What is Dry ice and How to pack your cooler with Dry ice?

Posted by john wayne on March 4th, 2019

Dry ice is essentially Compressed Carbon dioxide that is exposed instantly to high-pressure Air and forms Carbon dioxide lumps that is frozen at -78.5C. Frozen Carbon dioxide as solid sublimates without leaving behind any residue. The process of sublimation releases cold energy and hence Dry ice has been the most popular cold chain product to store and transport things without a refrigerated transport especially to locations without power. Dry ice plays a crucial role in several areas be it cold transport or Dry ice blasting to clean surfaces. Handling Dry ice which is classified a Dangerous product since it can explode when stored in air tight containers and also burn the skin off if handled without gloves. Dry ice also increases the carbon dioxide content in the cabin making them potentially toxic and dangerous for people. Hence with the recent focus on Health and safety, Dry ice is less preferred by organisations, but Dry ice is still the product of choice compared to ice packs for shipping. Dry ice is commonly sold through most gas agencies since they meet the safety requirements to store Dry ice. They come in Small Blocks and are ideal to use if you are going away camping or fishing. If you are looking to pack a cooler with dry ice first, we would recommend that you choose a good quality cooler. It's important that the cooler is well insulated. The best coolers in the market are the heavy duty Roto mould coolers that are not like the cheap esky you can buy for to . These Coolers we recommend are rotationally moulded coolers that insulated with high-density closed cell polyurethane insulation. The PU insulation is the most preferred cost effective insulation, and they work up to 3 times better than the PS foam coolers which you see being used for food delivery. Now that you have finalised the type of cooler it's important you pick the right size of the esky. Most people measure the boot and try to buy an esky that will fit into the boot but doesn't necessarily work out the amount of stuff they wish to carry for the trip. So the wise thing to do is work out how much space you would need and also if you have necessities' that can be purchased locally. Once you have figured out the size, please allow an extra 30 % of space to fit ice packs and dry ice packs. If you are using dry ice you will certainly get away with lesser space give or take 15%. Once you have the cooler now to pack the cooler, it's important that you cool your ice box down. So leave a frozen bottle of water over night to cool the walls down. Pack your cooler just when you are ready to pack your car and ready to leave on the trip. Once you are ready to pack, Place the big blocks of Dry ice on the base of the cooler and place all your frozen products directly above the dry ice. Once you have packed all your frozen goods pack your chilled food which you don't want to freeze because if it's in direct contact with dry ice, it will freeze your products. If you have space in the cooler it's better, you have a few ice packs in there. This will certainly help keep your stuff chilled for longer. Now that you have packed your cooler it's best that you minimise the number of openings on your cooler. Limit the openings, and you will find the cooler keeps things frozen longer. If you have water from condensation, it doesn't hurt from draining the cooler. Remember not to breathe directly into the cooler as soon as you open it because you will be breathing co2. It is also wise to put a wet towel over the cooler when you place it in the camp site and also keep your cooler raised from the ground to prevent the heat from the ground from heating up the cooler. The above tips should help you pack your cooler bag with dry ice and help keep things frozen longer on your trip