ChefPunks

[Harmon Seaver]

      I can see you haven't autoclaved much stuff.  Or even done any
canning.
  I grow mushrooms of various sorts -- maitake, shitake, sulfurshelf, etc.
-- and I can assure you that there is a lot of stuff that needs to be
autoclaved that you definitely don't want to get wet. Autoclaving is no
different than canning, and you need to seal both to stop water from
entering the item, and/or from the stuff in the jar getting out.


"Trei, Peter" wrote:

> > Harmon Seaver[SMTP:hseaver at cybershamanix.com] wrote:
> >
> >
> >         I'm not understanding the comments about wetness affecting mail
> > in a pressure cooker -- using it as an autoclave, that is. I would
> > assume anyone doing this would put the perishable objects in a
> > waterproof container, such as a canning jar. You can get them in 1/2
> > gallon size. And I'm sure there are any number of steel, aluminum, etc.
> > waterproof containers that would work as well.
> >
> > Harmon Seaver, MLIS
> >
> The whole point of an autoclave is that the superheated steam and
> condesing superheated water drops transfer heat to the target faster
> than simple hot air at 1 atm.
>
> Putting the material to be sterilized in a waterproof container defeats
> this goal. Putting it in a pressure tight container such as a canning
> jar is doubley futile - either the superheated steam and water won't
> get to the material to be sterilized, or the container will fail
> catastrophically.
>
> Autoclaving ain't for delicate materials. Irradiation would be a
> better bet. Anthrax spores are (so I've heard) pretty sensitive to
> UV, so ionizing radiation may not be neccesary.
>
> Peter Trei

--
Harmon Seaver, MLIS
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