Sterilizng Flasks

[brsucculents]

Ok, I've never done this before but I've read all the posts on germinating seeds at home with glove box. I was hoping to use wide-mouth pint canning jars for flasks HORIZONTALLY. Horizontally because it allows better light penetration, two fit nicely across a fluorescent light fixture, extra room in a flask. The problem is how to sterilize jars horizontally in a pressure cooker? I believe you can't stand them up because the media will solidify on the bottom but horizontally in a pressure cooker, you can't stack jars, water can get into the bottom jars...
Any suggestions? Surely others do this, right? I believe Troy Meyers uses flasks like this.

[naoki]

You can pressure cook vertically, and when it comes out, the agar is in the liquid form. Then you can set it in the angle (horizontally) to cool & solidify the agar.

[brsucculents]

Sounds simple enough. I had hoped to put the unopened pressure cooker in the glove box but the more I think about it, that sounds impractical.
Thanks.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by brsucculents

...I had hoped to put the unopened pressure cooker in the glove box but the more I think about it, that sounds impractical....

If using a good sterile enclosure, the highest likelihood for contamination is doing something outside the enclosure, like opening the pressure cooker and fumbling with open flasks and lids. The air outside the pressure cooker may be under greater pressure than that inside. Outside, contaminated air may get drawn in when you open it.

If your glove box is big enough to hold the pressure cooker, just wait to move the pressure cooker until it is cool enough to touch the handles, which cool faster than the metal enclosure. Swab the outside of the pressure cooker with disinfectant of your choice before introducing it into the box. Set it on something heat-resistant you have already disinfected. Open in the box when it is cool enough to handle, but the agar is still liquid.

[brsucculents]

Ok, I'm going to try it.