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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
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Tell me all about....DRY ICE........
I have never used it before but thought it may be time to broaden my horizons...
I use the "standard" costco IGLOO cooler and have an "ice box" type reefer in the camper (holds a 25 pound block of ice). Camper cooler keeps things
"cool" for a couple of days but that's about it. Was wondering about dry ice and if it is a good choice.
Got any pros and cons...
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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Have no idea of its availability in Baja. We've used it houseboating on Lake Powell in the primitive days. Allowed us to keep food for a week.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15940
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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last trip we took one cooler with dry ice for the frozen stuff and it stayed frozen 5 days or so. kind of a hassle if you can get a propane
fridge/freezer i'd go that route.
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Packoderm
Super Nomad
Posts: 2116
Registered: 11-7-2002
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I put a little chunk into a regularly loaded ice chest to supplement the regular ice. It definitely stayed colder longer.
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BigWooo
Senior Nomad
Posts: 579
Registered: 1-2-2007
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Forty pounds of dry ice in an Igloo cooler will be gone in about 3 days in the heat of summer and 4 or 5 days in cool winter weather. For a short
trip it's great to keep your stuff frozen, for a longer trip it will give you a few extra days before the food defrosts.
If you have access to a freezer at your destination then it's great. When we head south for long trips we pack one of our ice chests full of dry ice
and frozen goodies then transfer it to the freezer when we get there.
We get ours at a local Albertsons. I don't know how the price compares to Costco.
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4baja
Super Nomad
Posts: 1339
Registered: 9-4-2003
Location: morro bay ca
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jim, get a fridge freeze and forget about dry ice. dry ice is a pain in the butt and so are large bulky ice chest.
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losfrailes
Senior Nomad
Posts: 577
Registered: 11-16-2004
Location: Ejido San Lucas near Santa Rosalia
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Mood: Good!
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I bring frozen goodies from San Diego, Ice Cream, frozen foods, etc., all the time. Using dry ice, available in San Diego at Albersons, meat placed
in the ice chest with other frozen things arrives frozen.
I purchase other dry ice in Ensenada at ERNESTO JAUREGUI DELGADILLO - FABRICA DE PALETAS Y PROD. HELADOS (646)176'17'77 AVENIDA CORAL 213 - COLONIA
BUSTAMANTE - 22840 - ENSENADA - BAJA CALIFORNIA for a price better than at Alberstons.
There is always a pretty fair chunk of the dry ice left when I get home after a two day drive, so its been a very good idea for me.
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805gregg
Super Nomad
Posts: 1344
Registered: 5-21-2006
Location: Ojai, Ca
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Check out Engle refer units. I use mine in my Jeep, camper and on our boat. We had yogurt from SD two weeks into our last jeep trip to Baja. I got
mine from Adventure trailers, or try Expedition Exchange, or maybe Sierra Expeditions.
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
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The 3 way fridge was $800 for 1.9 cf and $1000 for the 3.0 cf model....WAY too much....plus now I would have to cut the side of the camper open to
install......most trips are 3-5 days with ice giving out by last days....may try "better" cooler also.....
Another thought was to use 2 smaller coolers.....one for drinks and stuff you use more often and another for prepared lunch/dinner meals that only
gets opened once or twice a day.
Coleman and Igloo have models with extra insulation.....are these really that much better?
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65297
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Jim, use dry ice to keep wet ice longer... in a seperate ice chest. This gives you a fresh load of wet ice to replace the melted ice in your food/
drink ice chest... for longer trips. If I am going to outback Baja for more than 3-4 days, I would do this:
A) One large ice chest with a block of ice surrounded by crushed ice with food on one side (in a rectangle 'bucket' of somekind or tupperwear type
containers, to keep dry). A few drinks on the other side... add drinks as you consume them.
The block ice lasts longer... the crushed ice fills in the voids around drinks, etc. and can be used in drinks on your trip.
B) One regular size ice chest with block and (if you want for drinks) crushed ice... put wrapped dry ice on top and bottom or on each side of the wet
ice. Now keep that ice chest sealed well... don't open, until you need to replace the ice in your main chest.
IF you put dry ice (frozen CO2) in the same chest as your food and drinks, it can freeze the food, carbonate vegetables, freeze your beer/ sodas.
Keep the ice chests out of the sun... cover them if you have no shade... open and close them as quickly as possible.
I drain the excess water out as well, unless the chest is only for drinks, then I leave about 1/3 water to make the Pacificos, Dos Equis, Tecates,
Sols... as cold as possible!
[Edited on 2-11-2009 by David K]
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cantinflas
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 2-4-2009
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More insulation is alot better IMHO. I use one large and one medium cooler. Medium for dailey use and large for longer term storage.
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landyacht318
Nomad
Posts: 247
Registered: 7-28-2007
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One thing nobody has mentioned is the bad idea of dry ice sublimating (solid to gas) in an enclosed space such as a camper. CO2 poisoning is
possible, and as undesirable as CO poisoning.
Build a cooler for your cooler using 2 inch thick foam board insulation. hold it together with bamboo skewers and duct tape, and fill any voids
around the interior cooler with saw dust.
Before I got a compressor 12 volt/120 volt fridge and 130 watt solar panel I would get a minimum of 10 days from 2 blocks of Ice using this method.
Use the extra foam to partition the interior of the cooler as well, and keep more cool air from escaping every time it is opened.
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
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Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Sublimating
NOW, there's a GREAT word.
However, in this instance, I would say that any enclosed space where there would be a danger is TOO-enclosed.
Of course, I'm very paranoid about such things. To such an extent that I won't run gas heaters overnight except in extreme cases because of my fear
of CO poisoning despite having CO detectors all over the place. As a rule, somewhere I have a window or vent open despite the Heat (or cooling) loss.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the Minnesota State Department of Health Website:
OUTDOOR CO2 levels are commonly 350-400 ppm depending on the area.
Typical workplace safety standards of 10,000 ppm for an 8-hour period and 30,000 ppm for a 15 minute period. This
means the average concentration over an 8-hour period should not exceed 10,000 ppm and the average concentration over a 15 minute period should not
exceed 30,000 ppm.
It is unusual to find such continuously high levels indoors and extremely rare in non-industrial workplaces. These standards were developed for
healthy working adults and may not be appropriate for sensitive populations, such as children and the elderly.
Health effects of CO2 poisoning:
Occupants may experience health effects in buildings where CO2 is elevated, but the symptoms are usually due to the other contaminants in the air that
also build up as a result of insufficient ventilation. At high levels, the carbon dioxide itself can cause headache, dizziness, nausea and other
symptoms. This could occur when exposed to levels above 5,000 ppm for many hours. At even higher
levels of CO2 can cause asphyxiation as it replaces oxygen in the blood--exposure to concentrations around 40,000 ppm is immediately
dangerous to life and health.
CO2 poisoning, however, is very rare.
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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| Quote: | Originally posted by landyacht318
Build a cooler for your cooler using 2 inch thick foam board insulation. hold it together with bamboo skewers and duct tape, and fill any voids
around the interior cooler with saw dust.
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I have two standard Coleman Coolers, the old type with steel outsides, and then have 2 inch styrofoam around each of them and top and bottom, held in
place by 1/4 inch plywood, and straps. I don't take the coolers out of my truck camper ever (they drain continuously thru hoses), so they always have
the insulation in place and the sun never shines on them. I can keep block ice for up to 9 days in 80 degree weather, and that normally covers most
of my stays in the boondocks. Never have used dry ice. I normally take 4-25Lb blocks of ice, 3 in one cooler which I don't open for about 5 days,
and 1 in the other with food & stuff that I get in and out of constantly. I am British, and don't mind warm beer, so only my food is in the
cooler. If I wanted my beer cold, I would bring a separate insulated ice-chest but that would probably only last about 4 days max. with one 25 lb
block of ice. ALWAYS PRE-COOL ANYTHING THAT GOES INTO THE ICE BOXES, if possible. I sometimes pre-cool beer by putting it in an insulated bucket
under the icebox drain hose while in camp.
Works for me.
Barry
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
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Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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I'll Drink to That !
Another IMPORTANT thing I have in common with Barry. Sort of. While I have no trouble "tolerating" Warm beer, I usually prefer it COOL. During the
dead of Winter in Baja, the only beer I put in the refrigerator is for guests. My very close German buddy (expert even on things he's never heard of
before) always says that Americans have no way to judge Beer because they drink it too cold.
Although I used to use Dry Ice frequently when available in my Motorhome days between electrical outlets, these days it's for Frozen foods (Ice Cream,
Pies, etc) between El Centro (available at every store, but expensive) and San Felipe. Back in my Baja Bug ventures down the Sea of Cortez, I would
add it to the Ice Chests when available and it extended the life of the ice by days.
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mtgoat666
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 20003
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MrBillM
Health effects of CO2 poisoning:
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Typically, it's not the CO2 poisoning that is a concern, usually in a small space you should be worried that CO2 gas may displace air, leading to a
breathing atmosphere with insufficient O2 to keep you happy.
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
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Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Happy ?
I doubt that it's CO2 in excess of 5000 ppm that is keeping us from being Happy.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by surfer jim
Coleman and Igloo have models with extra insulation.....are these really that much better? |
Jim,
Yes!
I bought a marine grade cooler from Igloo. It has a rubber seal at the lid. Is rated for 8 days. (check out West Marine to get an idea of the
models)
We try to keep block ice in it and items you only need once a day or so. Another smaller 5 day cooler for drinks.
That system should work for you for a week in Baja.
Ken
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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I second that, Ken. My son has a couple of those WEST MARINE Igloo coolers and he claims they are just GREAT!!
If my system failed me, I would go for them too.
Barry
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cbuzzetti
Nomad
Posts: 193
Registered: 5-22-2006
Location: Atascadero, Ca
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Mood: Lookin for a vacation
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I got one of these for Christmas
http://www.compactappliance.com/FP430-Compact-EdgeStar-Porta...
I have used it twice so far and seems to work great. It comes down to temp quick and does not cycle often. Yes it's made in China and I don't care
much for the latch design but it is very quiet and effecient.
I just could not part with the big $$$ for the Engle unit. Runs on 12v or 120v. Goes down to -8 F. can be used as a fridge as well.
BajaBuzz
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