Help with Co2

[max316420]

I went to a co2 burner and now off a 20lb propane tank I usually get 15-17 days, plus its cheaper then bottled co2

 

[unity]

I'll chime in when I'm off work, hate typing on the phone

 

[BeaverHuntr]

I went to a co2 burner and now off a 20lb propane tank I usually get 15-17 days, plus its cheaper then bottled co2

Yeah I thought about them when I was shopping for my C02 stuff. I live really close to a welding supply store so its easy for me to go get my tank refilled for 18 bones. Now that I think about it I should have went that route. Even with the AC on I cant get humidity lower than 35%. So either way I still would have needed a dehumidifer even though I live in the dry ass desert. My house is at 15 % RH on a normal day my sealed grow room is 40% and up with the AC off.

 

[BeaverHuntr]

I'll chime in when I'm off work, hate typing on the phone

Yeah enlighten us when you get the chance I'm always open to learning new tricks.

 

[budleydoright]

I go through 2 1/2 20# tanks per cycle. First one usually goes about 4-5 weeks second one 2-3 weeks third one finished with about 1/2. 4 X 12' space with 5' height. Tightly sealed.

I like Ron Paul too. He has a lot of great ideas, I just can't recall any legislation coming from his side of the isle that expands personal freedoms. It is actually quite the contrary.

So wasn't trying to get political and am not now, just couldn't resist!

Bvrhntr: 35% is as low as you want to go isn't it?

 

[BeaverHuntr]

I go through 2 1/2 20# tanks per cycle. First one usually goes about 4-5 weeks second one 2-3 weeks third one finished with about 1/2. 4 X 12' space with 5' height. Tightly sealed.

I like Ron Paul too. He has a lot of great ideas, I just can't recall any legislation coming from his side of the isle that expands personal freedoms. It is actually quite the contrary.



So wasn't trying to get political and am not now, just couldn't resist!

Bvrhntr: 35% is as low as you want to go isn't it?

I'm pretty sure I'm tightly sealed. Probably not 100% but close enough. My room is 10' x 10' x 8' high. You really cant smell anything until you get to the door I'm sure I have air leaks here and there plus I dont do recirculating so I have to do the whole drain to waste every 7 days so I'm opening the doors to top off and clean res on res change day. After talking to some people and some of you guys I feel comfortable with the 35%-40% humidity in flower. This is my first run with a sealed room and co2 .

 

[max316420]

you will def see a difference

 

[unity]

Thats about what I get. To hear someone say they get 4-5 weeks is kind of unbelievable in my opinion. I mean I know I lose some when I enter the grow room or do a res change I'm opening and closing the door constantly or when I have to refill my tank. I dont mind it because opening and closing the door is bringing in some fresh air. I know my area is pretty sealed up my 1000W HPS is in a sealed hood and I cool it by pulling cool air from another room and it goes straight into the attic.

Cheers guys
First off, the more plants we have in there the more co2 they are going to use (to the degree that the environment is optimized). I grow only 4 plants of about medium size so the longevity of my tank is based on four plants. I've grown several cycles (7+) with co2 and the 4-5 weeks per 20# tank is pretty normal to me. During peak flowering they use some more but the tank will still last 4 weeks usually. Not all of those grows turned out, I had lots of issues with 'offgasing' , hope none of you guys will ever have to go through that shit.
But the reason the tank is lasting longer is mainly due to sealing the room proper.
For example:
The hood needs to be taped to the glass, the ducting needs to be sealed proper to the hood and the duct penetrations need to be tight.



The AC is critical, most window ac units will exchange at least some air from the conditioned space to the outside, if you are an ac guy like me or have mechanical background it will be no problem to take care of that. The best type of air conditioning to get for sealed rooms would be a split system, no air exchange whatsoever.
I use a window unit that I modified on the inside to almost completely eliminate any air exchange.


Wall to wall, floor to wall and wall to ceiling joints need to be caulked.



Doors need to have weather stripping.



I'm not even that anal about it, when I took the pics I saw several bad seals. My drain line back to the res still needs a trap installed as well, great way for bugs to get in.

So, I don't think it is hard to get great efficiency out of your co2, just got to seal the cracks.

Kind

 

[BeaverHuntr]

Unity,

Thank you for the pictures and tricks. I didnt think taping my hood was that crucial, nor did I caulk anything, and I didnt use weather stripping on the door.. Looks like Home Depot this Saturday. I'm using a spare bedroom in the house and I'm using my central AC thats in the bedroom to keep the room cool.+ Rep Unity thanks for the tips with pics!

 

[ceeconst]

If u really want to use that crap then do it in flowering(when you actually see the flowers!). The size of grow area you stated is too small for 10 plants. Ethier reduce plants or flower early or the plants will get too bushy which means less light penetration which leads to less yield and you just wasted veg nutes LOL! Keep note to plan ahead when space is limited.

If you want to use co2, go hard or go home. I've tried fermentation on two 55 gallon drums, dry ice, boosters but nothing compares to using tanks or generator. Tanks and generator are the ones that can actually pump enough co2 for the plants because they eat alot and even more when they get bigger. Invest on a bigger area/tent.

how many plants would you have in the tent under a 600w?

 

[budleydoright]

Any active cooling system (air cooled hoods) should be totally sealed. A fan moving a few hundred+ cfm through the ducting with even a small leak can result in major co2 loss. Many new hoods are well sealed. Most though have no or little seal around the glass. Some of them have leaks in the seams as well. A good sealing is recomended.

 

[BeaverHuntr]

Thats good to know. I will be working on that this weekend be nice to get a few weeks out of my 20LB c02 tank.

 

[CEAhaze]

how many plants would you have in the tent under a 600w?

You mentioned 1.5x1.5m which is about 5x5 room right? With a 600w, I suggest 3 maybe 4 plants. I say this because you will need to space them out so there's light penetration. I suggest for you to have main top colas. Say pick maybe four main nodes and when they start to go up, prune the new growth in the bottom because they will have new growth on top anyway where they get more light. This way, you also avoid popcorn nugs. Refer to the "uncle Ben technique" in this website under advance marijuana cultivation.