CO2 generator question

[solforever]

I finally bit the bullet and bought a CAP Gen 1 CO2 generator has one burner. Still need to get a CO2 PPM controller but i want to run my unit now while my plants are in flower about 3 weeks in. Here is a little bit about my system:

Room is 10X8X8
4 X 1000w HPS lights air vented to keep them cool
Shallow water culture system with 30 plants
50 gallon resevoir
Charcoal scrubber that vents the air to the outside


I plan on turning off the charcoal scrubber when lights come on. The CO2 generator will turn on at the same time and will be on for 25 min then turn off. I used a CO2 calculator and this is how long my generator has to turn on to get the room to about 1500ppm of CO2. After 6hrs my charcoal scrubber will turn on for 30min. Once the scrubber turns off my CO2 generator will kick back on again for 25min to hopefully get the room back to 1500ppm. After 12hrs my scrubber will turn on for the rest of the night period until the lights come on again.

To anyone who uses a CO2 generator does this sound ok? Or should i put it on a different type schedule? I know once i get a ppm controller i won't have to guess but right now i don't have one to use. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[CheechWizard]

Hi, why exhaust? Is it to control humidity at night? You can get a much more dialed in environment by going to a sealed room.

Here is what I would do:
Run a dehumidifier. leave your carbon filter on 24/7. It will keep your room free of oder and other nasties that can build up in a sealed room. Just set it up so it circulates the air rather then exhaust.


On a side note, I think 25 minutes will be way to long to run a burner. I have a 12x28x10 room and my 2 burners will get it to 1500 in about 5 minutes max. 25 minutes will create to much heat. Hope this helps. -CW

 

[solforever]

Yeah i exhaust because it gets way too humid and hot in my basement. I might be able to get away with a sealed room if i have a dehumidifier and A/C unit.

I came up with the numbers from a CO2 calculator on the internet. My 1 burner produces 2.794 BTU per hour. I plugged in my room size and amount of CO2 i wanted to create (1500ppm) and it came up with 24min. Does this sound right? I would rather be on the low end of CO2 then on the suffocating side. Thanks for the help!!

 

[CheechWizard]

Glad to help. Just checked the cap gen 1 and its rated for 6 cubic feet an hour.

10x8x8=640. Your room is 640 cubic feet.

To raise the co2 level 1200 points to get to 1500 you'll need 640 x 0.0012 = .768 cubic feet of co2.

Burn time. 6 cubic feet / 60 min = 0.1 cubic feet per minute. Therefore to produce .768 cubic feet of CO2 the Burn Time will be .768 cubic feet of CO2 / 0.1 cubic feet per minute = 7.68 minutes. :)

Your good to go.

Peace!
-CW

 

[motherlode]

look at the brain on cheech - nice work mang - i was gonna guess and say 8-10 minutes should be fine - lol

 

[BigCountry]

Still, think about cooling options other than exhausting the air. Even with air-cooled lights, you might get hot in the summer time if you're running a CO2 unit and dehumidifier.
Air conditioning is the best bet in this scenario, ideally a split system so you are not losing gasses or smells through a window unit.

 

[Bobby Smith]

Glad to help. Just checked the cap gen 1 and its rated for 6 cubic feet an hour.

10x8x8=640. Your room is 640 cubic feet.

To raise the co2 level 1200 points to get to 1500 you'll need 640 x 0.0012 = .768 cubic feet of co2.

Burn time. 6 cubic feet / 60 min = 0.1 cubic feet per minute. Therefore to produce .768 cubic feet of CO2 the Burn Time will be .768 cubic feet of CO2 / 0.1 cubic feet per minute = 7.68 minutes. :)

Your good to go.

Peace!
-CW

Cheech, your math is spot on but one of your inputs might be erroneous.

The Cap Gen 1 comes standard with one burner and does produce the 3 cubic feet an hour that the OP mentioned; mine came with 4 burners (the company fucked up and I got the upgrade for free) and produced 13 cubic feet.

So if he's correct and he only has one burner, double your quoted burn time (to ~15 minutes).

But if he has two burners, then you're spot on...........either way, your math was flawless :)

But OP, just get a Sentinel and AC and go sealed and you can put the calculator down.........plug and play.

 

[solforever]

Thanks for the responses guys. Right now its winter so i can probably do 1 more round without an AC unit. Once the spring time hits im gonna have to buy a AC unit to put in the room. Since everyone is recommending the sealed route im gonna start planning for it now.

My CO2 generator has only one burner so with the calculation looks like 15 min on. Thanks for all the help and recommendations!!