HOW-TO
STEP_004:
Now you need to drill two holes in each bottle top. One hole needs to be the exact same size as your vinyl tubing, the other can be the same size or a bit smaller - in an attempt to prevent evaporation and allow for some pressure to build up inside of your bottle.
At all stages in your carbon capturing bioreactor, you need to remember that you’re using your air conditioner as an air pump, but unlike normal air pumps, if too much pressure builds up then it will stop moving through the air conditioner and thus stop cooling efficiently. So you will need to find that point of equilibrium, where enough air is flowing through your system and into your bottles, but not too much air is being stuck in the cover you constructed. If too much air is getting stuck behind your cover, you can alleviate the pressure by drilling more holes around the base of your cover or adding a bit of space between the cover and the air conditioner so that air can flow out the bottom. You don’t need a lot of air bubbles flowing into each bottle, but you need a constant flow. |
With holes drilled in your bottle tops, you can then insert the tubes into the holes so about 15-20cm comes out of the bottom – you’ll want for the end of the tube to be near the bottom of the bottle but not touching the bottom.