Dry ice ??

greg_n_ga · #1 09/10/12, 11:50 AM

Anyone use dry ice that can give me some opinions on it ? I have heard that it lasts longer than "ice", and is colder. I been thinkin about it for some time. A lake here that is very remote is where I like to spend a lot of time this time of year, staying 3 or 4 days at a time. 1 1/2 hrs from camp to the nearest store by the time you go by boat to veh., then drive out.

kimberlyg · #2 09/10/12, 12:41 PM

I used to use it to drop ship packages of chocolate. It is extremely cold. Should you use it, you should never touch it with your bare hands. I'm not sure it would last 3 or 4 days but it might. I can't remember. Sorry, that probably wasn't too helpful.

Silvercreek Farmer · #3 09/10/12, 12:55 PM

Dry ice is COLD, right around -78.5 F and has the ability to keep frozen stuff frozen. Okay for frozen meat with a little protection from the extreme cold, but not that great for most food items, drinks ect. Regular old ice will last longer and keep your food/drinks at a better temperature. Just get a good chest cooler and load it about 50% full with 2 liter bottles filled 90% full of water and frozen ahead of time. The solid mass of ice lasts longer and doesn't leak all over as it melts. Igloo used to make a decent cooler for $25 that was rated to keep cold for 5 days at 90F. Keep your cooler in the shade, keep it closed as much as possible, and don't pour the water out of the bottles as the ice melts, you should be good to go for 4 days.

FarmerRob · #4 09/10/12, 01:17 PM

To get those 5-day coolers to give you that much time you will also want to have a block of ice, if you can find it, rather than loose ice from bags. If you cannot find block ice to purchase, then save plastic gallon water jugs and freeze them yourself.

Bearfootfarm · #5 09/10/12, 02:32 PM

What FarmerRob said

Blocks of ice will easily last 4-5 days in a GOOD cooler.
The bigger the block the longer it will last

Nimrod · #6 09/10/12, 02:49 PM

Dry ice in a good cooler will keep frozen food for about 5 days. One downside I have found is that it's frozen carbon dioxide. When it sublimates (melts and vaporizes in one fell swoop) it give off CO2 the same as you do when you breath out. This attracts mosquitoes so there is usually a swarm around the cooler.

I am with the crowd that says get a 5 day cooler and put in blocks of ice. I also add a bag of cubes because the food seems to stay colder but things do get wetter.

I go car camping and bring along a small propane refrigerator I salvaged out of an old camper. I set it up on the picnic table and put a screen house over that. It gives me a bug free place to sit and eat or read on rainy days. The fridge will go over a month on one 20 pound tank of propane. I can even make ice if I want to take the cooler out in the boat for the day.

Rick · #7 09/10/12, 03:07 PM

We have a Deli in town that freezes a 5 gallon bucket of ice for us in a walk-in freezer. They accept 2 dollars and put it in the local skate board fund.

They fill it, and I haul it back and forth to the freezer. It has lasted 8 days. Around the 6th or 7th day I transfer the football sized chunk and cold water into a small pot with a lid. We have several nesting coolers, and use closed cell foam sheets or bubble wrap for extra insulation. Draping towels over the lid will help also.

FarmboyBill · #8 09/10/12, 04:19 PM

Seems like one of those cylinder cream cans with a lid would be perfect for hauling ect.
When I worked as a mechanic at a glass plant, we would put dry ice on a shaft we were going to place a bearing on. It contracted the metal a bit and made getting the bearing on a bit easier.

**highlands** · #9 09/10/12, 05:23 PM

We've used dry ice for shipping meat. It is -110°F (-78°C) so do be careful touching it. Keep away from children and childish adults. It freezes things very cold. Then they take longer to warm up if you also have good insulation. Start with already frozen foods if you're using it for shipping like we do or you'll waste some of the dry ice freezing the food. The package needs to be able to vent. If you ship with dry ice there is a requirement for a special label and you can't ship more than a certain amount if you ship by air.

See this page for more info on the topic:

Dry ice - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

watcher · #10 09/10/12, 08:27 PM

Remember as dry ice 'melts' it turns gaseous CO2. If you keep the cooler in the same place you sleep you might not wake up.

Alice In TX/MO · #11 09/10/12, 08:34 PM

Get a Yeti cooler.

tinknal · #12 09/10/12, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by watcher

Remember as dry ice 'melts' it turns gaseous CO2. If you keep the cooler in the same place you sleep you might not wake up.

CO2 (carbon dioxide) doesn't kill you, CO1 (carbon monoxide) does.

Wis Bang 2 · #13 09/10/12, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinknal

CO2 (carbon dioxide) doesn't kill you, CO1 (carbon monoxide) does.

If you reduce the amount of O2 enough w/ CO2 it would kill you from oxygen deprivation.

OH Boy · #14 09/10/12, 09:50 PM

It does not last longer than ice but it is is much colder. Everything in your cooler will be frozen solid! If that is your goal then this is good stuff.

There is no melt water to deal with. Just CO2 gas. Dont keep it in an enclosed space, you can suffocate from it. It needs to be in a well vented place.

A 5 or 10 pound bag/block will be gone within a day or so. It does help to add extra insulation to your cooler. I put layers of newspaper on the top of the stuff inside the cooler. Also, lay a blanket or a coat or something over the lid of the cooler (on the outside). Anything to insulate it better. Of course that works when using real ice too.

greg_n_ga · #15 09/11/12, 09:46 AM

Thanks folks. Was also trying to maybe cut down on required space, since I take a couple of coolers with me. One to keep my catch in till I make a trip out, the other for foods. I had heard in the past that putting the dry ice in the bottom would help keep stuff freezein.

watcher · #16 09/11/12, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinknal

CO2 (carbon dioxide) doesn't kill you, CO1 (carbon monoxide) does.

WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!

CO2 will kill you.

Even a little research comes up with the following

Concentrations (of CO2) of 7% to 10% may cause suffocation, manifesting as dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour.

Hypercapnia also known as hypercarbia, is a condition where there is too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous product of the body's metabolism and is normally expelled through the lungs.

Hypercapnia normally triggers a reflex which increases breathing and access to oxygen, such as arousal and turning the head during sleep. A failure of this reflex can be fatal, as in sudden infant death syndrome.

CO is more dangerous because it kills you in a way you nor your body notices until its too late. It bonds with the hemoglobin making your body think all is well but there is no O2 to be released.

Sleeping in an area with dry ice is a very dangerous thing and can lead to your death.

johng · #17 09/13/12, 10:55 AM

When we use to go down to the Fl Keys every year we would get one of those large marine coolers. Fill the bottom of the cooler with dry ice, then put in a layer of newspaper, then put in a layer of regular ice. Doing it like this would easily last 3-4 days. You can use it just like a refrigerator. If you put anything directly on top of the dry ice it will freeze. It does make your ice last a lot longer. If you kept your cooler in the shade you may very well get 5 days out of it doing it this way.

**highlands** · #18 09/13/12, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinknal

CO2 (carbon dioxide) doesn't kill you, CO1 (carbon monoxide) does.

CO2 can kill you too. If the CO2 levels get too high it messes with your blood pH, heart rate and displaces O2. Caution.