkey
1 2 all )
Anno
Chastity_Belt
G a n j a
GGreatOne234
redfoot