# CO2 Generators



## pcduck (Sep 23, 2012)

Well I have decided to take advantage of the added lumens in my grow tent. I have 2 six hundreds in a DRII 120 and began looking into CO2 generators. I have a tank system I scrounged up, just waiting on the monitor/controller to show up. But I began thinking of an easier ways and more cost effective ways instead of exchanging/refilling my CO2 tank.

While doing research it did not take long before I started thinking.

What is the difference between a water-cooled CO2 generator such as a HydroGen MiniGen Water Cooled CO2 Generator and an On Demand Hot Water Heater for example a Marley Tankless Heater?

Links to both:

HydroGen:  hXXp://www.hydroinnovations.com/product-details.php?pro=3

Marley:  hXXp://marey.com/productDetailsi.asp?productID=9

They both seem the same to me:confused2:

Except for the price and the Marley has a higher btu/hr burner.

Do not know if the heat exchangers are similar or not.

Does anyone know or have experience in this?


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## 4u2sm0ke (Sep 23, 2012)

Best of luck with this *Duck*....I know absolutely  nothing about the subject...

take care and be safe

:48:


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## Growdude (Sep 24, 2012)

The CO2 generator you linked is not a mini gen, its a hydrogen pro.

Ive seen both up close and the hydrogen pro is much bigger than a mini gen.
Also the Hydrogen pro or the water heater will need to have water going to it as well, wont run without it but the Mini Gen will.


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## pcduck (Sep 24, 2012)

My bad Growdude

Will the water heater produce CO2 effectively like the mini gen or hydrogen Pro?


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## Growdude (Sep 24, 2012)

pcduck said:
			
		

> My bad Growdude
> 
> Will the water heater produce CO2 effectively like the mini gen or hydrogen Pro?


 
Sure, its all about BTU's
But I didnt like the idea of haveing to have water come on with the hydrogen or water heater and you can use the Mini gen without water.


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## pcduck (Sep 24, 2012)

Growdude said:
			
		

> Sure, its all about BTU's
> But I didnt like the idea of haveing to have water come on with the hydrogen or water heater and you can use the Mini gen without water.



Yeah I was looking into it as products geared towards horticulture seemed to be way higher priced at times then a comparable product for a different use. 

I  have a tank but was looking for an easier and less expensive way of getting CO2 then having to refill. Seen some On Demand water heaters for just over a $100 and thought that they were basically doing the same thing as a Hydrogen Pro which is much more money.

I was researching water cooled because of the heat issues I have read about with the non-water cooled generators.

Just sitting here bonging and thinking


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## sgtsmoke (Mar 5, 2013)

i made my own co2 with a 5 gallon bucket yeast sugar.hooked up a bubbler from my fish tank to it.and ran an air line to the top of my plants.hooked that up to a 18inch air stone.had everything on timers so the fans turned off and the bubbler turned on.the bubbler caused pressure to build up in the bucket.and pushed the co2 thru the line and fell on the plants.it worked really good my plants loved it.i used 2 pack yeast 5lb sugar 5gall water.it will last you oh say few weeks.attatch the bubbler air line to the bottom of the bucket.and the airstone line on the top of bucket.what happens is the bubbler line mixes up the co2 causes pressure,andpushes the air out the top.make sure everything is air tight,i had timers set to go on every few hours.run for 30 mins shut down.then fans whould come on 20 mins after.it takes some tweaking to get timeing right.but well worth it.or you can just breath on them.cause us humans release c02 when we breathe lol.i have heard that c02 fire extinguishers work to.every so often give the room a blast.i myself has never done that


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 5, 2013)

@ *sgtsmoke*. Great idea. One quick ?

Did you see a discernable difference between co2 and no co2 as far as yields?


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## sgtsmoke (Mar 5, 2013)

not really much as yields.the plants really like the co2.you can see the difference in a few days.they get really green and grow much faster with the co2.when if flowering the buds look awsome.my room is 4'x4'x8'.and the setup i did worked great.you will have to figure out your square feet.to know how long to run everything.make sure room is aired out well b4 going in.it took me a while to figure out how much yeast and sugar.i may have pictures on here from a while back as to what it looked like,let me se if i can find them


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 5, 2013)

What other solutions are there? I saw some pre-packed things that you can buy and have to replace every so often.. how do those compare to co2 from bottle and from your method SGTSmoke?


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## sgtsmoke (Mar 5, 2013)

well i cant find the pics of my setup bummer.not really sure of the difference cause i have only used my homemade setup.it cost me like 25 bucks to make it.compared to hundreds for the real stuff.there definitly was a difference when i used the homemade setup.just one thing,i changed my water yeast and sugar every few weeks.make sure u do it outside cause it smells awful.and its pretty gross


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 5, 2013)

I'm surely curious about what you're saying SGT. I'm gearing up to do my first grow right now, and CO2 was a question I had. I believe my solution was these pre-produced boxes of stuff that wears off. (I don't know hah) 

There's no way I can afford the CO2 container etc.


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## pcduck (Mar 5, 2013)

I do believe that adding any CO2 is helpful, but you will not see the true benefits unless you are able to control the level/amount. Your grow must also be dialed in and air tight. I would not waste my time with homemade methods using dry ice, yeast and sugar or the CO2 bags


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## ShOrTbUs (Mar 6, 2013)

i don't see any downside to the hydrogen pro, other then the initial cost.


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## pcduck (Mar 6, 2013)

try the minigen


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 6, 2013)

So no CO2 is better / just as good as CO2 bags? 

Alright, I guess just one less thing to worry about. Just want to allow my first grow to yield something decent.


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## pcduck (Mar 6, 2013)

I would not use CO2 for a first grow.

Things happen fast with CO2, good and bad. If not prepared could be detrimental.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 6, 2013)

Thank you PCDUCK!


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 6, 2013)

EllisD said:
			
		

> So no CO2 is better / just as good as CO2 bags?
> 
> Alright, I guess just one less thing to worry about. Just want to allow my first grow to yield something decent.



Well, you cannot grow with "no CO2".  However, if you have a good ventilation system set up with good air exchange, your plants will get enough CO2 through normal air exchange.  This is one of the reasons that we stress the importance of good air exchange.  

What duck was talking about is enhanced CO2.  For this you need controllers, monitors, enhanced lumens (more light), an airtight space, coordinated exhaust, etc, etc.  CO2 enhancement needs to be monitored and controlled, so using things like those buckets, bags, dry ice, vinegar and baking soda, etc, etc is really a waste of time energy, and money as there is no way to regulate it.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 6, 2013)

Understood, thank you very much for clarifying. 

(As you can tell, I'm very active here and going nowhere. I just want to do as best possible on first grow, while understanding and accepting that I'm going to make mistakes along the way.)


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## ShOrTbUs (Mar 6, 2013)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> Well, you cannot grow with "no CO2".  However, if you have a good ventilation system set up with good air exchange, your plants will get enough CO2 through normal air exchange.  This is one of the reasons that we stress the importance of good air exchange.
> 
> What duck was talking about is enhanced CO2.  For this you need controllers, monitors, enhanced lumens (more light), an airtight space, coordinated exhaust, etc, etc.  CO2 enhancement needs to be monitored and controlled, so using things like those buckets, bags, dry ice, vinegar and baking soda, etc, etc is really a waste of time energy, and money as there is no way to regulate it.




:yeahthat: 

there's roughly 300-400ppm of C02 depending on location around the world. thats why we use such big fans. not only do they keep our grow rooms cool, they exchange the air in the grow room every minute or 2, so that the ppm's remain in the 300-400 range. when people use tanks or generators, the ppms are jacked way up to 1500ppm. the controllers are there so that the ppm stays that high at all times when lights are on.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 6, 2013)

Nice, thanks for extending that a bit Shortbus. I fully grasp this one now


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## ShOrTbUs (Mar 6, 2013)

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58680

you will really enjoy that read


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## Growdude (Mar 6, 2013)

EllisD said:
			
		

> Understood, thank you very much for clarifying.
> 
> (As you can tell, I'm very active here and going nowhere. I just want to do as best possible on first grow, while understanding and accepting that I'm going to make mistakes along the way.)


 
My advice is dont over think it, that can lead to "loving them to death".

I always tell new growers to keep it simple, use a 1 part nute like Floranova Grow for vegging and advance from there.

There are alot of things that are not 100% necessary to have a very sucessful
harvest.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Mar 6, 2013)

Thanks Growdude.  Really appreciate that there.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 6, 2013)

I really like the GH Flora Nova grow.  It is a 1 part nutrient that works really well.  I prefer it to the 3 part for vegging.  However I had problems with the bloom and use the Flor series (micro and bloom only) for flowering.


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## MJ20 (Jul 9, 2013)

I've been using home made yeast and sugar co2 generators for about a month now.The difference to me is noticeable..would be nice if someone could do a co2 vs non c02 grow.The fertilizers I use on the nitrogen side come with added carbon to them also..another option to consider when adding that good co2 to the mix.


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## Wetdog (Jul 23, 2013)

pcduck said:
			
		

> Yeah I was looking into it as products geared towards horticulture seemed to be way higher priced at times then a comparable product for a different use.
> 
> I  have a tank but was looking for an easier and less expensive way of getting CO2 then having to refill. Seen some On Demand water heaters for just over a $100 and thought that they were basically doing the same thing as a Hydrogen Pro which is much more money.
> 
> ...



You are quite correct AFA the on demand water heaters do the same thing at a much lower cost than the horticultural units. Design wise, they are pretty much identical (the water cooled units).

Sorta like a bag of Magnesium Sulfate being 3x the cost of the same size bag of Epsom Salts even though the ingredients are identical.:holysheep: 

Wet


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## Ruffy (Jul 28, 2013)

so im having issues finding proper 3-5 ton a/c or air handler units in Canada to keep the rooms cool.i don't want chillers or a 2 part a/c unit
any help on brand names, or another name for, stand alone water cooled ac units?


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## madframermrc (Dec 19, 2017)

The day I started using co2 is the day I learnt what the plants truly need and love. Worth every $ spent on average I veg clones no more then 18 days 1500ppm all day cycle and I stop 5th-6th week flower depending on strain.

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk


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## sopappy (Dec 19, 2017)

pcduck said:


> I would not use CO2 for a first grow.
> 
> Things happen fast with CO2, good and bad. If not prepared could be detrimental.



Here I was thinking the more time I spend in the rooms the better.
I've been meaning to put a comfy chair in there for naps. And I often turn the exhaust off when I'm in there. 
With this hobby growing, it seems less I try, the better.
Ramp, schmamp.


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## Keef (Dec 28, 2017)

I myself have a high tech CO2 generator !-- Grow room temp is also the right temp to ferment !-- 

View attachment 20171228_191236-1.jpg


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## Keef (Dec 28, 2017)

Want a recipe ? -- I specializes in Apple Jack and Blueberry Merlot but if it got sugar in it ? --I can ferment it !-- Apple Jack and apple wine be different U know ? -- Takes me one them 5 gallon buckets of wine to make a gallon of Jack !-- I don't distill !-- Mostly cause I don't have to !-- That stuff make U eat sheet and howl at the moon ! -- I don't drink anymore-- I just makes it !-- I grows a little weed too !-- I run a 4 part bloom rotation of 60 day finishers ---Aero under LEDs ! -- So I harvest every 2 weeks !


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## pcduck (Jan 2, 2018)

@keef for CO2 in a greenhouse, one can use compost under the flooring, for CO2 and heat.


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## Keef (Jan 2, 2018)

Duck I grow in a spare bedroom that's  open to room air with a concrete floor -- I enjoy brewing and the grow room temp seems to work well for it !-- I seriously doubt my brewing raises the CO2 level much but more is more !-- Brewing and Growing weed just go together well for me !-- They both need to be hidden so being in the same place seems logical !-- Maybe one day I have a sealed grow room and I can raise the CO2 concentration !-- Without a sealed grow U just can't control CO2 levels but weed grow just fine on room air !-- I grow aero and ideally I need a higher O2 level for my roots and higher CO2 for my leaves !
I ain't figured that one out yet !


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## Keef (Jan 2, 2018)

I got plans for a small mom and pop commercial grow soon as the law changes some !-- That CO2 from brewing might not help my plants that much while they growing but it will help later !-- 5 gallons of Apple Wine and I freeze 4 gallons of water ice off of it -- When my time comes to move some weed -- U might need to sample some Jack before we start talking price ? -- I get my price maybe I throw in a couple bottles or a case of Apple Jack depending on how much U want !-- So in the end the CO2 gonna help me just fine !


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