KeifKeith
Well-Known Member
Wassup Tead!
I have noticed your flower bed of snow in NO, not a normal looking color on the ground there! I thought you might own stock in a perlite manufacturer perhaps? But I get it, cleaning perlite is a not fun task, it takes a couple of hours to accomplish in my world. But since I run about 40 gallons of perlite per tent, and I don't want to buy 10 or more cubic feet of perlite every 3 or 4 months, I clean mine post harvest, I'm frugal! I have developed a little process to clean perlite (no chemicals other than a H2O2 rinse when finished) that has reduced the pain in the ass somewhat, but it's still tedious and a little messy, but at a reduced PITA level.
If I'm using the roots then I have to spend quality time teasing out the perlite trying to save as much root as possible. If not using the roots, I use a large heavy duty plastic storage container, with 1/4 inch holes drilled along the bottom edge for drainage, and a hole cut in the lid big enough for my pressure washer nozzle to fit through. I blast the the heck out of the roots/perlite for about 15 minutes, moving around the container changing angles and it all separates. The small lid hole prevents perlite blowing back and covering me and my backyard. Also, no dry perlite dust to deal with, it's bad stuff for your lungs. I do get a 1/4 inch or so of dust fine perlite at the bottom of the container after cleaning, I save it up and use it in my bead blaster for rust and paint removal (full respiratory gear). One of my hobbies is restoring classic cars and I paint them myself. Fine perlite dust leaves steel as smooth as 1000 grit wet/dry ... way off topic Keith.
Most of the resultant root bits do flush out the bottom holes, and the perlite floats up top. Told you it was "Teadious" ! See what I did there, gave your name to yet another process too. Hempy Teadious Tead! 80 gallons of coarse perlite runs around $120, and I recover maybe 90% of the used perlite from my last grow this way. Some little bits of roots can remain in the recovered perlite, but it causes no problems. I'm not poor, I'm just frugal!
Peace
Keith
I have noticed your flower bed of snow in NO, not a normal looking color on the ground there! I thought you might own stock in a perlite manufacturer perhaps? But I get it, cleaning perlite is a not fun task, it takes a couple of hours to accomplish in my world. But since I run about 40 gallons of perlite per tent, and I don't want to buy 10 or more cubic feet of perlite every 3 or 4 months, I clean mine post harvest, I'm frugal! I have developed a little process to clean perlite (no chemicals other than a H2O2 rinse when finished) that has reduced the pain in the ass somewhat, but it's still tedious and a little messy, but at a reduced PITA level.
If I'm using the roots then I have to spend quality time teasing out the perlite trying to save as much root as possible. If not using the roots, I use a large heavy duty plastic storage container, with 1/4 inch holes drilled along the bottom edge for drainage, and a hole cut in the lid big enough for my pressure washer nozzle to fit through. I blast the the heck out of the roots/perlite for about 15 minutes, moving around the container changing angles and it all separates. The small lid hole prevents perlite blowing back and covering me and my backyard. Also, no dry perlite dust to deal with, it's bad stuff for your lungs. I do get a 1/4 inch or so of dust fine perlite at the bottom of the container after cleaning, I save it up and use it in my bead blaster for rust and paint removal (full respiratory gear). One of my hobbies is restoring classic cars and I paint them myself. Fine perlite dust leaves steel as smooth as 1000 grit wet/dry ... way off topic Keith.
Most of the resultant root bits do flush out the bottom holes, and the perlite floats up top. Told you it was "Teadious" ! See what I did there, gave your name to yet another process too. Hempy Teadious Tead! 80 gallons of coarse perlite runs around $120, and I recover maybe 90% of the used perlite from my last grow this way. Some little bits of roots can remain in the recovered perlite, but it causes no problems. I'm not poor, I'm just frugal!
Peace
Keith
Lovin' the colors on the OG Kush. I don't know how your tents look so much more spacious than mine. Lol!
No worries, I've worked stealth growing into an art-form if required, decades of practice!
