How to get C02 tanks without suspicion

OldMedUser · Jan 11, 2017

chemphlegm said:
I use propane to make c02, its cheaper and widely available.

I tried propane for CO2 but my temps got too high, too fast.

So I made an alcohol lamp by soldering a couple copper tubes on top of a mason jar and using tiki lamp wicks with 99% methyl hydrate from the hardware store. Expensive.

My gas line with a capped "T" is right outside the grow room and I figure I could tap that and run a line for a small burner. Natural gas is so cheap here that I should be able to keep enough CO2 going for pennies a day. Would still rather get a proper controller and run the CO2 off the tank. A lot safer and cooler.

:peace:

OldMedUser · Jan 11, 2017

bryan oconner said:
can make your own co2 . as well . 0ne 5 pound bag of sugar . 1 large bag of active yeast . 5 gallons of water it will get your co2 up in a 10/10 area to 2000 ppm . large then add more buckets . i did 25 gallons before lol entire room 40/40 the ppm were well over 2000 ppm lasts 7 days then you need to restart .

I've done that too. I have a 6USG Italian glass bottle for wine making that I filled with 12lbs sugar and water with distillers yeast but no yeast energizer so it bubbled slowly. Kept it in the corner of the grow room and it bubbled away for almost 2 months. Then distilled the mash and made over a gallon of EverClear out of it for tinctures and extractions. Most of it went for drinking tho.

Breezee77 · Jan 11, 2017

Thanks for all the replies!

bryan oconner said:
can make your own co2 . as well . 0ne 5 pound bag of sugar . 1 large bag of active yeast . 5 gallons of water it will get your co2 up in a 10/10 area to 2000 ppm . large then add more buckets . i did 25 gallons before lol entire room 40/40 the ppm were well over 2000 ppm lasts 7 days then you need to restart .

I read about this method last night for the first time and this seems heck of a lot easier than having to get a tank refilled all the time....

Heaters are another suggestion I haven't thought of... Has anyone had any problems with the method above? It seems both cheaper and easier than having to get tanks refilled all the time or messing around with natural gas...

whitebb2727 · Jan 11, 2017

Any welding or air/gas retailer will exchange or fill them. If it is an older tank and you need it tested contact a fire extinguisher service center. They have to hydrostat extinguishers every so often.

The submerge the tank in water in an underground steel lined tank and pressurize to what ever the tank call for.

I wouldn't see anyone batting an eye at such a thing. There are no grow shops here as cannabis is illegal. Plenty of places to get c02 and no one would care.

Breezee77 · Jan 11, 2017

Oh, I guess the only issue with the sugar yeast method would be regulating the co2 amount. Propane seems easier than natural gas to set up (just my thoughts right now). Is there a way to regulate a propane heater for c02?

OldMedUser · Jan 11, 2017

Breezee77 said:
Oh, I guess the only issue with the sugar yeast method would be regulating the co2 amount. Propane seems easier than natural gas to set up (just my thoughts right now). Is there a way to regulate a propane heater for c02?

They make CO2 generators that run off propane or natural gas and have controllers to turn them on and off as needed. If you have natural gas in your home it's a lot cheaper to use that but if you hook it up yourself and you have a house fire, even if totally unrelated to the gas, insurance won't pay out. Same if you do your own wiring to get more power into your grow room.

Also the heat issue with burning gas to generate CO2 that isn't there with a tank or dry ice or brewing.

:peace:

chemphlegm · Jan 11, 2017

Breezee77 said:
Oh, I guess the only issue with the sugar yeast method would be regulating the co2 amount. Propane seems easier than natural gas to set up (just my thoughts right now). Is there a way to regulate a propane heater for c02?

sure, you can put the thing on a timer, a thermostat too, you could buy a c02 controller, or
a cheap ass c02 generator, even a little two burner will rock a room or tent fine. they make little ones
or use a instant hot water heater that works on propane, hook a pump to it, when the pump activates the water the unit will fire up.

its better to buy a gen though, with features like 02 depletion, tip over/fall switch, pilot light thermo coupler to keep it from dumping propane into the room if the pilot goes out.

bryan oconner · Jan 11, 2017

ok if your doing this for personal use . then just use the sugar and yeast method . yeast is very cheap at any gordon food store its like 10 bucks for 2 pounds of yeast . if your a commercial grower then dont be cheap buy a burner with controller. making co2 with sugar in a sealed room . i would not worry about to much co2 your good to go . some will argue plants are only expose to have co2 in the day . but co2 is always there it will not hurt the plants if its in the room at night . i have done a 2200ppm co2 grow and it was always running 24/7 i used the burner to heat the room at night . and the lights heated it in there day.

Dr. Who · Jan 11, 2017

Breezee77 said:
Thanks for all the replies!

I read about this method last night for the first time and this seems heck of a lot easier than having to get a tank refilled all the time....

Heaters are another suggestion I haven't thought of... Has anyone had any problems with the method above? It seems both cheaper and easier than having to get tanks refilled all the time or messing around with natural gas...

You had better be brewing a shit ton of beer! The fermentation is brisk for a few days, then levels off for about a week and slows way down....Doesn't produce enough for long enough.
dry ice is stupid expensive (unless your doing a little pc case grow)

@Odin* I have a nice hand truck for the 75's.....still got a tank and the truck.....Use the tank in the breeding op, on a special projects tent....Once in awhile..yeah they're heavy but I ain't that old yet!...

Gas gens are expensive to buy! Trick is to hop onto ebay and get a "portable water heater".....Same damn thing as a Nex-Gen water cooled unit! there are battery fired units and you have to look a bit but, there are plug in units too....1/3 the price of the Nex - Gen..
Built in the SAME factory in China - just a different case/cover !

chemphlegm · Jan 11, 2017

I believe next gen adds a pack of redundant safety features not found on the standard unit(on demand water heater), not sure, but thats what I learned when I chose to pay for the next gen in 09. I love it, but running the pump is costly. it does rectify the heat issue for sure. I opt for my piloted one most of the year.

bryan oconner · Jan 11, 2017

if your looking into co2 controller . in my opinion buy it from auto pilot best money can buy. steer clear of titan controls . my opinion trash . had a controller freeze up kept the burner light all night .the next day still running the co2 the controls froze and said like 600ppm and reality it was up about 5000 ppm . took your breath away ! returned it and learned the hydro store later stopped selling all titan

bryan oconner · Jan 11, 2017

i use next gen . very good quality . there is a newer brand out there i am scared to try . blue print . there electronics look like cheap units . i would not trust them for any safety .

Breezee77 · Jan 11, 2017

bryan oconner said:
ok if your doing this for personal use . then just use the sugar and yeast method . yeast is very cheap at any gordon food store its like 10 bucks for 2 pounds of yeast . if your a commercial grower then dont be cheap buy a burner with controller. making co2 with sugar in a sealed room . i would not worry about to much co2 your good to go . some will argue plants are only expose to have co2 in the day . but co2 is always there it will not hurt the plants if its in the room at night . i have done a 2200ppm co2 grow and it was always running 24/7 i used the burner to heat the room at night . and the lights heated it in there day.

I don't know if you would consider it "personal" size or not, but say the room is 12'X 20' X10' or something and you set up a few of the yeast sugar things... I mean I saw a similar sized room before and it wasn't sealed was the problem but it would go through a 35 lbs tank in under a week, so how could it be more expensive than that...

I guess I'd like to ask how many of those yeast sugar set ups in 1 gallon jars would need to be set up to cover a room that size? I don't know what you consider commercial size... What do you think the biggest room would be for a yeast/sugar set up?

bryan oconner · Jan 11, 2017

Breezee77 said:
I don't know if you would consider it "personal" size or not, but say the room is 12'X 20' X10' or something and you set up a few of the yeast sugar things... I mean I saw a similar sized room before and it wasn't sealed was the problem but it would go through a 35 lbs tank in under a week, so how could it be more expensive than that...

I guess I'd like to ask how many of those yeast sugar set ups in 1 gallon jars would need to be set up to cover a room that size? I don't know what you consider commercial size... What do you think the biggest room would be for a yeast/sugar set up?

keep in mind you will need to redo the water every 7 days . this size room i would suggest 15 gallons. this is a educated guess what i would use . if this unit is not sealed up well you lose the co2 . and if you buy a burner keep in mind the room has to be very well sealed or the burner will run and these units are hot ! i would suggest a 8 burner unit over kill from experience to keep it cool the faster you can create the co2 to get the burner to shut off asap . i did 2 burners actually got hotter then a 8 burner because of the extra amount of time it runs. you will need ac unit to keep the room cool. best to use large buckets . i already tested the amount of sugar and yeast to keep making the co2 the longest . 5 gallons warm not hot or cold . water 1 bag of sugar . put in the sugar stir it up . put the yeast in a different bowl put in water mix it up . give it a few minutes to activate then pore it into the sugar water . watch it start making co2. keep in mind also this stuff stinks ! after 7 days there is a nasty looking thick very stinky water . almost like vinegar .

whitebb2727 · Jan 11, 2017

OldMedUser said:
I tried propane for CO2 but my temps got too high, too fast.

View attachment 3873779

So I made an alcohol lamp by soldering a couple copper tubes on top of a mason jar and using tiki lamp wicks with 99% methyl hydrate from the hardware store. Expensive.

View attachment 3873784

My gas line with a capped "T" is right outside the grow room and I figure I could tap that and run a line for a small burner. Natural gas is so cheap here that I should be able to keep enough CO2 going for pennies a day. Would still rather get a proper controller and run the CO2 off the tank. A lot safer and cooler.

Could it not be turned to gel like a sterno for longer burn times?

Home distilled grains?

whitebb2727 · Jan 11, 2017

OldMedUser said:
They make CO2 generators that run off propane or natural gas and have controllers to turn them on and off as needed. If you have natural gas in your home it's a lot cheaper to use that but if you hook it up yourself and you have a house fire, even if totally unrelated to the gas, insurance won't pay out. Same if you do your own wiring to get more power into your grow room.

Also the heat issue with burning gas to generate CO2 that isn't there with a tank or dry ice or brewing.

That varies by jurisdiction. Here one is allowed to install gas or electric and be covered.

OldMedUser · Jan 11, 2017

whitebb2727 said:
Could it not be turned to gel like a sterno for longer burn times?

Home distilled grains?

Suppose but it was just for fun so didn't think of sterno.

Home distilled grains? You could burn them too I guess but methanol is much cheaper for that and I won't be tempted to drink it.

whitebb2727 · Jan 11, 2017

OldMedUser said:
Suppose but it was just for fun so didn't think of sterno.

Home distilled grains? You could burn them too I guess but methanol is much cheaper for that and I won't be tempted to drink it.

You can make methanol cheap.

I just like when people design something to solve a problem.

OldMedUser · Jan 11, 2017

whitebb2727 said:
You can make methanol cheap.

I just like when people design something to solve a problem.

At $5 for a gallon of methanol why make it. I make my own EverClear once in a while but that's about $200 a gallon so worth the effort. $35 for a 750mL bottle at the vendors here.

I built a still so that problem is solved.

Breezee77 · Jan 12, 2017

bryan oconner said:
keep in mind you will need to redo the water every 7 days . this size room i would suggest 15 gallons. this is a educated guess what i would use . if this unit is not sealed up well you lose the co2 . and if you buy a burner keep in mind the room has to be very well sealed or the burner will run and these units are hot ! i would suggest a 8 burner unit over kill from experience to keep it cool the faster you can create the co2 to get the burner to shut off asap . i did 2 burners actually got hotter then a 8 burner because of the extra amount of time it runs. you will need ac unit to keep the room cool. best to use large buckets . i already tested the amount of sugar and yeast to keep making the co2 the longest . 5 gallons warm not hot or cold . water 1 bag of sugar . put in the sugar stir it up . put the yeast in a different bowl put in water mix it up . give it a few minutes to activate then pore it into the sugar water . watch it start making co2. keep in mind also this stuff stinks ! after 7 days there is a nasty looking thick very stinky water . almost like vinegar .

Do you cover the 5 gallon bucket when you do this? Poke a hole in the lid and put tubing or something? Oh yea man I had a titan controler that was messed up too. It did the same thing... the PPM must have really been so high.... there's a lot of bad controlers out there.

How to get C02 tanks without suspicion

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