I fill a little less than half of a gallon milk jug with a sol
of about 2 cup sugar (white) and half a package of brewer's/
baker's yeast.
> 2) Do you fermet using yeast used for baking? If so, how much yeast do you
> add to the water?
> 3) I assume the yeast kill themselves off with the alcohol they produce,
> or have you found a way to prevent this? If not, how long does a
> mixture last before you have to dump it and mix up a new one?
> Do you have to add more sugar periodically?
It seems the yeast do not reproduce much. The less I put in the
slower the reaction takes. I have done this a couple times w/
Tom Hayes years ago (used honey then) but have starting again of
late. Heat speeds it up and you should probably use warmish tap
water. I can smell the alcohol in just minutes. One mix lasts
about or less than a month. Yes the yeast seems to die but so
what? This costs about just alittle more than nothing. There is
or should be no bacteria in the yeast which is a fungus. IMPORTANT:
Don't let air (O2) back in the yeast's growing area this will
cause spoilage.
> 4) How much CO2 is evolved? (X bubbles a second? or is it more like
> Y bubbles a minute?) Does this rate change much over time?
I have this feeding a 15 or 20 gallon low/long terrarium. The way I
got it to go this time I get 1 bubble per 8 seconds. There are two
main reasons I have terrarium end stuck in the water filled vail.
1) To see how much CO2 I getting 2) It acts like a bong (water pipe)
and (I hope) it retards the entry of alcohol into the terr. which
would be food for bacteria. No problems after several months. Yes
the rate changes and I'm still trying to get a feel of how to keep
it more even. It starts off slow then goes steady for 1.5-2 weeks
gets fast then dies off.
> I'm asking nitty-gritty questions because I hope to try some experiments as
> soon as I get a little free time. I would like to see whether CO2
> produced by a baking soda/vinegar reaction is more or less costly than
> making it by fermentation. As a student, I have a rather limited budget.
I don't know but this is trouble free and very cheap. Acid base
reactions are quick so you wont get a steady but light flow. Also
these reactants cost more anyway, smell bad, ect..
> Does anybody know if under adequate lighting, a CP would be happy with a
> pure CO2 atmosphere? I know plants need oxygen when its dark. I'm curious
> to see how much of a growth retarding factor fractional CO2 atmospheric
> concentrations are. Do CPs need the nitrogen in the air for anything?
Hell no! Plants need oxygen (O2) all the time. This interesting but
try starting with maybe 10% CO2. The normal amount found in the air
is like some tenth of a percent, 0.16% I think, does anyone know? No
plants use atmospheric N2. Some plants do keep bacteria in their
roots which "fix" N2 out of the air like clover, not CP though.
> --Zachary--
Dave Evans