CO2 source

M

mattmartindrift

AC Members
May 16, 2008
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new CO2 source?

So, I see all of these articles for pressurized CO2 and CO2 reactors. Has anyone tried using dry ice?

As it sublimates you've got pressurized CO2. Dry ice is extremely cheap and you don't have to worry about yeast recipes etc. etc.


Should work well, no?
 
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And dangerous as hell to store in a container to pressurize it. You have to be able to control the temp of the ice itself to control the gas. Or use a pressure-release which would again waste alot of CO2 and need to be well-vented.
 
Riiz said:
And dangerous as hell to store in a container to pressurize it. You have to be able to control the temp of the ice itself to control the gas. Or use a pressure-release which would again waste alot of CO2 and need to be well-vented.
Click to expand...


A pressure relief is very inexpensive, as is the dry ice. This would be a setup for a 29g setup if I were to do it, so one hunk (about 2-4cc) would easily sublimate in a 2L bottle without over-pressurizing.

I work at a chemical R&D lab so all of these supplies are very easy to get/find.
 
If you have a resealable cylindrical tank that the seals are perfect under high pressures, I don't see why not.

Or just buy a CO2 tank and CO2 gas.
 
I wouldnt do the dry ice.. Its to unstable, as well as unreliable. Great theory tho..
 
Yep, the problem is that the 2-4 cc hunk isn't going to last very long. Maybe a couple of days...maybe. And in order to have it even last that long it would have to be inside some kind of pressure vessel that could control the rate of sublimation. Sure, you could just gas it off, but that would waste a lot of co2 and therefore a lot of dry ice.

Additionally, the temperature of the gas bubbling into your tank is going to be very cold. Dry ice sits about - 78 C. The gas coming off is going to be cold and is going to cool down your tank, a lot.

If it were to be inside a pressure vessel, that vessel would have to be inspected in order to be safe....and at that point it's just a regular ole' co2 cylinder.

Aside from the temperature issue, it can be done, but it's terribly inefficient if it's not in a pressure vessel, and if it is in a DIY pressure vessel, it's terribly unsafe.


It can be done, just like breathing into a trash bag and releasing that into your tank throughout the course of a day can also be done.

The initial startup cost of a pressurized system seems daunting, but it really is the cheapest and most efficient method.
 
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