i am completely new to flasking and am currently looking into designs of a glove box. However, what i don't understand about the whole concept of flasking in a home-made box, is if after the equipment is introduced into it- the air will still be contaminated. Should i flush it with oxygen, co2, nitrogen afterwards?????????????? i have plenty of experience using a glove box for chemicals but not orchids. please fill me in!!!:confused: also, glove box designs ideas would be greatly appreciated. NEED TO KNOW WHAT WORKED FOR YOU. LOL later

Hi Charlie,

:hi:I know nothing about flasking but I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the forum. We have a few members here who do their own flasking, so hopefully they jump in and give you some tips!

Me either, but welcome!

i am completely new to flasking and am currently looking into designs of a glove box. However, what i don't understand about the whole concept of flasking in a home-made box, is if after the equipment is introduced into it- the air will still be contaminated. Should i flush it with oxygen, co2, nitrogen afterwards?????????????? i have plenty of experience using a glove box for chemicals but not orchids. please fill me in!!!:confused: also, glove box designs ideas would be greatly appreciated. NEED TO KNOW WHAT WORKED FOR YOU. LOL later

Welcome!

Before putting anything into the glovebox, put your gloved hand in with very wet paper towels soaked in your bleach solution and wipe all the surfaces. The vapors of the solution will sterilize the air. Then, when putting items in, the trick is to do it quickly to avoid a lot of dust and so forth to come in with them. If you send a private email with your address, I can send photocopies of some glovebox designs that work well. Before building one, in the July issue of Orchids there is a very nice article on the "bleached towel" method of sowing orchid seed. When you hear about the method it may sound far-fetched, but it works extremely well, especially if you dont plan to do more than one pod at a time.

Ron Burch

The idea here is that Sodium hypochlorite is volatile, and in it's gaseous form is as effetive at sterlizing as th liquid counterpart. Maybe mores so, beacause the gas can enter more spaces tah n teh liqud due to srface tension differences. Contact timemay have to be increased for gas, however, as concentration of the bleach will be less.