PermaClone was designed as an almost infinitely reusable cloning collar that guarantees sterilization with minimal effort by the user. And our methods are being reliably scaled to commercial grows internationally.
Below are several ways to sterilize PermaClone. They all ensure sterilization, but the best method will depend on your grow's current design, size and equipment.
Microwave Sterilization
Microwave sterilization is one of several improvements made by PermaClone's collar design. The heat sterilizable function is GREAT. It is the most convenient, highest speed, and lowest cost method of working with PermaCLone collars. 15 minutes in a microwave costs $0.03 (assuming the highest Kw pricing we searched) while eliminating the need for hazardous chemicals. This improve environmental safety and ecology. Here is the recommended protocol:
- Unload a single cloner’s worth (and as much as 130 - 180 collars) into a microwave safe container. We recommend turkey bags.
- Quickly rinse and pour off excess water to wash away any bulk debris. Aesthetics is not the goal here! ...the focus is process flow and ease of use!
- Next, add approximately 1 cup of water to the turkey bag and microwave for 15 min at 900 to 1000 Watts.
- During this time the user can be prepping other batches of collars or cutting clones. Once finished, let things cool, and you may seal the bag for future use or start your next cloning cycle.
Dunk-Based Sterilization (Scalable)
An often overlooked, but very meaningful design feature is PermaClone's central gap. This is 100% engineered for function. The gap serves two roles, but in this case it’s role is effective sterilization.
- Whatever size cloner(s) you run, fill 5 gallon buckets with a few small holes drilled in the bottom with PermaClone collars.
- Place the collars in second 5 bucket containing 1 - 3 gallons of you sterilizer of choice. We recommend 5 mL/gal Bleach or 5 mL/gal 30% Peroxide, no more, no less! But have customer who utilize oxidate 2.0 OR Zerotol and have been running permaclone for over a year of continuous use.
- Exposure times very with sterilizers of choice. For bleach or peroxide, at the doses recommend, we suggest a 12 - 24 hour soak in 5 - 55 gallon drums. Low does, long exposure has been found the secret to success and healthy for both your employees and the environment!
- After 12 - 24 hours, pull the buckets. With bleach or peroxide you don't need to rinse. Leave residual oxidizer on the collars. Store in sterile bins for future use or immediately install into a sterilized cloner for the next round.
Dry-Heat Sterilization (Moderately Scalabe)
- Unload single cloners worth of collars in goose or turkey bags.
- Bake at 300 F (150 C)--no more, no less--for 2 hours. The polymer can handle higher temperature but the food grade dyes cannot. Place the collars central in the oven and avoid direct contact with heat source.
- Withdrawal bags and store in bin until future cloning cycles. Or let cool to room temperature and install into a sterilized cloner.
Pressure Cooking (Small Scale, time consuming to scale)
Pressure cook at 15 psi for 30 minutes following your pressure cooker’s guidelines. IMPORTANT: DO NOT start your timer until the pressure cooker reaches full pressure (about 15 min, generally speaking). DO NOT rapidly cool or depressurize the system, this may cause the collars to shrink.
AutoClave Sterilization
Autoclave at 15 psi, 121°C, 30 min following your system’s manual.
And Always Remember to Get Sterile and Start Cloning - Buy PermaClone Collars Now - Click Here!