Drying out my ecoearth bricks

[Popsmoke63B]

I love buying the 3-pack bricks of ecoearth, it's much cheaper than buying the single bag. The problem i have with the bricks are once they've expanded, and i mix it up, it tends to stay wet for days and days! By wet, i mean very damp.

What do some of you guys do to speed up the drying process? I'm getting close to plugging in my wife's hairdryer and giving that a try.

 

[catfishrod69]

well i use exo terra plantation soil bricks...basically the same....what i do is mix it in a 4 gallon cat litter tub, and then just keep churning it every day....you have to get the water just right...dont go by what it says on the package, cause thats not right...i can literaly just hold it under the faucet, let it fill up so far, and say thats good...and it is...doesnt get too moist, but wets all the way through...some people hair dry, or sun dry, or bake...if i were to do one, i wouldnt sun dry though, simply cause of the parisites and such outside....

 

[Hornets inverts]

i dont bother sticking to a paticular ratio, i just break the brick up, put it in a large tub and add water untill its all expanded, give it a mix till its evenly hydrated then i normally leave it outside and it generally dries in a day or 2

 

[ArachnoAddic808]

I submerge the bricks in water till they get loose enough to break apart by hand instead of letting it break down in the water and soaking to much. Then I mix it with some dryer eco earth if I have some. Takes quite a bit of work but in one hour you have damp ecoearth instead of soaked ecoearth for days

---------- Post added 11-12-2011 at 01:57 AM ----------

But in your situation I'd spread it out in one of those large baking pans and throw a heat lamp over it

 

[Popsmoke63B]

Thanks guys, fortunately my front door is completely glass, and gets alot of sun. I plan on sitting it in front of the door for awhile today, then taking the hairdryer to it again later if needed.

I really need to rehouse my Lp today, so hopefully i can get it dry enough soon.

 

[catfishrod69]

might wanna be careful using the hair dryer,cause you know when some of it is really dry there is alot of dust..

Thanks guys, fortunately my front door is completely glass, and gets alot of sun. I plan on sitting it in front of the door for awhile today, then taking the hairdryer to it again later if needed.

I really need to rehouse my Lp today, so hopefully i can get it dry enough soon.

 

[jayefbe]

I use the 'spread it out on a flat surface and leave it under a heat lamp' technique too when I need dry coco fibre fast. If you spread it out well enough, it'll be dry enough in a few hours.

 

[Kungfujoe]

Sun dryIt in a tray but spread it out

 

[Stan Schultz]

I love buying the 3-pack bricks of ecoearth, it's much cheaper than buying the single bag. The problem i have with the bricks are once they've expanded, and i mix it up, it tends to stay wet for days and days! By wet, i mean very damp.

What do some of you guys do to speed up the drying process? I'm getting close to plugging in my wife's hairdryer and giving that a try.

1> Compare the price of a large "block" of compressed, shredded coconut husk (by whatever trade name) at your friendly, neighborhood, landscaping and garden centers. In Calgary, Alberta, Canada a block measuring approx. 12" X 10" X 6" (30 X 25 X 15 cm) sells for about $10. Prices should be even better in the USA.

2> The stuff expands by a factor of 6 to 8. Estimate how much you need and saw off and treat only the amount you need. That leaves all the excess in the compressed, dry, easily stored form.

3> Use only half as much water as originally recommended on the package. Let it stand overnight. The next day, sort out any remaining hard lumps (or sift them out with a french fry basket or your own, homemade sifter, click the thumbnail for a larger image) ...



(Uploaded with ImageShack.us)

and either resoak them or let them set a day or two to dry out and put them back in the original package till next time.

4> Place the damp coco husk in an old, heavy pillow case and twist it gently over a basement floor drain or in the bathtub or shower to wring out a lot of the excess water. What water is left will dry a lot more quickly.

5> Spread a sheet of construction plastic of appropriate size on the floor (maybe in a spare bedroom or the basement) and spread any excess coco husk out to dry for a couple of days. The thinner the layer, the faster it'll dry. By sure to keep the door closed or the family cat will use it as a littler pan! (Phewww!)

Enjoy your little, 8-legged, litter pan occupant!

 

[Danielson]

I bought ecoearth bricks couple weeks ago because my local pet store didn't have any cocofibre and for some reason, it didn't expand at all after 5 hours of waiting (40 mins is how long it should take), still was solid as a rock with just the outer layer breaking away so i had to use force to break it up manually. Once i've done all that got all the chunks etc i take the tub to the bathroom and squeeze any excess water and leave it to dry after that.

 

[DanielMPV]

I love buying the 3-pack bricks of ecoearth, it's much cheaper than buying the single bag. The problem i have with the bricks are once they've expanded, and i mix it up, it tends to stay wet for days and days! By wet, i mean very damp.

What do some of you guys do to speed up the drying process? I'm getting close to plugging in my wife's hairdryer and giving that a try.

Hi! I just got my first pack of eco earth, and after puting the water to it and mixing it up, i put the wet earth in a towel and wrung it out, wich got out most of the water. then I put the earth in the oven at 70 degrees celsius and that got the job done.

 

[Nonnack]

Just put it in big container, the more square space it takes, the faster it dries. You can also put it next to radiator or under the sun. But best way is to just prepare it earlier

 

[pirminiamac]

I just break the brick up bit by bit and add water as appropriate, working it in with my fingers kinda like when you add butter to flour. Following the instructions the first time around led to me getting my gf's hair dryer out after waiting ages for it to dry

 

[sasker]

That's also how I do it. Just put the brick in a bowl and add water until 1/3 is under water. Than wait until all the water is gone and pull apart the block. The bottom will be much more moist than the top, but mixing them together gives you a nice, almost dry mixture.

 

[CloseLeech]

I put mine on a large cookie tray and set my oven to around 400 degrees, It still takes 4 hours but it was completely dry afterwards. Probably not the smartest way, but it works!

 

[TeamNinjaBug]

I just take apart a break into a large bowl and then spritz it with water from a spray bottle rather than soaking it in a body of water. I dunno, makes me feel like I have more control over how moist I want it to be.