dry ice

[unjonharley]

Although I didn’t test the statement directly, I have every reason to believe it is a valid conclusion, based on my observations. When the dry ice was in the cooler, I could feel cold “air” leaking out of the closed drainage valve. I know the CO2 was sublimating and expanding, causing an overpressure in the cooler. I know that CO2 is heavier than air and without mixing would sink to the lowest point. Therefore, this was most likely CO2 leaking out of the valve. It was a surprising amount, like the feeling of holding your hand in front of your mouth and blowing gently.

If the drain valve was closed, You were not feeling co2 leaking..

It was simple cold to warm air convection.

co2 can mess your foods taste up. You should have the coo2 contained away from the food and a vent of it's own..

I would use a metal (xmas) cookie tin with a brass tube feeding outside the food cooler.. Put the tin in cardboard to protect your hands..

Butt that's more work than I'm in for.. BM is a camping trip.. Throw some ice in a cooler and stop screwing around..

[Boomr]

If the drain valve was closed, You were not feeling co2 leaking..

It was simple cold to warm air convection.

I disagree that it is warm to cold convection. If one has water ice, that cools the air in the cooler, creating a small vacuum, which sucks warm air into the cooler. In that case any air I felt leaking out of the valve would be cold air seeping out. I probably wouldn't feel much air seeping out, as the closed cooler limits convection. No overpressure = no forcing of any air out.

With dry ice the sublimation creates an overpressure in the cooler. It pressurizes the cooler, forcing gas out. It wasn't just a bit of cold air seeping out, it was a steady stream of gas coming out.

As for "just a camping trip," I believe that there is an art to camping, as there is an art to doing anything. I admire people who do it well, with style, with comfort, with smallness, even though they may be living in a tent. They are compact, they don't make a mess, they are thoughtful. They enjoy the challenge of living well with less. Yeah man, we can throw some ice into the cooler and go, and weld some crap together and call it art. Personally I enjoy the challenge of making something more than that. YMMV.

[Urban]

As for "just a camping trip," I believe that there is an art to camping, as there is an art to doing anything. I admire people who do it well, with style, with comfort, with smallness, even though they may be living in a tent. They are compact, they don't make a mess, they are thoughtful. They enjoy the challenge of living well with less. Yeah man, we can throw some ice into the cooler and go, and weld some crap together and call it art. Personally I enjoy the challenge of making something more than that. YMMV.

"There is art to camping."

Thank you I needed that this AM. I am spending countless hours on this trip in planning so that my soul and the souls of those that join me on this journey, are not encumbered by uneccesary displeasures. I want cold cold, warm warm, cuddly cuddly and to always have toys when needed. Back in the olden days, when mind altering psychedelics surfaced in Cali, it was always a more rewarding "trip" if conveniences were thought out ahead of time so you wouldnt have to try and coordinate a cosmic trip while trying to gather material neccessities. In the 60's this was our Playa. It will be nice to have that same approach when arriving at the Physical Playa.

[inProgress]

Thanks to all the previous posters who've done so much leg work!

Most of the industrial supply places aren't open on Sunday, maybe if enough of use give a super nice "pretty puhleez!" to Crystal Ice and Oil the'd work the sunday of bman....

hmmmm
Crystal Ice and Oil
Phone: 775-323-5145
ice [at] crystaliceandoil [dot] com

[trilobyte]

I edited your post to make the email address less friendly to the spambots. Figured that if you want to earn any favors with the supplier, you could start by not getting them blasted by the spammers. Good luck!

[FIGJAM]

Finding distributors last year was a problem.

I looked everywhere for a place opened on sunday.

Then found out that a lot of grocery stores carry dry ice.

2 miles away, $1.19 a pound.

[inProgress]

I edited your post to make the email address less friendly to the spambots. Figured that if you want to earn any favors with the supplier, you could start by not getting them blasted by the spammers. Good luck!

Silly me, much appreciated!

[MyDearFriend]

Finding distributors last year was a problem.

I looked everywhere for a place opened on sunday.

Then found out that a lot of grocery stores carry dry ice.

2 miles away, $1.19 a pound.

Wal-Mart has it too, now, right?

[Boomr]

Wal-Mart has it too, now, right?

I did call the Wal-Mart in Winnemucca, and was told they do not carry dry ice. So it may be hit or miss.

[FIGJAM]

My Walmart has the chest for the dry ice by the front door, but they have'nt started selling any yet.

[inProgress]

Just heard back from Crystal Ice and Oil - they're having "problems" with their website (read: nobody knows how to work it) but they're going to be open 7 days a week around bman time.

market economics is occasionally wonderful

[Boomr]

It figures these days that when you post something on a forum about a project near and dear to your heart, that is taking time and effort, that someone will come along to tell you that you are wasting your time.

The word they often use is “just.”

“You don’t have to fool with dry ice, you can just throw some ice cubes in a cooler and go.”

“You don’t have to design and build a shade structure, Costco has tents you can just buy and be done. “

“You shouldn’t wear your everyday clothes at Burning Man, but you don’t have to make anything yourself because you can just buy a costume on ebay.”

“You don’t really have to plan too much, you can just show up and others will take care of you.”

Now I know that we can’t do it all. We can’t all show up with fabulous clothes we have designed and made ourselves, and inspiring structures we have built to shelter our friends while they eat our gourmet meals carried in our custom designed solar kitchens, and then we all walk out onto the playa to observe the sculptures we welded in our garage and transported to the playa via skyhooks and blimps, soon to be carried off to the Guggenheim museum as we watch the sunrise over the temple that will carry the regrets of our past year into the universe, and we will join hands and sing kumbaya and ride back to our swamp cooled tents to sleep until 2 pm and awaken refreshed to do it all over again.

You can’t do it all, but you can do something. For some of us merely being there is a huge accomplishment, and yes, that is enough. For others, if what you can do is figure out how to use dry ice to give you and your friends a lobster dinner on Wednesday in the middle of the Nevada desert, then do it. Delight someone. Enchant someone. Give someone a story that they will tell for the rest of their lives.

We have nothing that we can take with us into the future except memories, so go and create some.

I would like to thank all the participants in these forums who have shared their inspiration and experiences. You have made the journey a rich one, and this is only the beginning.

[FIGJAM]

GETTEM BOOMR!!!!!

[QuickDrawAnnie]

Boomr, I, for one, appreciated the time you took to experiment with dry ice and post the results. I'm feeding a dozen people this year and now I feel confident I can keep my food cold enough long enough so I won't make anyone sick.

[Boomr]

Annie and FIGJAM thank you so much, and you are welcome to join me and my companion for dinner anytime you can find us on the playa. We may have lobster on Wednesday if we can find some more dry ice between Salt Lake and Winnemucca, otherwise a dinner of canned soup is made absolutely delicious by sharing it with interesting people.

[FIGJAM]

My ice reserve is a 100 quart igloo cooler.

This cooler gets opened once a day.

I stock it with 50 pounds of dry ice in the bottom, cover that with a couple of layers of cotton sheet, then 8 one gallon pre frozen milk jugs of water.

Only fill these 3/4 full so they won't split.

Fill the rest of the space with your frozen food.

I put 1 of the gal. jugs in the regular cooler each day, and at the end of the week, I still have ice.

I still buy a bag of ice every couple of days for the water cooler.

[MyDearFriend]

It figures these days that when you post something on a forum about a project near and dear to your heart, that is taking time and effort, that someone will come along to tell you that you are wasting your time.

The word they often use is “just.”

“You don’t have to fool with dry ice, you can just throw some ice cubes in a cooler and go.”

“You don’t have to design and build a shade structure, Costco has tents you can just buy and be done. “

“You shouldn’t wear your everyday clothes at Burning Man, but you don’t have to make anything yourself because you can just buy a costume on ebay.”

“You don’t really have to plan too much, you can just show up and others will take care of you.”

Now I know that we can’t do it all. We can’t all show up with fabulous clothes we have designed and made ourselves, and inspiring structures we have built to shelter our friends while they eat our gourmet meals carried in our custom designed solar kitchens, and then we all walk out onto the playa to observe the sculptures we welded in our garage and transported to the playa via skyhooks and blimps, soon to be carried off to the Guggenheim museum as we watch the sunrise over the temple that will carry the regrets of our past year into the universe, and we will join hands and sing kumbaya and ride back to our swamp cooled tents to sleep until 2 pm and awaken refreshed to do it all over again.

You can’t do it all, but you can do something. For some of us merely being there is a huge accomplishment, and yes, that is enough. For others, if what you can do is figure out how to use dry ice to give you and your friends a lobster dinner on Wednesday in the middle of the Nevada desert, then do it. Delight someone. Enchant someone. Give someone a story that they will tell for the rest of their lives.

We have nothing that we can take with us into the future except memories, so go and create some.

I would like to thank all the participants in these forums who have shared their inspiration and experiences. You have made the journey a rich one, and this is only the beginning.

Boomr, I love this, absolutely, especially this part, which really bears repeating:

We can’t all show up with fabulous clothes we have designed and made ourselves, and inspiring structures we have built to shelter our friends while they eat our gourmet meals carried in our custom designed solar kitchens, and then we all walk out onto the playa to observe the sculptures we welded in our garage and transported to the playa via skyhooks and blimps, soon to be carried off to the Guggenheim museum as we watch the sunrise over the temple that will carry the regrets of our past year into the universe, and we will join hands and sing kumbaya and ride back to our swamp cooled tents to sleep until 2 pm and awaken refreshed to do it all over again.

Thank you thank you thank you...

[lucky420]

Boomr, if you are going through Winnemucca try Raleys. They usually have dry ice at their stores....

and I too thank you for your experiment, I am going to try it out this weekend myself.

[Boomr]

Thanks Lucky, I will try Raleys in Winnemucca. Please let us all know how your dry ice test works out. )

[Sefeladoros]

And for God's sake, DO NOT place your Bombay Blue Sapphire gin directly on the dry ice. It will freeze it solid in about an hour. Trust me on this one.

The Doc

I have felt the searing cold pain of this situation. My deepest condolences.

[kelizabeth]

DRY ICE IS THE SHIT. If you pack it in your coolers just right (ice size to food items ratio), you can have frozen and refrigerated goods all week long, and way less drippy nasty ice mess. That's all I have to say on the matter.

[groovn2beats]

I was wondering how many people who don't bring generators and such to keep food cool/cold/frozen take dry ice? I've seen it mentioned on here somewhere before, but now I can't find the thread. If anyone does bring it, where do you get it from??? I've heard an ice chest would last nicely for the week in the heat. This is the route I'm planning to take, I'd just like to get some feedback. Anyone have experiences to share on the subject?

We used dry ice all along our 2 month road trip last summer and it was awesome! It does have a tendency to freeze stuff close to and underneath it, but it keeps your ice and food cold for a lot longer than regular ice. We're planning on bringing some this year to the Burn as well. Ice is available for purchase, but the dry ice will allow you to buy less ice through out the week. Totally worth it, and generally you can find it at your local grocery store.

[daft]

imho I found its good on top of the ice to keep the ice frozen.

[Boomr]

@jbelson

I did find that enough CO2 gas was produced that it did pressurize the cooler, and a nice stream of cold gas escaped through the (closed) drain valve. I would agree that most (ok all!) of the coolers that I've been able to afford aren't air-tight enough that I need to worry about my cooler exploding. I did run across a few boards by and for hunters, dedicated to preserving meat on the long aircraft journey from wherever to home. These hunters seem very keen on duct taping their coolers tightly shut. Possibly a bad idea, especially given the lower pressure in an aircraft cargo hold? Maybe a good idea given aircraft baggage handlers? I dunno. I would probably not do this. However, I will be using a normal igloo cooler, with no metal latch and no duct tape, at ground level, and I feel confident it will not explode.

The CO2 gas will leak out of your normal, recreational-sized, un-duct-taped cooler, but that is ok because once it has sublimated and is no longer in solid form it can't cool your food, so you don't need it in the cooler anymore. BUT, you also don't need CO2 in your car or tent (could be dangerous!) so please have ventilation in your car, and park the cooler in a well ventilated area outside of your tent.

I will also be putting the dry ice on top of the food, because in my experiment the temperature in the cooler (and this is a small recreational-sized cooler) did stratify. When the dry ice was on the bottom the temperature at the top of the cooler was warm enough to melt water ice.

[Boomr]

Sorry, my threads got totally screwed up and this is a rely to an old message.

[Boomr]

Ok, to redeem myself I have called the Raley's in Winnemucca. They do have dry ice, and will have extra on hand for the week before BM. It is $1.60 a pound. The very nice Raley's representative said they are the only place in Humboldt County that has dry ice, and he was more than happy for me to post that info here.

http://www.raleys.com/www/stores_map.js ... Winnemucca

[kelizabeth]

Headed to Alliance Gas Products in Oakland tomorrow to grab my dry ice! They sell it for $1 per pound. What I'm doing is taking a separate, small cooler for all the dry ice, my ice cream, and my chocolate coated bananas. I keep these items in large freezer bags to prevent the CO2 flavor. I also keep cold packs in there. COLD PACKS ARE THE SHIT on a hot day. My main cooler is mostly Ice, but on the right hand side I set a chunk of dry Ice in a paper bag and pack around it my veggie burgers, hash browns and other things that could stand to be kept a little cooler. My milk and eggs go on that side as well, but not right up against it, everything else goes to the left. It also makes the regular ice last longer. I keep my consumable ice (for drinks, etc.) in zip lock freezer bags to keep it from tasting funky. Basically, this operation requires lots of freezer bags. I think its darn clever.

Alliance Gas Products is open between 8am and 1pm tomorrow, but they are closed Sunday.

[kickstart]

I've done dry ice in the past with great results (dry ice on top of everything else in a "7 day cooler") but this year i'm gunna pass on the dry ice as i really only have 1 thing that needs to last till later in the weekend....and its already frozen solid.

[MyPlayaUserName]

Dry ice made for a very easy burn this year. Delicious dinners nightly. If you put pre-prepared food in food saver bags and freeze them, then boil the packet to bring it to life, it tastes fresh out of the oven. I wish I'd read up a bit here first, but all and all I am satisfied. 40 Pounds of dry ice purchased Monday at the Walmart in Fernley, lasted me through Sunday. Yum yum yum.

[lucky420]

40 lbs? wow I have never used dry ice before so I only brought 10 lbs. No wonder it didn't last past thurs morning