My first class with the golden teacher

aCiDjEsUs

Well-Known Member
yeah i have it running right now....seems to not want to hold a steady 81 when set to 81...need to mess with the knob untill it holds a good temp.
Matt you think you be able to keep it at 81? I was thinking if it would make a difference if instead of using analog thermostat to use digital one, you think it would be more reliable? and keep the temps steady at 81? Just a thought ;)
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
i thought about using a digital one but i really dont have any more funding for this project. gonna just have to mess with the analag one and get it to where i want. my buddy called me this am and said that the temp way 82 and the light was off. im going to be getting a small LED and the stuff to wire up a LED light on the outside of the incubator so i know when the CFL inside is on.
 

aCiDjEsUs

Well-Known Member
Matt great idea on that LED :idea:. I'm thinking about TiT, or just leave them outside somewhere on the shelf, my house is at constant 66F so it might take a bit longer with out an incubator but I still should be fine, I know it's not an optimal temp I just got to live with it haha.
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
hmmm, place the box inside your grow room.

temps in there are a bit more ideal, just use a small cardboard box and closeit up nice so no light gets in.
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
Did no one look at the tote incubator I told you about? I know that the incubator is unnecessary but its a easy cheap way to improve the environment. The tote incubator I built cost me less then $15 total. 2 totes whatever size you want, water and a fish tank heater. HOlds temps perfectly.
 

technical dan

Active Member
I'm planning on getting a styrofoam cooler (if I can find the right size) from the grocery store and putting my jars in that while they colonize to see if I can bump the temp up a few degrees. The myc. will put off some heat as it grows/ metabolizes and so Ill try and capture/ hold some of that and then open the cooler daily to allow fresh air in to the cooler for GE.
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
Did no one look at the tote incubator I told you about? I know that the incubator is unnecessary but its a easy cheap way to improve the environment. The tote incubator I built cost me less then $15 total. 2 totes whatever size you want, water and a fish tank heater. HOlds temps perfectly.
i did look at that but i had to go above and beyond....mainly because i had that old pos fridge sitting outside my house for over 2 years now and it was a good excuse for me to get rid of it. i dont see how the double tote thing costs less than 15 bucks. totes alone for really small ones are 5 bucks each and a fish tank heater has got to be close to 10 bucks...

i really didnt spend much money at all on this fridge incubator. 20 bucks for the thermostat was really the only expense. i did buy a couple of "novelty" items for it like a digital indoor/outdoor themostat/hydrometer but i needed that for the FC anyways. i also bought a small LED light that ill be hooking up tonight that will indicate that the light inside is on or off so i wont habe to open the incubator to check and see if the light is turning off at the correct temps. i really should have spent the extra 10 bucks on a digital thermostat but live and learn. maybe one day when i have a few extra bucks ill upgrade but for now i think its good the way it is.

is the mini fridge incubator "ideal" for the average guy...no i would say not especially if they dont have a junk mini fridge kicking around. but where i already had the most expensive part of the project it was a good choice for me i think.
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
I'm not trying to mock your mini fridge, you were just already having trouble keeping it at the right temps. I also see other guys talking a bout building this stuff, and wanting to start the project. The totes you can get for 3-5 dollars depending on the size My heater I think was 7-10 bucks. Sorry if I exaggerated when I said less then 15, less then $20 for sure though. In your case the fridge worked because you had it I wasn't trying to sound aggressive or offend anyone. I realize you only spent about 20 and you obviously like building stuff so more power to you man. I try to keep most things as KISS as possible, and eliminate extra things that can fail.
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
nah man i didnt take it that way, but i wanted to explain for everyones sake why i did the mini fridge. and its not that im having troubles keeping it at the right temp i just think theres a few kinks that can be worked out to improve the stability of the temps. right now its maintaining temps between 78-82 which i dont think is bad at all.

the biggest problem is its an analog thermostat which works great but 70 on the dial may not be exactly 70 so i just need to play with setting the thermostat to get my optimal temprature. i also added a PC fan that isnt exactly blowing alot of air from the heating chamber to the incubation chamber so i need to open that up a little more to help with airflow.

but i do agree with you that the double tote and aquarium heater method is probabaly more suitable for most people...but like you said earlier i like building shit :) if i can DIY i will for sure. even if it costs me more sometimes lol....

and sorry to nit pick your price estimate it wasnt meant to call you out just thinking about the items didnt seem correct. either way these things always end up costing a little more than planned so always budget a little extra just in case something comes up. and with the aquarium and tote method its a good idea to buy some form of temprature meter so that you can get temps right where you want them. i dont care for the mercury based thermometers but thats my personal opinion. you can pick up a decent digital for around 8 bucks and i personally feel that is money well spent.
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
I agree with the digitals, I started with a thermometer I found in my basement, and then upgraded a few weeks into the project. When I got my project going I literally spent the last of the money me and the old lady had for about 4 days to buy all the stuff to get started. It wasn't a ton of money, but I feel ya on the whole budget thing. This is one project that can rapidly pay for itself though. Oh and 78-82 is not bad at all, that myc should be nice and happy.
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
we will see. spores should be in tomorow...got lots to do!!

going to get some high temp black paint and just paint that CFL bulb so i can get rid of all the crap in the incubator thats blocking light. i figure the CFL will prob put out more heat being painted black anyways.
 

Killua

Member
I ordered my syringes from thesporedepot on monday and got them today, 2syringes $14 including S/H. Yay!
 

aCiDjEsUs

Well-Known Member
mine were not in the posts today....sad face :(
Matt, shit...that blows buddy, so if you didn't get yours I don't think I'll get mine either..tracking stopped two days ago on the 20th all it said that my package departed their sort fac. in Kent WA., and that's not good lol because last night I got my jars ready, steamed and shit now they're all cool and ready to be inoculated.

So here comes my question, how long the substrate in jars can stay that way with out having doing the steaming process all over again?
 

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
good question...i dont know.

i boiled my corn and shit and all my jars are ready for the PC when my spores come in. still have some work to fo on the mini fridge incubator...got a lil drunk last night and didnt get much acomplished except germinating a headache for today :(


anyways at least my ballst should be here today so i can get some shit done with that.. will post pics later. got the LED workign on the mini fridge and need to find some high temp spray paint...wish me luck!! lol

you might get yours todayas im much further from WA than you are.
 

aCiDjEsUs

Well-Known Member
good question...i dont know.

i boiled my corn and shit and all my jars are ready for the PC when my spores come in. still have some work to fo on the mini fridge incubator...got a lil drunk last night and didnt get much acomplished except germinating a headache for today :(


anyways at least my ballst should be here today so i can get some shit done with that.. will post pics later. got the LED workign on the mini fridge and need to find some high temp spray paint...wish me luck!! lol

you might get yours todayas im much further from WA than you are.
Hahah it happens ;)

Yeah but if the package didn't catch a ride on the plane then it had to go ground and parts of Midwest is under 18in of snow, and I know most of the flights in and out of the airport were cancelled due to bad weather last night. So if anything I'll steam them bitches again, just don't know about the substrate drying out in the jars or that likely wont happen?

pS: I know my local K-Mart has a black high temp. spray paint. I don't think you'll have an issue finding one. But GL anyway :P
 
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