DIY co2 not making bubbles yet?

[Scottyhorse]

So I just made my diy co2.

2 cups hot water
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1/4 teaspoon bakingsoda

I mixed it all up, put it in the 2L Bottle, not doing anything. Yeast is just bought from the store.

What did I do wrong?

 

[bud29]

DIY co2 can take as long as 24 hours to start bubbling. If you don't see bubbles after 24 hours you may want to make sure all the bottles are closed super-tight, and there isn't any room around the tubing that the co2 can escape through.

 

[Scottyhorse]

There's not any space. Getting the tubing through the hole in the cap was next to impossible

But I will wait till tomorrow and see if it is bubbling.

 

[nereksnad]

you might not see any space, but even the tinest tiny hole can leak CO2 and that's enough to put the efficienty of your bottle to zero. I had to seal one of my bottlecaps with silicone.

the way i test the bottlecaps is to place water around the tube, where it goes into the bottlecap using a syringe (that way, you get a nice amont of water on the bottlecap and not the floor).

i then press lightly on the bottle, if bubbles are seen, it's time to reseal it.

 

[Scottw68TN]

Just chiming in to agree with the seal. Do you see the bubble or mucky foam on top of the reactor? If so it is a seal issue.

 

[fort384]

Agreed on the seal. Also, it shouldn't take 24 hours... it should take a couple hours at most... otherwise you have seal issues.

Also, I noticed you said you used hot water. Hot water will kill the yeast. You want to use luke warm to warm water. I realize all of that is relative... so somewhere in the high nineties seems to be good.

 

[Pass_lake]

I have to reapply the silicone every couple of weeks to maintain the seal

 

[Scottyhorse]

Alright. They silicon STILL isn't dry yet, I think beause my room is cold, it's in the basement. In a little bit I will take it upstairs, re-do the mix after I put some more silicon everywhere and let you guys know what happens. Thanks

 

[phin]

You want the reaction to occur at relatively warm temperatures. I don't know the exact range, but if you try to let yeast work to rise bread dough, it ain't gonna happen in a cold room. The problem may be that your room is too cold for the yeast to be active. Try putting a heating pad (like for sore muscles) under or around the bottle and see if you see a difference.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Well I just put a different silicon on, the last stuff never dried. This stuff actually did... I re-mixed the yeast and sugar, this time using warm water, not hot. In one of the bottles the top is a little foamy, is this a good sign?

 

[phin]

Well I just put a different silicon on, the last stuff never dried. This stuff actually did... I re-mixed the yeast and sugar, this time using warm water, not hot. In one of the bottles the top is a little foamy, is this a good sign?

yeah. sounds like its working.

 

[Pass_lake]

When making bread you use 100 degree F water, which feels warm but not hot to the touch. It sounds like you have got it

 

[Scottyhorse]

yeah. sounds like its working.

Okay great. When should it start producing? How often should I change it?

 

[Pass_lake]

I read some places where people change it out evry 3 weeks. It does not seem to last that long for me.
I have a 2 L bottle and a 4 l bottle running in tandem. I change one of the bottles every 10 days but i could stretch it to 14 days if i wanted.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Hot water will kill the yeast. You want to use luke warm to warm water.

I agree with this.
Also the more oxygenated the yeast is the faster it gets to work. I always let my mix sit a good ten minutes before adding it to the bottle. I also put a bubble stone in the yeast bowl for a few seconds to give it that extra bit of oxygen. Sounds odd I know but I usually have bubbles going anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour after its all hooked up. I was horrible about remembering to change it at first but now I do it about once every three weeks. Even after all that time I still get steady bubbles but I still change it.

 

[Scottyhorse]

It's makin' bubbles! Not a whole ton, but it is! I think having an actual diffuser would help, too....

 

[butterfly_koi]

Actually IME a diffuser has little to no use when it comes to DIY, the reactor lacks the pressure that is needed to use a diffuser successfully. Best way that I've found is to just stick the tubing up the filter intake so the bubbles can be chopped up by the filter motor.

 

[Pass_lake]

I had no luck with a diffuser or airstone. I bought a bubble ladder on ebay. It is excellent. Virtually all of the co2 is diffused before it gets to the top of the ladder. And i have seen a noticeable improvement in plant growth and vigor

 

[fort384]

excellent! I used one of those for awhile. They are surprisingly efficient, and since there is no back pressure, work really well in conjunction with a DIY system.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Alright I will put it in the filter intake. Right now I have it in the filter, because I am suspecting as it goes through the sponge it will break it up, but I will put it in the intake thanks!