So im thinking about switching to Co2..

[greenthumb2]

questions..


how will i keep the smell out of the rest of the house if im not sucking it all out of the room through a giant scrubber?

how do i keep the room quiet if i have to keep my fan/scrubber in the room recirculating the air??

is it really worth all the money and time i will have to put into it?

does a carbon scrubber remove co2?

 

[Dhude]

1. Put your filter as a recirculating scrubber inside the room constantly filtering the growroom.

2. Isolate the fan in insulation, use a little DIY silencer on the exhaust side and it can be very very quiet.

3. How should we know, that's specific to your situation.

4. No, unless you are exhausting the scrubbed air out of the room.

 

[greenthumb2]

thanks! the third question was directed towards people who have made the switch

 

[Lazyman]

Well, question 3 is a trick question actually. If the grow room is currently quite perfect, no lighting/cooling/nutrient issues and the plants are maxed out in every area EXCEPT Co2 uptake, then YES you'll see a yield boost of approx. 20% on average. If you can seal the room up airtight so no air is exchanged with the outside world, and you can keep the room at 85*F, you will reap the rewards. If all your CO2 leaks out every 5 minutes, no, it won't do anything to help you.

 

[!!!]

It's not really a switch .. I mean you're not switching from O2 or N2 to CO2

But what you are switching to is a closed grow environment.

The smell isn't a problem because the room is sealed 100%. No smell gets out. The recirculating carbon scrubber does clean it up somewhat but given that the room is sealed, it's probably not needed. You should recirculate the air through a HEPA filter to keep it clean though.

To cool the room use an AC.

To keep it quiet you can use a larger fan at a lower RPM. If that's not enough, you can soundproof the room.. soundproofing is a HUGE topic but the basic idea is to add MASS around the room. Lead is excellent and they sell sheets of lead you can put up on the wall, but it's expensive - and I personally don't want lead anywhere near me or my plants.

They have material which you "paint" onto a wall to add a sound barrier. More coats = more noise reduction. They also sell soundproof (not 100%) drywall called Quietrock. Or you could just add more layers of drywall to your existing walls. Doors may also need to be replaced - indoor doors are weak and literally transparent as far as sound goes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundproofing

 

[greenthumb2]

its a catch 22 for me becuase i dont like using my mini a/c it uses to much electricity and it is noisy. but the only way to keep the room sealed and cool is with an a/c. The idea of removing large quantities of scrubbed air out of the room keeping it cool with out the use of A/C is higly attractive to me. a cop could walk through my house and never know the rooms were filled with plants.

 

[greenthumb2]

I quess if there was a way i could keep the room sealed at 78-80 degrees with no A/C i would be more inclined to make the "grow room" switch to a more dedicated co2 design. Untill then i will probably just stick what is working so well for me now, Vertical.

 

[Lazyman]

Well, I would have yo see if you can borrow a buddies Co2 generator for a night or two and to some testing. If it works in winter, doesn't mean it will be ok in the summer though, just my $.02

 

[Surrender]

Activated carbon filters will act as a co2 scrubber but I don't know to what extent it could offset CO2 supplementation. Probably not much but I'd hate to find out it lessens the carbon filter's ability to scrub odors.

 

[Perpetual Nooch]

Don't do it unless you will be able to run an air conditioner and, unless you are in a super dry area, a dehumidifier. I'm finding the air conditioner is not enough especially in winter when it's cool yet humid in the room.

If you can do it, then yes it's worth it.

 

[greenthumb2]

Well, I would have yo see if you can borrow a buddies Co2 generator for a night or two and to some testing. If it works in winter, doesn't mean it will be ok in the summer though, just my $.02

lazyman what if i released my co2 at night for a couple hours or so say around 3-5 am. I will arrange all my fans and filters to shut off for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night and flood the room with co2 do you think that would work? would 3 hours of heavy co2 intake in the middle of the night actualy make a difference as apposed to a timed release through out the day?

 

[greenthumb2]

Don't do it unless you will be able to run an air conditioner and, unless you are in a super dry area, a dehumidifier. I'm finding the air conditioner is not enough especially in winter when it's cool yet humid in the room.

If you can do it, then yes it's worth it.

luckily my huidity levels stay around 50-60 % with the amount of air that i have pulling out of the room it rarely reaches over 55% if i switch up my design to a more co2 dedicted area things may change

 

[Lazyman]

Activated carbon filters will act as a co2 scrubber but I don't know to what extent it could offset CO2 supplementation. Probably not much but I'd hate to find out it lessens the carbon filter's ability to scrub odors.

CO2 molecules are too small for a charcoal filter to catch, not gonna be an issue there.

 

[Lazyman]

lazyman what if i released my co2 at night for a couple hours or so say around 3-5 am. I will arrange all my fans and filters to shut off for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night and flood the room with co2 do you think that would work? would 3 hours of heavy co2 intake in the middle of the night actualy make a difference as apposed to a timed release through out the day?

Ehhh, I don't think I'd do it that way myself. Duration of supplementation is important, helping them with CO2 for 25% of their photoperiod likely isn't worth the expense, and won't give you the yield boost it otherwise would.

 

[greenthumb2]

may be worth a sot if i can get a system cheap

 

[SpasticGramps]

may be worth a sot if i can get a system cheap

Running CO2 properly and cheap are mutually exclusive IMO. The room should be completely sealed with A/C cooling the lights or air cooled from outside to outside. Some people believe they lose CO2 air cooling lights no matter how sealed up they get them. I don't air cool my lights.

If for some reason you have to vent CO2 out of a CGE (closed growing environment) I believe you are wasting your money. Giving the plants a little CO2 here and there won't do anything. I have to say it again, cheap and CO2 don't mix. I think CO2 can present a real case of stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. The 20% increase in yield and controlablilty offsets the initial cost of setting up a CGE for CO2. CO2 should be reserved for an already perfectly designed growroom or better yet, design the room around the fact you are using CO2. If you have ANY leaks anywhere or have to vent in order to control the environment, you are venting $$$$ right out the room.

For smell, do like they and run your carbon scrubber recirculating in the room.

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

Running CO2 properly and cheap are mutually exclusive IMO. The room should be completely sealed with A/C cooling the lights or air cooled from outside to outside. Some people believe they lose CO2 air cooling lights no matter how sealed up they get them. I don't air cool my lights.

youll only lose co2 venting your lights if you have your inline and the end of the row... you can reverse this and put it at the begining blowing your lights cool so you will blow alittle hot air out but its better then sucking alittle co2 in when cooling your lights...

hope that made since... lol

 

[SpasticGramps]

youll only lose co2 venting your lights if you have your inline and the end of the row... you can reverse this and put it at the begining blowing your lights cool so you will blow alittle hot air out but its better then sucking alittle co2 in when cooling your lights...

hope that made since... lol

Interesting. Makes sense physics wise. Good know. Thanks!

 

[dtfsux]

I have seen a room that uses the CO2, A/C, dehumidifier and carbon filter.There was no smell, the filter works great. I wish I could give you advice but the one with the brains is temporarily unavailable. Really I am just trying to get my 50 posts. I do however have a Sentinel VCG-27LP variable CO2 generator brand new in the box for $450.

 

[NiteTiger]

You keep talking about keeping it cool, but you don't actually want that in a sealed CO2 injected room. One of the benefits of running CO2, besides potential yield increases is that the room should be warmer.

The usual I've seen in CO2 rooms is between 85 and 95, because heat causes the plants stomata to open and absorb more CO2.