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Extending DIY Co2 production
Tom asked about extending DIY yeast production:
Back when I did DIY Co2, I set up a system that went for quite a while
between changes. As a homebrewer/wine/cider maker, I am familiar with
the behavior of yeast. The usual strategy of using a bigger quantity of
sugar water to get longer production doesn't work very well, as all that
happens is the yeast multiplies exponentially, and consumes the sugar
that much faster. And while adding a LOT more sugar will lead to longer
production, it will be at a reduced quantity. Basically, by adding more
sugar, the alcohol level in the solution rises to where it begins to
harm and weaken the yeast. So the yeast will keep puttering along, but
at a reduced rate. As well, the curve of production is dramatic, meaning
a lot at the begining, and much less at the end, hardly ideal for
aquatic application. And the addition of nutrients will help, but once
again, not all that much. The only strategy that I found that really
worked for me was the addition of sugar solution to the main yeast
reactor. The way I achieved this was a second container of sugar
solution plumbed to the reactor container with a drip irrigation emitter
(I forget what size, really small, probably the smallest). This worked
great, the only drawback being that when the "feeder" bottle got too
low, co2 would begin to bubble into the feeder bottle instead of the
tank.
Anyway, it worked for me.
Jonathan Peakall