How to Pack a Cooler with Dry Ice

Packing a cooler with dry ice is a very simple and effective way to keep frozen foods frozen solid on lengthy trips. Use the tips below to pack your cooler and you'll be pleasantly amazed when you arrive at your destination to find your food still frozen.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cooler
• Frozen Goods
• Newspaper
• Sheets of Styrofoam
• Dry Ice

1. Choose the appropriate size cooler for your food allowing room for the dry ice to be placed on top of it. Dry ice squares are approximately a 10 inch square that is around 2 inches thick. Any type of cooler will work, the better insulated it is the better the ice will keep. For extra insulation, consider lining the cooler with Styrofoam to prolong the life of the ice.

2. This should be done as close to your time of departure as possible: Place your frozen food in the cooler packed as tightly as you can. Fill in any open spaces with crumpled newspaper. Place a layer of newspaper on top of the food. Place one 10 pound block of dry ice per about every 15" of cooler length on top of the food. This will keep everything frozen solid for 24 hours. For each additional 24 hours use the same formula. Close the cooler tightly. If you wish you can use a strap to tighten the seal on the cooler to prevent any air from reaching the inside.

3. Place the cooler in the location it will travel in. The cooler the location the longer the ice will last. If you can, pack insulation materials such as sleeping bags or quilts around the ice chest. Do not open the chest during transport. Allowing air to reach the dry ice will cause it to evaporate more quickly.

4. When you arrive at your destination, open the cooler and carefully remove the remaining ice using gloves or some other form of protection, never touch dry ice with bare skin. Food that is in the cooler will be frozen solid, at a much colder temperature than a normal freezer. Transfer it to your freezer and dispose of the remaining ice.

Tips & Warnings

• Cold air sinks so placing dry ice on top of the frozen foods is the most effective method for packing a cooler
• Never touch dry ice with bare skin, the temperature is around -109F and will instantly cause damage to your skin.
• Do not pack anything in your cooler that you do not want frozen solid as whatever you place in the there, even if it is not frozen, will freeze during transport.

[lighthouse1958]

on 7/3/2009 Another great article. Keep them coming. I will keep checking them out, thanks. 5*