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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing
    #8978707 - 09/24/08 02:11 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

PF Tech
Used 250ml jars filled to the top w/ verm&BRF mix just like the tek describes it
after PCing the cake shrinks almost 1/3 and has a hard consistancy where its even hard to break up by hand.  The stuff is nice and fluffy before I cook.
Has anyone had this happen or know what I might be doing wrong.
Im using med fine verm would bumping the size help?

I didnt have this massive shrinkage happen with my 500ml jars except for 1 or 2 but they all got busted by some green mold and colonization was taking too long so I switched to the smaller jars to curb other growths and for faster colonization.

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OfflineHazeyRoms
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: kazmierczak.km]
    #8978797 - 09/24/08 02:28 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Ok standard PF-TEK recipe is:
-2 cups verm
-1 cup BRF
-1 cup water.

-Distribute evenly and lightly.
-Make shure there is a little DRY verm on top to act as your filter to contaminants.

-Use the short 1/2 pint jars b/ they out perform any other jars for this particular tek.

-2-4 holes in the lid
-Cover with foil fairly tight, so no water enters/escapes(or gets the dry verm wet)

--Did you follow the steps as followed and correctly?--
--How long did you cook it?--


--------------------
-Sonn, Hazey here. And I'm bacc. Anyone in Wisconsin, PM me. Unity my nillas/niggas.

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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: HazeyRoms]
    #8979136 - 09/24/08 03:30 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

I use the taller 1/2 pint jars.  I couldn't find the short ones anywhere in my area, could that could be the reason.

I have tried jars w/ breathable tape, and with just foil and same results.
I cooked for a min of 60min +.
I'll try again there is gotta be something that I'm not doing.  Thanks for the reply.

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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: kazmierczak.km]
    #8979198 - 09/24/08 03:40 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

This is what they look like after cooking.  I let them cool and inoculated 6x to see how well they would colonize.


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Offlinenenl
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: kazmierczak.km]
    #8979220 - 09/24/08 03:43 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

based on the shrinking and the cakes being that hard it seems like the only explanation is the moisture is completely evaporating during sterilization. Water in the pftek is 1/4 of the volume (2verm, 1brf, 1water). I can't think of why that would happen though. There's a chance of the boiling water getting in the jars and adding too much, but I've not heard of it evaporating from the jars.

Did you follow RR's PFTek video (www.mushroomvideos.com)?


--------------------
hehe

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Offlinemycomikel
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: nenl]
    #8979319 - 09/24/08 03:58 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

interesting...

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OfflineGojira45
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: mycomikel]
    #8979351 - 09/24/08 04:04 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Are you placing foil over the caps when PC'ing?

Are you spacing them above the bottom of the PC (away from direct heat)?


--------------------
"The theft of the seals and the possibility of a Planet X really point to everything we are doing as humans.

It was all set up. Were doing the same thing Hitler did with artifacts and knowledge about hollow earth.

Everthing points to hollow earth and that ultimitaly points to planet X." 


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Offlineveda_sticks
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: Gojira45]
    #8979992 - 09/24/08 06:01 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Thats very worrying, are you sitting your jars in direct contact with the bottom of your PC. Is your cookers weight clean?


--------------------

PF TEK - writeup by EvilMushroom666
Lets Grow Mushrooms - RogerRabbit & RoadKills website with sample videos plus the full PF TEK video series. Alot of great information - BUY THE DVD
Cakes can and will pin! - So you think cakes suck for pins. Your wrong
Franks Simple Coir/Verm Tek
Franks Proper Pasturisation Tek
Franks Spawning To Bulk - Monotub
Professor Pinheads RTV Injection Port Tek
Foo Mans No Soak WBS Prep Tek

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Offlinecokane
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: Gojira45]
    #8980019 - 09/24/08 06:05 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

some of mine came out kinda like that too. i used the trivet very thin one. i think i had it to hot. some of the mixture ozed out the top of the jars and have pushed up the foil. making a space in the jar.

Edited by cokane (09/24/08 06:09 PM)

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Offlineveda_sticks
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: cokane]
    #8980067 - 09/24/08 06:14 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Use something like spare lids top raise your jars of the bottom and out of the water. Having your jars in contact with the metal pot will burn the substrate


--------------------

PF TEK - writeup by EvilMushroom666
Lets Grow Mushrooms - RogerRabbit & RoadKills website with sample videos plus the full PF TEK video series. Alot of great information - BUY THE DVD
Cakes can and will pin! - So you think cakes suck for pins. Your wrong
Franks Simple Coir/Verm Tek
Franks Proper Pasturisation Tek
Franks Spawning To Bulk - Monotub
Professor Pinheads RTV Injection Port Tek
Foo Mans No Soak WBS Prep Tek

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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: nenl]
    #8983903 - 09/25/08 11:43 AM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Quote:

nenl said:
based on the shrinking and the cakes being that hard it seems like the only explanation is the moisture is completely evaporating during sterilization. Water in the pftek is 1/4 of the volume (2verm, 1brf, 1water). I can't think of why that would happen though. There's a chance of the boiling water getting in the jars and adding too much, but I've not heard of it evaporating from the jars.

Did you follow RR's PFTek video (www.mushroomvideos.com)?




I used the PF Tek from http://www.fungifun.org/English/Pftek#a1 and the vids thy ref'd on youtube
I use 1-1/2" of crushed foil and a metal disk as a base for the jars to sit on in the cooker.
I'll try lowering the heat.  I usually put it on med/med-high but the stove is old and may be putting out too much heat while cooking.

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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: kazmierczak.km]
    #8984537 - 09/25/08 02:02 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Cakes turned out fine on lower heat setting.  Thanks guys

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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: HazeyRoms]
    #8989314 - 09/26/08 12:12 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Quote:

HazeyRoms said:
Ok standard PF-TEK recipe is:
-2 cups verm
-1 cup BRF
-1 cup water.

-Distribute evenly and lightly.
-Make shure there is a little DRY verm on top to act as your filter to contaminants.

-Use the short 1/2 pint jars b/ they out perform any other jars for this particular tek.

-2-4 holes in the lid
-Cover with foil fairly tight, so no water enters/escapes(or gets the dry verm wet)

--Did you follow the steps as followed and correctly?--
--How long did you cook it?--




Now the cakes are loaded w/ soaked flour and hard as f**k.  I thought that number sounded a bit high.  But its OK I only made one batch so no harm but I'll have to cut the BRF to about half of what you said just so I don't get NHL pucks
Peace and thanks again..

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Offlineveda_sticks
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: kazmierczak.km]
    #8989900 - 09/26/08 02:56 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

2 parts vermiculite to 1 part brown rice flour and 1 part water is the correct amounts, shouldnt make the rice flour hard.


--------------------

PF TEK - writeup by EvilMushroom666
Lets Grow Mushrooms - RogerRabbit & RoadKills website with sample videos plus the full PF TEK video series. Alot of great information - BUY THE DVD
Cakes can and will pin! - So you think cakes suck for pins. Your wrong
Franks Simple Coir/Verm Tek
Franks Proper Pasturisation Tek
Franks Spawning To Bulk - Monotub
Professor Pinheads RTV Injection Port Tek
Foo Mans No Soak WBS Prep Tek

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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: veda_sticks]
    #9043931 - 10/07/08 06:13 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

I tried it and the cakes for some reason came out really dense so I just put 1/2 cup less of BRF and they came out fine.  seems to work better for me so I'll stick with 1/2 cup of BRF.  Thanks guys.

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OfflineRogerRabbitM
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: kazmierczak.km]
    #9045183 - 10/07/08 09:45 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Quote:

I usually put it on med/med-high but the stove is old and may be putting out too much heat while cooking.



Boiling water won't exceed 100C/212F no matter how high the stove setting is, but you're supposed to turn it down once a boil is reached so your water won't all boil away.

I suspect that water got into the jars the first time, but you'll have better success if you use jars like in the video that are roughly the same width as height.  If you use tall jars, more settling will occur.
RR


--------------------
Download Let's Grow Mushrooms



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"I've never had a failed experiment.  I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work."
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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: RogerRabbit]
    #9049164 - 10/08/08 05:31 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

boiling water wont but the steam will, that will go much higher and the higher the heat goes the less dense the mix.  Someone didn't pay attention in physics....  lol. I didn't  really either that's why I only see this after the fact  but ya.  I see what your getting at though..  what I think happened was too much heat as a result the water in the verm turned to vapor and as it cooled it shrunk because when things go from hot to cold they shrink especially wet verm mixed /w BRF.  basically the hot vapor cooled and produced a vacuum in the verm causing it to shrink when cooling.  The wet BRF acted as a gasket preventing air to re-enter the cakes and allowing them to keep their original size. Maby I'm wrong but whatever.... too bad we have to fail a bunch of times before we see how dumb we are and do it right to begin with. 
Comments anyone.

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OfflineJAYI
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: kazmierczak.km]
    #9049217 - 10/08/08 05:41 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

On my first attempt using my pc the same thing happened to me and then I read the instruction manual to see if I was using the thing properly. Come to find out I wasnt so maybe that is what is happening. Every thing after that has been fine. Just a suggestion jAyYyY

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Offlinekazmierczak.km
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Re: PF Cakes Shrinking almost 1/3 after PC'ing [Re: JAYI]
    #9082404 - 10/15/08 04:44 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

I heRD IF you talk to the mushrooms they grow quicker

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