BajaNomad

Dry Ice

hombre66 - 11-22-2016 at 07:10 PM

After struggling with the cost of a Yeti type cooler and possibly investing over a grand in a 12v Engel type fridge, I'm going to stick with my Coleman steel 54's and .. A: fabricate silver bubble insulation cozy's B: Fill the other one with cold beer and dry ice, then tape it shut till I need it about 5 days into the trip.(remote pacific side) How long will my dry ice last in the un opened cooler? I may even try to semi freeze the beer cans to help the cold process along. Hopefully I can find a place to buy the dry ice in Orange County the day we leave.

[Edited on 11-23-2016 by hombre66]

David K - 11-22-2016 at 07:17 PM

The beer will freeze!
Only put dry ice with wet ice, to preserve it... then add to your food/ beer ice chests when the wet ice in them has melted. Dry ice will carbonate and ruin any fresh food.

woody with a view - 11-22-2016 at 07:23 PM

keep a small chunk of dry ice in a small cooler with frozen foods for 2-3 days. use your big cooler with block ice to keep your daily needs going. after 3ish days move your frozen stuff daily that you want tomorrow into the big cooler. by then your block ice is mostly gone unless you have a third cooler holding block ice. then you can go 7-10 days by moving a block into the big cooler daily to replace lost ice. worst case, 57 degree beer from the tide pools will work in a pinch!!!

wanna sell the Engel?

[Edited on 11-23-2016 by woody with a view]

MMc - 11-22-2016 at 07:25 PM

DO NOT PUT YOUR BEER IN DRY ICE, It will blow up when it freezes.
We take beer both chilled in ice chest and warm, we get ocean water to pre-cool the warm beer and then transfer it to the drink chest as we need. That way you are chilling 58 degree beer instead of 70 degree beer.
Use the dry ice to keep your ice blocks for the beer super cold You'll have plenty of ice and cold beer.

hombre66 - 11-22-2016 at 07:41 PM

DK,Woody MMc...all great instant advice I never knew. (I have yet to do dry ice in all my 50 yrs going to Baja) Had no clue about mixing H2O ice with dry. Still a timing and logistics chore compared to the fridge aforementioned, but campchores are part of the daily fun anyway IMHO

msteve1014 - 11-22-2016 at 08:15 PM

If you can't make a engel freezer and a yeti cooler work, you are doing something wrong. Do you have solar panels for the freezer?
You need them. The charging system on the truck will not keep up.

You never used dry ice before. Why do you need it now?

BajaBlanca - 11-22-2016 at 08:44 PM

I'm not sure but I imagine that dry ice is illegal to bring across the border?

hombre66 - 11-22-2016 at 08:47 PM

msteve,I slightly misworded my orig post making it appear that I indeed did buy an Engel and a Yeti, Which I did not, in favor of keeping my old coolers. I don't NEED dry ice, I want to TRY it for an extended remote trip. Solar panels were considered with running an Engel, but added even more to the steep cost. Maybe you have a good idea for me as well, as did DK et al. Thanks for your input.

hombre66 - 11-22-2016 at 08:49 PM

Blanca, If it is, then I wont attempt to do it. Do you know for sure?

mtgoat666 - 11-22-2016 at 09:05 PM

Quote: Originally posted by hombre66  
After struggling with the cost of a Yeti type cooler and possibly investing over a grand in a 12v Engel type fridge, I'm going to stick with my Coleman steel 54's and .. A: fabricate silver bubble insulation cozy's B: Fill the other one with cold beer and dry ice, then tape it shut till I need it about 5 days into the trip.(remote pacific side) How long will my dry ice last in the un opened cooler? I may even try to semi freeze the beer cans to help the cold process along. Hopefully I can find a place to buy the dry ice in Orange County the day we leave.

[Edited on 11-23-2016 by hombre66]


If on remote PAC side, it is not very hot so you're challenge is easy.

First, get a good cooler (buck up and buy a yeti, Engel, etc)
Second, freeze food before packing cooler.
Third, open coolers only rarely
Fourth, don't try to add warm food to coolers during trip
Fifth, keep cooler in shade
Sixth, ice never lasts 4ever, so eat perishables early so they don't go to waste
Seventh, don't store veggies in cooler, they keep for a long time if you keep them out of sun/heat

I doubt dry ice will last longer than water ice.

If you want to try it, smart/final carries it, so easy to find in OC.

David K - 11-22-2016 at 09:25 PM

Used dry ice many times, that's why I know what not to do, lol.
Blanca, why would you think it is illegal? It is necessary if you need your regular ice to last longer for extended backcountry trips.
Have one chest only for reserve ice, and put dry ice in that one, and seal it up until you need to add ice to your food ice chest.

Hook - 11-23-2016 at 06:38 AM

A Coleman steel 54 is not a very insulated ice chest, nor is it very big.

If it was me, the easiest, most economical setup would be two Coleman Xtreme ice chests; one a 100 qt and one a 70 qt. The wet/dry ice combo in the 100 qt. and the food and beer in the 70.

There is a screaming deal on a Coleman 120 qt. Marine Xtreme 5 ice chest on Amazon right now. Could be an early Black Friday thing, I dont know. Maybe a little big for cooler camping; maybe not.

This is the line with the metal hinges and possibly the metal lid strap. If you are a prime member, 59.00 including free, two day shipping. An ice chest like this usually has increased shipping charges because of it's size.

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Quart-Xtreme-Marine-Cooler/dp...

Skipjack Joe - 11-23-2016 at 07:31 AM

Yeti vs Coleman extreme

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5m4asFxo8s8

Hook - 11-23-2016 at 08:36 AM

Link not working.

Can I guess that the Yeti won? It better at 3-4 times the price.

Actually, based on the message I got, maybe youtube is down right now. Will check later.

[Edited on 11-23-2016 by Hook]

Skipjack Joe - 11-23-2016 at 10:32 AM

You know what they say about buying an expensive reel instead of a cheap one?

You only cry once.

BAJA.DESERT.RAT - 11-23-2016 at 10:55 AM

for what it's worth, dry ice is a gas and isn't allowed on planes. crossing the border in a vehicle shouldn't be a problem.

also, a friend of mine was a big rig driver that delivered dry ice and told me if i were to put it in a regular plastic type of ice chest, i should wrap the dry ice with cardboard or newspaper as the coldness will crack the ice chest interior wall.

BIEN SALUD, DA RAT

StuckSucks - 11-23-2016 at 11:00 AM

take two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m4asFxo8s8

hombre66 - 11-23-2016 at 11:15 AM

All the incoming advice is really good! Hook, I cant handle a 120 qt after back surgery and 45 years in the furniture moving biz. The old fashioned Coleman steel belts are somewhat better than the standard plastic jobs, so I've settled my purchase options. Spent many an hour in comps with rotomolded hi end boxes and decided to give the silver bubble wrap insul homemade cozy's an experimental go. Thanks everyone for the education.

surabi - 11-23-2016 at 07:51 PM

I used to get bummed out with the regular ice I'd put in my cooler melting and then everything swimming in water. Now I use square-ish containers (think gallon milk jugs), fill with drinking water, freeze, then use in cooler. No more mess and you can drink the water as it melts.

shari - 11-24-2016 at 10:03 AM

our system when we go remote camping is a 2 medium size cooler systel...those Exteme coolers rock but only if you always leave the plug open so water drips out...I put the coolers up on something and put bowels under to catch the drip and that is our rinse/shower water or dishes.

One cooler only has block or chipped ice with salt sprinkled on it to harden it up...that cooler stays closed and covered and we transfer ice to the daily use cooler as needed.

I cant stress enough how important it is to let that water out the bottom...your ice lasts twice as long especially with salt sprinkled on it.

David K - 11-24-2016 at 11:23 AM

Maybe salt changes the deal, but wet ice alone I had always been a drain the melted ice water out daily guy... until I did a side by side comparison. If you're not driving, leave the melt water in. Drain if you are driving or to keep food from getting soaked, but the melt water is colder than air that replaces it if drained. Ice in the chest with water (and even opened more) lasted longer than the chest I drained .

Terry28 - 11-24-2016 at 11:33 AM

Then why do I spread salt on the ice in my driveway to help melt it??

hombre66 - 11-24-2016 at 11:34 AM

Unmolested (not going for a beer every 1/2 hr) coolers without question last a long time... A common sense "given" and happy to see so many responses reminding me about this fact of life. The constant drain off process is also a fact as is death and taxes.
The salt thing, Shari, has me perplexed. Having spent some years living in snow country, we sprinkled salt on our walkways to MELT away snow and ice. Help me out onetime with this theory.

woody with a view - 11-24-2016 at 12:57 PM

https://stuffexplained.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/adding_salt_...

Skipjack Joe - 11-24-2016 at 01:43 PM

If you leave the drain plug open in the cooler that's like not having a cooler at all. The warm air enters through the vent and circulates inside the cooler. The mixture of warm to cold is not as great as if the lid was off but still very bad for your goal.

[Edited on 11-24-2016 by Skipjack Joe]

hombre66 - 11-24-2016 at 05:37 PM

Sound advice SJoe. Drain and cap. I like to transfer the saved (clean)runoff to my cartop road shower . The salt thing seems like a tradeoff if you dont want melt in you cooler.

freediverbrian - 11-24-2016 at 08:46 PM

My wife works where they have a walk in freezer , we put the yeti in the freezer for a day before loading food . Load with frozen food don't open , three days later all food still frozen. No ice just food. If no access to a freezer I would cool the ice chest with ice before loading.


[Edited on 11-25-2016 by freediverbrian]

redhilltown - 11-25-2016 at 12:07 AM

I'm a Coleman Extreme kind of guy as to bang for the buck. I hate my food getting wet so I go to thrift stores and find a large plastic Rubbermaid or Tupperware container that basically fits the cooler side to side...put the "good" food in there and have the ice rest against it. I always felt you can't beat block ice from a real ice company...not the ones at the market. Add some dry ice to that...some frozen veggies on top...tape it shut and keep it out of the sun and five days later you are good to go. The closing mechanism on the Extremes is a tad lame so just have a strap or two. And yes, adding warm beer or drinks is a sin so if you drain off water, use it to pre chill them.

Hmmmmm...all this talk about beer...gotta go.

David K - 11-25-2016 at 01:59 PM

Quote: Originally posted by redhilltown  
I'm a Coleman Extreme kind of guy as to bang for the buck. I hate my food getting wet so I go to thrift stores and find a large plastic Rubbermaid or Tupperware container that basically fits the cooler side to side...put the "good" food in there and have the ice rest against it. I always felt you can't beat block ice from a real ice company...not the ones at the market. Add some dry ice to that...some frozen veggies on top...tape it shut and keep it out of the sun and five days later you are good to go. The closing mechanism on the Extremes is a tad lame so just have a strap or two. And yes, adding warm beer or drinks is a sin so if you drain off water, use it to pre chill them.

Hmmmmm...all this talk about beer...gotta go.


Great way indeed... I too, use Coleman Extreme 5 Day chests. That is how I could do a side-by-side comparison between draining and not draining while camped 4 days in 90° weather. I really thought I could prove that draining was better... but was shocked when it wasn't!

At the end of 4 days, the chest with our drinks and melted water left in had a large piece of the block ice remaining. It began with one block and two bags of crushed ice and the drinks (cans of cold beer and bottles of cold water).

The other chest with food, milk, juice began with two blocks of ice and one bag of crushed ice was drained daily (and the drain was closed after draining, of course). In addition, this chest was not opened as much as the drink chest was.

On Day 4 the food chest that was drained daily was nearly out of ice, even though it began with twice the amount of block ice.

The drink chest, with the melted water left in still had about half the block of ice remaining.

Clearly, if you are not driving (and sloshing), leaving the melted water in with the ice helped it last longer.

Santiago - 11-26-2016 at 07:21 AM

jeeze you guys, can we talk about something less divisive like the last election?
And I'm on the side of the Coleman Extremes, $100 will get you two of them and you're good to go. Good advise on the straps though, they are a bit weak in that department.

bajaguy - 11-26-2016 at 08:44 AM

Always keep our ice chests covered with moving pads from harbor Freight .......seems to help add an extra layer of insulation

Skipjack Joe - 11-26-2016 at 10:10 AM

Water is a great insulator. It takes a lot of heat to raise its temperature and a lot of cold to lower it. So if you leave the cold water in it will keep the air cold and the ice will melt slower. But if the water is anywhere above freezing and you add ice to it, it will melt very fast, much faster than in even warmer air. So unless the water already has ice chunks floating in the cooler the water should be drained before adding any ice.

mtgoat666 - 11-26-2016 at 10:24 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Skipjack Joe  
Water is a great insulator. It takes a lot of heat to raise its temperature and a lot of cold to lower it. So if you leave the cold water in it will keep the air cold and the ice will melt slower. But if the water is anywhere above freezing and you add ice to it, it will melt very fast, much faster than in even warmer air. So unless the water already has ice chunks floating in the cooler the water should be drained before adding any ice.


"...water is anywhere above freezing..."

Y'all should remember your HS physics:
It takes 80 calories to melt 1 cc of ice; and
It takes 1 calorie to raise 1 gr of water 1 degree C.





[Edited on 11-26-2016 by mtgoat666]

[Edited on 11-26-2016 by mtgoat666]

BajaBlanca - 11-26-2016 at 08:36 PM

I haven't accessed this thread in a while, sorry for the late response - the only reason I mentioned that dry ice might be illegal to bring across is precisely because it is illegal to take on a plane....

I will try to find out more info.

woody with a view - 11-27-2016 at 10:07 AM

Blanca, the aiplane ban prolly refers to the explosive realease of gas if your cooler is sealed tight and somehow water mixes with the dry ice. Google dry ice bomb!