baking soda to DIY co2

[skewlboy]

Can someone explain why yuo would add baking soda to DIY co2 mix of sugar and yeast?

What ratios is this done?

[fshfanatic]

To control acidity. I sometimes dont even use it. I forget. However when I do, It lasts longer as the acidity can kill off the yeast.

I use
4cups Sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1/8 teaspoon BS
3 quarts very warm water

[Wasserpest]

I did not have good results with baking soda, it lead to a foaming mix.

My water is pretty hard, around 10dkH. I imagine that the purpose of it would be to buffer the pH. If you have soft water, you might get better results adding it.

Try it!

[spypet]

much better "tricks" than baking soda in your DIY mix are;

-add jello mix to sugar, then keep in fridge overnight to jell.
add yeast with a bit of water, then hook up to your tank.
jello prevents the yeast from getting at all the sugar too quickly,
so you get a more even amount of Co2 over a longer period.

-instead of grocery store baking yeast, use brewers yeast.
various brewers yeast will keep generating Co2 at double the
alcohol toxicity that normal baking yeast can survive, thus
it will generate Co2 about 33% longer than normal yeast.

[fshfanatic]

I just replaced my "mixture" and I did this:

3 Qt juice bottle feeding a 20oz water bottle 2/3 full of water.

4 Cups suger poured into the bottle then filled with hot tap water till there was only 8" of air left.

Shook the hell out of it to disolve sugar.
added some baking soda (not sure how much) just a small scoop.
added 1/2 tablespoon yeast and shook to mix it up.
added 1/2 tablespoon yeast and gently swirled
Poured in some of the old mixture to give it a boost. leaving 3-4" of air in the bottle.
hooked it backup to my glass difussor.

That was 15/20 minutes ago now I am utterly amazed as to the flow! It is screaming! I am getting 4-5 bps!

[General Tso]

Fshfanatic,
How long does your mixture last for? I would like to try out your recipe. I am currently using a 64 ounce juice bottle that is hooked up to a 16 oz water bottle gas separator.

My recipe is:

Proof 1/2 tsp.of champagne yeast in small glass bowl in 100-108 Fahrenheit H2O with a pinch of sugar

To juice bottle add:
2 cups sugar
fill up to neck with 100-108 Fahrenheit H2O
shake the hell out of it

Add proofed yeast to bottle with a pinch of baking soda and shake the hell out of it again

This recipe takes about 5 hours to build up enough pressure to get my glass diffuser going,and it lasts for about 2-2.5 weeks.

[fshfanatic]

Mine lasts about 3 weeks and it kicking hard in about 15-20 minutes. Every couple days I open the top to let in air and swirl.. Seems to make it last longer.

[tritan]

what kind of yeast are you using?

[fshfanatic]

I buy they 4oz Glass jar of Fleischmann's "active dry" yeast at walmart for like $4 and change.

[cbennett]

here's my recipe (lasts for 4 weeks):

1/8 teaspoon Champagne yeast (designed to handle high acidity and alcohol)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda (want as little acidity as possible)
2 cups sugar
warm water
2-liter bottle

You can buy a 5 gram packet of champagne yeast for about $1.00 at your local brewing shop or online. It's enough for about 6 batches of one 2-liter bottle. It will keep in the freezer for about 6 months.