Getting Ready to Jar up and PC...have a ? or so

[weiliicoyote]

Originally Posted by Shroobie

So should I try to use this PC again?

For what its worth, Ive had successful wbs spawn using a broken PC (basicaly a glorified pot) using more water, and a 1.5 hour steam

[Shroobie]

Will these pictures work?

It's a Maitres PC. I've never really heard of that kind.
But it was a 13qt PC that was only going for about $20, so I went for it.
Caulk it up as a learning experience I guess (if it doesn't work out).

[TastyBeverage]

I can see from the pics that it does have a rubber gasket on the release valve. Check it for cracks and flexibility. If it feels hard like plastic, it's too old and you'll have to replace it. But you might try lubing it up with some vegetable oil to see if that helps. I think you can order a new gasket from the manufacturer, or you might find one in a hardware store.

[Shroobie]

Here's some close ups of the gasket and valves.
The rubber on the valve and gasket still feel rubbery and none are cracked.
Could it just have been user error? Although I don't see how it would lose pressure sometimes, but then could hold it for awhile also.
I figured the gauge might be wrong but the weight wasn't rocking.
Next time I'll leave leave a piece of weight off and check to see if it rattles at 10psi.

*EDIT* added a picture of how rubbery the gasket is.
To me it all looks to be used some, but decent shape, but I understand that means nothing.

[TVCasualty]

It looks like yours doesn't really have a 'weight' that's supposed to shake. It looks more like the valve-type (like was found on the older style All American cookers or is still found on their Sterilizer models). Those are On or Off valves (no pressure is released by a weight shaking) and if the pressure gets much above the max (which may not be 15 psi for that cooker) they pop back up and release the excess steam.

You most likely have to shut it again manually to stop the steam from escaping, and I have a suspicion yours might've popped up and that's why the pressure didn't rise high or fast enough even thought the stove was turned up. My biggest cooker can maintain 15 psi with my stove set just above Low (once it's up to 15, that is). You may have been trying to PC with the pressure valve open; if the stove is hot enough it can still get the cooker up to pressure but it's going to be really loud and steamy in the kitchen right up until the water runs out.

[Shroobie]

Cool thanks.
Here's a picture of the what the manual says about the valve/weight and Safety valve.
Pictures of what inside of PC looked like afterwards, Jars, and Aluminum foil top.

My wife's kinda talking me into trying to inoculate one of them just to see, but I'm not sure.
I could blow through the nozzle just to make sure it wasn't totally clogged, but I understand it could be partially clogged and maybe that's why the safety valve popped. Is there a way to tell or something I could do to check to see if it's partially clogged? Or would I have to take it somewhere to get tested?

*edit*
Well I pushed a paper clip all the way through with no problem. All the holes seem to be ok.
Yeah it says I can put vegetable oil on gasket, but not to do it all the time otherwise it'll stretch out the gasket.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Just a tiny bit of vegetable oil is needed, by the way.

Moisten your fingertip and then spread it around. Barely more than a drop and wipe any excess off with a paper towel. Be very careful not to stretch the gasket while oiling it.

[Shroobie]

Well I tossed all of the jars. WBS is cheap and I'd rather just do it over.
I went and bought a new strainer, new jar lids and more WBS.

I'm going to making my lids off of a tek from another site.
I don't have a drill, so I'd just took a phillips screwdriver and
pushed it through the lids, but it bent the edge alittle.
After only doing 3 I stopped because I wasn't sure if that
was a bad thing.
Is it going to hurt to have my lids bent a little.
Also if I just have the lids touching the jar (with no Tyvek)
does the rubber have to be touching the jar? Or could would
the metal touching glass create enough of a seal?

[TastyBeverage]

I put my lids on a phone book and use a philips screw driver with a hammer to punch the hole through. One good whack with the screw driver pointed straight down and it will punch through without bending the lid. While the screwdriver is through the hole in the lid, i move it around to widen the hole, then remove it, flip the lid over, and use the hammer to flatten down the sharp metal bits.

Use an old phone book! Once, my mom came to visit and wanted to look something up. I could not explain why there were holes in my phone book....

[Shroobie]

lol...that's funny. Never thought of using a Phone book.

I ended up just borrowing my buddies drill and popped a couple holes in the top.
Found the tek (from Citric) on another site (not sure if we're allowed to mention names or what) and it seemed easy and all I needed was Lids and RTV and I already planned on getting new lids.
Going to do up some more WBS tomorrow. Now I have extra jar lids to use instead of towel, so that's nice.
I have to wait 24 hours for the RTV to cure (I believe) so I'll get the jars ready and loaded up till I'm able to PC.
Here's a picture of what the lids look like I put a bead down then mashed the Tyvek down on top of it.
Good thing is if I funked them up, WBS and jar lids are fairly cheap (and I still have plenty of RTV and Tyvek).

Was also thinking of doing up a LC for each strain I have, but still have alot of things to look up about them.
Actually not much as they seem easy enough to do, but I wasn't too sure of a few things.
So is the only way to store an LC is in the Fridge? Or best way I should say. Do they last longer with a Stirrer?
Or is that just for quicker growth?
Would my syringes of MS store better?
It would just be easier to hide an LC jar in the fridge then a Syringe. How?
I make my own ant poison (honey and borax) and keep them in the fridge and it kinda looks the same.
So it'd be easy enough to just mark the jars ant poison.

[MLBjammer]

As far as LCs go, you can store them long-term in the fridge.

The stirrer is for breaking the mycelium up. Big clumps of mycelium can be hard to suck up with a syringe.

Spore syringes last a long time, years. I have used LCs a year old, but I don't know if they will stay viable as long as a syringe.

[Scratch]

Now your cooking. The new lids look great.

Before wasting any more seed on unknown
pressure cooker, give it a test. Just do a test
run with the pc empty (just water).

You've got the seal oiled up, it should now hold
pressure. A little wisp of steam out the seal now
and then is normal. If its blowing steam from the
seal constantly, that's no good.

The only place that should blow out steam is the
weight valve before you put the weight on.
Anywhere else any you have a problem. Losing
steam means you'll never be able to reach and
maintain pressure, and you'll have to keep the
heat turned all the way up to high, and the pot
will shake so bad it will scare you, and your pc
will run out of water before you can complete
the run.

TEST RUN...

Fill with 1.5 to 2 inches of water.
Attach lid.
Crank up heat to high.
When it comes up to temperature, steam should
start blowing out the weight valve. For future
reference, note how long it takes to get steam
blowing out steady from a cold start. When
you've got a steady stream of steam coming
out start timer for 10 minutes.

Let it just blow steam for 10 min, then put the
weight on. Pressure should start building, slow
and steady. You'll get a little steam and a few
drops of water come out the weight valve during
the entire run, that's normal.

When pressure reaches 15psi, your weight will
start to rattle. Turn your heat down to medium.
After a minute or so of lower heat, the weight
will slow down on the rattling. Adjust heat so
weight rattles only 2-3 times per minute. Wait a
minute or two after each adjustment for the pc
to react to the lower heat, then see how
much rattling is going on.

The goal is to find the sweet spot where there is
just enough heat to keep the weight rattling only
2-3 times per minute. Once found, then remember
that heat setting for future runs.

Once you are satisfied it can maintain steady
pressure with minimal heat, the test is over. Shut
off heat and let cool down for 45 minutes to an
hour. For future reference, note how long it takes
for pressure to drop to zero.

If you get excessive steam coming out the seal,
or the pressure gauge seal, or the safety valve,
you've got a repair problem. If so, don't use this
pc again until you replace the faulty seal(s) and
test again.

This pc has been overheated and if the metal
warped, it may never work right again. In that
case just discard it and look for a replacement.

If your test run works, you are good to go for a
real run. Note that with a pc fully loaded with
jars, it will take longer to heat up and cool down.

Try out a test run and let us know how it works.

Cheers

[threesixty]

Those jar lids are looking nice buddy, good job!

Liquid cultures are totally the way to go my friend, you will absolutely love how fast your jars will colonize from LC as compared to spores. The tek I use and have had great results with is here:

http://forums.mycotopia.net/liquid-c...lture-tek.html (Dank-Ass Liquid Culture-Tek!)

The only thing I do different is the lids for the LC, I use something similar to what you've got for your WBS jars. I do quart jars and they freaking last forever, GREAT way to extend the life of your spore syringe. Like Jammer said, the fridge works a treat for long term storage. You'll want them somewhere warm (upper 70's - low 80's) while they're still growing out.

I do also highly recommend a stir plate, they've helped me see much quicker growth that is nice & fluffy and easy to pull into a syringe. There's plenty of plans out there if you want to DIY, if not hit up ebay and search for "magnetic stir plate yeast starter". The guy making those is super nice and the product is top notch for a decent price.

[Shroobie]

Cool thanks for info MLB and thanks for tip Scratch.
I'll go test try that while I'm rinsing and soaking WBS.
*Crosses Fingers all goes well*

*EDIT*
Cool thanks threesixty.
Yeah I'm a DIY'er type of guy (mainly because I'm poor ).
I have old computer fans and HDD's laying around so those would be easy to scrounge up.
I'd like to do LC, but then I'd have to wait for LC to become colonized(?) before I could do up my jars.
Plus I don't have potatoes, distilled water, karo, coffee filters or ear plugs or a drill (I could borrow one again,
but not till later tonight).
I might have to save that for next time. Thanks for heads up though

[TastyBeverage]

LCs can be stored in the fridge once they are ready to use, but the cold temps will vastly slow down growth so don't put them in there until they are ready to use. Until then, they should be incubated same as jars to let the mycelium grow. Shake em up at least once a day to promote growth and to keep massive clumps from forming that will clog up your syringe when you go to inoculate with it.

[Shroobie]

If you put LC's in fridge before they are ready to use does that ruin it?
Just wondering because if it slowed down growth wouldn't that be good for storing?
Or would it stop growing altogether and not start back up if you raise the temp?

[TastyBeverage]

Oh no, the cold temp just puts the growth cycle into dormancy. It will start back up if you take the LC out and reintroduce to incubation temps.

[Shroobie]

Well I have WBS soaking now. Following the Lazlo link you guys recommended (without the gypsum/lime, would use if I had some or had some cash to buy some, although I have no idea how much it is).
I couldn't find a lid that fits the pan I used, so I put a towel over it placed a round ceramic Pizza tray on top to hold it down.




*EDIT*

Well I have empty PC with just water in it on the Stove now testing it.
When I cleaned my PC I must've accidently got some water in the Gauge (has a little foggy part inside now).
That will go away right? I didn't mess up the gauge did I? It should still read correctly right?

[MLBjammer]

Nah, a little water shouldn't hurt your gauge. Lazlo's tek is the bomb, from what I hear--he has some simply amazing posts. Good luck with that PC, bro!

[Shroobie]

Well for some reason the safety valve popped up again before it was even at 5 psi.
But the main valve where the weight is doesn't seem clogged up.
So I guess that means I have a faulty safety valve?


*EDIT*
Steady whistle of steam coming out. PC isn't rattling, got up to 15psi alot quicker and with less problems then last time.
It's sitting at 15 psi now, but it's still high heat. I lowered heat alittle and saw the gauge start dropping slowly.
Ahhh this stinks.
The weight isn't jiggling, I think it might be more of a regulator than a weight.

[Shroobie]

Since the PC does hit 15psi, could I just put more water in it and PC that way on high heat?
I turned off stove after only 45 mins. Just was worried about running out of water again, but after it cooled a bit I check and it only lost about .5 inch of water.
It reached about 15psi after 30 mins and then I ran it for 15 mins more, then shut it off.
So did I lose a lot of water/steam for that amount of time?



*EDIT*
Just got done rinsing off WBS.
But found some things in this WBS (same kind as before) that wasn't in first/last batch.
Here's a picture of what I found. Wasn't sure if I should've kept them in, but I took them out
just in case. They are all mushie. Reminds me of rhubarb or something.