tokyo

Yes, I would say reducing the volume of air in the container would be the simplest way to limit oxygen.

essabee

How big?! Browse :-

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...tters-diy.html

nkambae

A larger container will not necessarily correspond with a longer production period unless you start out with a smaller amount of yeast. It then takes longer for the yeast to get up to maximum production. The yeastie beasties will only produce CO2 and alcohol as long as there is food (sugar) and O2 or until the alcohol content becomes lethal to them. As was mentioned previously, different strains of yeast tolerate varying levels of alcohol. Baker's yeast will tolerate about 6-10% (depending who you believe), brewers yeast around 8%, wine to 12-14%, and champagne yeast to 18% or so.

As I see it, the real issue with diy CO2 is consistency of production instead of longevity. Fluctuating levels of CO2 in an aquarium with high light and commensurate demand for ferts and carbon is almost as bad as no CO2 at all. My best results with diy came when I used three bottles manifolded together. I would change one bottle per week assuming that I would get no more than about two weeks of strong production from any one culture (based on personal experience). I always activated my champagne yeast with warm water in order to get good production within 24 hours. This method gave me one bottle approaching peak production, one bottle at peak production, and one bottle on the decline from peak production. I found it worked well. At least the plants looked good and there weren't any issues with algae.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...374775/?page=1

http://www.home-winemaking.com/winemaking-1b.html

I used two liter bottles on my 38 gallon and one liter bottles on the smaller tanks I had. I did try a one gallon container but it was rather cumbersome. It produced ALOT of CO2 but only for about two weeks before production declined. I have since gone to pressurized CO2 as I found it difficult to change the bottles in a timely fashion when I was out of town for work. Good luck.

stu

boognishmofo

I would say, when you are spending more money on sugar and yeast than it would cost for a co2 setup and refills then you def would be better running pressurized. For me this is what I HAVE to do for now. I have a baby on the way and in between jobs. Luckily I work as a chef and have easy access to cheap bulk yeast and sugar.
Everyone says there is no point doing diy on anything larger than 30 gallons at the most. I find and have experimented with and without on my 55g and have seen a huge difference adding even just three 2litre bottles but have gotten my co2 to 22ppm with 4. So thats 8 cups of sugar every two- three weeks. I think most grocery stores sell a 25lb bag of sugar, probably somewhere around $15. That is 56 1/4 cups so it will last about 3 1/2 months. As you can see it quickly adds up. At that amount your looking at $60+ - a year in just sugar. Yeast is usually the cheap part, I get a 1lb bag for around $10 and it last a long time.

I have a friend that had a full co2 tank for his restaurant coke machines. I tried to rig it with a regulator from an air compressor and a needle valve for finer control but it didnt work. I was talking with the Coke guys the other day and asked (hint,hint) you guys know a cheap place in town to get a co2 regulator? They told me a couple places, and then 30 minutes later they were gone and there was a brand new regulator lying on the floor by the back door. Unfortunately I asked my buddy if I could use the tank again and he said he was using it now. I should be able to find one pretty easy though being in the restaurant business.
Conclusion, If you can afford it and have a bigger tank, go with the pressurised system. I will probably go with the regulator I scored and a tank I can get from a restaurant for my 55. Slowly I will gather the stuff to do a paintball setup on my 39 and 29 gallon and might just stay with diy on my 10g.

boognishmofo

Awesome, this was exactly what I was looking for. I searched and searched and could not find anything. Unfortunately, for everyone else this would be very expensive to maintain.

Why exactly does this moonshiner provide you with these materials? I dont understand why it would be beneficial to him at all.

I live not too far from the "so called" moonshine capital of the world right outside of Nashville Tennessee.

boognishmofo

Wouldnt the only O2 available be what is in the water once there is pressure and all the o2 is pushed out of the bottles and airlines.

boognishmofo

What size tank is this for? Its got to be big, I would think. What is your levels ppm?