# DIY co2 bubble counter



## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

i read the diy co2 thing and i dont understand how to make the syringe bubble counter can anyone help me here pictures would be great


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Pisc are not really that necessary if you think of it being simple.
Basically you need to run your bubbles thru a liquid so that you can visually see them.

If you take a straw and blow into water you can see bubbles right.

So if you were to take a soda bottle 1/2 full of water and put two holes in the lid, two straws into the holes it and seal them (that is easier then it souds, but don't think of the technical stuff for now, just assume it is already sealed)

Arange it so that one of the straws is under the water and the other straw up above the water line.
If you blow into the straw that is under the water and do so slowly, you can count as bubbles float up above the water line. Since it is seales and since you are blowing with some amount of pressure, there is only one place for the air to go, out the other straw.

This is how you make a bubble counter. You use a 1 liter soda or water bottle, you can actually drill (poke) a hole at the bottom of it and then use a plastic hose barb to go thru it and attach your hose to it and silicone it in place (there are all kinds of fittings and stuff you can easily use at the hardware store) and do the same in the lid. From your co2 unit (DIY or PRESSURIZED) run the line to a check valve, out the check valve to the bottom line (or one burried in the water) and attach your return line from the top of the bottle and when you start running your c02, you will be counting bubbles in the water.

for actual blue prints and pictures, go to www.rexgrigg.com


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

direct link to photo
http://www.rexgrigg.com/bubblecounter.jpg


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

so the pressure from the co2 bottle pushes co2 down under water through that hosing at the bottom of the small bottle, then you count the bubbles as the come out the end of the hosing? sry im a noob to all this stuff. if this is right than this is easy but i think the syringe one would look better i wanna find more pics of that


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

I don't know anything about the Syringe one???????


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...cts/14453-diy-co2-guide-pictures-recipes.html

i understand it now, you glue in one of those little check valves and the water cant go through it, the co2 bubles through the water in the syringe where you count it, then goes on into the tank, imo this is a much cleaner and more profesional looking approach


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Just keep in mind this

NOTE: Some plastic check valves occasionally don't work, always check your valve when replacing the DIY CO2 mixture. CO2 will degrade plastic valves over time, so always check.

you might want to make a couple of them up and change them out every 3 to 4 batches of brew you make.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I made one from a syringe, but it is a tricky thing to do. I used the plunger, with the push "stick" cut off, as one end, with a check valve glued into it. And, the needle end is a nice tight fit on the OD of the CO2 tubing. I used it for a year with no problems.


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

how did you connect your tubing onto the end with the check valve.. i dont get how it would work with the plunger part still on


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

The plunger is a "piston" with rubber piston/ring around it. I cut off the "piston rod" leaving just the "piston", which I carefully, and with difficulty drilled a hole through, smaller than the check valve outlet pipe OD. Then I shoved the check valve into the hole. The piston is a pretty tight fit into the barrel of the syringe, but I added a blob of silicone sealant to be sure it wouldn't back out, and shoved the assembly into the barrel so the large diameter of the check valve bottomed on the barrel. That piston/check valve assembly became the cap on the open end of the syringe. (This is a medical syringe, by the way, made to accept removable needles.) The stub on the needle end has a precision threaded hole that the needle screws in, and a protruding nub that is a tight fit in CO2 tubing ID. The tube is hard to push into that hole and takes a good hard pull to remove, so it is bubble tight. I can't find the bubble counter, but here is a pic of one of those syringes.








I have a few of these left over, from a medical condition where the pharmacy provided me with a dozen or so, of which I only used about 2 or 3. If anyone one wants one PM me - I will give them away. (No needles, of course.)


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