# Why won't yeast CO2 WORK for me?



## jschall (Apr 13, 2009)

I've gone through a whole carton of sugar trying to make yeast CO2 work. It just sits there and does nothing.
I've tried new yeast. I've tried filtering my well water through my brita pitcher and then mixing it 1:1 with distilled water. I did that bottle last night, not a single bubble came out.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

I'd bet you have a leak. even a very small one and it won't be able to hold enough presure to produce bubbles. take your bottle and dunk it in a bucket of water. you will find it.


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

sugar, yeast and a smidge of baking powder right? you gotta mix the sugar and water first, then add the yeast and then the baking powder, shake it up and attach it to the tank.

what recipe are you using? I got one from here I think and its dead on every time.

what size bottles are you using? what do you have for a reactor and bubble counter? also well water wont make a difference, its a chemical reaction taking place and water is a key player but a better host.

Give us more detailed info of what you are doing so we might be able to point out what is going wrong.

Ive also heard something about the reaction to take up to 24 hours to occur.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

it should take less then 5 mins for it to start working. yeast is either alive or its dead.


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

2 cups sugar, 1 packet of red star active yeast, and put it in a 2 liter soda bottle, add warm water up to neck, shake and in 30 min you have loads of co2 for up to about a month.


TA DA!!!


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## medicTHREE (Feb 5, 2010)

What kind of diffuser are you using? A glass one? If so, it might not produce enough pressure to bubble.


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## armedbiggiet (May 6, 2006)

just open up the bottle and smeel inside... if it is bad smell than the yeast is working.


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## jschall (Apr 13, 2009)

I did end up getting it working... I added more yeast and waited a day. Still going pretty slow.
Now all I need is a way to diffuse it. I'll be using a powerhead or internal filter.


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

Niko posted this link :
http://www.petco.com/product/13796/Hagen-Elite-Mini-Underwater-Filter.aspx

hagen elite mini underwater filter.. 
I picked one up last week at my LFS, and it works GREAT! 
I'm tossing my old glass/nano diffuser since it would clog up rather quicky... just the co2 tube running directly into this little gem made a world of difference for me.
I've also stopped using regular sugar altogether... after remembering how much high fructose corn syrup (aka sugar  )
is in a bottle of soda. I use 1 liter of orange soda, (in a TWO liter bottle) half teaspoon of yeast, half teaspoon of baking soda and let it sit overnight (UNCAPPED/UNSEALED/OPEN bottle) 
no muss, no fuss.


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## mocha2184 (Mar 13, 2007)

Big_Fish said:


> I've also stopped using regular sugar altogether... after remembering how much high fructose corn syrup (aka sugar  )
> is in a bottle of soda. I use 1 liter of orange soda, (in a TWO liter bottle) half teaspoon of yeast, half teaspoon of baking soda and let it sit overnight (UNCAPPED/UNSEALED/OPEN bottle)
> no muss, no fuss.


I almost don't believe you that this works. I'm really intrigued, can you tell us more about what kind of results you get? How long does this produce CO2 compared to mixing your own sugar water?


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## wi_blue (Apr 5, 2005)

jschall if your well water is hard skip the baking soda.


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## jschall (Apr 13, 2009)

Big_Fish said:


> Niko posted this link :
> http://www.petco.com/product/13796/Hagen-Elite-Mini-Underwater-Filter.aspx
> 
> hagen elite mini underwater filter..
> ...


Lol, I found that exact same filter and ordered it from petco at amazon (cheaper shipping!)

A 1l sunkist has 1 cup of sugar in it, which is about right. Maybe the caffeine makes the yeast work faster =P


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

mocha2184 said:


> I almost don't believe you that this works. I'm really intrigued, can you tell us more about what kind of results you get? How long does this produce CO2 compared to mixing your own sugar water?


I don't think it lasts any longer, but it's as cheap as sugar and no mixing involved. 
I use a two bottle system and swap one out weekly. I'm looking at diluting the mix a bit further: I'm sure there's at least another week left when I pour the old mix out. and at the end of the week I'm still getting one bubble per second.
I also agree the baking soda is probably not required.... but I too was having problems getting enough pressure (I was still using the glass diffuser... probably NOT the best idea for a fermenter) so I figured I'd give the baking soda a shot.


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## huaidan (Mar 6, 2010)

The orange soda might work because there's more to soda than just sugar. Plain sugar doesn't do much for yeast. They need nutrition just like any other living thing. Add a little protein, phosphates, vitamin c, and a trace of other things, and the yeast will be happy and more productive.

Look for my thread. The potential of yeast and sugar has yet to be realized.

And baking soda does nothing for yeast. It just 'primes' the solution with a trace of CO2 so CO2 production can begin more quickly.


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## matt11 (Mar 25, 2010)

when u intitially mix everything use warm water, but make sure it stays under 100 degrees fareheit other wise the yeast will die i use a candy thermometer to do this. hope this could help a little


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

Big_Fish said:


> Niko posted this link :
> http://www.petco.com/product/13796/Hagen-Elite-Mini-Underwater-Filter.aspx
> 
> hagen elite mini underwater filter..
> ...


Something I neglected to mention... you DO need to vigorously aerate the water before adding yeast / sugar if using just soda.... not much O2 in the mix for the yeast to get started otherwise.


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