| Method Three [Useing The Ultra Sonic Humidifier] |
| This is the best method. It will free you from the tyranny of your terrarium. It will effortlessly produce enough humidity to support as many mushrooms as you can grow at once. This setup will automatically eliminate CO2 buildup before it occurs. The only draw back is that ultra sonic humidifiers cost around $40. A little more for a super nice one, a little less for a budget version. Just about any ultra sonic humidifier will work. A steam humidifier is not easy to integrate into this terrarium setup. First, the vapor it emits is too hot and will kill the fungus. The second reason is they typically run full blast. They do not have a control to throttle them way back like the ultra sonic humidifiers do. Materials needed: Ultra Sonic Humidifier Where to find 8 feet of 7/16 inch outer diameter, 5/16 inch inner diameter vinyl tube 1 dozen 3/8 inch inner diameter grommets 4 clear 2 liter coke bottles 3/8 inch, fine thread bolt tube of silicon glue pliers First, a small hole needs to be placed in the Basic Growing Chamber to let water and CO2 escape. It should be at the very bottom of the cooler. It needs to be big enough that water will not bead up and plug it. 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch is good. First, a small hole needs to be placed in the Basic Growing Chamber to let water and CO2 escape. It should be at the very bottom of the cooler. It needs to be big enough that water will not bead up and plug it. 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch is good. This setup uses the ultra sonic humidifier to produce air that is close to 100% in humidity. The air flow out of the humidifier is limited by the fact that it has to travel through the 7/16 inch vinyl tubing. That is OK, because we want to limit the amount of air we feed into the terrarium. The humidifier will generate very humid air, but the air will also have many suspended water particles in it. Any time one of these water particles touches another water drop, they will merge. We don't want moisture forming on the rice cakes, so limiting the number of suspended water drops we allow into the terrarium is a big step towards this goal. Even so, the air must be dried further. The air is passed through several stages where it is allowed to swirl and condense. Each one of these stages is comprised of an empty 2 liter coke bottle or some other suitable container. These stages are connected together using the 7/16 inch vinyl tubing. Every time a piece of vinyl tubing is used, it needs to be fluted. This means it is not cut off square, but rather at a very sharp angle. This is necessary to help moisture that condenses inside the line to drip out once it reaches the end of the line. Otherwise, it will form a big drop and eventually plug up the line. At that point you have no humidity entering the terrarium. Drill a 7/16 inch hole in the center of the exhaust lid for the humidifier. Insert a grommet. Apply a bead of silicon glue to the slit through which vapor normally exits. You want to plug this slit up. The only exit for vapor should be through a piece of vinyl tubing that will be placed inside this grommet. Remove the labels on the coke bottles. Any large plastic container can be used but the 2 liter coke bottles are real nice because they allow you to see inside. This is useful to determine if the terrarium is running correctly later Also, you will be able to see if moisture that has collected in the bottle needs to be emptied out of it. Heat up the threads on the 3/8 inch bolt using a propane touch or burner on a gas stove. A cigarette lighter will work, but it will take a long time. Hold onto the bolt with the pliers. When the bolt is hot, quickly and neatly poke two holes in each 2 liter coke bottle. See the following diagram for details: Example The bolt that is used is deliberately a little smaller than the hole that needs to be generated. The hot bolt will melt the hole a little bit bigger than it is when it pokes through the plastic bottle. You may need to insert the bolt a second time into the hole and let it touch the sides to expand the diameter of the hole. Some times little chunks of plastic stick to the side of the hole. Use a sharp knife to clean up the edges and insert a grommet. Check the fit of the vinyl tubing through the grommet. It should be very snug and air tight, but it should not collapse the inner diameter of the tubing very much. Connect a piece of tubing from the humidifier to the first coke bottle. Flute both ends of each piece of vinyl tubing. Connect the this coke bottle to the next. Do this until you have all four coke bottles connected. The picture shows 3 coke bottles because that is what is normally required, but for now connect in all 4. Now connect the last coke bottle to the terrarium. You will need to poke a hole in the side and insert the tubing. The tubing should be blowing humid air into the part of the terrarium that is above the drip shield. It should be setup as follows: Example 2 Checking out the Ultra Sonic Humidifier Setup: Fill the humidifier with water and position the various stages of the coke bottles between the humidifier and terrarium. At no place should the vinyl tubing have a low spot for condensation to form and plug up the line. Condensation will form in the lines but it should run to the end and drip harmlessly out of the line. Set the humidity level at the minimum setting. This is still more than you should need. After you give it time to stabilize, you should see that each stage of the coke bottles has less fog in it than the preceding stage. Usually, 3 bottles is the right amount, but depending on your humidifier and ambient humidity, it could be more or less. You want the last coke bottle to just have the slightest hint of fog in it. Add or delete stages as necessary. The humidity in the terrarium should stabilize at about 90%. The ideal amount of humidity is as much as you can get without moisture forming on the rice cakes. Keep in mind that most humidity meters you get at department stores are not very accurate. |
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