microwave results

[fattyz]

Hi all, I guess its been awhile since I tried to add this on to my original thread and found it was 'no longer accepting new posts'. Time flies.

I have been experimenting with microwave sterilization with mixed results, but will not be able to present an accurate % contamination failure rate until I run my next batch of spores. I do the BRF jars for six minuets, 3 and 3, cooling to room temp between. I also use veggie steaming bags and double the standard water content to prevent the cakes from being 2 dry. This run I have been spawning to a verm/coir mix and casing with the same.

I use a space above the furnace for spawning and a lizard heating pad for fruiting. The warmth makes the fruits grow much more quickly than leaving them at room temp.

What I am doing now is inexpensive, quick and very easy for stealth growing. I need a little more time to really decide if or not I can keep doing it this way without a PC but in the meantime, I have some fresh produce to keep me going and am refining my technique.

Notice the shadow to the left of the fruit in the last pic, those spores must have blown out of that like a pop gun.

Yours,

FattyZ

[Nzo]

very nice, i used a vegetable steamer before i had a PC and it worked ok.
what strain is that?

[tbg.foaf]

do you not have problems with the metal in the microwave?

[fattyz]

I am not sure what strain it is, I had a bunch of spores syringes and am not careful about labeling my jars and so on.

No, the metal rims don't burn in the microwave, or I only had it happen once. I do not know why they, don't as I expected they would the first time I tried it.

FattyZ

[Freaky]

the plastic lids work great for microwaving. LC's are great from the microwave to, you should give that a try too.

great job!

[onediadem]

Should see the fireworks my microwave puts off if any metal is put in it. I blew one up once putting a china plate with gold trim in the stupid thing. Ooops. I wonder what it is that makes some ok and others not.

[sooshane]

I am curious also one. I have always had problems with metal arcing and giving off fireworks... kinda fun to watch though lol. Some people just have the luck. Lazlo uses it with his agar...

Perhaps people that can successfully use metal in their microwaves can post with the make and models that they use.

[effgee]

Depends on how much water or other microwavable material that is present to absorb the microwaves.

Basically if you put a cup of water in the microwave with whatever you are trying to heat, it allows the microwaves to be absorbed somewhere instead of bouncing off the metal and creating the arcs and sparking..


There is even a way to melt metal in a microwave to molten hot for home metallurgy and metal casting. Basically you make a cast from plaster of paris or clay, put metal shavings / powder into the mold. Add a glass of water to absorb the reflected waves, and heat it up.

There are tutorials on youtube and on google.

There are tons of neat things that can be done in a microwave.

[Lazlo]

I nuke my contaminated jars of grain (which is rare, lol) with no problems. Lids and all.

[twoguysupnorth]

ours sparks with silver on a plate, but once it has done it it doesnt spark the next time.?

[effgee]

Chances are that it oxidizes it and its no longer quite the same molecule. (The silver becomes silver oxide) The microwaves no longer do the same thing.

[Lazlo]

I haven't seen the first spark, ever.

[onediadem]

I'll have to give that a try then. If I blow my microwave up, I am soooo blaming all of you lol!

[Freaky]

One, don't blow your microwave up!

I just use my plastic lids, then don't have to worry

Though, when I make my special teas I use my microwave and homemade teabags that are stapled. They don't fire or spark, and am thinking it is because of the water like was posted above. So maybe having water in there is the difference.

I like using the microwave, much quicker imho.

[fattyz]

Hi all, been a while and i have done a PC run, having gotten tired of losing jars to contams using the micro. Unfortunately, I lost just as many with the pressure cooker though probably for a different reason. Most of my jars made it to maturity then instead of pinning invitro they almost all got "late stage contams" and ended up in the outdoor heap. I am going to read some more and do another run soon but I feel I have to make some changes or its really not worth doing since so much of it has to be thrown out in the end, pics to follow.

Yours truly,

FattyZ

[weeeeeee]

anyone know what contam that is in the 2nd to last image fattyz posted i had that once and could not find anything about it

[omentheduck]

Originally Posted by weeeeeee

anyone know what contam that is in the 2nd to last image fattyz posted i had that once and could not find anything about it

I have it too right now, I also have a black colored one, I could find anything on it either!?

[Nunyabiz]

If you wanna microwave em try using ziploc twist n locks. They're autoclavable and if you microwave em you dont have to worry about the metal melting or blowing up in your face..

[Phx]

Well the third pic to me looks like really dark myc piss? The black mold maybe the dark kind of mold you find in basements that are to humid(at least it was there in my old basement). Sorry I couldn't help more.

[fattyz]

Hi all,

These are the fruits of my labor, sadly, 2 few. Notice how the myc left the one cake and spread into the surrounding verm/coir mix. The cake was in its original state and totally myc free. In the third pic i crunched the abandoned cake to case the myc on the fruiting chamber floor. I took the cake in the jar with the fruit on it and dumped it there as a replacement. Weird or typical that the myc ran out of the cake like that?

Time for me to pcook another batch. BTW i found a use for the mushy - hi that works for me. I take a dose, proly a 1 or 2 on the tripscale, then once it starts setting in I go jogging. This gets me through the fear I experience and takes my mind off how much I hate jogging, which = a win win, 2 me. By the time I get through 3 or 4 miles I feel pretty good!

[meanman420]

Congats man.Just make sure your not tripping too hard when you go out like that.I for some reason believe that when I'm having a bad trip that taking a shower helps out and it actually works most of the time.If you decide to use the microwave again and you got a digi than weigh the jar before and after microwaving to see how much water your losing so you can add exactly what you need.

[fattyz]

Ya, the micro does dry out the mix, I was actually using double the water to correct for that. I just did a couple veggie steam bags using the micro, six min at high power with a patch for air transfer and a silicone self sealing port. We will see. In the mean time here are a few more pics from my last run.

Truly Yours,

Fattyz