I got around today to finally making one...Not very hard to do and not sure why I waited so long....Since I'm down to one live eater BP and the rest of my snakes take FT now....My live rodent stock has been exploding....and male heavy as well. I wanted an easy way to kill the mice or rats without them suffering. I'm not one who's into watching animlas suffer....I wanted something small as well cause I don't have a large rodent colony... So I gather some ideas off the net and set out to the store to round up some supplies this afternoon....The Valve from ebay I ordered Monday ahead of time....But here is how I went about making it:

Materials

From Ebay

1-Cylinder valve @ $18.30 shipped

From Dicks Sporting Goods Store:

1- 20 oz C02 Cylinder filled @ $38.98

From Lowes:

1- 6.5 Quart Tub @ $1.97
1- Brass pipe 1/8 @ $1.94
1- Brass reducer 1/4 to 1/8 @ $1.38
2- 1/4 barb X 1/4 @ $4.08
1- Vinly Tubing 6ft @ $2.68

Total for everything $ 69.33

**Glue Gun I already had...To I had to use a few more brass pieces as Lowes didn't have a single Barb to screw right into the cylinder valve.

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2511.jpg

I drilled a 5/16 hole through the tub and inserted the barb

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2512.jpg

Plug in the glue gun

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2514.jpg

Then glue around the barb outside and inside the tub

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2515.jpg

Tape all the threads with white pipe tape

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2517.jpg

Connect all the fittings together

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2518.jpg

Attach them to the CO2 Cylinder

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2519.jpg

Connect tubing to the barb on the tub

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2524.jpg

Connect tubing to the Cylinder

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2525.jpg

Add some bedding material to the Tub

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2526.jpg

All done time for Trial Run

http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp184/JOHNS6068/IMG_2527.jpg

I can do 10 mice at a time in the tub...I give them one shot of gas and thats makes them sleepy and usually a second shot as well to make sure all are dead...Done right there is no thrashing or even a lot of peeing or pooping....I did 3 batches after making it this evening. I hardly had any pee or poop when done. You wanna make sure not to over do the gas as it will make them panic more. But yet enough to do the job. :yessir:

You can cut your cost by going smaller on the Cylinder. I didn't cause I didn't want to be making a bunch of trips for refills. Like wise if you have lots to do you may want a bigger Cylinder and Tub.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out though :)

Great post! Building a CO2 chamber is on my list this week and this will help me out.

Very cool John, thanks for the play by play :cheers:

nice man........thx for the pix. This is also on my list to do and they just opened a Dicks here so I'll be headed there this weekend!

If i need to make one with a bigger tub for rats is there anything different I should do?

Very nice post! Thank you for the info!

If i need to make one with a bigger tub for rats is there anything different I should do?

Not really...Maybe a bigger cylinder as you will use more gas...Walmart sells a 24 oz cylinder which is a bit bigger....but not all Walmarts will fill the cylinders from what I hear...The Dicks Sporting Goods Store here has a program every 4 refills the 5th one is free....First fill up is free if you buy your cylinder at Dicks....Course you could buy more then one cylinder as well...A welding shop would be my best guess as to were you could find a larger cylinder then what Dicks or Walmart would have...Refills at Dicks cost about $3-4 dollars.

i knew my paintball gun would come in handy one day lol....i have like 3 cylinders nice job...

Not really...Maybe a bigger cylinder as you will use more gas...Walmart sells a 24 oz cylinder which is a bit bigger....but not all Walmarts will fill the cylinders from what I hear...The Dicks Sporting Goods Store here has a program every 4 refills the 5th one is free....First fill up is free if you buy your cylinder at Dicks....Course you could buy more then one cylinder as well...A welding shop would be my best guess as to were you could find a larger cylinder then what Dicks or Walmart would have...Refills at Dicks cost about $3-4 dollars.

Good job John, I got the same thing except a little larger tub. :rockon:

Nice, looks cool, great idea! (http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=55509)

I think I'll add this to my DIY folder. I'll probably never go this route but I like step by step instructions. Ya did good John.

Thanks for the step by step John .
Toni

Nice job John, great step-by-step post! :yessir:

I say that this should be a sticky somewhere......great info man, I will definately come back to this post when the time comes! Thanks a lot John!

Good job johno!

Thanks everyone...:)

:lol: John got stickied!!!

Great post and how to. Question, doesn't baking soda and vinagar produce CO2?

:lol: John got stickied!!!
That just sounds so wrong!

Great set of instructions.

I wanted to add that those who have a large rodent colony and are killing a lot of rats or mice per week will be better served with a conventional CO2 cylinder. My gas chamber is hooked up to a 20lb cylinder. The cost is a bit more initially, but where you save in the end is on the refills.
It cost me around $100 for the cylinder and regulator, but I can have the 20lb refilled for $7 at the welding supply house rather than $3-4 for the 24oz at Dicks.
I have a 1/2" line going to a rubbermaid tub about the size of a 32qt snake tub.
I've had mine in use for two or three years now and have killed a few thousand rodents, all on the initial filling, but I asked when I bought the cylinder how much the refill would be.
I don't know how long the tank will last me, the pressure hasn't gone down hardly any yet.

Yeah I've got a similar setup, I just need to replace the stupid jury rigged fill-valve that I made (with spare parts at the paintball shop) with one of those regulators you've got John. Could you send me the link to where you got that from?

Here's what I use on mine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Paintball-HPA-Co2-QD-On-Off-Thick-Coiled-Remote-NEW_W0QQitemZ390035219603QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item390035219603&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1307%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g302/wildbill_photos/valve.jpg

Great set of instructions.

I wanted to add that those who have a large rodent colony and are killing a lot of rats or mice per week will be better served with a conventional CO2 cylinder. My gas chamber is hooked up to a 20lb cylinder. The cost is a bit more initially, but where you save in the end is on the refills.
It cost me around $100 for the cylinder and regulator, but I can have the 20lb refilled for $7 at the welding supply house rather than $3-4 for the 24oz at Dicks.
I have a 1/2" line going to a rubbermaid tub about the size of a 32qt snake tub.
I've had mine in use for two or three years now and have killed a few thousand rodents, all on the initial filling, but I asked when I bought the cylinder how much the refill would be.
I don't know how long the tank will last me, the pressure hasn't gone down hardly any yet.

How long do you let the gas run and what pressure do you have it flowing at?
Also how long does it take for them to all die?

Forgot to mention this morning that you got a sticky John! :cheers:

How long do you let the gas run and what pressure do you have it flowing at?
Also how long does it take for them to all die?

It's pretty darn quick in my little set-up...I give them one small shot of gas and a second small shot if there is still any movement say about minute or less after the first shot....The first shot though stops all major movement within seconds...I don't have anything on mine to measure the pressure or flow rate but it doesn't take much at all.

Yeah I've got a similar setup, I just need to replace the stupid jury rigged fill-valve that I made (with spare parts at the paintball shop) with one of those regulators you've got John. Could you send me the link to where you got that from?

This is the one I got...

http://cgi.ebay.com/CO2-Tank-ON-OFF-ADAPTER-Paintball-Remote-Fill-station_W0QQitemZ400015550298QQihZ027QQcategoryZ83044QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

Great set of instructions.

I wanted to add that those who have a large rodent colony and are killing a lot of rats or mice per week will be better served with a conventional CO2 cylinder. My gas chamber is hooked up to a 20lb cylinder. The cost is a bit more initially, but where you save in the end is on the refills.
It cost me around $100 for the cylinder and regulator, but I can have the 20lb refilled for $7 at the welding supply house rather than $3-4 for the 24oz at Dicks.
I have a 1/2" line going to a rubbermaid tub about the size of a 32qt snake tub.
I've had mine in use for two or three years now and have killed a few thousand rodents, all on the initial filling, but I asked when I bought the cylinder how much the refill would be.
I don't know how long the tank will last me, the pressure hasn't gone down hardly any yet.

Thanks Clay....Good points on guys with larger rodent colonies :yessir:

Forgot to mention this morning that you got a sticky John! :cheers:

Thank-you Jeff

How long do you let the gas run and what pressure do you have it flowing at?
Also how long does it take for them to all die?

I run mine at 40 psi for 30 seconds and they're all dead within two minutes.
It's variable of course depending on the size tub you use. I just set it up and played with it. I started with lower pressure and shorter times to try to find the minimum amount that could be used while providing a quick kill time so as not to waste CO2 but also not to prolong the time until death. It took about four tries to get it set the way I wanted it.

Clay did you go to a welding supply store to get your tank or did you find it somewhere else?

Thanks for the information. We need one of those.

Clay did you go to a welding supply store to get your tank or did you find it somewhere else?

I ended up just buying on at the welding supply because I got tired of looking around for one.
There are usually a few on Ebay, but you have to factor in shipping charge and how long since the last pressure test. They must be tested every 10 years and a lot of the ones I saw on Ebay were either well past that or getting very close to it.

Heres a few links to online sites that you can find all diffreent size cylinders at

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...ers&category0=

http://www.cylindermart.com/co2.htm

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-...nt-cid-19.html

http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/we...er_image=.html

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...7977_200317977

Some welding shops will even lease the cylinders out as well as drop them off and exchange them when needed...All depends on the welding shop or place you deal with.

I ended up just buying on at the welding supply because I got tired of looking around for one.
There are usually a few on Ebay, but you have to factor in shipping charge and how long since the last pressure test. They must be tested every 10 years and a lot of the ones I saw on Ebay were either well past that or getting very close to it.


Yep if they go past their cert date you get dinged with a charge for them when you go to exchange for a full tank. Kind of a funny game of hot potato..

Ding dong the mice are gone!!! Yeah! Well, at least half of them. I am one happy wife. Those little buggers can get stinky lol

Definitly see why this is a sticky awesome idea and tutorial

Thank you so much for the info!!! I've been stressing about how to
do this very thing. You made my day!!!

Well done...Putting mine together this week...

Thanks for posting this is very useful

I just recently built my first rat rack. I have been searchin for a step-by-step tutorial showing the various components for a decent euthanasia chamber. This is the best one I have found. Thanks to the OP for making it and for whoever realized that it deserved to be a sticky.

I could have used this a few months ago when I was breeding mice. I have all my snakes on frozen/thawed now. I will keep this in mind in case I decide to breed feeders again.

Hi,

I'm attempting to set up one of these using the paintball gun 9oz co2 cylinder I already have. I'm having problems finding the valve that will let me release the co2 from the tank. I was trying to find one like the one pictured.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I'm attempting to set up one of these using the paintball gun 9oz co2 cylinder I already have. I'm having problems finding the valve that will let me release the co2 from the tank. I was trying to find one like the one pictured.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

There is one for sale over on Fauna..Guy said he picked it up at Dick's Sporting Goods

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230909

This one will work to and some of them come with a gauge on them....

http://www.totalpaintballgear.com/on-off/index2.html

I just purchased one exactly like the one in your second link from ebay for just a little bit cheaper. I would post the link for others looking, but don't have the points yet...Let me know if anybody needs it.

Thanks for your very fast assistance!