Dry Ice as a Carbon Dioxide Source

realmeatdildo

realmeatdildo

Active Member
In many of those B-grade horror movies there were graveyards swirling with a cascading mist round the tombstones, (kind of like my living room on any Friday/Saturday night, hey, that's me in the cape with the fangs). That gas was sometimes carbon dioxide. It is heavy and so it sits and builds up like a thick fog that's fallen, like condensation vapor sitting on top of cold, frozen ground. It can be made by putting chunks of frozen CO2, also known as dry ice, into H2O which causes it to melt and turn back into a gas.
Can anyone see a problem with possibly using it as a source of CO2 in a grow room/chamber? Its advantages are that as well as aiding the growth of a plant it might also act as a coolant and possibly aid in keeping down the temperatures in grow-rooms/chambers. I think you can buy dry ice at ice cream factories where they used to pack it around boxes of ice creams when they were driving them in unrefrigerated trucks to fair grounds and swimming pool kiosks in Summer, (at least they used to when I was a kid).
*WARNING*
Just a note of warning for those of you who don't know, dry ice 'burns' skin, so I'd suggest thick gloves and tongs when handling it, unless, of course, you want to join me in my living room as the creature with the incredibly unusual skin formation patterns, and I do need a sidekick as I've found that it's really hard to hammer in those last couple of nails yourself on your own coffin as the Sun creeps up toward the horizon.
 
chronicprince

chronicprince

Well-Known Member
I have done it in closet grows. Your correct about the cooling factor.

It is a rather stable source in regards to continual emission of co2. however in order to achive enough cooling or enough measurable gas in a room you need to use a bunch of bins and a lot of dry ice. A block typical only last a day.

look into composting in your grow room, brewing beer in there, chemical pucks you drop into water, they will all give you a story to tell.

fermentation is a pretty easy one but you have to maintain it . baking soda and vinegar is a fun one ... if you do dry ice.. use a bucket wrapped in insulation with smaill wholes in the lid...
good luck i had some fun with all these ol tricks....
 
realmeatdildo

realmeatdildo

Active Member
Mmmm, I tried the dry ice, it may well have saved my plants from extinction during a particularly stressful day, but at $18.50 a kilo block that lasts 6 hours, it's a treat they're only going to get every now and then!
Currently they're getting bottles of yeast with sugar and water thrown in front of their fan and, although it doesn't seem to be a very dramatic reaction, it's releasing a few bubbles here and there so it's economically more sustainable for me. I appreciate the suggestions, chronicprince and will give the vinegar and baking soda a crack as well.
As far as composting in my grow room goes, well I could just throw in a couple of my old socks, but that could possibly kill 'em all!
 
Jriggs

Jriggs

Well-Known Member
will they deliver it regularly? do i have to pick it up? just wondering the price and info and questiosn asked when ordering it...
 
realmeatdildo

realmeatdildo

Active Member
like millenniumbud said, ice works stock it, but it's too expensive for me to use regularly at 18.50 a kilo. if you were to put it in a cooler with holes drilled in it and maybe some frozen ice packs with it too, it might last for 6 days per block ( the guy at the ice works said 6 days was as long as it lasted), you could also put it in a plastic bag with a release valve and as it evaporates, slowly release some of the gas to them every now and then, but there might be pressure problems if the bag's too small.
I have tried the yeast and sugar in a bottle idea but the reaction certainly wasn't dramatic to watch. Vinegar and bicarbonate of soda would be good I think, but I've yet to give that one a go.
 
T

techhead420

Well-Known Member
Dry ice is a rather expensive option as previously mentioned. Yeast/sugar gives off relatively small amounts of CO2 compared to what plants would consume. Vinegar/bicarbonate of soda is also a relatively expensive way to go as far as the amount of CO2 generated and the chemicals need to be constantly refreshed.

If one wants to go with CO2 enhancement then investing in a 20 pound tank with a regulator is likely the best option for most people and will be a cheaper option long term. Also, CO2 with a tank can be regulated to give off the amount of CO2 needed which is important for efficiency.

With dry ice who knows how much is being given off unless you measure the mass over time and do the calculations. It would also be difficult, for example, to set up a block of dry ice to raise the level of CO2 in your grow closet to a roughly optimal 1500 ppm and keep the levels there like a tank/regulator of CO2 can. A 20 pound tank costs about $15 to refill.
 
C

CheebaEater

Active Member
I used this method and compared with a friend using the same setup minus the CO2 enrichment and I saw less nute defs in flowering...However, i didn't watch what he did so it could have been poor farming and also make sure u don't go too high on PPM. I spent a while figuring out exactly how much dry ice to let sublime and then I turned off the fan and let the temp rise to about 90 and then turned the fans back on and brought the temp back down. I think this system works well and is a viable alternative to propane or a regulator based system, especially for space restrictions and or sound issues!
 
Budsworth

Budsworth

Well-Known Member
In my opinion its to costly for a small set up. I have buddies who have tried it and never got amazing results. Thier grow came out good but nothing breathtaking.
If you got the spare cash go for it.
 
betabadass

betabadass

Active Member
what about using sparkling water through a sprayer? Spray the plants every day lightly? Does CO2 help during veg?
 
bicycle racer

bicycle racer

Well-Known Member
i use dry ice on my flowering plants it is free from work i use it 1 or 2 times a week i notice visibly faster growth on days when its used. it also cools my grow not practical or cost effective but certainly works if available.
 
lotus8

lotus8

Active Member
:?: Cant dry ice be used in a cabinet buy hanging in pantyhose over the plants? I have heard of this, but that was way old school . anyone heard of this? (also does it need to only be used during the light cycle)
 
bicycle racer

bicycle racer

Well-Known Member
you can use dry ice any way you want it is relatively safe i wrap mine in plastic bags poke some holes and stick it in front of my fan in the grow 5 lbs lasts like 12 to 18 hours if you wrap it more thoroughly it lasts longer its all about how long you want it to last. i do this 2 0r 3 times a week and i shave 1 to 2 weeks off flowering time with any strain:peace:
 
B

bettertoday55

Active Member
Don't know if I would go the dry ice route but from what I hear not to hard to find...I think even at wal mart. I have also heard something about Excellofizz pucks. Has anyone ever used them? From what I hear they would be a good enough to disperse enough CO2 to raise the ppm to 1000 in a 9m squared with one or two pucks all day and releases a eucalyptus fragrance.
* I have not used them just what I have read. Any information by someone that used them would be great. They are at fearlessgardener.com.
 
calicat

calicat

Well-Known Member
realmeatdildo said:
In many of those B-grade horror movies there were graveyards swirling with a cascading mist round the tombstones, (kind of like my living room on any Friday/Saturday night, hey, that's me in the cape with the fangs). That gas was sometimes carbon dioxide. It is heavy and so it sits and builds up like a thick fog that's fallen, like condensation vapor sitting on top of cold, frozen ground. It can be made by putting chunks of frozen CO2, also known as dry ice, into H2O which causes it to melt and turn back into a gas.
Can anyone see a problem with possibly using it as a source of CO2 in a grow room/chamber? Its advantages are that as well as aiding the growth of a plant it might also act as a coolant and possibly aid in keeping down the temperatures in grow-rooms/chambers. I think you can buy dry ice at ice cream factories where they used to pack it around boxes of ice creams when they were driving them in unrefrigerated trucks to fair grounds and swimming pool kiosks in Summer, (at least they used to when I was a kid).
*WARNING*
Just a note of warning for those of you who don't know, dry ice 'burns' skin, so I'd suggest thick gloves and tongs when handling it, unless, of course, you want to join me in my living room as the creature with the incredibly unusual skin formation patterns, and I do need a sidekick as I've found that it's really hard to hammer in those last couple of nails yourself on your own coffin as the Sun creeps up toward the horizon.
Click to expand...
The problem with using dry ice as a CO2 source is that it is quite expensive to achieve around 1,200-1,600 ppm daily. Another thing you would needs massive amounts and a constant supply source. You would also require a meter to measure and monitor the rate of CO2 production from dry ice.
 
N

NoDrama

Well-Known Member
The best ways are to use co2 generators, or bottled gas in 20 pound or ideally 40 pound tanks. My 40 pound tank lasts 2 grows and cost is only $32 to refill, you can also rent the tank so there is no up front cost, $7 per month.Dry ice is about a $50 per day venture. do the math it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure it out.
 
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