Brewing beer and using the CO2

[thc4me]

I'm a homebrewer and homegrower. I have some seedlings going right now (LR2 and Blueryder) and I also just brewed a 5 gallon batch of beer that should start fermenting today. Has anyone used the CO2 from beer for homegrowing? Is there a risk of killing plants with too much CO2? My plants are in a rubbermaid container right now.

If anyone has experience doing this and can answer my question, let me know.

 

[buzzkill420]

hey man now im sure some one will chim in with more experince than i, but the way i look at it is if you can controll your c02 it should work fine.. but just like any thing if you get to high of co2 levels you could risk your plants..

 

[thc4me]

Perhaps you're right - and maybe someone can send tell me how fast plants die when exposed to high levels of CO2, and what the symptoms are. I can only regulate the amount by removing the hose which leads from my carboy (5 gallon brewing bottle) into my plant box. If the plants show signs of too much CO2, I can easily refresh the air in the box with a fan.

Fermentation usually comes on fast with lots of CO2, but within a few days it starts slacking off and a week later it's practically finished. So this would be a very short term exposure to CO2 - although I do have a CO2 tank that I carbonate my beer with, should I decided that I want to add CO2 on a more regular basis.

 

[Time]

Keep your co2 levels equal to the ppm you're feeding @ amd you should do just fine.

 

[thc4me]

I'm not feeding the plants CO2 yet, and don't know how I'd determine the ppm since I don't have the equipment.

I will say that a five gallon batch will easily fill the entire container with CO2 several times over. And what the hell, it'd be going to waste anyhow - might as well use it since I have it.

 

[crazycanuckster]

neat idea

cool idea if it works, good luck! Need some way to monitor the ppm though as too much co2 would be harmfull and not helpfull!

 

[michiganorbust]

I think I saw a video somewhere online about this.... during primary ferm (until your airlock stops bubbling) there will be like 2 times as much Co2 being produced than during secondary ferm. Also, if you're not running a sealed grow room (i.e. you have good exhaust and/or intake) I wouldn't think there would be too much Co2 to the point where your plants get fecked up from too much. Good idea indeed, I think I'll be employing this method as well.

 

[motta-tokka]

Its a awesome idea. I would suggest you get a monitor to see the PPM value on what you are introducing. You will need the grow room sealed or semi sealed to hold in the gas. I suggest the monitor because too much is bad, and without it you are clueless. I have a minigen co2 burner and it fills the grow room super fast. Even me being in there for 10 minutes closed up gets the ppms high. The only thing I could see bad is the foul odor from the fermenting.. but it should be taken care of by your scrubber anyhow. Best of luck.