Italspawn has introduced new spawn bags. Instead of 2 filters, the bags have 4 filters now. The main benefits are increased oxygen exchange for the spawn to breath better. Therefore there is an more faster and optimal colonization inside the bags. Early testing in the new test facility has shown spawn being more active straight out of the bag and shorten the incubation time in the compost with 1 day. From now on all bags come with the new 4 filters.
Hollander Spawn Goes Green
Last week we installed our brand new cooling system. Looking into the future and thinking about reducing the pressure on the environment we decided to go green with using a propane chiller. A propane chiller is the answer to the phase out of greenhouse gases. Refilling existing systems with virgin R22 has been prohibited since 2010 and as of 2015, refilling existing systems with recycled R22 has been prohibited as well.
The quest to find an environmentally friendly alternative for R22 led to the conclusion that propane (R290) would be the best substitute. Propane has very similar thermodynamic behavior to R22 and it is a natural refrigerant. By using R290 as a refrigerant, the environmental impact is reduced, because R290 has a zero ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential), a very low GWP (Global Warming Potential) and an assumed equal energy efficiency to R22.
Propane is a flammable refrigerant and therefore cautious handling of the refrigerant is required. The most important safety concern is to ensure that in case of a leakage the refrigerant doesn’t ignite. By placing the cooling system inside a casing, the possible explosive atmosphere is located inside the casing when a leakage occurs. By using an ATEX fan, the casing can be ventilated so the mixture of gas and air can be discharged outside the casing.
We strongly believe it is important to be able to live in a world with optimal environmental conditions. Not just for us, but for the next generations to come as well. With our propane chiller we benefit from the latest, highly efficient, chiller technology while knowing it’s utilizing an environmentally friendly refrigerant.
F599 and FB29 in Harmony
One or our customers really didn’t want to spoil any compost and filled our F599 and FB29 side by side in one bed. Ebony and ivory in perfect harmony!
68 Jahrestagung BDC Oktober 2016 Würzburg
From the 6th till the 8th of October the yearly conference of German Mushroom growers was held in Würzburg. With a record of visitors of more than 170 it indeed was an interesting program. On Friday several interesting lectures were held, for example about new regulations about champost waste by Dr. Peter Oswald, possibilities of using champost as a substrate for vegetables in greenhouses by Piet Mertens of Pull BV, Netafim a company that introduces watering systems inside the beds and especially Horizontal growing systems by Limbraco. The last one was also visible during the farm walk on Saturday at Pilzland Essleben. Pilzland Essleben is a part of the Pilzland group. Pilzland produces about 1500 tons of phase III compost per week and 335 tons of fresh mushrooms weekly. All the brown mushrooms they produce is Hollander Spawn FB29
