dry ice for co2?

Where will you get it from??

 

I don't think that this will generate enough fast enough or be very cost effective.

 

your local icecream man may sell u a block of it around 10 or twenty bucks tell em its for a collage project but i also was wondering if it would work sounds like a great idea

 

Quite a few golf balls in that then.
Probably most of it will sublime quickly and be wasted.

 

yes i have and would recommend it. back in cali i could get it from the store.

 

dry ice can displace the air enough in small quarters (like a closet) to make you pass out and potentially kill you. so yes it generates plenty of CO2. If you want to figure out how much you need use this as a reference:

What is Dry Ice?

scroll down to where it says "How much dry ice will I need?" it'll give you a rough estimate of the size of the container and the amount needed to keep it either refrigerated or frozen. remember you don't want to freeze your plants, just provide them with CO2 so maybe a 4th (if that, start small AND BE CAREFUL) of what they recommend is necessary.

 

May be because dry ice IS SOLID CO2.

 

Will this actually work? A local store sells dry ice in 5 lb blocks. I would love to give this a try, I just don't want to overdo it.


Edit: Says that a normal Fridge could use 10lbs a day. We are not trying to maintain a cool temperature with the ice, just produce CO2. So would 1 lb or every few days do? It couldn't hurt right?

-C

 

1 lb sounds good, keep some ready in the freezer just in case the first one evaporates. I'm not sure at what rate a mature plant eats up co2 so if it's gone, don't assume the gasses are gone. if anything, just hold your breath before going in to replace it. if you need to spend time in there, get a fan to blow in some fresh air from another room for a couple seconds. don't worry about overdoing the co2 if you have some sort of opening in your room (can even be the space under the door), excess co2 pressure should push itself out. if you start making the room cold....then you might want to kick it back a bit.

 

I was just going to buy a 5lb block and toy around with different amounts. I am growing in a 48" x 48" x 75" tall grow tent. I will go down to the dry ice store a little later and snap some shots.

-C

 

I'm sure you know already that CO2 is heavier than air, so maybe have it above the plants so it cascades down over them as it sublimes...

 

Yeah, suspended a few feet above them. Right now I have 9 cuttings from my Gigabud mother and 3 New York City Diesel seedlings.

-C

 

I put it in a foam cooler, made some holes in the cooler for the co2 to escape. I placed it on a stool behind my osc. fan. the fan would suck the co2 out of the cooler and distribute it in the room. In my neck of the woods I get it at Safeway grocery store, but it costs $1 a pound, and doesn't last very long. I used 1 lb. the first time. sopposedly 1lb. of dry ice will raise the co2 ppm to 1000, for how long who knows, until it is melted I guess. I went into the freezer the next day to get another pound and it had melted. It was gone. You need a super cold freezer to store it in. Or go to the store everyday.

 

Good luck and have fun trying.

But don't forget that it IS dangerous.
- The temperature of dry ice is around -109 F. (severe frostbite).
- Don't store it in air tight containers (will explode).
- If you start to get short of breathe, get up, get out, get some fresh air.

 

Dry ice bombs are the shit. #2 should be a positive and a negative fact.

Edit: My town has a major ice distribution plant. $5 for 10 lbs of dry ice.

-C

 

I too was looking into using dry ice for growing, and this thread was extremely helpful. but I'm wondering does it have to be in a small enclosed space? can I do It just in the corner of my room by my bed and a window?

 

Yeah GeoKureli, be careful not to smother yourself.