Best affordable co2 controller? Opinions?

Hey guys, I just purchased my first co2 tank which is labeled as 20lbs (really like 26.7 I think?). It came with a Titan Controls regulator. The optional controller that I could have added during purchase was a mechanical timer, which I definitely skipped on.

I have been checking out Amazon and I found this one and it has really good reviews and quiet affordable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B017847K76/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

Anyway, this is my first time using co2 and I am excited to see how it changes things up in my room. Those of you who use it, how often do you fill your co2 tanks? 20 lb specifically? I was estimating weekly but I'm not sure. I won't be venting as I am aware that it is not necessary. Also what have you guys found the optimal temp range of the room while running co2?

Thanks in advance!

Also I forgot to add, does it matter if I use food grade or industrial grade? I just read somewhere online that there was a difference.

I have two of those units. They seem to be very reliable.

Ltcgrower said:

I have two of those units. They seem to be very reliable.

Click to expand...

Thanks buddy.. I went ahead and went with it last night, squez the trigger. No better way to learn than personal experience anyway, so I went ahead and bit the bullet!

Well I never thought that I would have this much trouble around here getting a co2 refill. The only place I found that will refill a tank is over an hour away from my town and they said they had to keep it at least half a day to refill it because the tanks have to be chilled during the summer. One place a little closer to home, does co2, however they said they only exchange tanks and don't fill them. So this brand new tank I purchased, stupidly, I have to take it straight to the gas company and just exchange for one of their used tanks. Wish I had of known this, but oh well that's what I get for not doing further research on getting them filled lol.

May be better off eventually with a burner.

psychadelibud said:

Well I never thought that I would have this much trouble around here getting a co2 refill. The only place I found that will refill a tank is over an hour away from my town and they said they had to keep it at least half a day to refill it because the tanks have to be chilled during the summer. One place a little closer to home, does co2, however they said they only exchange tanks and don't fill them. So this brand new tank I purchased, stupidly, I have to take it straight to the gas company and just exchange for one of their used tanks. Wish I had of known this, but oh well that's what I get for not doing further research on getting them filled lol.

May be better off eventually with a burner.

Click to expand...

Yeah exchanging is pretty normal when dealing with bottled. Doesn’t matter to the plants what the bottle looks like. Ask that gas company how much a bottle is from there. Maybe its around the same price so you won't end up feeling like a lame buying that new empty bottle? Lol

Aeroknow said:

Yeah exchanging is pretty normal when dealing with bottled. Doesn’t matter to the plants what the bottle looks like. Ask that gas company how much a bottle is from there. Maybe its around the same price so you won't end up feeling like a lame buying that new empty bottle? Lol

Click to expand...

Yeah I know the plants don't care, just the blah feeling of buying that brand new bottle when I could have gotten a cheaper used one. They said over the phone that they would exchange tanks with my new one, I think for a 20lb exchange only is like 32 bucks? Not bad really. To get it filled would have been $36.

psychadelibud said:

Well I never thought that I would have this much trouble around here getting a co2 refill. The only place I found that will refill a tank is over an hour away from my town and they said they had to keep it at least half a day to refill it because the tanks have to be chilled during the summer. One place a little closer to home, does co2, however they said they only exchange tanks and don't fill them. So this brand new tank I purchased, stupidly, I have to take it straight to the gas company and just exchange for one of their used tanks. Wish I had of known this, but oh well that's what I get for not doing further research on getting them filled lol.

May be better off eventually with a burner.

Click to expand...

Man that sucks. Its readily available here. There’s a big bar scene and all of that draft beer requires co2. So it’s not hard to come by. Might want to check with the local pub and see where they get it.

Ltcgrower said:

Man that sucks. Its readily available here. There’s a big bar scene and all of that draft beer requires co2. So it’s not hard to come by. Might want to check with the local pub and see where they get it.

Click to expand...

Yeah sometimes I wish I lived in an area like you... I am in the middle of BFE. Eastern Kentucky, Appalachian mountains. Biggest thing we have going in our town is a family dollar unfortunately lol. Have a few bars about 30 miles away, may go check with them.

How long have you been using co2? Seen a great benefit since you started?

I have an underground grow op (literally) , 5000 watts, sealed with a mini split. Been supplying bursts of fresh air for now, but it is "co2 completely sealed ready"... I have been growing indoor for around 8 years now and outdoor going on 18 years. I feel like it is time that I maximize my operation and co2 is one thing I have not incorporated into my grows yet.

psychadelibud said:

How long have you been using co2? Seen a great benefit since you started?

Click to expand...

I didnt start using co2 in my grows until I moved where it gets hot as fuck during the summer here in Norcal. If you wanna grow good bud indoor during these months, to me its a must. So, around 13yrs ago a made the leap. I also build allot of growrooms big and small for people.

I do bottled and generators, with generators my preference. There is allot more co2, believe it or not, in a propane tank compared to the same volume of bottled co2. And of course exchanging or filling propane tanks is hardly a problem.

Only thing about using generators is I usually set the rooms up to dump 3-4 times while lights on. It just makes for a healthier grow. Why? I dunno but i dont build my sealed growrooms without the ability to ventilate also because of this. Bottled I usually dont dump the room. Its not technically a “sealed growoom” by some peoples standards when the room has the ability to ventilate but oh well lol.

You asked before about how long a 20lber will last in there. Very hard to say without knowing the size of the room and the amount of foliage in there. But with 5k watts i’m gonna guess somewhere between 8-11 days. It def helps to have at least 2 tanks.

Sentinel makes good CO2 controllers
Lots of controllers run off of a photo cell.
Plants don’t want high c02 as soon as the lights come on, they need time for the stomas to open, 45min after lights on is better .
I just run a burner , to much work filling bottles .

If yours running sealed cppm4 is a good easy unit,

I went ahead and exchanged my new tank, it cost me 32 bucks. I did that a couple days ago, but been super busy with my guerilla op and have not had time to hook up my co2 yet. I will be installing it tonight for sure and gonna try and make sure I get it all exactly right...

8 days is not long for a tank of gas at all imo, but then again I didn't dive into this co2 thing thinking it would be cheap. I knew it would have its expenses. I have read reports how some folks it will last 5 days for and some it will last around a month and even heard a few saying one tank would last a complete flowering cycle, and this All depends on how well the room is sealed.

My room is sealed pretty well. The only issue I can see would be that I have an exhaust fan in the lung room placed right upon my mini split unit to evacuate the extremely hot air that the minisplit puts out. I'm just worried that the fan will pull some of the co2 out of the cracks and crevices from within the grow room, into the hallway (lung room) and then to the outside. So I am gonna go through and make sure she is sealed 100%... I also will close my vents off, I will not be venting, even during lights out. But then again, my AC should not be running nearly as hard since I can increase my Temps in the room. What do you guys run your Temps while enriching with co2? I was thinking I'm gonna run 1200ppm with Temps around 83 to 84 degrees...

And guys those sentinel controllers are nice but way out of my price ranger right now, if harvest came a hair but earlier it wouldn't be a problem but my OD is still stacking lol. But the controller I did purchase has awesome reviews and half the price of one of those sentinels, it also has a photo cell and all that and I have watched real time reviews as well and people loved them.

I will keep yall updated on how it works out for me. Hoping I can fire back up my underground thread again if this all works out because right now I have half my room full and the buds look poor due to lack of co2. Back in the winter when I could bring in cold fresh air and vent (before I got my minisplit) I had some fat ass nice high yielding donkey dicks. My current runs first half of flower didn't have hardly any ventilation and the buds and growth is very puny... Hopefully throwing in some co2 for the last half of flowering will pick them back up a hair at least and I also will be filling the other empty half of my room up tonight with plants that are ready for flower so I know at least those will be benefited..

What ppm do you guys run and in your personal experience works best? I keep reading 1500 but have also seen reports where people say 900 will do just as good. Also, I may purchase a burner for this winter and use it during the late fall, winter and spring and switch back to bottled during the summer.

Thanks for all the great info yall.

You don’t need over 1500ppm
I don’t like photocell controllers, put it on a timer so you can control it. Let the plants wake up to 400ish ppm, give them 45 min
Then CO2. At about 2 hours before lights off , I shut it down n the room is back to normal ppm for lights out.
I have my room set for 1300 max 1100 min
And let it bounce between them. 82-84 day
75-77 night 50% RH avg .