Dry ice guidance (1 Viewer)

[KingBeeIII]

Hey guys. I'm going camping this weekend and need to make sure I have the dry ice thing down. I'm planning on wrapping it in a paper bag and placing it at the bottom of the cooler. DO I NEED TO ADD REGULAR ICE to the cooler also to keep my beer cool or will the dry ice alone do the trick? Any suggestions for the food cooler? I appreciate the advice oh noble Cruiser camping guys. And as always, a six pack of thanks. ...............

 

[IBCRUSN]

If you wrap the dry ice in news paper and then a paper bag you'll be okay without the regular ice. If you choose to use both the dry ice will make the h2o ice last longer. Just make sure the dry ice doesn't come in direct contact with the beer as the -109*F makes beer popsicles. It makes for some nice frosty beers.

 

[splitshot]

If you wrap the dry ice in news paper and then a paper bag you'll be okay without the regular ice. If you choose to use both the dry ice will make the h2o ice last longer. Just make sure the dry ice doesn't come in direct contact with the beer as the -109*F makes beer popsicles. It makes for some nice frosty beers.

X2, a friend of mine had to raid my cooler all weekend because all his food and drinks became a solid block. 3 days after we got home, he could gradually start removing stuff.

 

[LabRat11]

The reason for the paper wrap is to protect the food and drink AND the cooler from the extreme cold of dry ice. Downside is that the circulation of the coolness is a bit limited. I've had better overall results with the thin layer of regular ice above and below the dry ice method. Downside to that of course the lost height.

Conversely ....

Get yourself one of the (relatively) new Coleman Xtreme 5 day coolers.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/category_main.asp?categoryid=8500

I have a 50qt one for the weekend trips and a 100qt marine one for the week long trips. They live up to hype. They are a bit pricey - however, if you wait to the end of the summer season you can find some deals - I got the 100qt one on sale for $40 at wally world in November

CHEERS!!!

 

[cbmontgo]

We took a trip to Big Bend last month and used dry ice in paper and plastic bags with normal ice at the bottom. It does pretty well, but still doesn't last more than a couple of days. I'd probably invest in a better cooler before I bought a bunch of dry ice. I just wasn't sold on the idea.

 

[stayalert]

do not put dry ice in tightly closed containers

 

[Sno bored]

do not put dry ice in tightly closed containers

Dry ice bombs kick ass!

 

[Pin_Head]

10 lbs of dry ice will freeze everything an a 40 qt cooler in a few hours to -86C. Don't put anything in the cooler that you don't want frozen. If you want to keep it frozen longer cover it with 10 lbs of water ice because water has a much higher specific heat capacity than dry ice.

 

[spressomon]

Keep a window cracked to let all the CO2 out .

 

[MDarius]

Dry ice makes fruit carbonated. Grapes are like grape soda. Interesting. Not saying I liked it, but it was different.

 

[santacruzer]

We've tried both dry ice and regular ice for our annual 6 day hunt camp in Central California, where it gets very warm. Regular ice wins hands down, especially in those Coleman Extreme coolers. We "pre-chill" the coolers with a block of ice and water for a day, which basically adds a full day to an already long, cool period. Pulling a beer out of a "smoking" cooler just ain't the same as pulling one out of ice cold water!

And if you can buy ice direct from someone like Glacier, it's frozen to a much lower temperature than the stuff that comes out of residential freezers, or even supermarkets. Lasts longer.

 

[stayalert]

Dry ice bombs kick ass!

indeed just make sure any dogs with your group aren't in fetch mode....

 

[dmede808]

ditto on the Coleman extreme coolers, they're great. If I hose it down the night before and leave it in the garage overnight, it's pretty cool in the morning. Make two good size ice blocks plus one big or two small bags of ice and it keeps for a long time. It helps to pre-chill some of your food and drinks in the fridge before putting them in, and don't pour off the water as it melts! It's actually the water that distributes the cold around the cooler and once it melts about halfway, the remaining ice stays and keeps it all very cold.