CO2, electric blankets, and free booze!

[captbooyah]

Thanks Captain Jaz for your add and info! You are totally right. questions on the whole CO2 thing... In my size set up (u can see the pics in my thread), how much of whatever concoction would i really need???... I find buying in bulk currently seems like a lot more than I will need for a while... lol, but I do have a Costco membership, so bulk can happen when my grow gets bigger.

 

[Captain Jaz]

Well, it really depend on if you can control the airflow in your veg area, if all the CO2 is floating away to the rest of the room, then you would need alot to make a difference. But if you can seal of the area, to be no bigger than what you need, then 1-2 gallons of wine making equipment shold give you a nice boost. Or a slow dripping bottle of vinager over a bowl of baking soda.

 

[captbooyah]

Wow, I have been looking, and there are SO MANY ways to concoct CO2... kinda scary! LOL JK... but there is some mad scientist shit out there! I can close my area down substantially if need be, but then everything is cramped together... what about yeast, sugar and warm water in a 2-liter? (with tape over to protect it from light)... would that be an adequate amount for say 2ft w x 3ft l and about 4ft h?

 

[Captain Jaz]

Wow, I have been looking, and there are SO MANY ways to concoct CO2... kinda scary! LOL JK... but there is some mad scientist shit out there! I can close my area down substantially if need be, but then everything is cramped together... what about yeast, sugar and warm water in a 2-liter? (with tape over to protect it from light)... would that be an adequate amount for say 2ft w x 3ft l and about 4ft h?

I'd got with twice that if i were you. 2x 2liters should be good, plus with 2 seperate bottles you can space them out to get nice dispersion.

 

[captbooyah]

Good to know!!! Thanks. I will be doing that after I transplant this week... I'm sure they otherwise would not be getting enough CO2.... now, is there such a thing as too much CO2?

 

[Captain Jaz]

Good to know!!! Thanks. I will be doing that after I transplant this week... I'm sure they otherwise would not be getting enough CO2.... now, is there such a thing as too much CO2?

Yes there is, but unless you are using a burner or bottled CO2, its not something you need to worry about.

 

[cowboylogic]

Hi guys, new here (but not to growing). I was just researching propane heaters CO2 output and came accross this site. Found some useful info, and decided to stick to my thermostatically controled fan heater and electric blankets for winter use. Although a brief search through the forums showed me that no-one else has thought of (or at least shared) a brilliantly ellegant solution to a few problems. So I shall share :-
CO2 makes a huge difference to the health, size, and heat resistance of plants. And in an enclosed space, this can be a problem. I stumbled accross a nice solution awhile ago, which is homebrewing! Brew beer/wine in your growroom, near your circulation fans to spread it around, and far away from your vent fans so it doesn't get wasted. It is a perfect solution as plants 'breathe' CO2 in the day, and as temperatures are higher in the grow room in the day time, the yeast reacts faster, and more CO2 is produced. A quick search online will find you everything you need to get set up in homebrewing, and ofc as a bonus, you get cheap drink too! If you don't want/need the cheap booze, a brewing bucket/demijohn with yeast and sugar will do the job too. The next subject is heat, I mostly rely on electric blankets in winter, find one that has a 'night' setting, which is about 25c (80f ish i think) having these under your plants keeps the roots nice and warm and helps nutrient absorbtion, and most importantly, is about 20x more efficant than a fan heater, though i also have a fan heater with the thermostat set up to boost the heat on really cold night. Have a seperate electric blanket under the brewing stuff, as you will not want to be producing CO2 at night time.
Ok, I hope that helps, happy to answer any questions you may have.

Actually alot of Hydro shops also carry supplies for making wine and beer. They have been combined for along time. There are(or were)a couple of journals here doing so. But its been awhile since I have seen anything from them. And an electric blanket in a grow room sounds like trouble too me........

 

[Captain Jaz]

Actually alot of Hydro shops also carry supplies for making wine and beer. They have been combined for along time. There are(or were)a couple of journals here doing so. But its been awhile since I have seen anything from them. And an electric blanket in a grow room sounds like trouble too me........

Most modern ones are machine washable, and they should be under your floor plastic so leaks shouldn't cause a problem. And they are 40-90w, so not going to cause a fire.

 

[captbooyah]

i put the aluminum tray under my pots and filled with water about a 1/4 inch... put a small heating pad under it... has been keeping my humidity about 5-10% higher. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[1STINDOGRO]

sams club 12lb bag of baking soda 6 bucks, 2 gals vinegar 3 bucks. I have to disagree that the sugar yeast method is cheaper.

good point, i'm new at indoor so could you let me in on a few secrets using the baking soda and vinegar? how long it last 2 if u will

 

[ecofrog]

... a few secrets using the baking soda and vinegar? how long it last 2 if u will

NaHCO3 + CH3COOH --> CO2 + H2O + CH3COO + Na
In grams:
84 g + 60 g - - - - - - -> 44 g + 18 g + 59 g + 23 g

for easy math, lets say for each lb of baking soda, you get 1/2 lb of CO2 over the reaction time frame. Now for the cost math.

For 6lbs of CO2, you need...
12lbs of carbonate = 5448g = $6
assuming 8lbs/gallon of vinegar = 3632g x .05% concentration = 182g x 2gallons = 364g = $3
you need a .72 ratio of vinegar to carbonate to balance the reaction.
For each 5448g of carbonate, you need 3923g of vinager or 10.7 x 2gallon jugs x $3 = $32
$6 for carbonate + $32 for vinegar = $38 for 6lbs of CO2.

By the way... all of this is assuming that you have a complete reaction, which never happens because you are in a solution. Plus, there will be CO2 diffused in the water which will also reduce your yield. Also hard to shut down at night.

Sugar reaction for 6lbs of CO2?

C6H12O6 = 2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2
So 1 mole of sugar yields 2 moles of ethanol and 2 moles of CO2. The MW of sugar is 180 (6 x 12 + 12 x 1 + 6 x 16) and the MW of CO2 is 44 (1 x 12 + 2 x 16). Therefore, 180 grams of sugar yields 2 x 44 or 88 gms of CO2. This means that 1 gram of sugar produces 0.244 grams of CO2 or lets round it up to 1:.25 for easy math.

If I want to make 6lbs (2724g) of CO2 from sugar, I will need...

2724g / .25 = 10896g or ~ 24lbs of sugar.
Sugar costs ~$.50/lb or $12/6lbs of CO2.

Ofcourse the same holds true for yeast conversion in that its not always a complete reaction, the bugs eat carbon and water will be loaded with diffused CO2. Very hard to shut down at night.

CO2 in a 20lb tank cost?
$16/20lb fillup or $4.80/6lb of CO2
100% conversion to usable CO2. No mess. Go to the tank place and exchange. Easy to regulate. Easy to shut down at night.

No contest. Only a contest if you want to compare propane which is even cheaper by ~ 2-3x over tanks.












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[Captain Jaz]

Thx Ecofrog, great info. +++ rep
Although ofc you can't shut down a CO2 reaction at night, but the lower temps will slow it down. And the cost difference is worth it even if the temps stay the same.

 

[ecofrog]

ive been brewing up some sugar bombs as I call it. In a 5gal bucket with an airlock, Champagne yeast + 8lbs of sugar + 4gal of H2O + a bit of nut's for the bugs = ~11% alcohol buckets in about 5days. Im in the process of getting a building a small still and thought I would make some spirits for the heck of it. I figure as long as Im making the CO2 and alcohol, I might as well do something with it. Boozer yeast like it warm too. I just got some starches, mash and special enzymes for xmas and plan on digging into flavor after I get the process down a little better with only sugar. The 5gal buckets ought to yield about 4liters of 40proof each after everything is all done tho I have yet to prove that out.

I also wanted to try out some tinctures and figured if I had 190 proof, that would be some good working fluid for the job.

While its more expensive a CO2 source as Ive shown, its way more fun than a tank or generator.

 

[Micromaster]

a lot of people combine sugar, warm water, and yeast into a bucket. its basically the same thing, but i definitely would not drink the alcohol it produces

expect that wont work for more than a day because normal yeast dies in alcohol. You have to use brewing yeast

 

[ecofrog]

expect that wont work for more than a day because normal yeast dies in alcohol. You have to use brewing yeast

Yes, your correct that as the alcohol rises, the yeast have a harder time. Brewers yeast will work but champagne yeast will do the most complete conversion because it can handle the highest alcohol %. If i dont plan on using the alcohol, I just reuse the scum on the bottom of the 5gal bucket to restart the next round so I dont have to keep buying yeast. It will last from 5 to 10 times before it just wont brew much as other bugs start to take over.

 

[orion6117]

whatch out for water spills onto the ELECTRIC blanket,dodgy as