Pressure cooker for sterility questions

[chuckisnutz]

Hi there, I'm considering homebrewing and I have some worries about sterility. will most everything hold up in a pressure cooker, for sterilizing substrates? Obviously everything containing a liquid will have to be elevated above the water-line to ensure no boiling-over occurs, but aside from that, will most glassware, plasticware, etc, hold up well?

 

[scotty too hotty]

Plastics have different melting temperatures, so it depends. Glass will be fine. The pressure cooker will kill all of the bacteria, but only an autoclave can kill all of the spores, if any are present.

 

[bremac]

A pressure cooker and an autoclave are exactly the same thing. Eight years in university and a PhD (biochem, org. synth. of steroids) has given me no indication to think otherwise, both high pressure steam. And spores? what are we doing, growing shrooms?
After you constitute your powder and prior to addition of 5% BA you can pressure cook or autoclave and that will destroy everything. To remove the pyrogens (cause inflammation) you will need to filter, 50microns should do it but to be sure use .22. Once it is cooled you add your BA, you need nothing else if you are sensible and don't try to cram in 900grams/ml, for test esters its all diff but don't exceed 75mgml for prop and 100mgml for cyp, enan and 5% Ba will maintain sterility. last step is filter into sterile bottle.
If you have spores (whatever was meant by that, not a diss brother, i'm just not sure if you meant pyrogens, the issue is single cellular infectious bacteria which divide into adulthood, a spore is a sort of dormant state that a fungus uses to disperse, like a seed, example a spore print for shroom growing) then I wouldn't respect your chemistry enough to use the product, besides a .22 filter would remove them if you did.

 

[scotty too hotty]

I've never seen a hospital sterilize anything with a pressure cooker. Read any book on sterile technique and they will tell you an autoclave is the only way to go. Spores are everywhere, I guess you don't know anything about microbiology, considering you're a "biochemist". Bacterial spores can survive harsh environments, hence the need for an autoclave.

 

[Salazar]

i have a BA in microbiology, and all scotty said is true. actually, spores are much more hard to eliminate than living bacteria. Autoclave and pressure cooker are completly diferent, althought in most cases both work.

 

[QiangDa]

In the microbiology laboratories I have worked in, everything was autoclaved at 15psi, 121 degrees celcius. My pressure cooker's max pressure setting is 15 psi, giving a temperature of 121 degrees celcius...
For that matter, I have used autoclave tape in my pressure cooker, and it has indicated sterile afterwards.
Bremac is correct, a pressure cooker is a type of autoclave, and if you know what you are doing, can be used interchangeably.
btw Autoclave is a french word....and they use the same word for a pressure cooker...because they are the same thing. Granted my pressure cooker doesn't have the cool gadgets a modern autoclave does like computer controls, charting of temperatures and pressure, a timer, various cycles for liquids, or a drying cycle, but it can still do 15psi @ 121 C.

 

[scotty too hotty]

I've never heard of a pressure cooker running that high of psi before. If it does though, that's good enough for what these people are using them for. If the indicator strips turned black then it's all good for sure. No matter what the french terms mean though, a hopital or tattoo shop will always use the correct equipment.-scotty

 

[QiangDa]

a hopital or tattoo shop will always use the correct equipment.-scotty

Yes, I certainly hope that they would.
One more point, even with access to an autoclave, you would still want to use a .22µm filter...this will remove bacterial cells(dead and alive), while an autoclave will just kill them.

 

[the562goodguy]

when using a pressure cooker to sterilize bottles, what do you do to get the excess steam or water off the bottles once its done? anyone know? thank you

 

[Para_Shoot]

Your all going overboard with this sterility thing. I seen so much juice made in someones kitchen in pyrex measuring cups only washed out with rubbing alcohol to clean them. So much juice going to so many different people so many times and not one of them had an infection or problem or nothing. The grapeseed oil came right off the shelf at the grocery store. The filters were millipore .45's. Everything done out in the open. The vials were presealed empty ones, don't even know if they were "Pre-Sterilized". All you need is the .45 filter and a nice 2/20 BA/BB mix and your good to go.