Using Home brew kit to generate CO2?

[farma]

I was looking at a better way than having a few bottles on my tank for DIY CO2.
Then I saw the old home brew kit in the shed.
half fill it and it should make a bit of CO2.
What do you think?
worth it?
or would I need two to stop CO2 running out?
Could I just keep topping it up? With sugar and yeast?
any advice please.
Also I have a 250 Litre tank 6 foot long. I want to plant as much as current lighting will allow.
Farma

 

[farma]

So I am guessing no one has done this?
Farma

 

[JDogg]

I was looking at a better way than having a few bottles on my tank for DIY CO2.
Then I saw the old home brew kit in the shed.
half fill it and it should make a bit of CO2.
What do you think?
worth it?
or would I need two to stop CO2 running out?
Could I just keep topping it up? With sugar and yeast?
any advice please.
Also I have a 250 Litre tank 6 foot long. I want to plant as much as current lighting will allow.
Farma

should work as far as i know..you would not be able to just keep adding sugar an yeast though..you would eventually reach an alcohol content that would kill your yeast, even brewers yeast has a alcohol toxicity point

 

[kefner]

The only problem that I could see is the amount of CO2 being produced. In a 2L bottle there isn't enough wort (sugar water mixture) to create copious amounts of CO2. If you are planning on a 5 gallon batch (average homebrew size), a little air line would cause the top of the bucket to become unsealed. Resulting in a nice mess (nightmares of first home brew attempts).

Now looking at your suggestion of doing a half batch size is the amount of head room you have in the bucket. You'll have a bunch of CO2 just sitting in the bucket (heavier than air) that wouldn't go into the reactor. I think the 2L bottle is the perfect size container as you have a minimal headspace to CO2 produced, as well as the ability to vent the pressures created by the yeast with the air line.

If you are planning on just adding yeast, you'll have to remove the watery/alcohol mixture then top of with fresh wort (sugar/water). Plus maybe use a champagne yeast. 18% alcohol tolerance

But that is my 2 cents.

 

[jamesrm]

Having brewed at home before, this would be a very unreliable and hard to control method. But, you would have plenty of brew.

I would highly advise against this however.

 

[woodlitnight]

a late comment, but I use a 1 gallon glass jug for my fermenter. it works great. Many brew stores sell stoppers with holes in them for air locks as well.