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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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ice vs. dry ice
any opinions on the pro's and con's of dry ice as compared to regular frozen water? temps, cooler life, etc...
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bajarich
Nomad
Posts: 464
Registered: 1-13-2005
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Dry ice will freeze things and is good for keeping stuff frozen. On river trips we seal up coolers with duct tape to keep things frozen 'till later
on in the trip. Ice is good for drinks and things you don't want frozen. Big blocks last longer. I use a Coleman 5-day cooler and fill it half full
of ice, leaving the other half for drinks. The longest I have kept the ice was when it was jammed in tight against the sides of the cooler. I also
have a small propane cooler that keeps things cool, so I will pre-cool my drinks in the propane cooler before putting them in the ice to get them as
cold as I like. Warm things put in on ice will melt it.
The is a debate as to whether to drain the water off the ice. I say no, some others say yes. My experience is that it lasts longer to leave the cold
water surrounding the ice instead of warmer air.
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
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Good question...I have never used dry ice as my trips are usually just long weekend trips....however now that I am retired trips will get longer and
dry ice may be the way to go....
I think there was some good discussion a year or so ago on this subject and how to best use the dry ice....don't remember the ideas presented....
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 11-15-2004
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If you want to keep things frozen, freeze all goods and the cooler then fill with contents while placing slabs of dry ice all around the perimeter.
Duct tape and go. With a good cooler this can keep steaks frozen for two weeks.
If you want to use dry ice in place of regular ice for keeping things chilled or for some frozen and some cilled then you will need to partition the
cooler with styrofoam or something similar. We have gotten away with putting frozen items in dry ice on the bottom and then placing a styrofoam sheet
on top and chilled goods over that. Its tough to get the right amount of ice/foam so you don't freeze your veggies on top.
Solution; pack your frozen things, if any, in dry ice and use a separate cooler with block ice for the beer and veggies.
I leave most of the water in the cooler when the ice melts. It's cooler than the outside air and helps increase the life of the remaining ice. Think
about when all the ice melts and all you have is cold water.....If you dump it now, you can definitely imagine that the beer will get warm quicker
than if you had left the cold water. Same thing for when there is some ice left.
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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you can't fly with dry ice....
if you're hauling fish...go to the ice house and have them shave the ice...
as it melts it forms a block on top...
they shave ice ALL the time.
lasts for days and days....
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Barry A.
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Drain the water/don't drain the water
-----this argument will go on forever!!! 
I use two old but big Coleman coolers. I fill one totally with block ice from the ice house (if you can find one anymore) and do not open it until the
other cooler is almost out of ice. The other cooler is about 1/2 full of block ice, and the other half full of stuff I want to keep cold. I ALWAYS
drain the water, and I use the cold water to pre-cool drinks before putting them in the cooler.
The theory here is that water conducts heat/cold faster than air, thus the cold of the ice is transferred to the sides of the cooler, and then out,
faster with water left in. Also, as the sides of the cooler heat up (if you goof, and leave them in the sun) the water transfers the warm from the
sides to the remaining ice faster than if there was just air in there.
Who knows------I certainly cannot prove any of this, and people that are smarter than me don't agree with me (but others do).
I ONLY KNOW THAT I CAN KEEP ICE FOR 9 TO 10 DAYS THE WAY I DO IT. I never have messed with dry ice.
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Bob and Susan
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oh yea...
we freeze our water bottles then....cold water to drink later
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jerry
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last time i tryed to fly fish out of loreto the airport said i had to get rid of all the ice ( no ice in ice chests) blue ice is ok
i have used dry ice to prolong the life of my regular ice its tricky stuff and you can sure break some stuff if it gets in contact
its so super cold that things get brittle
i wrap the dry ice in lots of layers of newspaper like 20-25 and tape the seams works best if the ice is in a seperate chest with dry ice taped closed
and dont get into it untill you really need it to replenish your other cooler with ice
i allways drain the water like Berry A says
jerry and judi
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rpleger
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Don't drive with dry-ice inside the car or cab.
Makes you pass out or get very sleepy over time.
Richard on the Hill
*ABROAD*, adj. At war with savages and idiots. To be a Frenchman abroad is to
be miserable; to be an American abroad is to make others miserable.
-- Ambrose Bierce, _The Enlarged Devil\'s Dictionary_
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Hook
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Dry ice is overrated
I once went on a six day trip out of BOLA with block ice I bought from the little store at Diaz' place. Not the most solid block ice it the world.
Anyway, I kept my frozen, vaccuum sealed meats and foodstuffs in a standard 48 qt ice chest in the cuddy of my boat. Used duct tape along the seam
and wrapped the whole thing in an old sleeping bag I had. I kept my beverages in a smaller cooler and only opened the food larder 1-2 times a day. The
food lasted 6 days in 95 degree heat, even chipping away at some of the block.
The best use of dry ice is to keep regular ice frozen to transfer to other ice chests that house your non-frozen perishables and ice to put into your
mixed drinks, of course.
But good block ice will last a long time if you are mindful of the conditions you store it in.
[Edited on 5-15-2006 by Hook]
[Edited on 5-15-2006 by Hook]
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bajajudy
Elite Nomad
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Location: San Jose del Cabo,BCS
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I also drain the water. That is what Coleman recommends. Never used dry ice. Use pretty much the same method as Barry A.
Getting ready to go sailing for a week out of La Paz at the end of the month and will pack blocks in our huge cooler to be opened only when all other
ice is gone. I am truly worried about keeping the beer cold although there will be a reefer with a freezer section, you cant be going in and out of
that if the generator is not running. 
Anyone in La Paz interested in a rendezvous to bring us ice?
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John M
Super Nomad
Posts: 1922
Registered: 9-3-2003
Location: California High Desert
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Drain or don't drain
First off, I have used Hook's method of using dry ice to keep blocks of ice frozen - in its own ice chest. On long back country trips we've done quite
well with that method.
Some of you may know the name Harry Lewellyn. He's led numerous off-highway trips to Baja and in California. He writes a newsletter for members of his
organization and way back in Sept/Oct 2000 he did a dandy feature article titled Ice Chest Dynamics - 4 plus pages on and about ice chests, how to
keep ice longest, ice chest prep, cubes/blocks/dry ice, and whether to drain water on not to drain. He draws on lots of science, and real world
experience in this test. Bottom line was that water sucks the cold out of ice way faster than air. His recommendation, though a little cumbersome, is
to keep the water in the bottom of the ice chest, but keep the ice up out of the water. This could be done by some sort of rack to keep the ice block
elevated above the melted water and periodically drain the water if it gets too close to the remaining ice.
As he says it, "Consistently, unbathed ice lasted longer than ice left in its melt water."
Lewellyn sums up this position in one of his books, Shifting into 4WD. This is a good book which can be beneficial to the novice and experienced off
roader as well. You might visit his website. I have no financial interest in it, just picked up lots of good information over many years.
http://www.eco4wd.com/
John M
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Roberto
Banned
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Registered: 9-5-2003
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The block ice system works. This is MUCH more convenient: 
http://www.fridgefreeze.com . Only problem you'll have with this unit is not turning the thermostat up too high!
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djh
Senior Nomad
Posts: 936
Registered: 1-2-2005
Location: Earth mostly. Loreto, N. ID, Big Island
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Mood: Mellow fellow, plays a yellow cello...
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Mobile cooling....
I also have a 12 volt cooler that plugs into my vehicle lighter... works great. I also have the (accessory) 110 volt unit so that I can use it with
shore / home power. I bought it at a big box store (I think it was Target...) on sale for about 89 bucks... a little over 110 bucks with the 110
accessory.
In my large cooler, I generally use home-made ice, which is clean poable water, frozen into cleaned, sterilized plastic milk or juice gallon jugs.
The ice seems to keep longer, I have a great supply of cold drinking water, and it keeps the water where I want it (away from the ice should satisfy
those of you who prescribe to that theory) - and away from the items I don't want to be swimming... (veggies, cheese, container labels, etc.).
I always leave room in the jugs for expansion when freezing.
.... so nice to be talking about ice as a good thing... it was a loooooooong winter in N. Idaho!!! 
djh
Its all just stuff and some numbers.
A day spent sailing isn\'t deducted from one\'s life.
Peace, Love, and Music
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meme
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Wow Roberto!! Those Frige Freeze sound pretty good but sure are SPENDY!! I paid almost that much for each of my house refrigerator/ Freezers! Think I
probably gotta stay with standard old fashioned coolers!!
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sunshine
Junior Nomad
Posts: 28
Registered: 11-5-2003
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This is kind of on the same subject. Has anyone attempted to use an inverter with a small dorm type fridge to keep things cool. I really like the
idea of refrigeration in the pickup, but I can't see shelling out over a $1000.00 for a small portable unit.
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elgatoloco
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 11-19-2002
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If we are going down for more then a week we fill one cooler with frozen food and top off with dry ice making sure to fill up all the space (very
important) and seal tightly with duct tape. After week one unseal and start with whatever is defrosted the most.
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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MrBillM
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YGWYPF
The small Bar-Type 120VAC refrigerators commonly available are not that energy efficient. They WILL work fine on an inverter, but the current draw
over a 24 hour period will be HIGH. Unless you have a large battery reserve and a way to bring it back up, they simply aren't practical.
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Marinero
Nomad
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Registered: 11-4-2003
Location: Los Barriles, BCS
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If you have a large freezer you can freeze your own blocks, which have always seemed to be to last longer. I think it is because there is less air in
them. Also, if you have a chest freezer, consider filling your cooler about 1/4 to 1/3 full of water and freezing it right in the chest. I have done
this with good results.
Si estás buscando la person que cambiará su vida, échale una mirada en el espejo.
Fish logo from www.usafishing.com, used w/permission.
But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have..... |
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4177
Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
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My 2cents, 2blocks 1X4X8 $12.00. Dry Ice USA
[Edited on 5-16-2006 by comitan]
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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