"Nemo" wrote in message ...
Second time I've tried this now with no luck.

- 1 well rinsed 2L Pepsi bottle
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups of warm-hot water to dissolve the sugar
- 4 cups of cold water : result is 6 cups luke warm sugar water
- 1 tsp baker's yeast (stored in the fridge)
- half a dozen shakes

I have a check valve in the line to prevent the tank water from siphoning
back into the bottle.

I get foam at the mix's surface but no sustained CO2 after 24 hrs. It seems
as if the culture just dies off after it gets started

Tap water parameters a

pH ~ 8.0
gH ~ 3
kH ~ 2-3

In the second attempt, I used chlorine-chloramines remover in the water to
no avail.
The temperature in the house goes down to 16-17 oC during the day this time
of year. Could this be the problem? Do I need to insulate?

First I want to say I feel your pain. I had trouble getting mine
started too. The temp in the house can very well be affecting your
culture. The colder the temp the more slowly the yeast produces.
Also, you might want to use 2 cups of sugar, as opposed to 1, and add
a tsp of baking soda that will help prolong the CO2 producing time of
the yeast. That's what works for me. Be wary that you can kill the
yeast if your water is too hot. Good Luck.

Chris