your kids have acces to you grow room
you really want a co detector in there and a fire detector
be very careful with this - if it burns a blue flame then it is making co2, red flame it is making mostly CO which is bad, really bad- so you want a flame that is mostly blue
BURNING HYDROCARBON FUELS:
This has been the most common method of CO2 enrichment for many years. A number of commercial growers and greenhouses use it in their larger structures.
The most common fuels are propane, butane, alcohol and natural gas. Any of these fuels that burn with a blue, white or colorless flame will produce carbon dioxide, which is beneficial. If a red, orange or yellow flame is present, carbon monoxide is being generated due to incomplete combustion. Carbon monoxide is deadly to both plants and people in any but the smallest quantities. Fuels containing sulfur or sulfur compounds should not be used, as they produce by-products which are harmful.
Most commercial CO2 generators that burn these fuels are too large for small greenhouse or indoor grow room applications.
Some small ones are avai fable or a Coleman lantern, bunsen burner or small gas stove can be used. All of these CO2 generators produce heat as a by-product of CO2 generation, which is rarely needed in a controlled environment grow room but may prove beneficial in winter growing and cool area greenhouses.
The rate of CO2 production is controlled by the rate at which fuel is being burned. In a gas burning CO2 generator using propane, butane or natural gas, one pound of fuel produces approximately 3 pounds of carbon dioxide gas and about 1.5 pounds of water vapor. Approximately 22,000 BTUs of heat is also added. These figures can vary if other fuels are used.
To relate this to our standard example in an 8' X 8' X 8' growing area, if you used ethyl or methyl alcohol in a gas lamp or burner at the rate of 1.3 oz. per day, we would enhance the atmospheric concentration of CO2 to 1300 PPM if the room was completely sealed.
An enrichment standard of 1300 PPM was chosen as it is assumed that 1500 PPM is ideal, and that the plants will deplete the available CO2 supply by 100 PPM per hour. Remember, the normal atmosphere contains 300 PPM of CO2. A 100% air exchange (leakage) every two hours is assumed to be the average air exchange rate in most grow rooms and tight greenhouses. If many cracks and leaks are present, this exchange rate will increase significantly, but added CO2 (above 300 PPM) will also be lost. If a vent fan is in use, disregard CO2 enrichment, as it will be blown out as fast as it is generated.
