DIY CO2 generator

There is also another way to produce co2 which is the one i use for aquariium. Instead of having 2 bottles onw with yeast, sugar and baking soda, the other water, you could also you Hcl Chloridric acid and water in the first bottle and water and baking soda in the second, the reaction produces kitchen salt and co2 :) Good luck

HCL + NaHCO3 = H2CO3 + NaCl

In contact with water h2co3 breaks into h2o and co2.
 
ledtester said:
How to make a CO2 generator for your greenhouse/grow room plants

If you have a greenhouse or grow room and have wanted to put in a CO2 system but couldn't afford the expense or had difficulty with how technical one can be to set up and run, have I got the solution for you! Well it is easy for anyone to set up and use this simple CO2 generator for healthy and vibrant plants. As you know plants take in CO2 during the day and expel Oxygen, at night they do the reverse but to a lesser degree. In order for your plants to thrive they need CO2. You could leave the door open for fresh air, but in the winter your plants could freeze and opening the doors invites all sorts of plant eating pests. Making a simple generator to use solves those problems.

Things You'll Need:
empty gallon water bottle or well washed milk jug.
1 Cup Sugar
1 heaping teaspoon of Activated Yeast.
craft iron
airline tubing or other such tubing to direct CO2 to your plants
twist ties to attach tubing to uprights
coat hanger, garden stakes or some other thing to act as a holder for your CO2 curtain
pocket knife or punch to make holes into tubing.
1 "T" connector for your tubing.


Step 1plug in craft iron, when it is hot enough you will use it to burn a hole into the lid of your gallon water bottle. The hole must be just large enough to force the tubing into it. Force end of tubing into the lid from the outside to the inside entering the jug about 1/4 inch.

Step 2Fill water jug 1/3 with lukewarm water then using a funnel add 1 cup of sugar. Shake well to dissolve as much sugar as possible.

Step 3Using 1 cup measure fill about 1/3 full with lukewarm water. Add dry activated yeast and stir till dissolved. Using funnel add this to your water jug then fill to just over 1/2 way with more lukewarm but not hot water. Hot water will kill your yeast.

Step 4place lid onto container which is now your generator. Place generator in your greenhouse or grow room as close to your plants as possible.

Step 5take your coat hanger pieces or wooden stakes and stake 4 around the perimeter of your plants, you can put stakes in planters with the plants. These will be the uprights your airline tubing will attach to.

Step 6Cut enough airline tubing to go completely around your plants and attach both ends of the tubing to the "T". Using plant tape or twist ties you will attach this tubing to the uprights you just made. Use the piece of airline attached to your water bottle lid to attach to the final end of your "T"

Step 7using your pocket knife or tubing punch you will poke some holes into the tubing surrounding your plants on the sides of the tubing that is directly facing the plants.
Click to expand...

I didn't think of doing this because well I'm concerned about it blowing.
I've had the Alaskan bootleggers bible for YEARS and they always talk about the potential explosions from home distilling.
Great book though - tells you have to make EVERYTHING.

So if I have a question it would be explosion potential - please advise?
 
Just wondering here. About using an air pump for circulating.
Will the extra oxygen introduced by the pump affect the culture grohwt or production rate?
Will the extra pressure cause the c02 produced to fall quicker?
would a powered or small circulation pump work?
Advantages or disadvantages of either or both
 
I found the most cost effective way to increase co2 is with a co2 tank. I've experimented with many things.

I set my co2 on a timer to only turn on for 10 hours of my light cycle and only to turn on for 30 minutes every hour. I set the pressure
value to so know the green ball doesn't even look raised. this keeps my co2 between 700 and 1000.

this last tank has lasted over two months so far.

with titan controls keeping room at 1500 I went threw a tank every two weeks. I noticed no difference in growth between 1500 and my now raising and dropped from 700-1000.
 
Dry ice does not need to be mixed with water to form CO2, it is CO2. With sufficient routes of venting a chunk of dry ice will not simply explode a container of any type.

I agree the tank is likely the most viable option though.
 
Just found this thread.I do this for all my plants,but I go low tech here,just makeing co2 for photosynthesis, not moonshine for my cabinet. I make a simple airlock,a water bottle with one hole in the cap,for the hose.hose is set near the bottom of the bottle,and near the cap I punch vent holes.fill bottle about halfway or less and instant airlock. Two minutes of work. I tent to use sugars and starches,so as to prolong fermentation. Use a five gallon bucket.in a average grow room it does well
 
20151018_150232.jpg

This is what I've done. By having the exhaust tube drop cO2 directly in the fan, it gets carried with the moving air toward you plant
 
How does ventilation affect the CO2 production? If I've got a 200 cu. ft. room, with 300 cfm ventilation, will adding co2 actually do anything? Seems like it'll probably just be pulled straight out of the room prior to being used by the plant.
 
ledtester said:
How to make a CO2 generator for your greenhouse/grow room plants

If you have a greenhouse or grow room and have wanted to put in a CO2 system but couldn't afford the expense or had difficulty with how technical one can be to set up and run, have I got the solution for you! Well it is easy for anyone to set up and use this simple CO2 generator for healthy and vibrant plants. As you know plants take in CO2 during the day and expel Oxygen, at night they do the reverse but to a lesser degree. In order for your plants to thrive they need CO2. You could leave the door open for fresh air, but in the winter your plants could freeze and opening the doors invites all sorts of plant eating pests. Making a simple generator to use solves those problems.

Things You'll Need:
empty gallon water bottle or well washed milk jug.
1 Cup Sugar
1 heaping teaspoon of Activated Yeast.
craft iron
airline tubing or other such tubing to direct CO2 to your plants
twist ties to attach tubing to uprights
coat hanger, garden stakes or some other thing to act as a holder for your CO2 curtain
pocket knife or punch to make holes into tubing.
1 "T" connector for your tubing.


Step 1plug in craft iron, when it is hot enough you will use it to burn a hole into the lid of your gallon water bottle. The hole must be just large enough to force the tubing into it. Force end of tubing into the lid from the outside to the inside entering the jug about 1/4 inch.

Step 2Fill water jug 1/3 with lukewarm water then using a funnel add 1 cup of sugar. Shake well to dissolve as much sugar as possible.

Step 3Using 1 cup measure fill about 1/3 full with lukewarm water. Add dry activated yeast and stir till dissolved. Using funnel add this to your water jug then fill to just over 1/2 way with more lukewarm but not hot water. Hot water will kill your yeast.

Step 4place lid onto container which is now your generator. Place generator in your greenhouse or grow room as close to your plants as possible.

Step 5take your coat hanger pieces or wooden stakes and stake 4 around the perimeter of your plants, you can put stakes in planters with the plants. These will be the uprights your airline tubing will attach to.

Step 6Cut enough airline tubing to go completely around your plants and attach both ends of the tubing to the "T". Using plant tape or twist ties you will attach this tubing to the uprights you just made. Use the piece of airline attached to your water bottle lid to attach to the final end of your "T"

Step 7using your pocket knife or tubing punch you will poke some holes into the tubing surrounding your plants on the sides of the tubing that is directly facing the plants.
Click to expand...

Also you will need a CO2 controller with alarm and rela like this one in amazon ( Part # IGS-082015002 ) Link: Amazon: Indoor Air Quality Monitor / Controller - CO2, Temperature & Relative Humidity Data Logger with SD Card Functione

Is the one I used and work fantastic. You can connect the unit on a computer or put a SD card in it and data log all day long and you can check if your CO2 system is working fine. Is very cheap to buy.
 
Also you will need a CO2 controller with alarm and rela like this one in amazon ( Part # IGS-082015002 ) Link: Amazon: Indoor Air Quality Monitor / Controller - CO2, Temperature & Relative Humidity Data Logger with SD Card Function

1666927497789.png


Is the one I used and work fantastic. You can connect the unit on a computer or put a SD card in it and data log all day long and you can check if your CO2 system is working fine. Is very cheap to buy.
 
From everything I have read and watch about co2 for growing is this, it is only cost effective in a closed room grow, if you are exhausting your air and buying bottles it is not really all that cost effective. That is why I threw in of these in my tent, cheap lasts 4 months and while it does not raise it as high as a CO2 tank would, I am also not paying weekly to have my bottle filled.
DSC_04908.jpg
 
oldergrower said:
From everything I have read and watch about co2 for growing is this, it is only cost effective in a closed room grow, if you are exhausting your air and buying bottles it is not really all that cost effective. That is why I threw in of these in my tent, cheap lasts 4 months and while it does not raise it as high as a CO2 tank would, I am also not paying weekly to have my bottle filled.
DSC_04908.jpg
Click to expand...

You could make it last for years if you wanted another hobby on your hands lol. It's not really all that hard to expand that mycelium in there.. mycology is every bit as intriguing and life consuming as botany :laughtwo:

I like the yeast idea, but I think prefer a usable byproduct.. and if there was one sorry I missed it. This was intended as a drive by, but the car stalled. Something to consider as an alternative would be Kombucha or Jun. Once again it can be another busy hobby and you can end up with surplus gallons of the stuff lol.. but delicious healthy stuff!
Starts a little ugly..
Kombucha.jpg

but ends up wonderful..
strawberry_cherry_booch.jpg

:hippy:
 
electro gypsy said:
You could make it last for years if you wanted another hobby on your hands lol. It's not really all that hard to expand that mycelium in there.. mycology is every bit as intriguing and life consuming as botany :laughtwo:

I like the yeast idea, but I think prefer a usable byproduct.. and if there was one sorry I missed it. This was intended as a drive by, but the car stalled. Something to consider as an alternative would be Kombucha or Jun. Once again it can be another busy hobby and you can end up with surplus gallons of the stuff lol.. but delicious healthy stuff!
:hippy:
Click to expand...

Do you actually do this? I mean make fermented tea to get CO2 and Kombucha? Sorry for asking this but this sounds so awesome I cant even believe it.

What came to my mind is: you could also make beer. You can get a starter beer maker set for 60Euros or 80$. Cheap not cheap ,i have no idea...but if you love and drink a lot of beer probably you get to a 0$ at the end. I got a beer maker set ,made already a few batches: just put the malt extract ,sugar and the beer yeast in to the water ,and wait for 2months. Endresult with the smallest beer maker kit here is around 35Litres of the best beer you ever had and not sure how much CO2 (maybe ill do some research if i have time).

I would prefer Kombucha but touching that yucky thing on the top goes against my whateverphobia.
 
Catwhisperer said:
Do you actually do this? I mean make fermented tea to get CO2 and Kombucha? Sorry for asking this but this sounds so awesome I cant even believe it.

What came to my mind is: you could also make beer. You can get a starter beer maker set for 60Euros or 80$. Cheap not cheap ,i have no idea...but if you love and drink a lot of beer probably you get to a 0$ at the end. I got a beer maker set ,made already a few batches: just put the malt extract ,sugar and the beer yeast in to the water ,and wait for 2months. Endresult with the smallest beer maker kit here is around 35Litres of the best beer you ever had and not sure how much CO2 (maybe ill do some research if i have time).

I would prefer Kombucha but touching that yucky thing on the top goes against my whateverphobia.
Click to expand...

yeah the yeast in the Kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) cranks out a lot of CO2. the only drawback besides sometimes a little vinegar smell is it can attract gnats and fruit flies. a few plastic bottles about 1/3 full make nice traps though and also make CO2. i don't always do this.. like i said it can easily get out of hand. scobys breed in the higher temps. the tea ferments a bit faster. next thing you know you have scoby hotels in your cupboards and lose the top shelf of the fridge lol. ahem..

[user]Heirloom[/user] was talking about beer brewing this morning.. made me think the same thing lol.

you get used to them.. after a while you even give those slimy things names lol. my oldest is CarrolAnn. :laughtwo:
 
Yep, any ferment process works. Beer, wine, sour mash 'shine, kombucha, sugar water etc. It's the same process and result.

I make 10 gallon (about 37L) batches of beer, but no longer use the powder or syrup malt extracts. I brew from grain so I have all that lovely grain mash for the animals and compost. Plus the bottled end result is better. I just got a couple tents and CO2 from my next batches will be directed from the airlocks to the tents.

Wine and 'shine are also in the near future.

Might as well end up with a byproduct of making CO2 that you find enjoyable.

Cheers!
 
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