My faithful cd-6 went out on me after over 10 years of faithful service so I had no co2 enrichment for the first 30 days of 12/12.I grow in an 8 by 8 room with 3 1K vertizontals and a 12.500 room window unit.The unit has a fresh air intake which is like uncovering a small hole.I've been growing for 15 years in this same room,and I know where a plant should be at a certain stage.I know these 12 cindy and Apollo's have had no negative issues from it that I can see.None at all.I know the plants make co2 during lights off and just being in the room your breath creates more.I never even considered running this room without co2 enrichment and my unit should be ready soon,but I don't see co2 as being a limiting factor when growing in my "sealed" room
-
As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.
Co2 as a limiting factor
- Thread starter Floridian
- Start date
Shmavis
Being-in-the-world
What are you finding for PPM readings without the generator running?
I also have a CD-6. It's around fourteen years old. I always cycled it by time, not PPM. Recently found, with CO2 monitors, that levels without the generator are in a desirable range - or just shy of. As a test, this next round of flowering may only be with the pilot light lit. In my 10 x 11 room I'm finding the pilot light alone is adding 300 to 400 PPM to the ambient levels.
Good luck!
I also have a CD-6. It's around fourteen years old. I always cycled it by time, not PPM. Recently found, with CO2 monitors, that levels without the generator are in a desirable range - or just shy of. As a test, this next round of flowering may only be with the pilot light lit. In my 10 x 11 room I'm finding the pilot light alone is adding 300 to 400 PPM to the ambient levels.
Good luck!
Yea it was nothing unusual to have 2500PPM at lights on that little pilot adds a skosh of co2 for sure.I also have a PPM-3 controller about the same age still working.(Do you know how lucky we are?)I just don't notice anything out of the ordinary granted these are new strains to me,they aren't stunted one bit.I started out with one of those cycle timers but a controller is the only way to keep PPMs consistent which is important
ChasingGreen
Member
Floridian are you saying that during your normal grow, you keep the ppm at 2500 with lights on? I thought anything over 1500 was detrimental to the growth of the plants? I just started using Co2 and I'm keeping it at 1000.
Shmavis
Being-in-the-world
I'm interested to hear how it goes.
I don't expect my generator to be cycling too much this season. Just the pilot light is getting me where I need to be, even while venting at slight negative pressure.
Good luck.
ChasingGreen
Member
ah ok, that makes more sense!
Here`s an old head tip not many folks nowadays realize , but has already been suggested...
The commercial growers that run sealed rooms ALL use major exhaust during lights out to get rid of excess CO2 and water vapor not used during lights on....and that`s why....
RH and CO2 levels spike during lights off , and yes , higher levels to be dealt with is in fact a limiting factor....especially during late bloomage...but....
You`ve been crankin out the dank in this same room for 15 yrs and only noticing a difference now ?......things that make you go hmmm....and just FYI...
The plants don`t MAKE CO2 during lights out , but rather as stated above they actually transpire the excess not used and metabolized during the lights on period....that said....
It`s been proven scientifically that C3 plants such as MJ actually do better with max ppms of 900 and less , and I`d bet diamonds to donuts that if the ppms got dropped , the lights out ppms wouldn`t be anywhere near what they have been being , but again....
You`ve been running this room for 15 yrs , so I sincerely hope you figure shit out and get back to where you were ....Holler if I can help...and,,,
Good luck....DHF....
....
The commercial growers that run sealed rooms ALL use major exhaust during lights out to get rid of excess CO2 and water vapor not used during lights on....and that`s why....
RH and CO2 levels spike during lights off , and yes , higher levels to be dealt with is in fact a limiting factor....especially during late bloomage...but....
You`ve been crankin out the dank in this same room for 15 yrs and only noticing a difference now ?......things that make you go hmmm....and just FYI...
The plants don`t MAKE CO2 during lights out , but rather as stated above they actually transpire the excess not used and metabolized during the lights on period....that said....
It`s been proven scientifically that C3 plants such as MJ actually do better with max ppms of 900 and less , and I`d bet diamonds to donuts that if the ppms got dropped , the lights out ppms wouldn`t be anywhere near what they have been being , but again....
You`ve been running this room for 15 yrs , so I sincerely hope you figure shit out and get back to where you were ....Holler if I can help...and,,,
Good luck....DHF....
....
Shmavis
Being-in-the-world
The new CO2 controller I got has two modes — one of which is to exhaust at a set PPM level.
The more I tinker with trying to set up my room differently, the more I think I already had the best setup for my situation (just needed to focus on quieting inline fans).
Exhausting and intaking at set temp and or RH points while supplementing CO2 always meant that those fans ran a lot during lights out. That this exchange was also exhausting excess CO2 - which could’ve been a limiting factor - wasn’t something that I”d thought about... it was the humidity spike causing them to run during lights out. Didn’t realize there was another advantage there as well.
Interesting discussion.
T
TreehouseJ
I probably shouldn't share this type of borderline criminal negligence.. I have to use her in conjunction with a leak detector, and keep the whole thing tilted a few degrees to protect the pilot from condensate, and I'm quite sure that there is a safer way to fuel a pilot light with a 1 lb tank which I haven't thought of yet.. But below is my "kamikaze" co2 generator. I was browsing youtube watching some sponsored "fire tricks" video, when I saw the ol' water balloon over a candle trick (won't pop). This got the wheels turning..
I wasn't able to run my 4 burner which had been reduced to a 2 burner in my sealed 5x6x8 walk in closet due to heat issues. There wasn't anywhere to cut holes into the wall for an AC, and I didn't have a thousand bucks to throw at a mini split, so I was forced to think outside the box. After watching the water balloon video (and purchasing a leak detector), I decided to see how much my ambient temps would climb in my closet if I were to put a propane pencil style torch under a big covered pot of water in there.. Temp increase was negligible. Water absorbs and retains heat better than any other element on earth, transversely it also absorbs and retains cold better than any other element on earth. This is probably considered common knowledge/common sense, but I personally didn't connect the dots 'til I saw that stupid video.
I've been able to cool 2x 600w cooltubes, a dehu, and lp co2 generator in a 5x6x8 SEALED closet with 2 frozen water jugs, about a cubic foot of ice cubes in my dwc ice bucket baths daily, and a 3 gallon covered pot of water. My co2 levels also stayed MUCH more consistent, always in the 1000-1200 ppm range during the day (~800 ppm above ambient). A $2.50 1 lb tank lasts me ~10 days under 1200w, just above a pilot. This means that even if my pilot went out, and my detector failed to go off, I am leaking <1/100lb of propane per hour into large and well ventilated basement. As stupid as this thing might be, I can't help but feel a whole lot safer getting that 20 lb tank the hell out of my living space.
Last edited:
Shmavis
Being-in-the-world
Not stupid, but ingenious.
Looks and sounds to me like the wheels were turning just fine. It seems you got efficiency and safety covered very nicely.
Really like the idea of absorbing heat with the pot of water.
Impressive work. Great job!
St. Phatty
Active member
Actually, you are using levels of CO2 that would have been considered "supplemented" 30 years ago, just because atmospheric CO2 is now about 402 ppm (No. Hemisphere) vs. 400 ppm (Southern Hemisphere.)
I remember reading a Rosenthal grow-guide about 25 years ago ... 389 ppm CO2 was the recommended target level.
One option for generating CO2 is sugar-water-yeast fermentation mixes. Very reliable, sort of like having 1000 glasses of freshly poured champagne bubbling in the grow room.
One caveat about fermentation - the grow media can get some NASTY yeast infections. Not a show-stopper, just something to keep an eye out for.
I remember reading a Rosenthal grow-guide about 25 years ago ... 389 ppm CO2 was the recommended target level.
One option for generating CO2 is sugar-water-yeast fermentation mixes. Very reliable, sort of like having 1000 glasses of freshly poured champagne bubbling in the grow room.
One caveat about fermentation - the grow media can get some NASTY yeast infections. Not a show-stopper, just something to keep an eye out for.
Shmavis
Being-in-the-world
Who is?
Not sure if you mean me, but I think my levels are fine.
This is about ten hours after lighting the pilot, and, I’m exhausting 24/7:
Should numbers be higher than this?
T
TreehouseJ
Thanks Shmavis! I still want to find a way to install a thermocouple and what-not. Maybe a solder a little wind shield and some sort of condensation protector together and attach it somehow. If something can go wrong.. it eventually will. My pilot light has only gone out once since I put this thing together about a year ago, and that was because I hadn't tilted the unit yet to compensate for the condensation that the moisture from combustion creates. I also can't use starting water that is too cold or the whole thing will sweat like a glass of ice water in the summer, again, compromising the pilot.
The alarm sure likes to go off whenever there is even the smallest amount of anything nasty in the air though. Freon (sorry earth), butane, natural gas... Very handy. I like that it has a voice recording that screams at you every time its powered up, tested, or tripped. Definitely not a stealthy item. Very loud.
There was a rash of fires on my block. 3 in like.. 6 months. One was across the street and one 5 houses down. I remember coming home and seeing 3 firetrucks and 10 squad cars lighting up the front on my house with spotlights in the middle of the night thinking "There went the 20 lb'er.." I almost shat. Luckily it was just the house right in front of mine. I ordered a couple leak detectors and ditched the big tanks. I sleep a lot better knowing that I'm not going to incinerate myself and my cats in a 20 lb propane explosion.
Shmavis
Being-in-the-world
I fully understand the fire concern — and wouldn’t care one bit to round the corner to find fire trucks nearby. Talk about a panic attack.
I went with natural gas when I added my burner. I wasn’t wild about having a propane tank indoors either, and wasn’t interested in exchanging CO2 tanks, even though that way would’ve meant less heat and humidity... It was the first time I’d ever messed with gas. Was working the afternoon shift and getting home from work around midnight back then; it took months before I quit looking for flames in the night sky when entering my neighborhood.
Eventually I relaxed and realized that my tapping into the natural gas line to run a burner wasn’t going to result in the house burning down. Well, it could, but it isn’t something I’ve worried about in years. Peace of mind is a great thing!
Good luck with your further modifications.
Dunhavinfun I don't know what you are saying that I should have noticed something after 15 years.What do you mean man?I cant stand when people make insinuations and use the phrase "Hmm"It erks meand is very condecending..Seriously,I don't know what youre talking about.Enlighten me about it please and sorry if I come off as a dick,I just didn't like the obvious condecension.I'm not sure what I should have known sooner after 15 years in the same room.
Last edited:
