39 replies to this topic

[insight]

IMO a heating pad is not a good source for heating due to it heats only on its coils. As far as raising it to create ambient heat, I couldnt give an opinion as I only use fishtank heaters.

PS - Welcome to 'topia!

[fender]

Heating pads are BAD!
They produce dry heat, which is dry out the substrate.
They do make moist heating pads, but I still would not recommend them.
There are many ways to produce moist heat inside an incubator, but heating pads are not the way to go.

[fender]

Room temp. will work fine for cubies, but in the low 80s DOES PRODUCE faster results.
Just be aware that if the temp. is 80 deg. the jars are much hotter.
78-82 is what I have found to be the best for colonizing jars(pf cakes or whole grain).
But what works for one person may not work for another.

[insight]

Agreed. My Incubation temps average 80-82° for my cakes, casing I incubate at room temp.

[carpo4]

if you still want to go the heat pad route,
then here's the link to my set-up (it's in the arkives).

HEAT PAD

[insight]

Carpo, very nice setup. I use a similar heater for my bearded dragon.

[Marauder]

Is it necessary to spray lysol or something similar around the area before you open up your incubator to check for contams/new growth? I know it can't hurt, but is it required?

[shedthemonkey]

Your jars should have some kind of filter or verm layer (or both like mine do) and they dont even need to be in a particulary clean environment to be successful. I know of several jars just sitting in a back bathroom on a shelf and they do just fine. If you dont have a filter (like tyvek or polyfil in the lid) or a vermiculite layer, then all bets are off and keep them as clean as possible. :) Good luck.

[altered_states]

Just don't go overboard.
Too much lysol in a closed incubator can kill mycelium.
Get "Oust" air sanitizer. There's a new unscented variety. Much more pleasant.

To answer your question, it's not required... But you will be kicking yourself in the ass if they contaminate, never to know with certainty whether the contamination could have been avoided by simply spraying lysol or oust.

Use Oust before you open. Like you said, it can't hurt.

Contams are MUCH easier to prevent than they are to eliminate.

Most, if not all of us have contamination horror stories.

How does the saying go? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Something like that... You get the idea.

peace

[altered_states]

Hey Monkey... Excellent signature. I had to read it twice.

[imok]

Is it necessary to spray lysol or something similar around the area before you open up your incubator to check for contams/new growth? I know it can't hurt, but is it required?

If you are talking about cakes in your incubator, then you don't need to spray anything.
The cakes, once colonized, are fairly resistant to contams.
Older cakes have lowered resistance and it is best to dip them in a bleach solution after dunking them to kill the contams on the surface before returning them to the incubator.

Link: Dunking Increase the number of flushes and the size of your shrooms(Important if using the invitro tek as a way to get the shroom its needed moisture; the shroom is 90% moisture)
Link: Bleach Dipping/ Salt Tek How to prevent contams and extend the life of your cakes/casings as well as what to do if your casings do get contamed(dipping follows dunking)

[shedthemonkey]

Hey Monkey... Excellent signature. I had to read it twice.

LOL, glad you like it. You're the first to comment on it. :) I giggle every time I read it. But of course I am easily amused.

[destroy_erase_improve]

if you are talking about while they are still inside the jars i dont see any reason to spray anything.
cant hurt like they say but my friend never did it

[nomoreusmc]

bad idea if you ask me, lysol is deadly at worst ans causes mutations at best. From what I've seen lately I'd just dump the lysol all together

[toad]

Here is one of my incubators. The cabinets are a standard metal shop cabinet unit.
I keep a 40 watt appliance bulb in the bottom right corner attached to an inline thermostat. The inside of the right cabinet is lined with Tekfoil insulation and foam board. The bottom of the right cabinet is kept in the lower 80's, above it the temp slowly drops a couple degrees per shelf. This allows me to move my jars in a cycle away from the heat soarce as they colonize.
The left cabinet gets enough radiant heat from the right cabinet to stay in the lower 70's, great for inducing pins and finishing out bulk projects.

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[toad]

The digital thermometer is separate from the heating loop, the loop has it's own inline adjustable temp switch which is inacurate in such a small space.

I left it out of the loop so I can use it to test all shelves temps and to test temp in other projects, other incubators.