My CO2 chamber

mykee · 01-28-05, 05:02 PM

I recently decided that I am morally opposed to "whacking" rats and decided to build my own CO2 chamber. I first tracked down a refurb 10 lb. canister. I found a wonderful supplier in Waterloo that let me have one (filled) for $100 with the hose valve hookup.

I then went to Home Depot and picked up a 5/8" hose (10 feet for $6) and a pair of circle tightening thingies (that's the technical name folks) for each end of the hose ($3). I also picked up a connector for the rubbermaid ($3). I drilled a hole about two inches up on the bottom of a tall #2220 rubbermaid ($6) and attached the hose to the connector with the clamp.

Lastly, I attached the hose to the valve at the canister and tightened it with the last clamp and tried it out. Works great. I can euthanize approx. 15 ~100g or so rats at one time or 5-7 large adults in under one minute. I was told I should have close to 150 uses from a single tankfull. Refills are $16. Total cost: $118.

BoidKeeper · 01-28-05, 05:14 PM

Sure beats wacking! Thanks for sharing this valuable info.
Cheers,
Trevor

Simon · 01-28-05, 05:33 PM

Great job!

I too agree, surely beats wacking a whole lot if you ask me~~

Thanks for sharing!

Tim_Cranwill · 01-28-05, 05:38 PM

Nice work!

Do you find that a lid as loose as that wastes much gas? We use an air-tight container (a cake holding container, I think) with a tiny plug-able air hole at the top to let air out as the Co2 comes in. They drop in seconds. WAY, WAY, WAY better than wacking!

Mark · 01-28-05, 10:23 PM

looking good mykee.

mykee · 01-28-05, 10:40 PM

Thanks guys. Tim, I find that with 850 psi, the last thing I want is an airtight container. POOF!! I find that very little anything escapes, but apparently just enough to work like a charm.

Tim_Cranwill · 01-28-05, 10:53 PM

We <i>ease</i> on the gas until the lid starts to heave and then let some air out through the pin-hole in the lid. We do that a few times and... night-night.

Very good thread and pics though. A lot of people will get some great use out of your work here!

Peter Ludwig · 01-29-05, 08:44 AM

Nice set up. Mine is pretty well the same except I use one high pressure bottle that has a stainless valve and is used for inserting CO2 into soda pop. It was hydro tested at 10,000 lbs and certified by a safety supply company. Also, when euthanizing animals I read if the CO2 concentration is too high an acid will form in the animals breathing passages and lungs.So I take my time and introduce the gas slowly over a 5 minute period as not to torture them. I went too fast one time putting down some bigger rabbits and they started to scream, I felt terrible.

ScreamingMisfit · 01-31-05, 05:36 AM

i have heard of that b4 ... unfortunatly i have no use for that , having only 1 snake , down from 25 when i moved to alberta, its hard if anyone knows were i can buy feeders frozen bulk let me know please ..... thanks
Jay

Adrian · 01-31-05, 10:31 PM

nice gas-chamber!
highly efficient, yes?

mykee · 02-01-05, 02:09 PM

Adrian; so far it has proved to be highly efficent. More expensive than whacking, but the nightmares haved stopped, so well-worth it in my opinion.

ReneeB · 02-01-05, 02:19 PM

hmm I likes.. I think I'm going to have to go visit Home Depot again.. they are beginning to know me by my first name!!

morph · 02-01-05, 02:53 PM

Hey Mykee I may be wrong but I thought there was hose specifically for co2? Not sure if it makes a difference I can't see why but just wondering.

Nice post by the way

Scott

edit: maybe just a pressure thing?

mykee · 02-01-05, 05:26 PM

Scott: I'm sure there is some special hose for this use but this tubing stuff was cheap ($6 for 10') (I only used 3') and I don't plan on pressurizing the hose too greatly. Cheap and useful was what I was looking for.