Can anyone recommend a nice CO2 monitor?

[Hackerman]

Just for SandG I thought I would monitor the CO2 in my grow room.

I see a number of them on eBay, all about $100 or so. Are they all close to the same?

Thanks

 

[DankHobbyist]

Defiantly not. How accurate do you want it to be?

 

[Hackerman]

I am not planning on doing CO2 enrichment so it doesn't need to be top of the line. And, I don't need a controller. Just curious about the CO2 ppm in my room.

Someone said BlueLab made one but I didn't see it on their web site. Autopilot has a pretty good name and they have one for about $100. Another recommendation was the BluePrint brand. But it looks EXACTLY like the Autopilot (so much so that they almost have to both be OEM) and the BluePrint is $20 - $25 more.

I am off to the hydro store in a few. They carry the autopilot line so maybe they have one. At least if it doesn't work, I can take it back.

Still love to hear any input.

Thanks

 

[superman]

I've been running CO2 for about 5 years. Some of the best money I've ever spent. I can't imagine me growing without it 'cause once you've seen the results you'll never be without it. Faster growth and flowering times, considerably more yield and it allows me to run temps near 90 with no problem at all.
Peace, Superman

 

[Hackerman]

I bought the Autopilot today. I set it on a shelf in the room about 3 feet from the plants.

Should it be right in with the plants? Is my placement OK?

I am anxious to see what it reads in the morning.

What's a good ppm of CO2 to have in your room?

I have dialed in my room pretty well in the last year. CO2 is probably in my future. Much like my computer life, my grow rooms are in a constant state of upgrade.

And, I actually owe it all to the people here. I wandered into this forum after having grown the same way for almost 40 years. Coming here sparked the hobby aspect and I've been upgrading ever since. LOL Kudos to MP.

 

[superman]

I've got a Titan and 2 Autopilot controllers and the Autopilot work great and cost a lot less than the titan. At the level of the heart of the canopy is best to monitor. CO2 is heavy so without good circulation it will fall to the lower part of the room. I keep a fan blowing at canopy level and one on the floor blowing upward for good circulation.

As far a levels, the plants need at least 200 ppm or they'll shut down the growing process and kinda go dormant. The ambient air is around 350ppm and that works pretty well. Going from 350 to 600 won't give you any noticeable affect, 600 to 1000 will help a little, but you'll need 1000 to 1500 to get any substantial results. Over 1500 the benefits start to decrease and 2000 up starts getting toxic.
Peace, Superman

 

[Hackerman]

Great answer. Thank you very much.

I'll let you know what it reads tomorrow when I visit.

Thanks again.

 

[superman]

Another thing to consider is how much CO2 we produce breathing. So if you want to see what it is on a normal basis read it as soon as you go in. The longer you are in there what you produce will raise the level. I've seen mine go up 200 just by being in the small room working for a couple minutes. Good luck!!
Peace, Superman

 

[Hackerman]

I will do that. It was at about 600 this morning.

The intake for my room is from another room upstairs. Anything I could do to improve on the air in the room where it draws from? For example, I could open the window in that room for outside air (too cold right now) or I can heat or cool that room to control the temp of the intake air. Or, I could do a sugar and yeast thing and set it near the intake (not sure that method is very effective, though).

However, I do have options in that room in regard to temp, humidity, etc. Kind of nice because I can run (a humidifier for example) and not have to have it take up space in my grow room.

 

[superman]

If it was 600 then there's some CO2 being added somewhere. Outdoor air is around 350 or so. If you pull in fresh air it will go down!! It could be just human breathing or a heat source that's burning propane or natural gas. CO2 generators uses one of the 2 to produce CO2, mine uses propane.

But if you can keep a 600 with the lights on without adding another source that's pretty darn good!! So if you did decide to add a source half the ideal level is already there.

A little trick I use in one room is to put a small propane heater in the room and just leave the pilot light on. Just make sure the flame is burning blue and not red or orange!!!!! When it's blue it's producing CO2, if it's red it's producing carbon-monoxide ( CO ) as well, which we know is toxic. In that small room it adds about 500 - 600ppm and my CO2 tanks last a lot longer, plus helps a little with the heat here in the winter.
Peace, Superman

 

[Hackerman]

I just went down to check it out. I had it sitting on the floor near the roots and it read 560. Then, I put it up right in the canopy. It rose pretty fast to 598. However, it was in the wind of the fan so I don't know it that makes a difference.

I put it back on the shelf. I'll see what it reads there.

At least I know I'm not starving them of CO2.

Thanks for the help.

 

[MR1]

Some basic info from InspectaPedia.

Carbon dioxide CO2 levels outdoors near ground level are typically 300 ppm to 400 ppm or 0.03% to 0.040% in concentration.
Carbon dioxide CO2 levels indoors in occupied buildings are typically around 600 ppm to 800 ppm or 0.06% to 0.08% in concentration. You'll find this data in many indoor air quality articles and books and it's consistent with what we find typically in our own field measurements.
Carbon dioxide CO2 levels indoors in an inadequately vented space with heavy occupation is often measured around 1000 ppm or 0.10% in concentration. I have measured levels around 1200 ppm in occupied basement offices in a hospital where the staff worked in an area which had no decent fresh air intake into their ventilation system. I

n 1989 I also measured 1200 ppm at chest height in the center of the sanctuary in a Jewish synagogue during the high holy days in a small New York city. I also observed people nodding off. We were never sure if it was a droning sermon, exhausted worshipers at the end of a long week, or the CO2 level. But there was no doubt that we were not meeting recommended ventilation standards for that space.

The US EPA warns that indoor ventilation is inadequate at CO2 levels of 1000ppm, [3] but for a more thorough discussion of toxicity of carbon dioxide see
CO2 POISONING SYMPTOMS
and
CO2 HEALTH EFFECTS
Carbon dioxide levels above 1500 to 2000 ppm are likely to be reached only in unusual circumstances (being enclosed in an airtight closet for a long time) or in industrial workplace settings such as we cited above.