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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms
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Building a 650 Liter autoclave * 5
    #29558229 -

I’m getting ready to finally finish a project I started 8 years ago now that i finally have the time and cash, I bought a used 325 gallon residential propane tank for under $100, so I drained it, filled it with water, then cut it in half with an oxyacetylene torch and it’s sat in the back woods sense then, fast forward to now, I just bought a 4’X8’ plate of 1/4 mild steel, to use to make solid bolt Down flanges top and bottom, the remaining plate will be used for legs, I’m picking up a trashed water heater later this week to cut and weld in the electric element threaded bung hole, I’ll add a manual pressure release as well as an emergency pressuretroller kill switch, I’m not an engineer but I am a master electrician and my welder friend is a licensed ASME welder so this insane project isn’t just a pipe dream lmao I’m building a 650 liter autoclave worth $13,000 for less then $1,000 🤷‍♂️ I’ll keep yall posted and will post the full build on YouTube when it’s operational


The tank measures 10ft long with a 30in diameter so using the volume calculations of a cylinder @ 5ft X 30in it would be 695 liters with a flat bottom but if you factor in the domed bottom and top, I imagine it’s closer to 750 liters but given the unusable space for the boiling water and heating element I rounded down to 650 liters to be practical,

I will probably use a 5500watt electric element, 30A breaker on a 240v controller with a potentiometer and / or pressure sensor toggle on/off

I’ll add a drain cock for easy maintenance, 3/4 inch diameter bolts probably 8 total evenly spaced around a 2-3 inch wide flange with a 1/4 in thick custom rubber gasket

Pressure and leak down test will be done using 40psi residential water pressure from the tap, I will likely include a pressure gauge at testing that might be left permanently, once fully tested, operating will be done in a 5x8 cinder block building in the middle of the woods with remote disconnect 100 yards away lmao just to be safe


Not sure if there’s anything else but I plant to cross my T’s and dot my i’s






Edited by 7Suns (05/03/26 09:10 PM)

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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29558263 -

:camping:


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Pasteurizing Straw with Hydrated Lime
Swiss Cheese Fruiting Chamber

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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: Agar Wedge]
    #29558268 -

I like this. This is one hell of a project. Building one of these is on my ever-growing list of projects, so I can't wait to see how yours goes. Good luck, man!


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- Need help making a new substrate recipe from scratch? Try EdgarPoe's Substrate Recipe Calculator
- Designing or building a laminar flowhood? Try the Laminar Flowhood Calculator & Blower CFM Chart

"The world was made for the dead."
-Flannery O'Connor, "The Violent Bear It Away"

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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: EdgarPoe]
    #29558315 -

You’re a sight for sore eyes brother, it’s been a minute since we spoke last!! Glad to see you’re still around!

This has been on my mycological bingo card from the very beginning I’m just happy to finally get to see it to fruition

It also ties in with my current goal to mass production of wood blewits, I can grow them indoors but I had an epiphany, why waste my energy building out the infrastructure to grow blewits at scale when I can grow several acres for dirt cheap seasonally and sell direct to wholesale buyers who already deal with “foraged” mushrooms

Already have 10 acres of woods leased for this years project at little to no cost, I’m going to spend the summer cooking and colonizing 100’s of 10LB bags of spawn and then spread them around the 10acres this fall, call in a few dump loads of chip drops and rake it all in with a 4wheeler and drag behind rake bar!

So this autoclave will greatly improve my ability to produce large quantities of spawn for cheap !!


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29558433 -

I'm still around! I've been keeping my eyes on your many projects. I don't ever have anything to contribute, but they definitely pique my interest.

Hot damn, your plan sounds awesome. Jealous, to say the least, haha.


--------------------
- Need help making a new substrate recipe from scratch? Try EdgarPoe's Substrate Recipe Calculator
- Designing or building a laminar flowhood? Try the Laminar Flowhood Calculator & Blower CFM Chart

"The world was made for the dead."
-Flannery O'Connor, "The Violent Bear It Away"

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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: EdgarPoe]
    #29558662 -

Shit just hearing peoples input and feedback helps keep me going, even if you’re not working on it yourself. This type of work gets lonely trying to do things no one else is doing. Not having anyone to bounce ideas off of sucks, personally I think I do my best work with a feedback loop


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29558826 -

I won't keep hijacking your thread here, but you're doing some awesome work with the species you're working with. I'm actually interested in starting some indoor blewits down here after finally getting to taste some. I'll be using your thread for notes. Keep grinding, man. I love seeing your progress.


--------------------
- Need help making a new substrate recipe from scratch? Try EdgarPoe's Substrate Recipe Calculator
- Designing or building a laminar flowhood? Try the Laminar Flowhood Calculator & Blower CFM Chart

"The world was made for the dead."
-Flannery O'Connor, "The Violent Bear It Away"

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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: EdgarPoe]
    #29564985 -

https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/14182642


Puma’s build 15 years ago is inspirational and I feel much more confident seeing the sloppy design that works well


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29567392 -







Made some good progress over the weekend, we were able to cut and weld the first flange, and cut the domed lid off the other half of the tank today before running out of oxygen for the torch!!!


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29568700 -







Picked up materials today for the wheels, pressure gauge, manual purge valve, and a drain cock, also grabbed 25 grade 5 flange bolts that are 5/8ths diameter and machine threaded the whole way


Next I need to design the electrical controller and heating elements


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29571358 -







I apologize for the shitty Ai rendering but I figured a picture would help me envision my end goal for this project, also I just bought a P.I.D controller to drive my double 5500w elements and i grabbed two  1/2 inch safety relief valves set to blow at 20 psi, I  wanted to get it as a 1 inch but the price jumped from $25 each to over $1,000 lmao and I couldn’t find it in 3/4 so I decided to just T these 2 off a 3/4 inlet and call it a day :rofl:


Also since I went with such a thin flange @ 1/4 in mild steel, i decided after reviewing some specs to at the very least, reinforce my flanges with gusseted stiffeners that span vertically between bolt holes


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns] * 1
    #29573188 -



Making some good progress now!!
This thing is massive btw lmao i think it’s 6ft tall with the lid, almost 3 ft in diameter, I would need a ladder to load it by hand but honestly I plan to use 2 inter locking baskets that I can load with a chain fall





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Edited by 7Suns (05/10/26 08:25 PM)

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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29573308 -

Wow, that's massive. One run would last me all year with that thing lol. Awesome work, man


--------------------
- Need help making a new substrate recipe from scratch? Try EdgarPoe's Substrate Recipe Calculator
- Designing or building a laminar flowhood? Try the Laminar Flowhood Calculator & Blower CFM Chart

"The world was made for the dead."
-Flannery O'Connor, "The Violent Bear It Away"

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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29578095 -

Quote:
I’ll add a drain cock


It's gonna be a male autoclave!


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Garbage in, garbage out.

Life saver for contamination (cabin sequestering):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhwoNYmu_LA

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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: catoblepa] * 1
    #29578140 -

catoblepa said:
Quote:
I’ll add a drain cock


It's gonna be a male autoclave!



It’s boy !!! :lol:

I’m not sure if a drain pussy :vag:  would be a good idea, I wouldn’t want it gushing out everywhere :rofl2:


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29579330 -

That’s F’n Awesome!  🤘


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: Blopblop] * 3
    #29579361 -






Slow but steady progress, got the fittings welded up on the lid for over pressure relief @ 20psi, an analog dial gauge indicator, and a manual emergency vent valve that will also serve to bleed of the air before it comes up to temperature

Also managed to get the 1” npt water heater bungs welded in on opposite sides of the tanks just in front of the wheels, forgot to snap a pic but I’ll get one later

Next major hurdle is to wire the PID controller to the SSR and elements , then it’s on to the heavy duty hinge for the lid that is 60lbs by itself lol, and then I need to mock up the bolt hole template for the flange


After everything is said and done i might have it sandblasted and painted


I’m already $2,000 into this build :cryariver: :rofl2:


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29582396 -






Wheels had to be upgraded to something more heavy duty so I bought weld on trailer tire axle hubs

The EPDM gasket rubber sheet just arrived that I will use to cut my own gasket from, it’s 1/4 inch thick so it should make a good seal


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns] * 1
    #29598853 -











Been a few weeks since the last update, I got the upgraded trailer axles and beefy trailer wheels on it now and man it makes a huge difference, she rolls like a dream!!!! :inlove:



Finally got the hinges welded up and i almost creamed my pants when i finally got to cock that 50lb lid back and see this sexy bitch in all her glory :bow2:


Got the 2 inch drain cock welded in so it should quickly dump its water after each load, I used a small drain on an atmospheric steamer build and the slow drain was annoying to say the least


Oh and I had a custom fitting welded to thread in my thermocouple


I’m falling in love with this thing, I can literally stand up inside it comfortably with the lid closed !!


Up next I will start drilling bolt holes and wiring the elements


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Re: Building a 650 Liter autoclave [Re: 7Suns]
    #29598953 -

Slap some ratchet straps on there and fire her up :rockon::pipesmoke:

(Kidding)

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Mushrooms, Mycology and Psychedelics > Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms
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