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Need Help!! Oxygen depletion in sealed room

shooterw

New member
I am having issues in my sealed room with O2 levels. My room is 700 sq ft with 13 ft ceilings. I have a propane 8 burner co2 generator. My oxygen levels are 18.0-18.5 in the room. I have poisoned my plants a few times already because (I think?) of oxygen depletion in the room and incomplete combustion. I notice the plants clawing down and yellowing, then I turn the burner off and they come back the next day. Does anyone have any ideas on what could be causing the lack of oxygen?? I have 2-5 tonne ac units, 20 gavida 1000w DE, 4 oscillating fans, and 4 can fan max pro 10” fans shooting the air across the room from the ac ducting. Air flow shouldn’t be the problem, but I can even run my gas as I think the oxygen gets all used up and poisons the ladies...help please!!!
 

Bobby Boucher

Active member
Propane is cheap af. I understand not wanting to vent bottled co2, but burning propane comes out pennies on the dollar vs bottled.

I really shouldn't be chiming to begin with, being the simpleton that I am, but I'll just say that I don't fully understand what exactly it is about venting propane co2 that gets everyones panties in a bundle. Is it because its wasteful? Ineffectual? Either way, it's cheap as hell, and in theory, any supplemental co2 is better than no supplemental co2. I read somewhere here recently that this is standard practice in tomato greenhouses.

My ventilation fans run ~5 seconds every few minutes on a humidistat, and the supplemental co2 does still seem to make a rather big difference.

Could also just be an inaccurate co2 controller poisoning your plants with excessive co2, or incomplete combustion. If you are using sonic foggers, maybe there is some incomplete combustion caused by the metals floating around in the air from your tap water, which could be remedied by using RO in your humidifier? Is your flame burning true blue of is there some orangie yellow shit goin on?
 

Mikell

Dipshit Know-Nothing
ICMag Donor
Veteran
What ppm CO2?

Is this a new problem?

What does the flame burn like?
 

issack

Active member
Veteran
Yeah man idk. I run a sealed room with a Sentinel propane burner and controller at 1000ppm. 4 ton AC. I've never had an issue with oxygen depletion?. I think Bobby B is on to something about maybe you have an inaccurate reading on your co2 PPM levels
 
The combustion of propane gas consumes O2, therefore it will decrease in a sealed room unless the plants photosynthesize at a sufficient rate to replenish the O2. Obviously you are making more CO2 than the plants are using.
 

eric2028

Well-known member
Veteran
I had the same issue! At one location no problems ever with completely sealed room. At another the plants showed what you’ve described. That’s across 4 different 18 light rooms. Confirm your flames are tight and blue. Ours were. We unsealed the rooms turned off burners. Now we run burners much lower around 500-1000 ppm and run partially unsealed.
 

shooterw

New member
Ya it’s so weird. I have my 700sq ft room with 2-5 tonne ac units on the one end. They have a plenum that goes up to 16” ducting that goes to the ceiling and then across to the other side and shoots back at the ac units. I have a 10” can fan max pro in each line shooting back. I have fresh air coming in about 10’ high and shooting into the room, through an intake filter, then I have an exhaust kitty corner pulling through a can fan filter on the ground. I have 5 little fans shooting air through the rows in the ground. They were shooting towards the ac’s, now they are shooting back towards where all the ac air comes out , which is above the canopy. I’m scared to turn the gas back on. I only had it at 900ppm, the burner is on a controller that is obviously only set to run during the day. I am building 4 rooms like this. 2 are running. The flame was nice and blue and almost invisible, then it got more lazy with a bit of yellow in it...
 

Klompen

Active member
I really have to wonder why bother with the CO2? I am honestly asking. I have seen plenty of great grows pulling upward of 1gm per watt and not using CO2. I really am not sure why its worth all this hassle...
 
R

Robrites

You know the solution...plants get better when you stop the propane. Why do you continue using something that is obviously killing your plants?
 

Switcher56

Comfortably numb!
Ya it’s so weird. I have my 700sq ft room with 2-5 tonne ac units on the one end. They have a plenum that goes up to 16” ducting that goes to the ceiling and then across to the other side and shoots back at the ac units. I have a 10” can fan max pro in each line shooting back. I have fresh air coming in about 10’ high and shooting into the room, through an intake filter, then I have an exhaust kitty corner pulling through a can fan filter on the ground. I have 5 little fans shooting air through the rows in the ground. They were shooting towards the ac’s, now they are shooting back towards where all the ac air comes out , which is above the canopy. I’m scared to turn the gas back on. I only had it at 900ppm, the burner is on a controller that is obviously only set to run during the day. I am building 4 rooms like this. 2 are running. The flame was nice and blue and almost invisible, then it got more lazy with a bit of yellow in it...
Reverse your intake and exhaust. Intake (cold air) on bottom of room and exhaust (hot/humid air) from the top.
 

Hookah79

Active member
The one time i used a gas burner the leaves started yellowing shriveling and drying up.I stopped the co2 and within a week they came back.It could be that i started them off at 800 ppm but iam not really sure.They were 4 footers in veg and the room is completely sealed.

I am going to run 6” fans intake/exaust to exchange the air in the room for a few minutes lights on/off.I read somewhere that some growers in cali do this in their sealed rooms.

It could also be that you have stale co2 at lights off that the plants just dont use.I have an auto pilot controller,i should have went with sentinel as you can set it to not put out co2 30-60 minutes before lights off.
 

Cheesegez

Active member
Same problem

Same problem

im glad you posted this thread because its a similar conclusion that I've came to with my sealed room. the past 4 runs now I've been seeing strange deficiencies within the plants and forever I was thinking it was PH etc.. I really started to loose my mind because I had maybe 2 runs before using the same setup without any issues... the only thing different was that I orca sheeted the walls..

I am 100% sealed and use bottled C02, as soon as the plants are established they go crazy. I can have a healthy clone transfer it into my sealed room and within a week it looks like its wants to die on me , there only a few plausible explanations:

Oxygen Depletion.. Respiration occurs in plants day and night
Oxygen + glucose > carbon dioxide + water + heat energy.

when plants are small in a sealed environment depending on the cubic space, oxygen levels will naturally be low. When the room is being cleaned ready for clones to be transferred oxygen will be consumed obviously.

When the plant is introduced into the room yes photosynthesis will be occurring however , Under certain circumstances, plant cells need to consume more glucose that it can provide so I assume it will look for the respiration glucose to fill that gap? without adequate oxygens levels respiration rates will be limited

orr..

that fucking ocra sheeting is off gassing like fuck..

room for thought..

CG
 

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