Humidifier Setup Questions


Nan's NookArchives : Grow Chambers : Projects : Humidifier tek
Posted by: Jade Dec 28 02, 04:17 PM GMT
hey all.. i had to put my fungi projects on hold for the holidays, fortunately i've now been able to make a few trips to wallmart & have some questions now.

first, glovebox questions...

what are some good ways to mount the fans in the glovebox? im mounting two pc fans at about 30 cfm each, side by side im assuming--and they're being mounted to a normal, seethrough tupperware container thingy.

humidifier tek questions:

ok, the humidifier i have is a kaz cool mist. i have some 5/8th '' garden hose. i was going to make two holes in the humidifer, and run two hose pieaces, coiling once on the way, into a terrarium that is made from two long but short tupperware containers stacked on top of eachother. i was going to make a seal between them using vaseline on the top containers outter rim, and putting silicon sealant stuff on the bottom ones outter rim... i figured id put them together & leave it for an hour or so, come back... and take the top one off (which would come off becuase of the vaseline right?).

also, just want to make sure that the humidifer is capable of humidifying the terrarium.. not sure if the terrarium is too big or anything. here are the dimensions (including both rubbermaids, on top of eachother) :

34'' x 12'' x 15'' both are 41 qt capacity, so thats 82 total.

last question about the terrarium setup--and i honestly feel silly asking.

can i do both cakes & casings in a cool-mist terrarium setup?
do i need perlite? i hate perlite lol

allright, thanks wub.gif

Posted by: DirtyWOP Dec 28 02, 04:35 PM GMT
ok....

don't coil your hose....water will collect in the coil

your terrarium is not too big....you will probably need a timer to keep it from getting OVERLY humidified. You're just gonna have to play with it and find out.

Perhaps you should rethink your terrarium design. It doesn't really use the space you are trying to humidify very efficiently. The whole top rubbermaid is nothing but airspace. You would be able to yield TWICE the shrooms if you simply used both seperatly w/o the hummer. I think humidifiers are best for tall terrariums with shelves. Perhaps you could just run your humdifier hose to the two rubbermaids seperately? Two birds with one stone.

Try saran wrap if the vasoline don't work.
You don't need perlite and you can do both cakes and casings.....


Posted by: Jade Dec 28 02, 04:47 PM GMT
well reason for the cool mist is so taht it will take care of air exchanges--setup this time around has to be able to be neglected every now & then.. my schedule this spring will be really chaotic. oh, and the coiling idea came from the humidifier tek so that water falls back into the humidifier, and mist makes it through. maybe im confused?

Posted by: DirtyWOP Dec 28 02, 04:51 PM GMT
nah, I probably am.......I don't use the things.
Gol dern blasted contraptions. In my day we had to spit in the terrariums to keep em humidified. And then walk 15 miles in the snow!!! In Barefeet!


Posted by: Jade Dec 28 02, 06:07 PM GMT
*bump*
tongue.gif

Posted by: dcyans Dec 28 02, 07:06 PM GMT
an upward coil is fine, i'm thinking this is what you meant. I agree with DirtyWOP, one hose for each chamber. coolmist four times a day will also help with fresh air exchange. sounds similiar to my setup i get plenty of humidity! I have a kaz with two 38qt. tubs, one hose for each. coiling prevents the larger droplets from reaching the chamber and must be able to run back into the kaz. perlite can be put into small shallow container if needed and will be easy to cleanup. unsure.gif

Posted by: Jade Dec 29 02, 12:31 PM GMT
awesome...

so is it allright for the tubs to be only about 6'' high each?

hmm.. whats a good thing to set the cakes on?

oh, and what do you mean by 4 times a day? i remember reading on the humidifier tek that it can be on all day? or is that only with a specific kind of container??

thanks for the input wub.gif


Posted by: jayello Dec 29 02, 03:34 PM GMT
one nice thing to have with a humidifier is a variable cycle timer, one that lets you set to the minute how long its on and off. they can be hard to find and expensive though. green air products has them, do a search online. my friend set his to 2 mins on and 40 mins off and his terrarium exploded with huge shrooms for months with no dunking of the cakes.
it can be easy to over humidify with a humer, water collecting on the cakes is bad, um k.
even a timer that only lets you set it by the hour will prolly b better than running it 24/7. a small exouhst hole can help control to much humidity too if you do run it 24/7.

large home improvement stores will have plastic things that go under florecent light fixtures (like in an office building). theres a style of those called egg crate that work perfectly for lifting cakes of the floor. theyre only a couple bucks.
goodluck!


Posted by: Jade Dec 29 02, 03:38 PM GMT
yeah.. for an exhaust hole, i was going to have a small hole, at the opposite end of the terrarium from which the mist comes from, it was going to be about 5/8th inch, and have a little hose protruding from it.. and a little collection bucket would be underneath it. i was also going to put some small books under the edges of the terrarium on the side that the mist comes from, so that all runoff, would run down the roof, down the sides, down the floor, and out the collection thingy. only, it would be a subtle enough height adjustment not to tip the cakes or whatever.

Posted by: jayello Dec 29 02, 03:40 PM GMT
also dont forget to change the water every 3-4 days. and add some bleach (200-1) or some peroxide (im not sure of the ratio for that) to the water to help control contams.

Posted by: Jade Dec 29 02, 03:44 PM GMT
yeah, i was going to add that 3% hydrogen peroxide stuff.. and, take the old filter thing that comes with the humidifier & replace it with a peice of hepa or soemthing.

whats a good way to put holes through the humidifier? i dont have a drill or antyhing like that. should i try melting it?
are rubber grommets good? they probably have some that are 5/8th size

Posted by: jayello Dec 29 02, 03:54 PM GMT
just do whatever you can. if you use a steak knife make sure you dont hurt yourself. also make sure the hose isnt to sqeezed together where it goes into the humer or it will plug itself with water.
invest in a hotglue gun if you dont already have one! they can be found for less than $5 and they are awesome. you can glue peaces of a tupperware to make a fitting between the hose and humer. my friend cut off and glued the female end of the hose to the terrarium so the hose can be disconected from it easly when needed just by unscrewing it.

Posted by: Jade Dec 29 02, 04:02 PM GMT
thats a sweet idea as long as the hose connector thing doesnt rust or harbor contams. i think i'll try that. smile.gif

oh yeah, and is 6'' enough height for half-pint cakes to grow? im not sure how bad it is for the tops of the mushrooms to be contacting the cover?

Posted by: jayello Dec 29 02, 04:44 PM GMT
if there is a solid top and see through sides they will grow horizontily towards the light. either way shouldnt be to much of a problem.

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