CO2 set up

I am not planning on venting during lights on, I fully agree with both of you, if you can deal with the heat there is no reason to waste the co2 and deprive the ladies of it throughout the day either. You have also both scared me away from the ppm3 so fuzzy it is. Thanks to everyone for all of the help, once again.

My ppm3 does the same damn thing and im sure were not the only ones.

HydroGEN Water Cooled CO2 Generator

The HydroGEN is the world's first and only water cooled CO2 generator. Water cooling is capable of removing 86% of the heat produced by burning propane and has loads of other options and features not available in any other CO2 generator on the market, including a completely adjustable flame (can produce anywhere between 15 and 45 cubic feet of CO2 per hr), an adjustable water flow valve, no pilot light (flame is activated by water flow), a tipover cut off, an overheat shut down sensor, and the list goes on. The unit can easily be used in a closed-loop system with a small chiller and reservoir, or you can connect directly to your home water supply and drain to storage for reuse in your garden. The unit is compact in size and can be either hung or wall-mounted anywhere in your garden.
***Coming soon the "MiniGEN" water-cooled CO2 generator, designed for smaller enclosures***

Bout time someone did something about heat generated by those damn generators.

---FUZZY LOGIC

Regrets--The fuzzy logic program is used only for tank systems, the CAP controller with fuzzy logic also has a standard ppm3 type control for use with generators.

What fuzzy logic does is it figures out the amount of co2 to dispense to keep the room at the desired level and keeps it within a few ppms. Meaning is clicks on and off in short spurts, like psst......psst.........psst........psst.........psst.... Etc.

This isn't good for generators, because they can't ignite and burn in short spurts, they need a regular ppm controller, an on/off style where the ppms drop to say 1250ppm before it kicks on and goes up to 1550ppm, then doesn't turn back on til it reaches 1250ppm again.

Make sense?

My friend had a ppm3 that was a piece of garbage. I guess it's common... Huh.

Anyone with a brand that actualy works???

i have the sentenial chhc-1 that works well and also has the fuzzy logic. My favorite features over the CAPs are different day and night variables, digital settings, and the montoring thing that reads temp, co2, humidity, light can be placed in the room or cabinet and the main device can be up to like 12 feet away. The CAP Co2 meter is part of the bulky unit so i think it wold be a pain in the ass for a small room.

and fuzzy logic is conserves c02. It basically rembers previous times it ran on how much time etc it takes to get the Co2 to the desired level. Alomst like learning. This is useful because co2 can be released alot faster than it can be measured.

The site I was looking at for the fuzzy says that it does tanks and generators. This is what it says about the generators.
"When used with a CO2 generator, the user can change the PPM-2A mode to ON/OFF control which eliminates the rapid cycling of the CO2 generator"
I assume that this is what you were talking about norml, and that they are claiming that this would fix the problem?
I'm looking at the hydroGEN right now and I don't really understand the reservoir or drain to waste thing, this is all very new to me. It appears as though I will need a several hundred gallon res? And the drain to waste thing I don't get at all. What extras would I need if I were to use this type of generator, I am actually very interested in it.

fizz tablets are cheap and easy, but you cant control the ppms and the worst thing about them is they get MESSY!

Just use a bottle until your space grows to dictate a generator. The brain is the most expensive part.

Sounds like to small of a space to burn gas for C02, would be too much heat, and a lot of upfront cost. You can get brand new electric regulators starting around $200. You can rent C02 tanks for your "Old Mig welder" anywhere for quite cheap, just drop off an empty tank and take a full one, nice and simple.

If you run a bottle you just need the electric regulator and a cheap digital timer, Do a few simple calculations and you can have it set to run C02 for a certain amount of time while the exhaust fans are off.

Also check out this amazing tool, a simple C02 calculator

CO2 Calculator - Greentrees Hydroponics

Hope that helps


You could run your bottle for 10 minute periods to reach 1200ppm, at this rate a 20lb bottle of C02 would last 35 hours. That would give you over 200 periods of 10 minute saturation, so if you run your c02 up to 1200ppm twice a day, a 20lb bottle will last over 100 days.

I was looking for that calculator earlier.

I'd follow this suggestion, unless you really want to spend a lot of money of a controller and generator, that water cooled generator just needs a fresh water line and a place to drain, using a resevoir is optional.

The 22A-B or whatever mode you said was exactly what i was talking about.

Yes, the CAP system is the size of a car battery, and I always said why teh f don't they put a themometer, and humidity meter on it.

You could buy a cheap 10 gallon res and run a small water chiller---say 1/15 hp and your generator would be set and cool----my guys going to get one of those units in so we can test it out...

too many options. I really just want to do this right the first time, but I can't make up my mind anymore. Too much good info out there.

If you start with a tank, simple timer and a cheap regulator, you'll only need a controller.

With a generator you pretty much have to have a controller.

but with the generator don't I just need the generator and a controller? Then I can just add a tank to the system if i need to later.

regrets said:

but with the generator don't I just need the generator and a controller? Then I can just add a tank to the system if i need to later.

Click to expand...

If you can afford the larger upfront cost of a generator and controller and everything you will need to get it running right it is the better option.

If you are on a budget, want to add a reliable c02 system for a few hundred, then buy an electric regulator, they usually are set to release 0-20lb per hour. Once you have the regulator ($200ish new) then you can rent a c02 tank for your "mig welder" for dirt cheap and it will last for months. Simply enter your room dimensions into the calculator and it will show how long you should run and how many lb/hr to run to achieve 1200ppm saturation.

If you do go with the tank you can use a simple $20 timer with the regulator to set it to run for periods to saturate to ideal conditions while your exhaust is off.

If you can afford the controller, can handle the heat and dont mind paying for propane, and if you can afford to get all the crap you will want to get it running right, it will be better for a long term location.

If your just wanting to add a simple but equally effective system on a budget that wont waste any more precious room, or add any more hanging hoses burners/fire hazards, then go with the rented bottle

Even a big tank will only last you three weeks in your size room regrets----The tanks just don't last that long when juicing rooms over the size of closets or cabinet grows and the cost will be about $1.00 /pound---propane will run you 1/3 the cost of canned juice and natural gas will even be a little cheaper than that.

I am going with the generator for now. I'm not exactly sure how the co2 is despensed but has anyone tried running some type of fan and ducting system on the generator in an attempt to keep the generator outside of the room avoiding some of the room heat issues? Not sure that it would work well and the breeze may blow out the ignition but just thought I would run it by everyone, and get an idea as to whether it is even possible.