Ghengis Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Received three of these in the mail today http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Nano-Co2-diffuser-S...1QQcmdZViewItem ...looks pretty good in the tank, too. However, it's been about three hours since install and no progress on the bubble front... It says on the site that there was a "3-4 hour wait" before any action, but I'm starting to get worried that I've been duped... Has anyone had any experience with this type (brand) of diffusor? I should point out that the Co2 is DIY, and has been going for two weeks now, although still bubbling strong out of the open tube. There is also reference in the text about the unit working "exemplary with DIY Co2". Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 We've got the same type. After a couple of weeks it dosn't seem to produce enough pressure to push through the membrane. Try giving your bottle a quick shake to get them little yeasties going, or it may have gotten a little cold and slowed down a bit. What sort of sugar are you using? lol I'm using icing suger satchels from cake mixes (for some reason the kids went through a stage of not wanting icing on the cakes.... go figure) and i've got a green solution at the moment. i also found that i had to glue my tube onto the diffuser as the pressure kept on detaching it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted June 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Yeah, I'm thinking pressure loss is the issue here. I've just dismantled the "reactor" system. I'll start a new brew and go from there. No point in jumping to conclusions, when all bases are not yet covered. Cheers for the reply, damo. O, and sugar? Just Homebrand raw. Seems to do the job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted June 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Well, I set everything up again, this morning, with a fresh brew... It's been about ten hours-ish, now and no bubbles. The way I have the "reactor" set up, is with a 3L orange juice bottle, piping into a water filled Mount Franklin bottle, then on to the diffusor. I have the second bottle to indicate when Co2 is being produced (a crude bubble checker). There's plenty of action in the water bottle, bubbling away madly, just no result in the tank. I also have a flow control after the water bottle, but this is wide open... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjd271169 Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Hey bought as diffuser today and it seems to be working great on my DIY set up. have not placed it yet just threw it in to see if it would work, these pics are after a shake of the bottle which is why its so crazy its settled down now to 1 bubble per second and is still flowing nicely through the diffuser make is heto and bought it from a shop them realised they sell on line at half the price :dontknow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Gaaaaagghhh!! NOT what I wanted to see!! Might hook mine back up again and see what happens. Can you keep me up to date how this goes over the next few days? Interested to see what happens as your system settles... What is the diameter of the disc in this diffusor? Cheers for the info, mj. Good work :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjd271169 Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 no worries I will let you know I am bubbling still around 1 per second, my diy bubble counter is in the diy section, and the diffuser is working but not many bubbles as the pics above. when I shook the bottle I got about 10 bubbles a second my mix is a week old currently so a, quite happy with it, I think I will hook up 2 bottles and replace one each week to keep constant flow and pressure. if your mix is producing CO2 as it seems to be as you have bubbles in the bottle of water it has to be going somewhere or your bottles would explode. how did you attach the tubing in to your bottle tops? I drill a hole smaller than my tubing, cut my tubing on an angle so I can feed it in then use long nose pliers to wrestle it through turn it a couple of times to get an kinks out and it is air tight. have to say I am glad it worked because if cost me $29.99, diffuser is around 4cm and on line they sell this for $12.95 this is how its going 4 hours later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Ghengis Try setting it up a little simpler ie your 3 ltr btle, tubing, straight to the diffuser. Could help to eliminate the Q of if your system is sealed (Remember, the more joins the greater the chance of a leak) Also, from what i've seen, the larger the chamber, the more gradual (but longer lasting) CO2 production. Perhaps a smaller chamber will produce a more violent CO2 production, either that or try a double mix. Just be aware that the quicker the CO2 prodution, the quicker that the alcohol will be produced and kill off your little yeasties Question to all others, anyone tried using wine production yeast??? I'm thinking that they're more alcohol tolerant so i shouldn't have to do as many bottle changes........ there's a thought. Make my own wine (or beer) and bubble the CO2 into the tank..... I'd probably have to make lots though.. damn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjd271169 Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I did read on line about champagne yeast as it can tolerate the higher alcohol content before it dies off the mix should last longer I have not used it though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted June 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I have used that method of airline attachment, with drilling a hole the same diameter as the ID of the tubing, so there shouldn't be an issue there... I have a suspicion about the flow control valve though. It's a twopiece design, not sure if anyone's seen them, they're green. Anyway, I wonder whether there is gas escaping past this joint. Might dig out the Araldite tonight and seal it up... Damo, I have considered running my line straight from reactor to tank, but the idea of the extra bottle, aside from counting bubbles, was to act as a gas separator, so I don't get the dreaded clogged diffusor, or (worse) a tank full of yeast mix. I will give it some more consideration, but will try sealing the flow valve first. Fingers crossed... Extra note: has anyone considered or tried the theory of adding oxygen to their bottles to prolong aerobic fermentation, using an air-bubbler? Something I read recently. Sounds interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjd271169 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Hi Ghengis the hole drilled needs to be smaller than the tubing to make it tight like a 3mm drill for 4mm tubing maybe ditch the flow control valve? what is this used for I would have thought adding oxygen to the bottles with a bubbler would just build up pressure and then excess air and CO2 would be forced in to the diffuser, air would be producded quicker than CO2 so all you would end up doing is pumping air in the tank, and what little CO2 went in would be de gassed by all the oxygen and agitiation. Diffuser is still working great bubbling away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted June 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 The theory is that yeast requires O2 to ferment properly, and whilst there will be some trapped in the bottle when the lid is closed, this soon runs out and begins starving the system of one of the requirements for the process.... I dunno, I'll find the link for you and get back... The flow valve is there to, as you may guess, control the flow. Is this not a good idea? Most of the info I had read prior to embarking on this project, mentioned the use of a flow valve to control the bpm rate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjd271169 Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 I think flow control is only used for full on pressure systems using the bottles and regulators with DIY if you constrict the flow the CO2 will have nowhere to go and your bottle mix could rupture as the pressure builds. I think the only way to control bubble rate is by experimenting the mix of sugar/yeast in the DIY set up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted June 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 Update. Mixed up a second brew on Thursday night. I figured if this thing needs pressure to run, then dammit, pressure it will have! Yesterday morning, still no result. Getting frustrated (especially when seeing pics of your success, mj). Came home yesterday arv, sat near my still not bubbling tank and stared at it...and noticed a blip...........blip...............blip................blip, coming from the water bottle/gas separator/bubble counter. "Why are there bubbles in that thing, if there are none in the tank?" Cue lightbulb moment. There had to be, as suggested, a leak in the system. So I took the advice given here and deleted the flow valve, using a barbed fitting to join the line together. No bubbles in the bottle...sweet! Woke this morning and the diffusor is ab-so-lute-ly cranking. There are bubbles literally teeming from the thing! It's been going strong all day, and I'm pretty sure it won't be letting up any time soon... I'm actually starting to wonder if I now have TOO MUCH CO2, now that I'm running 2 three litre bottles... The fishies seem to be happy, though, and it's nearly time for lights out, which means the O2 bubbler will be kicking in soon. Stoked :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjd271169 Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 good to see you got it sorted. probably need to get yourself a drop checker if you are worried about CO2 level. I tried to make one but not sure how succesful it has been. the only cheap glass ones I have seen are from asia probably the same supplier you got your diffusers from. I am not paying $80 for an ADA one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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