DIY budget CO2

Twiz420

Active Member
I've seen that many people like to use fermentation for creating CO2 in their grow rooms, but not all of us know how to brew our own beer or wine.

I came up with a relatively simple and cheap way to create a slow and steady release of CO2. It's basically the same as a fermenting bottle of brew in your grow room but cheaper.

Things you will need:

2L soda bottle
Flexi straw or acrylic fish tank tubing
Silicon sealant
Open container to hold fresh water
Warm water
Sugar
Packet of active dry yeast (get this at any super market they come in strips of 3 for like a buck)


Step 1: Drill hole in bottle above where water line will be roughly the same size as your tubing (you can do this to the cap of bottle if using rubber tube) Insert tube of choice and seal it with silicon, let silicon set.

Step 2: Mix warm water and sugar, (I used about 1/3cup per liter and added a few tablespoons of molasses for good measure.) until completely dissolved. Add this mix to your bottle.

Step 3: Add a packet of yeast to bottle, optimum temp of water is between 98-105 for this. too cold and it will not activate, too hot and it will kill your yeast. It should take about 5 minutes for yeast to activate and start making CO2.

Step 4: Place open end of tubing in a container of water, after pressure in the bottle starts building you should start seeing bubbles in your water dish, this is your CO2 being released.

Thats pretty much it, just place this in your grow room, mine is right by the fan to spread the CO2 around. I'm not sure how long this lasts, this type of yeast doesn't stand up to alcohol content as well as brewers yeast and will die off sooner. You can continue to use the same setup that you made, just when your yeast dies make a new sugar water mix and throw in some new yeast. Hope this helps those of you on a budget.
 

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whats the ppm ... on a setup like that .. how long does it last ... how big of a space does it cover...would it be better to do say a 5 gallon bucket...will that setup be better than fresh outdoor air....
 

Twiz420

Active Member
whats the ppm ... on a setup like that .. how long does it last ... how big of a space does it cover...would it be better to do say a 5 gallon bucket..will that setup be better than fresh outdoor air....
whats the ppm?

Not sure I don't have a tester, it releases a bubble of co2 about every 2 seconds. If I get my hands on a tester I will post my stats.

how long does it last?

I stated in the OP that I'm still not sure how long it lasts yet, I just made mine a few days ago. Since it's working I decided to share it. I will post when my yeast dies off so I can let you all know how long I was getting co2 from this. I'm hoping it will last about a month or more. Even if it lasts a couple of weeks its still very cheap to make a new sugar and yeast mix, it's less than a dollar for each mix you make up.

how big of a space does it cover?

I have 1 2liter bottle in a 2'x6'x8' closet with now 5 plants, they seem to be doing just fine.

would it be better to do say a 5 gallon bucket?

It all depends on your amount of space, the more yeast you have, the more co2 you will create. So if you are working with a small area with a few plants the setup I described should suffice. You want what ever container you use to be air tight.

will that setup be better than fresh outdoor air

If you can get fresh air from outside by all means go that route. I'm growing in a closet with no way to duct air into it. It was only getting "fresh air" when I went in to check on them, water and stuff like that. Co2 is co2 IMO the plants will breath it and will love any co2 they can get.

This is mainly geared for a budget grower, who has limited space, can't afford to duct in fresh air, and can't afford any other means of getting co2 to their plants.
 

Funky$tAticDiscRetion

Active Member
Just sleep in your grow room. Share the air. If you really need to spare some change. My stealth closet is in my room and within 6 weeks of transplant I got a massive monster OG. If you want proof, click this link.

I am curious of any mold growth that may occur. Do you think it is possible in high heat conditions within a confined space?
~WooKieE
 
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