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mycofile
Pooh-Bah


Registered: 01/18/99
Posts: 2,336
Loc: Uranus
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Easy preparation of bulk straw
#593254 - 03/29/02 10:46 PM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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This isn't really new, just often overlooked. I posted it at mycotopia recently and figured I'd cutandpaste:
Straw should be submerged in 160ish water for 30-45 minutes for proper pasteurization. This is pretty much done in large pots on the stove at home, and most people don't have very large pots and therefore have to do many pot fulls. Even a 22 qt. pot will need a couple of loads to fill a 45 gallon terrerium to a good bulk depth.
Here is a much easier way. Your water heater has an adjustable thermestat. Most of them are located under an access panel on the front of the tank, secured loosely by one or two screws. Most hot water heaters actually have two thermestats, one at the bottom and one at the top, each under an access panel. Yours is probably set somewhere around 120 if you are lucky. Most go up to 165. Anybody see where I'm going? The thermestat often has a set screw which will change the setting. Set it all the way up. You aren't doing any damage, the things are made to be adjusted. Any good handyman has probably already considered this anyway, usually lowering the setting to save energy costs...(and they would also remind the dangerously ignorant to flip the breaker to the hot water heater before even opening the access panel to look at the thermestat, much less adjusting it. there are often hot wires under that panel)
Put a pot of water on the stove...
Straw is loaded into cloth bags, pillow cases, laundry bags etc to fill a trash can. A weight or cinder block or something holds it down. Put the trash can in the tub. Fill to just over the weight with the now scorching 165 degree water. GO TURN DOWN THE HOT WATER HEATER NOW!!! DON'T WAIT, YOU WILL FORGET YOU BURNOUT, THEN YOUR WIFE WILL HAVE SERIOUS BURNS ALL OVER HER ASS!!!
You do loose a few degrees due to the cold straw, but your water should now be about 150. Use a meat or candy thermometer to verify temp. Add the now boiling water from the stove to bring temps up to 165-175. Put the lid on to conserve heat, and wait for 45 minutes. Some hot water heaters are kick ass and you won't even need to add any (near)boiling water.
TURN THE HOT WATER HEATER BACK DOWN!!!!!! PLEASE DO NOT BURN YOUR FAMILY, ESPECIALLY IF THERE ARE YOUNG OR OLD PEOPLE IN YOUR HOME!!!!!!
Now, 30-45 minutes later, be careful, wear gloves, tip the can and drain some water, it'll be nasty colored. then raise the bags, leave them hanging somewhere to drip dry for several hours or overnight. Innoculate with your spawn of choice, case and don't worry about growing again for the next year or so.
Much easier than several loads of straw in a large pot. I know a guy who pasteurizes straw in bags in his washing machine since he adjusted his water temp.
-------------------- "From a certain point of view"
-Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi
PM me with any cultivation questions.
I just looked at my profile and realized I had a website at one point in time on geocities, it's not there anymore and I have no idea what I had on it. Anybody remember my website from several years aga? PM if so please.
Edited by mycofile (03/31/02 08:26 AM)
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ralphster44
collector


Registered: 01/03/01
Posts: 4,657
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: mycofile]
#594403 - 03/31/02 08:56 AM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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Post deleted by administrator.
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SumGuy
addict

Registered: 07/26/01
Posts: 556
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: mycofile]
#594410 - 03/31/02 09:04 AM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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it sure is a good post im supprised no one had any comments on it really.
-------------------- -SumGuy
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SixTango
Mycota

Registered: 01/21/02
Posts: 1,996
Loc: A little North of Paradis...
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: mycofile]
#594608 - 03/31/02 01:12 PM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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Good thinking & a way to go. LOL, wish I had seen this before. Could have saved me buying an out/door gas burner. Grin, now getting a pipe wrench, some pipe & eyeballing the HWH & thinking to run a pipe out to the back patio next to the laundry room. A 96 quart ice chest full of straw & hot water.......hmmmmmmmm. Also, to prep straw, an ELECTRIC HEDGE TRIMMER works great. I trim up a bale into 2 ...3 or 4 inch size & it lasts -- a long while.
SixTango -- out
-------------------- ~whiskey river rafting, hot tubbing, dirty dancing & spending money on - wild women - having fun & just gonna waste the rest~
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jonnyshaggs420
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/08/00
Posts: 1,965
Loc: Mid-West
Last seen: 19 years, 4 months
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: mycofile]
#594613 - 03/31/02 01:19 PM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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The washing machine idea sounds pretty fantastic.......Not only could you pasteurize your staw in the hot water, but put that bad boy on spin cycle for a few minutes and you won't need to let it drip dry........hmmm
-------------------- Vote Jonnyshaggs in the next election for GOD...Its the responsible choice
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SixTango
Mycota

Registered: 01/21/02
Posts: 1,996
Loc: A little North of Paradis...
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: jonnyshaggs420]
#594636 - 03/31/02 02:02 PM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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What "washing machine" idea? That would screw up a washer. I am going to run a hot water pipe from the HWH (which is in the laundry room) outside through the wall to the back patio w/covered deck, where I can used it to fill a large ice chest. LOL. I would not suggest washing straw in a machine washer. That would give the maytag guy some work to do. SixTango -- out.
-------------------- ~whiskey river rafting, hot tubbing, dirty dancing & spending money on - wild women - having fun & just gonna waste the rest~
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jonnyshaggs420
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/08/00
Posts: 1,965
Loc: Mid-West
Last seen: 19 years, 4 months
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: SixTango]
#594885 - 03/31/02 07:46 PM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote from mycofile: "I know a guy who pasteurizes straw in bags in his washing machine since he adjusted his water temp."
Please refer to above post by mycofile............
If the staw is placed in laundry bags or pillow cases and placed in the washer it should cause no harm to the drain system.......Other then that any decent washer should be able to handle spinning a few pillow cases full of staw......
-------------------- Vote Jonnyshaggs in the next election for GOD...Its the responsible choice
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SixTango
Mycota

Registered: 01/21/02
Posts: 1,996
Loc: A little North of Paradis...
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: jonnyshaggs420]
#594898 - 03/31/02 08:11 PM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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EXCUSE ME. I missed that sentence in Mycifiles post. Not like we all have not overlooked one thing or another in the course of living life. Pardon my mistake.
SixTango -- out
-------------------- ~whiskey river rafting, hot tubbing, dirty dancing & spending money on - wild women - having fun & just gonna waste the rest~
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Macey Howard
Formally MOE HOWARD


Registered: 07/02/99
Posts: 14,165
Loc: Georgia
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Post deleted by Moe Howard [Re: mycofile]
#594962 - 03/31/02 09:07 PM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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-------------------- Hugs and Kisses!
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mycofile
Pooh-Bah


Registered: 01/18/99
Posts: 2,336
Loc: Uranus
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: Macey Howard]
#595416 - 04/01/02 10:50 AM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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I'm still wondering about the washing machine thing myself though. Yeah, it spins dry, is easy and all that but I don't know... Even clean straw is pretty damn dirty. Actually, I think I'd do it, just run the washer empty to rinse all the dirt out b4 washing clothes.
-------------------- "From a certain point of view"
-Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi
PM me with any cultivation questions.
I just looked at my profile and realized I had a website at one point in time on geocities, it's not there anymore and I have no idea what I had on it. Anybody remember my website from several years aga? PM if so please.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero


Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 5 months, 23 days
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: mycofile]
#595591 - 04/01/02 01:58 PM (22 years, 10 months ago) |
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You could always pick up a cheap old used washer from the classifieds. Of course then you need a place to put it... Hmm... the Dedicated Straw Pasteurizer... kind of has a nice sound to it. People might wonder why there is an old washing machine sitting next to the mulcher in the shed.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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acidblue
when soundbecomes colour

Registered: 01/02/04
Posts: 87
Last seen: 13 years, 10 days
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: Seuss]
#3541544 - 12/25/04 03:58 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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next to a mulcher and a dedicated hot water heater tuned up to 165
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ticktock
Seeker


Registered: 10/02/04
Posts: 389
Loc: Just ask the rabbit.
Last seen: 14 years, 11 months
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: acidblue]
#3542876 - 12/25/04 08:01 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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Restaurants use booster heaters for dish washing machines. Pricey, but restaurants do go out of business and sell equipment.
Link to some dandy examples.
--------------------
Don't panic!
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jeff01
cultivator
Registered: 12/17/04
Posts: 44
Last seen: 20 years, 1 month
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: ticktock]
#3563750 - 12/30/04 11:39 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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good stuff
-------------------- "impossible to walk in this muck"
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X24
pornstar


Registered: 10/01/04
Posts: 378
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: jeff01]
#3564229 - 12/31/04 03:07 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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great idea! but im still gonna go light a fire in my yard and put a 55 gallons drum over it. next to blowin up my trash its my favorite thing to do on any given sunday.
-------------------- X II IV
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Corporal Kielbasa

Registered: 05/29/04
Posts: 17,235
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw *DELETED* [Re: mycofile]
#3564837 - 12/31/04 10:20 AM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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Post deleted by Corporal KielbasaReason for deletion: .
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GregHimself
Just a guyobssesed withshroomies.


Registered: 07/18/03
Posts: 936
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
Last seen: 7 years, 2 months
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Well here it is, i just tried this and it blew the shit outta my relief valve on my hot water tank..nmo idea why, but just be fucking careful people, i just about scalded the shit outta myself.
-------------------- "The key to successful cultivation is to match the skills of the cultivator with the right strain on the proper substrate under ideal environmental conditions."
Paul Stamets
Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms(Third Edition)
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themills
Posts do notindicateIntelligence

Registered: 07/24/04
Posts: 177
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: GregHimself]
#3566810 - 12/31/04 09:53 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
GregHimself said: Well here it is, i just tried this and it blew the shit outta my relief valve on my hot water tank..nmo idea why, but just be fucking careful people, i just about scalded the shit outta myself.
I would like to take this opportunity to say that changing something like your water heater to prepare mushrooms is asking for trouble. I appreciate the idea but as GregHimself has shown, it can go wrong. I think what I am trying to say, with the live wires, potential scalding of freinds/family, scalding yourself, etc. the potential negatives of this outweigh the potential positives especially since the tek has you carrying pots of boiling water from your stove to your tub of scalding water... so that's my 2 cents.
I would hate to hear of somebody getting hurt!
-------------------- There are 2 possible outcomes: If the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.
-Enrico Fermi
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ragadinks
MrBeatle


Registered: 10/20/03
Posts: 1,298
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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> I been looking around and was wondering if any of yawl no where I can find info on using bleach or lime to pasteurize/sterelize. In this thread is a bit of info ...
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chocbruce
Learned Student

Registered: 11/29/04
Posts: 233
Loc: ...
Last seen: 4 years, 10 months
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Re: Easy preparation of bulk straw [Re: ragadinks]
#3576503 - 01/03/05 07:55 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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This is a gr8 idea. I found an induction heater at auction and use that. it's pretty cool...it's like a stove but i can set an exact temperature for thecontents of my pot and it's pretty accurate, but is fairly expensive. =(
-------------------- I look for answers and present ideas, but in no way shape or form endorse, or partake in, growing, or manufacture of substances, or plants, or any specie that is illegal in your neck of the woods. I do however, tear the tags off of my mattresses. Be warned.
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