Yawning Man Posted July 10, 2015 Hello all I'm looking into growing my own mushrooms at home as a bit of a hobby and way to save some money. Most teks I look at require a pressure cooker at some point in the process. I'm just wondering if anyone can suggest a make/model or brand. Most people seem to avoid electronic pressure cookers as they can't seem to get hot enough to sterilise thoroughly enough, so I'm looking at is the Hawkings big boy, aluminium 22L. (Apologies as I can't seem to copy links). I'm only wanting to grow mushrooms on a much smaller scale, so I don't need a huge size. Just large enough so I wont be in the kitchen all day replacing jars. 22L seems like it should do the trick. So, success stories, brands to avoid etc? I'll see if I can add in the link later on another computer. Cheers YM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Distracted Posted July 10, 2015 22L should be fine for your purposes, I have some chinese one, can't remember off the top of my head. I think whatever brand you buy if you buy it new it should be fine, if not it would be a major fuck up, 15 psi is scary when it gets up to that point! Put a bit of white vinegar in the water when doing a cook to avoid the jars getting a white deposit on them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yawning Man Posted July 11, 2015 Scary because of explosions? Thanks Distracted Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted July 11, 2015 (edited) Presto pressure canners also worth a look. Works for me. http://ozfarmer.com/presto-23qt-21-litre-pressure-canner-cooker ^example only Wanted an all-american but freight was a deal killer on top of price. Edited July 11, 2015 by waterboy 2.0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yawning Man Posted July 11, 2015 Do they get much bigger than 22L? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
migraineur Posted July 11, 2015 Amazon has the best prices on pressure cookers, even though you still have to get them shipped from overseas. If you don't have a big budget then you can order a budget pressure cooker, such as a Presto, but if you have the funds then get yourself an All American Pressure cooker. The All American 921 is a popular model. I have this model but I'd like to order a bigger one such as the 941 model. The All American pressure cookers are tough, they'll outlive you and they also have less parts so you don't have to buy and replace seals. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jungle John Posted July 12, 2015 Hi Yawning Man , I've had a Hawkings Big Boy for about 8 years now , as recommended by someone on this forum . I haven't tried any others , but I have no complaints . I can sterilise up to 18 250ml widemouth jars at once . I suppose the only thing that might be useful, that it doesn't have, is a pressure/temp gauge , but that doesn't seem to be a problem , I just adjust the hiss , so it's ticking over nicely . I seem to remember it was pricy , $250 or so , from Perth , but over its considerable lifetime , cheap ! It will definitely out live me ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mesq Posted July 13, 2015 I have an All American 1925x steam sterilizer. It's a rig. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted July 13, 2015 I just got the presto 23L but it's done 50+ runs in the last 2 years and is still going strong. Under $200 delivered to Aus from the U.S Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
migraineur Posted July 14, 2015 Did you end up checking out Amazon and buying a pressure cooker, Yawning Man? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yawning Man Posted July 16, 2015 Hey guy Haven't bought one yet. I'm gonna look at the postage costs for the all americans. Of all the youtube instruction vids i've seen they seem to be quite popular. I didn't realise the hawkings big boy didn't have a pressure gauge. Something I feel i'll need as knowing me, winging it would just mean lots of contam. I'm waiting to see what sort of tax return I get before I decide. I'll have a look at the presto cookers tonight d00d. Thanks for all the help everyone. Cheers YM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted July 16, 2015 I wouldn't be too concerned about the pressure guage, if you are going for a design with a weight otherwise known as a jiggler it will regulate the pressure/temp quite well. As long as the PC is rated to sterilisation temp/pressure (1bar or 15psi) and you use the correct weight it should be fine. Some of the cheaper PC's are only rated to .7 bar which won't get quite hot enough for reliable sterilisation. I have used one rated to .7 bar for mycology after I blew up my larger PC (twice) and I just ran it for longer. It wasn't as reliable as the 15 psi model though and I did get a few contamination issues. If you feel you need a pressure gauge you could fit one quite easily yourself to PC that didn't come with one, but it would void your warranty. I've done it before, but you really don't need it. If the jiggler is the correct weight and it's jiggling then you know you're at the desired temp. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
migraineur Posted July 16, 2015 Hey guy Haven't bought one yet. I'm gonna look at the postage costs for the all americans. Of all the youtube instruction vids i've seen they seem to be quite popular. I didn't realise the hawkings big boy didn't have a pressure gauge. Something I feel i'll need as knowing me, winging it would just mean lots of contam. I'm waiting to see what sort of tax return I get before I decide. I'll have a look at the presto cookers tonight d00d. Thanks for all the help everyone. Cheers YM All American pressure cookers appear to be what everyone covets. They even make sterilisers and autoclaves for medicine etc which can be run on gas or electricity. An electric model would be handy so you can turn it on and not have to hang around watching it. If you need to find out the postage costs then add it to your cart and proceed with the next few steps and Amazon will tell you how much the shipping will be. Better to do it sooner rather than later because the Aussie dollar keeps on going down. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mimzy Posted July 20, 2015 If you can afford the dosh, get a Siltex. I have used a 30L siltex autoclave for the past two years and wouldn't go back. The autoclave recovers your D.H20 and temperature and pressure probes allow allow you monitor your internal conditions, also programmable. It's not often talked about in these circles, but heating your carbon sources at 121*C or higher for more than 20min in the presence of protein will start to form Maillard compounds which can inhibit growth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mushfun Posted July 20, 2015 Have you got a link to the model you use mimzy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mimzy Posted July 20, 2015 I'm not in the lab at the moment so I don't have the exact model number, but it's very similar to these ones: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/lithgow/miscellaneous-goods/siltex-sterilizer-/1082632981 http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mount-waverley/miscellaneous-goods/siltex-autoclave-sterilizer/1083939802 Looks like a cheap one is going for $250, but normally you would be looking at $800-1000. Don't be put of by the age of these machines, they are work horses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mushfun Posted July 20, 2015 Ah yeah I had checked a few of these out on Gumtree, I did not realise they were 30l volume. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted July 20, 2015 Just an interesting little scrap. I thought I was really clever when I repurposed one of my old PC's as a water distillation rig. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Anyway I fucked around and made a schmick little stove top still. It really looked like the ducks nuts. I fired it up and ran batch of water through it expecting to have ultra pure water and it tasted like the fucking silicon seal. A really strong taste too. I didn't have a web connection at the time but when I could get back online I found several other people had done the same thing and made "pure" plastic water. There's no way I'd cook anything that I was going to feed my family in one of those plastic injecting pieces of shit. Inert my arse. All American PC's don't have a plastic seal, so I'd only ever cook in one of them and then I'd be careful of the ph of what was in it. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yawning Man Posted July 29, 2015 The ph of what is in the metal/finish? Moral of the story, stay away from plastic. Got it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) I probably could have worded that better. I was referring to the ph of the food or liquid in the PC, YM. I saw my Brother cook tomato and onion one time in an aluminium pot when we'd run out onions and he used a jar of pickled onions instead. The inside of the pot went black and the food all turned grey. He was pissed and he couldn't even stand the taste of it. The whole pot went in the bin food and all. At a more neutral ph the aluminium gets an oxidised coating on it that prevents any leaching so it's no big deal, but at extremes of ph all sorts of reactions start to happen. Edited July 29, 2015 by Sally Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dajindo Posted July 29, 2015 I got the cheapest one you can probably get, from the Linea Esclusiva dish set I keep my eye on the pressure valve all the time, and it worked fine so far, even though it's only 10 psi or so. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cue Posted August 22, 2015 I wouldn't be too concerned about the pressure guage, if you are going for a design with a weight otherwise known as a jiggler it will regulate the pressure/temp quite well. As long as the PC is rated to sterilisation temp/pressure (1bar or 15psi) and you use the correct weight it should be fine. I wouldn't want a PC without a guage. For one thing weights degrade over time, so if/when one no longer holds pressure at 15psi you really do want to know about. This can be easily corrected by taping a coin to the top of the weight and adding a little extra weight to it. BTW my last PC right out of the box only went to 13psi until I taped a coin to it also. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Etho Posted August 25, 2015 Thrift shops/gumtree, plenty of old models for $10-15 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yawning Man Posted August 27, 2015 (edited) I would feel a bit safer/comfortable with a gauge. Edit: Picture Edited August 27, 2015 by Yawning Man 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
migraineur Posted August 27, 2015 All American or nothing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites