Has anyone used the HydroGEN Water cooled Co2 Generator?

Just received this UPS today. I'm going to set it up tomorrow. I'll let yall know how it works. i spoke with Steve the founder and owner of Hydro Innovations and he said there was some pressure problems with the gas lines in some areas so the NG version wouldn't work. Hopefully that's not the case in my area. I've also mailed in my 1 year warranty card just in case.

I have been dealing with this product for about a month. I bought two of these pieces of garbage. I'm out about $3000.00 and a ton of work. Let me detail some problems:

1) Co2 computers will not fire the sump pumps, they are only rated for 1/2 amp for a solenoid.. I had to go to radio Shack, buy a transformer, take out the HydroGen battery pack, and have the computer turn the burner on and off ( which it does not do reliably) and let the pumps run 24/7 ( hello burnt out pumps).

2) The inlet screen for the water is tiny, the smallest particles will clog it resulting in poor water flow, then the burner shuts down.

3) Unless you have tons of space, where will you put a couple hundred gallon reservoir and chiller? So I used Hydroinnovations (H.I.) suggestion and did a open air tank outside. 725 gallons. Which of course gets debris ( see 2), after some clever filtration ( totally clean now), still can't get it to work.

4) After calling for tech support I was told to readjust the sensors ( take the burner apart) take off the gas flow regulators, and circumvent the battery pack. I also have used six different types of pumps at H.I. suggestions.

5) if you do drain to waste be prepared for a water consumption around 1000 gallons a day. How friendly are you with your water department? You do drain to waste and your gonna get much friendlier.

Here's my thought, this is a product that was rushed out and is WORTHLESS!!! At best it is so tempermental ( water flow, gas flow, batteries, etc.) that it is useless to use. It is obviously not ready for use. Wait a few years, if they are still in business post your question again.

I have spent over a month fiddling with these, I have spent thousands beyond the burner cost ( pumps, ponds, chillers, computers, numerous fittings), have done the Home Depot run about a dozen frustrating times, had several conversations with H.I. and they still DO NOT WORK!! I am now to far into my cycle to recoup anything ( assuming I can ever get this to work)

I am in the process of trying to get a refund ( or as much as I can ) from the store I bought them at and scrap this idiocy. I also plan on contacting the Hydrofarm rep and letting him know what I think about being ripped off.


If I could get it to operate for longer then 90 seconds I would be overjoyed. I'm not overjoyed, do the math.

Well that sucks...I just spent around $400 after shipping on this thing. How much water does it really use if you drain to waste? That was my plan. I have the municipal gas line and water lines being hooked up to it today with the sentinel Chhc-1 controling the water valve.

Originally Posted by Grow4Profit

Well that sucks...I just spent around $400 after shipping on this thing. How much water does it really use if you drain to waste? That was my plan. I have the municipal gas line and water lines being hooked up to it today with the sentinel Chhc-1 controling the water valve.

I'll offer a different opinion. I'm using a HydroGEN, water chiller w/ reservoir, controlled by a CHHC-1. What has worked best for me was:

1/4 HP water chiller with a pump that feeds water into the chiller, cold water feeds into the reservoir. Stored outside of the room

Another pump connected controlled by the CHHC that feeds into the HydroGEN. This pump sits at the bottom of the reservoir.

The unit works fine. With summer coming along, I may have to upgrade to a larger reservoir/water chiller due to the extra heat generated from everything. Ultimately, I had to remove the gas pressure regulator because the unit sometimes would not fire from a cold start, even after adjusting the pilot light.

Water chiller method is more expensive due to the power consumption of the chiller. Right now, i'm doing a hybrid water chiller/drain to waste. When the reservoir reaches a certain temperature, I dump the whole thing out and refill with new municipal water. Note, 700-800 gallons a day consumption is actually on the low end for a 4 BR residence.

Originally Posted by noone88

I'll offer a different opinion. I'm using a HydroGEN, water chiller w/ reservoir, controlled by a CHHC-1. What has worked best for me was:

1/4 HP water chiller with a pump that feeds water into the chiller, cold water feeds into the reservoir. Stored outside of the room

Another pump connected controlled by the CHHC that feeds into the HydroGEN. This pump sits at the bottom of the reservoir.

The unit works fine. With summer coming along, I may have to upgrade to a larger reservoir/water chiller due to the extra heat generated from everything. Ultimately, I had to remove the gas pressure regulator because the unit sometimes would not fire from a cold start, even after adjusting the pilot light.

Water chiller method is more expensive due to the power consumption of the chiller. Right now, i'm doing a hybrid water chiller/drain to waste. When the reservoir reaches a certain temperature, I dump the whole thing out and refill with new municipal water. Note, 700-800 gallons a day consumption is actually on the low end for a 4 BR residence.

Wow. Thank you very much for your input! That makes me feel much better. What is the average PPM in your room? Cubic Feet?

I'm at around 550 ppm when I walk in the room. That's with the intake and exhaust running 24/7. also my water heater is in my room so when that goes on it jumps to around 950ppm. Hopefully I won't have to run the Co2 unit very much to aquire the needed 1500ppm. The room is about 350sqft. my temp at 600 ppm is under 78F hopefully I will be able to run my intake, exhust, and the Co2 generator intermitenly and keep it at 1500ppm and under 88F with under 65% humidity. My 20k BTU a/c just crapped out on me so temp and humidity are my worries now.

Originally Posted by Grow4Profit

Wow. Thank you very much for your input! That makes me feel much better. What is the average PPM in your room? Cubic Feet?

I'm at around 550 ppm when I walk in the room. That's with the intake and exhaust running 24/7. also my water heater is in my room so when that goes on it jumps to around 950ppm. Hopefully I won't have to run the Co2 unit very much to aquire the needed 1500ppm. The room is about 350sqft. my temp at 600 ppm is under 78F hopefully I will be able to run my intake, exhust, and the Co2 generator intermitenly and keep it at 1500ppm and under 88F with under 65% humidity. My 20k BTU a/c just crapped out on me so temp and humidity are my worries now.

The main issue that I can see is that if you're using CO2, you need to run a sealed environment (or semi-sealed). That means you cannot vent in/out for heat.

You'll be stuck in this vicious cycle, which is temps will rise in your room due to ambient temperature or the HydroGEN firing. If you try to remove the heat by intake/exhaust fans, you'll suck out all the CO2 generated, which will cause the HydroGEN to fire up again. This will cause a slow rise in the reservoir temperature. At a certain temp, the water chiller will shut down.

I would advise getting your AC working first before diving into CO2.

Edit: to answer your question, the HydroGEN generates tons of CO2, so size/lights/# of plants is a less important factor for you. Take care of your heat/humidity issues first. As for ideal room temps with CO2, i've done tons of research and the "ideal" number varies. The bible states 80 degrees, with 85 degrees being too hot which causes the stomata to close up. However, in my grow room, temps are between 84-88F and the plants seem to be thriving. I am afraid to go over 90 degrees though.

I don't have to worry about the resivior temp or the chiller because I'm running the municiple water through the unit then dumping it down the drain. I do have the problem of the ventalation however because I have to run my exahust at least 15 mins per hour for sent control. That is gonna suck out all the Co2 and the ppm's will drop which will ignite the HydroGEN generator. I am hoping I can run all my exhaust and intake and the generator all at the same time and keep the PPM at 1500 for the 12 hour light cycle. I think that would be too expensive to run the generator for 12 hours strait every day. I'll have to fool around with it and see what i can come up with. My buddy is a plumber and he's gonna hook it all up and make sure it runs properly

Originally Posted by Grow4Profit

I don't have to worry about the resivior temp or the chiller because I'm running the municiple water through the unit then dumping it down the drain. I do have the problem of the ventalation however because I have to run my exahust at least 15 mins per hour for sent control. That is gonna suck out all the Co2 and the ppm's will drop which will ignite the HydroGEN generator. I am hoping I can run all my exhaust and intake and the generator all at the same time and keep the PPM at 1500 for the 12 hour light cycle. I think that would be too expensive to run the generator for 12 hours strait every day. I'll have to fool around with it and see what i can come up with. My buddy is a plumber and he's gonna hook it all up and make sure it runs properly

If you're going to drain to waste, then that's fine.

I understand about creating negative pressure in the grow room, but I would try my best to seal up the room. You can always vent in/out during the dark period and leave the intake/exhaust fans off during the light cycle. I do exactly that with the C.A.P. ART-DNe. My intake/exhaust fans cycle during the dark period and are off during the light period.