CO2 idea...if you don't want to drop a lot of cash

I read up on the faq about how to deliver CO2 and the methods were interesting. However, I had an idea and figured I could share because it could help someone out. If anyone has ever played paintball they have something called a remote to use with CO2 canisters. I know a CO2 canister at wally world costs around 15-18 bucks for 20oz. Here's an example of the remote I'm talking about. They run around 20 bucks on paintballgear.com:

PSI Stainless Steel Remote - 42 Inch at ActionVillage.com : Paintball

All you have to do is screw the end in and you can open and close the CO2 simply by turning the valve on the remote. The refills cost about $5 so it doesn't really break bank. For ~40 bucks you can deliver CO2 without the mess of yeast. I wasn't sure if anyone had shared this before so don't get mad anyone...good luck.

Wow! I Play Paintball All The Time! I Got Some Many Old C02 Bottles Laying Around And Nitrous. Yeah All U Have To Do Is Just Screw The Top Off.

Do you know how much this puts into the air? Like a PPM/minute reading. That would surely be interesting, if you did an experiment with it. Ya know, List all your common variables and then check your PPM readings every minute or 1/4 hour or 1/2 hour or hour or day or whatever. That would be sweet, I too have thought this one up, I just haven't gotten around to filling up my old canister. Good idea though man.

I beleive that the PPM reading would be way way way to high now that is depending on the size of your room. Im pretty damn sure that If my pirahna EVO can go through a 20 oz. tank in about 2000 shots or so that a 20 oz. tank wouldn't even last my size grow 1 day lol. Now on the other hand if you are running a small closet grow then this might not be such a bad idea. You can use or buy regulators that will constantly feed a certian pressure out of the tank. This will help with setting your ppm levels. It will take some experimenting to get it right. This setup would be great to maximize your yeild in a small closet grow. You could have something like your 20 oz. Co2 canister outside of your closet. With your "remote" runing though the wall and culked around the opening. Set your regulator and check it every few hours to get your ppm set up. Then once thats good to go I imagine that you could run for about 3 days (assuming that your only running it during the light period) on one 20 oz. tank depending on the size of your closet.

My grow room is 12 foot by 12 foot so this is not a practical idea. But a great one at that! Props buddy

FYI that remote will not just release Co2 if you unscrew the valve. This is made to screw one end into a Co2 tank and the other into the gun.

If you have played paintball before, then you will know that Co2 doesn't just come out if you connect one end to the tank and unscrew the knob on the other end.

There is a pin in the center that must be depressed for Co2 to come out, so this might not work as well as you are describing.

FirstTimeGrow said:

FYI that remote will not just release Co2 if you unscrew the valve. This is made to screw one end into a Co2 tank and the other into the gun.

If you have played paintball before, then you will know that Co2 doesn't just come out if you connect one end to the tank and unscrew the knob on the other end.

There is a pin in the center that must be depressed for Co2 to come out, so this might not work as well as you are describing.

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Mine does. If anyone wants I'll post pics of my remote and tank, but is it really needed? Maybe its just your remote, or just a top-end remote, cause mine releases after unscrewing as long as its hooked up to the tank.

FirstTimeGrow said:

FYI that remote will not just release Co2 if you unscrew the valve. This is made to screw one end into a Co2 tank and the other into the gun.

If you have played paintball before, then you will know that Co2 doesn't just come out if you connect one end to the tank and unscrew the knob on the other end.

There is a pin in the center that must be depressed for Co2 to come out, so this might not work as well as you are describing.

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Sorry to burst your bubble...mine works as well...As long as you screw in the remote onto the tank air starts shooting out. Hope this sparked some interest in the community.

Let me clarify my last post. If you look at the remote on the link I provided the tank screws into the black part. Then you screw down the knob on the top which depresses the pin on the CO2 tank. depending on how far you turn that knob you can release little or lots of CO2...hope that straightens it out. My regards.

Geez guys, your into this for about $25.00, when for about $45.00 you could rent a 25lb tank full of co2. That is 25lbs, not oz's. Refills are about $20.00.
Peace

wow vm...i thought you hated co2.....i dont about the rest of you but in the states 45lbs tanks cost a couple hundred to get....the 20oz is a great idea for stelth grows an mini grows....

I should have titled it with closet grows in mind. My mistake. But for discretionary reasons...I would also say that it's much less suspicious to take home a 20oz CO2 tank for paintball than drag a 25lb tank into my home...some people have a lot of land so it might not be such a big prob...glad it sparked interest

Great idea, I am going to look into this now.. tearing apart my paintball gun as we speak.

Only a few things I am still pondering.. How much co2 it releases, how long to leave it open, how much to open it, how long 20oz of co2 will last me.

How much co2 is too much for the plants? If I happen to accidentally release all 20oz of co2 will they be harmed?

No, I love co2, use it all the time, always have.

I think you'll need a whole lot of those lil 20oz tanks. A few a day anyways.
Peace

AzGrOw-N-sMoKe said:

wow vm...i thought you hated co2.....i dont about the rest of you but in the states 45lbs tanks cost a couple hundred to get....the 20oz is a great idea for stelth grows an mini grows....

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Where can you buy (locally) these larger tanks and what would be a minimum tank size requirement? What is a rough estimate for the total cost of a CO2 unit with all the necessary equipment? This would be for a walk in closet sort of grow space.

With large tanks, does the place where you buy or get refills have to take down your personal information even if you pay cash?

Hey buddy, Theres loads of places, ask your local auto parts store, they'll know where to send you. Maybe some place like tech-air.

If you want stealth, you can't lease the tank than, you'll need to buy one, look used, cause new there about $90.00, refills are under $25.00

Your setup is the same as mine, a walkin closet. slightly modified though.
Peace

WordUp said:

Where can you buy (locally) these larger tanks and what would be a minimum tank size requirement? What is a rough estimate for the total cost of a CO2 unit with all the necessary equipment? This would be for a walk in closet sort of grow space.

With large tanks, does the place where you buy or get refills have to take down your personal information even if you pay cash?

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LOL video is right though.A 25 lb tanks will last week maybe 2 weeks depednin g on your grow area.A paintball co2 tank will last maybe a day so figure the cost hassle and inefficiency of this idea out and its actuall the least effective co2 method beside poppin co2 pellet gun cylinders lol

videoman40 said:

Hey buddy, Theres loads of places, ask your local auto parts store, they'll know where to send you. Maybe some place like tech-air.

If you want stealth, you can't lease the tank than, you'll need to buy one, look used, cause new there about $90.00, refills are under $25.00

Your setup is the same as mine, a walkin closet. slightly modified though.
Peace

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I never thought about buying used, but if it is not a light bulb or electronic equipment, used is a great idea to save some money on a tank. I assume they will not go bad. Thanks for the idea.

By the way, do you recommend a 25lb tank? I was only asking about the personal information, because I was not sure if large quanties to individuals and not companies might go into a database for the government (like maybe a gun purchase or something).

A 25 lb tank is a common thing and not suspicious at all.They are used for welders.home bar beer taps, some people use big tanks at home as paintball refill stations as its a lot cheaper.If anyone is looking for a co2 tank I have 1 10lb tank and 1 25 lb tank for sale.You ll still need the co2 solenoid which costs anywhere from 100 used to 250 new.PM if your looking for a tank 10 lb is $65 25 lb is 100 both also will need shipping in addition to the price.Can be filled at welding stores supplies or any soda distributor

Gee, for that matter, I have a 25lb tank too for sale. LoL
If Fletch sells his, than I got a spare too.
Peace

FilthyFletch said:

A 25 lb tank is a common thing and not suspicious at all.They are used for welders.home bar beer taps, some people use big tanks at home as paintball refill stations as its a lot cheaper.If anyone is looking for a co2 tank I have 1 10lb tank and 1 25 lb tank for sale.You ll still need the co2 solenoid which costs anywhere from 100 used to 250 new.PM if your looking for a tank 10 lb is $65 25 lb is 100 both also will need shipping in addition to the price.Can be filled at welding stores supplies or any soda distributor

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Sound like you have some nice equipment available for others that can be very useful. Instead of getting only maybe a few weeks out of a 25lb tank, can you use less with a regulator and stretch it out or will this be useless and better just not to use CO2? Thanks.