Old Propane Grill

[smokeyMcPOT]

Neighbors moved and left behind an old propane grill with the side burner. Would it be possible to use this as a CO2 Burner?





We unhooked it and played around a little and it seems it would work.
We're not looking to have it on 24 hrs or anything, just an hour a day or so.

We hooked up a small PC fan to disperse the CO2 a little throughout the cab.



There's no way of getting a PPM reading without buying an expensive monitor, which is why we're gonna do an hour a day to see if there's any difference. Either way free is free. A CO2 burner would be the same right? Light and burn the propane to give off CO2 RIGHT???

Lemme know whatcha think. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great.

Smokey!

 

[kaljukajakas]

Sure it will work. If you want to know how much CO2 you're generating weigh the propane tank before and after a burn. Do several burns if your scale isn't sensitive enough.

C3H8 + 5O2 -> 3CO2 + 4H2O

For every 44 grams of propane burned you'll get about 75 liters of CO2

 

[metamorf]

This seems like a real bad idea. Just buy a real CO2 burner thing before someone gets hurt.

 

[kaljukajakas]

Yeah, you should definitely keep an eye on it all the time while it's burning. An exposed burner like that is a pretty serious fire hazard. But as long as the flame is blue the CO2 quality is the same as a real CO2 generator. For a cheap cabinet CO2 generator I'd probably get a small camping stove or even a gas-powered camping lantern instead.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

looks like a possible nomination for a Darwin Award

 

[smokeyMcPOT]

Hey thanks for the response. I understand the concern for saftey and that's being worked on now. We're planning on hanging the burner just as one would hang a professional burner. There's gonna be sheet metal on 2 or 3 sides with a few holes maybe for air. But if one side is open for the fan to be able to draw through it should be ok. The FAN has a Metal housing but the fins are thick plastic. With the fan drawing air/heat AWAY from the flame area i dont see there being too much concern. It's be basically a hanging burner like the pro ones. We hooked it all up and tested it and everythng fires up, just adjust the flame to around a LOW setting say, flame of say 1/2 inch.

Well thanks for the thoughts and tips. It's only an experiment til funds allow a PRO one to be purchased. Thanks for the safety concern again. I'll get some more pics when we figure out the sheet metal today. Have a safe and happy day

 

[RockyMountainHi]

With the fan drawing air/heat AWAY from the flame area i dont see there being too much concern. Have a safe and happy day

If I understand correctly - you want to take heated air from the burner to the fan - which heats the fan - which ain't good. - which can ruin a happy day and make for unhappy ending - so to speak.

If nuttin else - turn the fan around and blow cool air towards the heater. Fan stays cool - airflow takes care of hotspots - but it will be hot.

as was said - there is a reason they sell cooking burners and they also sell co2 generators - neither are intrchangeable.

Just checking,, you do know the police and Fire departments hang together, so befor the fire department leaves from extingushing grow-op fires, they usually call the cops to come see too.

be careful out there - be smart.


fwiw - I use a single catalitic heater on a 20lb propane tank - it's designed to heat, not cook - it's a heater and has a couple safety features as such and I think they are $38 at Home Depot.