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bnjenkin
Stranger
Registered: 10/22/06
Posts: 3
Last seen: 17 years, 18 days
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UV light to sterilize
#6381609 - 12/17/06 10:47 PM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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I have just built a glovebox and am looking for a way to further prevent contamination.
I had the idea to mount a UV germicidal light in it to sterilize the surfaces and the air in the box. I know the UV would kill the spores so I would wrap the syinge in foil, put everything in the box, turn the light on, wait a few seconds, then turn it off and start inoculating. Even if I didn't wrap the syringe in foil I don't think it would kill the spores b/c UV can't pass through plastic (but I could be wrong about that)
I had posted another forum about this and some one told me it was overkill and I should just build a hood. Seems odd that a $10.00 UV light is overkill but a hood is just what I needed.
would the UV thing work? Has anyone ever heard of this being done?
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Blutjager
Inhuman


Registered: 06/11/06
Posts: 9,220
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Re: UV light to sterilize [Re: bnjenkin]
#6381628 - 12/17/06 10:56 PM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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You don't need a UV lamp and you don't need a hood either,get a glovebox and a solution of 10-12% bleach,its all you need and will do you just fine
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agar
old hand


Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Re: UV light to sterilize [Re: bnjenkin]
#6381642 - 12/17/06 11:01 PM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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Build a good quality still air glove box. Make it large enough to work comfortably in.
UV is DANGEROUS, without a LOT of precautions. Would you enjoy skin cancer
--------------------
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure


Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
Last seen: 11 months, 22 days
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Re: UV light to sterilize [Re: agar]
#6382594 - 12/18/06 09:46 AM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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Agar is correct. Gloveboxes work by having a still air environment, not by being sterile, which they are not. A still air glovebox works as well as a laminar flow hood, just not quite as convenient. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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Grogan
Shroomieologist


Registered: 05/20/03
Posts: 1,146
Last seen: 8 years, 8 months
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Re: UV light to sterilize [Re: RogerRabbit]
#6382599 - 12/18/06 09:48 AM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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Screw uv.. get a flow hood if your that worried!
-------------------- "Maybe a cow occasionally ate a shroom, but it certainly wouldn't be such a potent shroom that the cow would be trippin balls. " LOL
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YuckMan
Student


Registered: 11/28/06
Posts: 69
Last seen: 7 years, 3 months
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Re: UV light to sterilize [Re: Grogan]
#6385290 - 12/19/06 03:06 AM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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UV light also produces ozone gas. I don't know how long it would hang around in the box, or what kind of effects it would have on the spores, but i'd imagine it couldn't be good.
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donkers5257
Grand Inquisitor
Registered: 12/10/06
Posts: 52
Last seen: 16 years, 4 months
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Re: UV light to sterilize [Re: YuckMan]
#6385731 - 12/19/06 09:14 AM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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Back home my parents have a germicidal lamp (one parent has worked in hopsitals for ever) sitting in their basement and I considered it but decided it's applications were too limited to bother taking the unit (it's a freakin' huge 4-lamp fixture)
Is a single-bulb lamp necessary for the glovebox? No. People seem to manage just fine without it. But hey if you can pick one up cheap, why not? ($10, seriously?) You could use it for sterilizing some of your equipment and work/storage areas. Just remember that UV can't pass through opaque surfaces so only what is actually exposed to the direct UV waves gets sterilized. If it's only $10, it's probably worth installing it in an the vent (if it's possible to do it) nearest the area where you'll be incubating/fruiting, just to reduce the number of airborne contaminants.
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure


Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
Last seen: 11 months, 22 days
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Re: UV light to sterilize [Re: donkers5257]
#6386051 - 12/19/06 10:42 AM (17 years, 2 months ago) |
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No. UV light causes mutations in fruits and mycelium. It causes cancer in humans. It's also worthless for sterilizing tools. UV is not a suitable choice for mycology. Trash it and follow established sterile technique. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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