Dry Ice

[sempi2]

We are preparing on taking our longest trip to date. Three weeks. Will going from Oregon to Oklahoma and back thru Yellowstone. I am hoping to take most of our food, but wondering if anyone has used with success dry ice. And if so how long will it last and will it keep food frozen? Any thoughts or ideas on dry ice will be greatly appreciated. Susan

[dznf0g]

I always run with the propane lit to the fridge. No problem keeping food frozen. My experience with dry ice is with wilderness camping. With 5# in a smallish soft side cooler, our steaks will be frozen through the second day and into the third. By the end of the third day they are still refrigerator cold and ready to be cooked.

[ZoominC6]

Dry ice works great as long as air doesn't get to it. Seal your cooler with tape after packaging and it will do just fine. Another tip is to wad up newspaper and place all around the outer edges of your package to add fantastic insulaton in addition to the cooler walls. Seal the dry ice in ziplock bags. Good luck and have fun on your trip.

[fltlevel510]

Unless you are on a special diet why not purchase your food along the way. This is one of the great adventures of traveling. Sampling bison burgers, fresh fruits and vegatables from road side stands. A stop at a small local market also allows you to talk to the locals and find out what is going on in a given area. Besides, who wants all that extra weight bouncing around in the fridge.

[Ahab]

Originally Posted by fltlevel510

Unless you are on a special diet why not purchase your food along the way. This is one of the great adventures of traveling. Sampling bison burgers, fresh fruits and vegatables from road side stands. A stop at a small local market also allows you to talk to the locals and find out what is going on in a given area. Besides, who wants all that extra weight bouncing around in the fridge.

I agree, this is what we do. Why waste gas pulling a load of food.

[aftermath]

I try to keep things as simple as possible, especially when on a really long trip. We keep the fridge running and stock it when we leave. We buy things at the local markets when we need to restock.

I don't want to have to pack along extra coolers, purchase the dry ice and worry about the condition of the food along the way. It is so much easier for us just to purchase as needed. We do not have a canopy over the bed of our truck so any extra coolers would have to sit outside in the sun and could be "lifted" by someone else. Like I said, I like to simplify things, not take on extra worries while I am on vacation.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by ZoominC6

Dry ice works great as long as air doesn't get to it. Seal your cooler with tape after packaging and it will do just fine. Another tip is to wad up newspaper and place all around the outer edges of your package to add fantastic insulaton in addition to the cooler walls. Seal the dry ice in ziplock bags. Good luck and have fun on your trip.

I may be wrong, but it sounds to me like you are suggesting making bombs.

As the dry ice sublimates the gas pressure in a sealed container will build until the container bursts explosively.

Have you ever actually done this?

Google dry ice bomb.

Ken

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by sempi2

We are preparing on taking our longest trip to date. Three weeks. Will going from Oregon to Oklahoma and back thru Yellowstone. I am hoping to take most of our food, but wondering if anyone has used with success dry ice. And if so how long will it last and will it keep food frozen? Any thoughts or ideas on dry ice will be greatly appreciated. Susan

I would be interested why you would want to do this. I would only consider this is I were going to the wilderness for three weeks. Even then I would pack mostly canned, dry, and dehydrated food for that period of time. You have a refrigerator unless you've removed it. There will be plenty of good markets along the way.

Ken

[vswingfield]

Actually it has, like many things, been discussed on the forums before: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f425/dry-ice-42192.html

The pressure buildup in sealed containers is covered there, as well as (see post 11) the possibility of the CO2 displacing the oxygen in an enclosed space, like a trailer.

I find myself agreeing with those advising to just use your refrigerator.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by vswingfield

Actually it has, like many things, been discussed on the forums before: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f425/dry-ice-42192.html

The pressure buildup in sealed containers is covered there, as well as (see post 11) the possibility of the CO2 displacing the oxygen in an enclosed space, like a trailer.

I find myself agreeing with those advising to just use your refrigerator.

Thanks for the link. I especially appreciated this quote from a post by "Excella CM"

"We used to get it free out inthe Mojave in the winter when the dry lakes froze, but by summer when we really needed it, it was all gone. "

Ken