To be honest, I've never tried to demist the ultrasonic output with an extra length of hose. It might work, but bear in mind that if the hose gets too long, problems can arise. For example, air resistance is proportional to hose length; that is, a longer hose will take more pressure to push the air down it; hence, a longer hose will reduce the output. Another, and far more important, issue is making sure there is no low spot along all that hose that can pool water and shut off the air flow; with a longer hose, that gets harder. Still, I guess there's no way to tell other than try! Tell me what you find!

I recommended a garden hose because around here it is much cheaper per unit length than clear hose (which I'd actually perfer to use otherwise). I can get a 50-foot cheap garden hose for about $7, and that's enough hose to last the rest of my life and be wasteful at the same time. But if you can get a clear plastic hose for cheaper, definitely go for it! I'd just be careful to not get too wide of hose since you'd have to cut a wider hose longer to demist the same.

ShroomGod

[This message has been edited by ShroomGod (edited October 29, 1999).]

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I can't go on talking like this. I just had a mental picture of Angel....
Now I'm speechless.

6.0 feet= shortest hose=most output
7.5 feet= middle length
I think the other is about 8.5 feet

All hoses have plenty of output. The problem is that all hoses still have a mist which I can see, even though the unit is on the lowest setting. The length of the hose doesn't seem to be "de-misting" the air at all...or at least not nearly enough. I saw some cool mist units at Target for $30. I'll hit up Walmart for the cheaper versions.
Another dumb question. Assuming temp will stay constant, is it possible to have too much air flow? The Ultrasonic tek with long hoses might work but it seems very breezy in the terrrarium. All of the air in the tank is replaced every 15 seconds.

As for the too much air flow question; first, no question is a dumb question but the one unasked. Second, no, I don't believe there is a thing as too much air flow. You'll get very natural looking fruits just as the "air flow" outside is nearly infinite. If you are looking for certain characterisitics, like a longer stem and smaller cap, then of course, you might want to intentionally restrict the airflow. This is sometimes done for elm oysters and related mushrooms in Japan for example. I don't see any bennefit to doing it with cubensis though.

ShroomGod

2. Do you think the humidity/airflow would decrease to an undesirable level by using the two spare terrariums in conjunction with the primary two? I don't know the output levels.

3. With such long hoses, do you think that enough humidity will reach the terrariums? I'm assuming that you've played with yours before you settled on the length of your hoses.

4. Do you see any trouble in the fact that the hoses (1 per terrarium) will all be different lengths. I know the longest will have less output but if the unit is strong enough, it should be enough. My worry is that the shortest hose might overhumidify that tank (if that's possible without it producing mist) while the longest hose-terrarium might not receive enough humidity. I know that all of the hoses had oodles of output from my ultra-sonic and you claim that the output of a cool mist is greater than an ultra-sonic so I don't think that there would be such a significant range of humidity between the terrariums.

5. How loud are the cool mist units? The bigger the louder?

I hope all of this makes sense. I started out with one question and then it just all came back to me. Anyhoo, I really appreciate your insight, experience, time, patience, encouragement, help, and attention. I don't expect you to solve all of my problems but if you have any ideas or opinions it would help. I'm getting a cool mist in a day or two and might get 2 if necessary. I'd rather not for the sake of the money and noise and more importantly the plug outlets are already full from my heat pads and such...
Blah blah blah...sorry for the wordiness but I've been up for 36 hours and I just finished a philosophy final.

Look forward to your wisdom...

[This message has been edited by Cogito (edited November 09, 1999).]

Yes. The output will be greatly reduced by the excessive length, not to mention, water will probably pool somewhere in the hose over time (unless you laid it really carefully).

1. Do you think that the cool mist unit (the $10 one) can support a total of four terrariums, each about 16 gallons or so with hoses ranging from 6-8.5 feet with inner diameter of 5/8 inch? Each tub is 12 inches high by 20 inches wide by 10 inches deep...approximately. The fridge has about the same inside air space.

No, it cannot. In the current version of my Humidifier Tek specifically warns against using over two outputs. Each output, however, could easily service a TWO tubes with the dimensions you describe. I'd recommend purchasing a couple T connectors at your local hardware store. They should cost less than a dollar a piece.

2. Do you think the humidity/airflow would decrease to an undesirable level by using the two spare terrariums in conjunction with the primary two? I don't know the output levels.

No. You don't need a lot of airflow, just CONSTANT airflow. These ultrasonic minutes-on-hours-off cycles just won't cut it.

3. With such long hoses, do you think that enough humidity will reach the terrariums? I'm assuming that you've played with yours before you settled on the length of your hoses.

You are pushing it with the hose lengths. I'd try to keep them under 4 feet, but honestly, I've never tried hoses that long.

4. Do you see any trouble in the fact that the hoses (1 per terrarium) will all be different lengths. I know the longest will have less output but if the unit is strong enough, it should be enough. My worry is that the shortest hose might overhumidify that tank (if that's possible without it producing mist) while the longest hose-terrarium might not receive enough humidity. I know that all of the hoses had oodles of output from my ultra-sonic and you claim that the output of a cool mist is greater than an ultra-sonic so I don't think that there would be such a significant range of humidity between the terrariums.

Overhumidification is a term that refers to saturation of materials via mist. Nothing bad will happen with cubensis regardless of how much MISTLESS air you run in to your terrarium as long as the flow isn't so high as to blow over the fruiting bodies.

5. How loud are the cool mist units? The bigger the louder?

Relatively quiet compared to aquarium pumps. I find the sound pleasing and it helps me sleep. Others might take a different view.

Good luck!
ShroomGod

The only thing that I can think of is that I need to connect 2 hoses per terrarium to achieve the desired humidity level per terrarium. I hope that this is not the case or I need to worry about buying more of these at $22 each and where to put them and how to conceil their noise.

Am I neglecting something obvious or what?
Your Ultimate Tray is a bigger container and is supported by a smaller humidifier (same kind though)but with 2 hoses. I guess I'll connect two hoses per terrarium and see.

Another thought: The hum. box said that maximum output would not be had until after the unit was used for a couple of times and 'broken in'. By leaving it on 24/7, would that break it in or do I have to turn it on and off over a couple of days. I'm thinking that maybe it's just not maximizing its potential as a humidifier yet, but it seems that it should be doing a lot better than what it is doing.

[This message has been edited by Cogito (edited November 20, 1999).]

ShroomGod

I tried hooking up the one terrarium with two input hoses and the humidity guage didn't change. I guess I'll just trust that all is well and put in another test cake since the first hasn't even pinned yet. Temp is ranging 80-90.

I also tried using one input from the cool-mist unit and the other from the ultra-sonic unit and the humidity guage didn't budge again so it must be useless.

I'll seal it as air tight as possible and allow limited exaust to increase humidity to its max. Thanks again for all your help.

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Do you answer questions, or question answers?

Tor

Yes Cogito, the cakes should be somewhat fluffy and deffinatly not dry.

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-From a registered Mad Scientist

"From a certain point of view"
-Jedi Master Obiwan Kenobi (also a Mad Scientist tm)

This range is well outside of the optimal fruiting range of cubensis. Only a few strains will even tolerate those temperatures well (PF and Ecuadorian come to mind). I have never tested the cool mist unit given those temperatures. I've always used the 70-75F degree range or, with B+, even lower. Maybe that had something to do with things.

Consider that warmer air holds a lot more water than cooler air. If say 85F air was only 90% humid and moving, it'd still have a lot of moisture it could evaporate out of a cake. 75F moving air at 90% RH, on the other hand, couldn't evaporate near the water. I don't know; it's just a theory.

ShroomGod

[This message has been edited by ShroomGod (edited November 30, 1999).]

One more tech question. You mentioned that I shouldn't use more than two outputs from the cool mist unit. Why?
Is this from experience or just to be safe?
Would it matter if my...unit was...bigger...he he...? Mine is 2.5 gallon so maybe the output is a little more or maybe it just holds more water. I don't know. I get plenty of output from my two existing outputs hoses.
I'm only asking because you emphasized it as an important thing not to do.

[This message has been edited by Cogito (edited December 05, 1999).]

ShroomGod

I've noticed that the original output hole on the unit could fit 2 or 3 hoses of that size stuffed down in thier. So one could do that and seal up the surrounding emptyspace to achieve the "normal" output, minus the girth of the hoses and the amount of emptyspace that was sealed. I guess I'm being anal and wondering about the relation of the size of the original hole and the sum of the sizes for the hoses combined. I guess I'll just measure the fucker and see. It's been a while since geometry...
I don't know if my original exhaust hole is bigger than yours because my unit is bigger than yours but my guess is that they are the same size...the holes that is. I wonder how much more complicated I can make this...