# Baking coco bedding! HELP!



## 41714049 (Feb 23, 2006)

I need to dry my coco bedding... and my oven's lowest temperature is 300F is it still OK to bake it at that temperature to dry it?

Thanks


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## fishmommy (Dec 23, 2006)

I did mine at 300F
worked sweet


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## DizzyD (Sep 19, 2006)

I was just wondering how to do that, I've been stirring it over the range and getting the steam out by flipping it. Glad I stumbled across this thread... 8)


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## MartinShaver (Dec 20, 2006)

How long do you bake it for?


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

I bake mine at 350 for about 15 minutes. Stinks the place up, but should kill anything that might be in it. It also probably won't dry completely in 15 minutes, so if your goal is to dry it, stir up the bedding every 5 to 10 minutes or so.


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## Frogsarethashit (Jan 14, 2007)

Im curious as to why you want to bake it, to kill everything in it. Is this simply only to recycle already used coco bedding because it is so expensive?


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## axolotl (Dec 31, 2006)

to dry it


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## Frogsarethashit (Jan 14, 2007)

axolotl said:


> to dry it


To dry already used coco bedding? I must be thinking of other stuff, because the stuff I am thinking of comes dry and you want to moisten it for use.


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## 41714049 (Feb 23, 2006)

Thanks for the info.

I baked mine for 1 hour at 300F, mixing every 5 min.

It came out bone dry when it cooled!

OH and by the way...



> Stinks the place up, but should kill anything that might be in it.


...I love the smell.



> To dry already used coco bedding? I must be thinking of other stuff, because the stuff I am thinking of comes dry and you want to moisten it for use.


No. You are thinking of the same stuff. It comes in compressed blocks and you moisten it to expand it. But if you want to use it to cover a background overtop wet silicone IT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY DRY!

Thanks again.

:wink:


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

We're talking about the stuff that comes in dry compacted bricks and you soak it to make it expand. Id never run the risk of reusing coco bedding, especially when its so cheap.


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## 41714049 (Feb 23, 2006)

^^

Beat ya to it!


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Shame on me for getting up and going to the bathroom after clicking the 'reply' button!


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## shannnak (Dec 14, 2006)

Can't you just buy it cut to fit from your local exotics store? The stuff they sell at the store I got to is really thin and they just cut it to whatever size you want.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Cut what? Are you talking about coco panels? We're talking about eco-earth, bed-a-beast, that kind of stuff.


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## joeyo90 (Nov 5, 2006)

he is plannig on using it to cover a layer of good stuff on the back a a tank im asuming, so it looks nicer then just a yellow background :?


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## Frog10 (Oct 18, 2006)

WOw i wish i had known you could bake it. I had to wait fro a week and a half for it to dry. I have been living in a cave.


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## 41714049 (Feb 23, 2006)

HEHEHEHEHE!!!!  

I did the same thing... waited forever for it to dry the first time I made it.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

What about a pillow case and a clothes dryer? Just a random thought.


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## 41714049 (Feb 23, 2006)

You know I thought the same thing... but then thought of the dust and how the dryer might not like that.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

It can't be worse than lint.


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## the_noobinator (Jan 14, 2007)

i actually was going to bake my batch dry last night, but we were out of tin foil and i didn't want to get slaughtered for ruining a baking tray.


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## dartfrogs (May 26, 2004)

Hi,

I would definitely NOT recommend using a clothes dryer. There is a fair amount of very fine dust that will go through a pillowcase and can cause a fire in your vent. Lint is made up of fibers that easily catch on the lint trap. Dust is much finer and can easily pass through.
I have found that using an oven is the fastest and easiest way to dry the CoCo Bedding. I always try to have some ready but inevitably, the day I need to put together a bunch of tanks I have none ready. I have baked it at 350 for an hour or so, stirring every 10 minutes or so, and got it dry. You have to be careful though as it is HOT when it comes out. I use glass baking dishes and have never had an odor or residue left behind.

Richard


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## Rambo67 (Jun 12, 2006)

Exactly HOW bad does this stuff smell in the oven? Im going to be at this stage soon and i live in an apartment...dont want the fire department showing up or anything :lol:


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

Rambo67 said:


> Exactly HOW bad does this stuff smell in the oven? Im going to be at this stage soon and i live in an apartment...dont want the fire department showing up or anything :lol:


I wouldn't necessarily call it a "bad" smell... it's more of an... earthen smell. Unusual to say the least. I'm not sure if your neighbors will find it all that appealing, but being the nature nuts we are we love it!

Disclaimer: I merely stated that it would "stink up the house" earlier as a result of those whom I share my home with complaining about the smell. I, too, rather like it. 

Except when it gets a little TOO cooked.


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## Rambo67 (Jun 12, 2006)

Haha, ok. It can be any worse than some of the things people cook around here....


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## the_noobinator (Jan 14, 2007)

it smells good to me, as long as it's not in there long enough to burn.


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## naja_naja (Sep 8, 2006)

i tried putting it in the microwave once and yeah it didnt work so well it singed to the point that it almost started on fire and smelt preety bad


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## O2 Plastics (Jun 28, 2006)

I must be a freak. I've been just breaking it up by hand (from the brick) and smearing it into the silicone, then expanding the rest for substrate. I KNEW what I was doing was too easy


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## lol_frogz (Jan 10, 2007)

defaced said:


> What about a pillow case and a clothes dryer? Just a random thought.


That should make you popular in public...who needs cologne? :lol:


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

I'm a function over fashion kind of guy. But I'm not too worried about porceline covered steel picking up too much odor. 



> I would definitely NOT recommend using a clothes dryer. There is a fair amount of very fine dust that will go through a pillowcase and can cause a fire in your vent. Lint is made up of fibers that easily catch on the lint trap. Dust is much finer and can easily pass through.


The heating element heats the air before it enters the tumbler. This means that the hottest anything gets is in the tumbler. If the heating element were after the tumbler, it wouldn't do much to in the way of drying your clothes. So unless you've modded your dryer and put the heating element after the tumbler, a fire risk is nill. 

Also, when static electricity is considered, I'm not too sure your point about dust vs lint being caught on the filter is relevant either. 
http://home.howstuffworks.com/dryer1.htm


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## pilo0024 (Aug 22, 2006)

haha that was the coolest nerdy post i've seen in the past 10minutes. ya learn somethin new every day


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## Smogre (Aug 11, 2006)

To speed things up in the oven, crimp up some aluminum and put it between the door and the oven allowing for an unsealed oven. 
This will let the moisture out quicker.


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## phrakt (Jan 5, 2007)

41714049 said:


> But if you want to use it to cover a background overtop wet silicone IT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY DRY!


I beg to differ! I made the backgrounds of two vivs with coco bedding that was still humid, and the end result was pretty much the same. I still don't recommend doing that, I was a bit too impatient to get these finished.


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## PDFanatic (Mar 3, 2007)

I dunno about you guys but for some reason I wouldnt want eco earth tumbling around in a pillow case in my brand new maytag neptune High efficiency dryer!!! Just my thoughts now if I had some old beat up pos then I may experiment but I dunno just in case that pillow case ever came open for one reason or another...and with my luck it would I wouldnt want my clothes smelling like eco earth for the next year or so!!!


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## zaroba (Apr 8, 2006)

yes, it would make sense that since the heating element is on the incoming airflow for a dryer, that there woulden't be a fire. however, the main fire risk with dryers is that if the air exhost gets clogged with lint, dust etc, then it could back up and over heat casueing a fire. which is why dryers have the little lint screen even though the air usually just goes right outside. its also why flexible plastic dryer exhost hoses aren't recommended, lint gathers in the folds and creases easily (sorta like substrate gathering in a reptiles intestin and causing a blockage)

you'd also have the issue of the the dust gathering on the inside of the dryer, like on greased areas, belts, and the motor.


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