co2 reactors

[pjeff]

I have a DIY co2 system and i have been using numerous things as the reactor but none seem to wrk well i was wondering what wveryone else uses

 

[Lateral Line]

3 1.5 litre fizzy water bottle.

2 have the reaction mixture these have a single airline through a valve to the third. I change 1 reactor one week, then the other reacvtor the next week - that way the CO2 supply is roughly constant.

The third bottle is simpy a plenum. If either reactor goes beserk, the froth drops into the plenum and not the tank, (it's not dangerous particulaly - but ugly as hell). A single airline runs out from the plenum to the diffuser.

 

[Fly258]

L.L, what do you use to diffuse the co2 into the water?

 

[njparton]

3 1.5 litre fizzy water bottle.

2 have the reaction mixture these have a single airline through a valve to the third. I change 1 reactor one week, then the other reacvtor the next week - that way the CO2 supply is roughly constant.

The third bottle is simpy a plenum. If either reactor goes beserk, the froth drops into the plenum and not the tank, (it's not dangerous particulaly - but ugly as hell). A single airline runs out from the plenum to the diffuser.

I've bought some white sugar and yeast yesterday and plan to try setting up a homemade CO2 system at the weekend.

What ratio of water/sugar/yeast would you use per 2 litre bottle?

I was thinking of 1.5L/1 mug/2 teaspoons?

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> L.L, what do you use to diffuse the co2 into the water?

I have used ordinary fine airstone type diffusers - but always noted some of the CO2 was escaping at the surface. Now I feed the CO2 into the input tube of a power filter train. There are commercial CO2 "diffusers" available - never used them but the sintered glass ones have had good reviews - probably expensive.

>>> water/sugar/yeast

If you are using ordinary bakers type yeast, 2 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar and 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of yeast - ideally "started", (mix the yeast and a little blood temperature water in a bottle and leave it in a warm place with some cotton wool in the neck to avoid infection for 24 hours).

If you can get hold of brewing or winemaking yeast, you can use more sugar as the alchohol produced by the fermentation kills off ordinary yeast before brewing yeast before winemaking yeast.

The recipe depends on a lot of things. The mineral content of your tapwater for example - Sodium, (salt), is generally fatal to yeast, quantities of Calcium and Magnesium can prolong it's life. In winemaking/brewing shops, you can buy a special mixture of salts which are used for just that purpose.

Remember to keep your gear clean - i.e. sterilised before each session otherwise the ferment will go sour.

For real info on getting the most out of a yeast CO2 system - browse the net looking at home brewing and winemaking - in addition to CO2 - you can end up with some suprisingly drinkable by products.

 

[njparton]

For real info on getting the most out of a yeast CO2 system - browse the net looking at home brewing and winemaking - in addition to CO2 - you can end up with some suprisingly drinkable by products.

Ahhh the long winter nights in Denmark!

I'll let you know how I get on at the weekend...

 

[revengeishere]

There is a diffuser made by hagen available at plantgeek.net, it only costs $9.00 but I dont know how well it works, they also have cheap raw chemicals there, too!

 

[fishgeek]

i use a snail
basically the bubble creeps round a continous circle slowly to the top, allowing it to dissolve
you will alays get some waste as not all the gas in the bubble is co2 and there are some non soluble components

worry more about how you plants react than what happens in the diffuser

andrew

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> i use a snail

I've seen these helical reactors. I've often wondered if there is enough water exchange through the unit when the CO2 is only being injected slowly. What I'm thinking is that the water in the helical unit super saturates with CO2 but that it is not circulating freely in the tank - you find these things work okay?

I put my CO2 into the inlet of the filter, and there are no bubbles coming out of the return.

 

[cbster]

i just made a co2 reactor mixed the yeast and sugar and was wondering how long it takes to start i used the three bottle system with 1 teaspoon of yeast and 2 cups of sugar in two 2liter bottles it has been about 1.5 hours and i dont see anything coming out just wondering if i did it right thanks

 

[njparton]

i just made a co2 reactor mixed the yeast and sugar and was wondering how long it takes to start i used the three bottle system with 1 teaspoon of yeast and 2 cups of sugar in two 2liter bottles it has been about 1.5 hours and i dont see anything coming out just wondering if i did it right thanks

If I understand it correctly, it can take 24 hours to get going.

Someone advised me to use warm water and then leave the bottles in warm place for 24 hours, before hooking them up to the tank.

 

[pmoyniha]

I usually have CO2 within an hour and a half, although the first bubbles to come out are air because when you change your solution the line will fill with air, after about 2 hours I have CO@ in my tank. I use the standard yeast sugar (dissolved in hot water, then cooled for the yeast) and water method...

 

[revengeishere]

I also have a really good tip, so you dont have to add yeast all the time....when changing the solution, try to save save some water(or better yet, only throw 50-70% of the solution). Ive been doing this for 2 months now and I havent had to add yeast, although yeast is cheap.

Btw, does anyone have experience with the hagen diffuser? How well does it work?

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> out just wondering if i did it right thanks

A lot depends on the yeast and the temperature. If it is a dried yeast - you are better off putting the yeast in some luke warm water with a little sugar in a warm place for a day before starting the reactor - it gives the yeast cells a chance to re hydrate - if you just dump it all in a bottle - it can take a day or more to get going. Liquid yeast suspensions go faster - but are more expensive.

As has been pointed out - if you take a little from a working culture, you can use that to seed the next. It cuts costs if you are using a high alchohol tolerant strain like a champagne yeast.