Camping With Dry Ice

This is a follow up to my "where to find dry ice for camping" video. The dry ice held up till 3 1/2 days after we picked up 20lbs of dry ice from a local Safeway supermarket. Also remember that the cooler was stored in the shade from our tent in an average daily hi temperature of 90-100'F and average daily low of 65-70'F. The cooler we used was an igloo 50qt 5-day cooler. We may be trying this experiment again in early September when we go camping again and the average temperatures will be 15'F lower. Hopefully the temperature drop has an effect on the longevity of the dry ice in the cooler.
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[@davesevigny4315]

I have used dry ice many times over the years, traveling to a remote cabin near the canadian boarder. I typicly always stayed ten days. But always had issues with keeping my food frozen and cold the entire stay. At that time they did not have any of the tight sealing coolers that are on the market today. What I did was put dry ice in my coleman cooler similar to the way you do it. Since heat is not a enemy to dry ice, and air or oxygen is, I placed the cooler in two large heavy duty trash bags. Then squeezed out most of the air and sealed them up. The items in both of my coolers were still froze soild at the end of ten days. This seemed to work very well, I used this method for many trouble free years. I now own a tight sealing cooler, and want to try dry ice in it. Good video, and good ideas bro, I just wanted to share my experiance with you. Dave

[@jjsparkles5420]

thanks for the tips this is great!!!! Any other camping tips would be wonderful!!

[@Chrazzari]

If the seal is too tight you could have an explosion because of how much dry ice expands you'll need some kind of way of releasing the pressure, which is why it's often put into cheap styrofoam eskys. The good sealed ones are great for regular ice, but I'd be careful about making sure it is able to release the excess pressure

[@TwisterKidMedia]

"Heat is not the enemy of dry ice" ? Uh my dude yeah it is. Dry ice is subject to the laws of thermodynamics like everything else. All you did by removing the air was make it more difficult for heat transfer to occur. You can do the same thing with regular ice.

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

i will keep this in mind.

[@Alex7889.]

Did you open rhe drain plug to release the gas pressure

[@VODZ]

Just got back from a camping trip using this method with dry ice, it worked out great. It was a big group camping trip with my girlfiends family members and i packed my cooler with dry ice at the bottom and regular ice on top and then food and drink items on top of that. It was only a 3 day trip but the closest place to get ice was well over an hour away. All of the other coolers brought had regular ice and were melted or mostly water by the 2nd day (they didn't pre-cool their food). Mine were fine, infact some water bottles actually froze about half way. we could have gone another 2 days easily without ice. The only issue i had was keeping items on the top cold, but rotating them to the bottom seemed to help. Once again, thanks for the tip and the video.

[@Stackimo]

VODZ Good reply and helpful to those interested.

[@michaeldkmv]

VODZ If you store water bottles in your cooler, freeze them next time before you put them in the cooler. They'll serve as additional refrigerant and when they melt, you'll have water to drink and they won't soak your food. Keeping a few on top will speed the thaw so you'll always have a bottle of unfrozen water ready.

[@ItsBondoBaby]

I scanned some of the comments quickly so apologies if this has been said. I think you lost a lot of your potential ice preservation by popping all that ice into your 100 degree cooler. Think of the thermal exchange that happened to bring it down to 66 degrees in the 20 minutes it took you to get home. What I do is toss in some “sacrificial ice” the night before to bring down the internal temp of the cooler and the temp of the insulation as low as possible. Then, the day of packing, I toss that out and restart with the fresh stuff. Of course you could do the same with ice packs or frozen water bottles - but you gotta start as cold as possible.

[@chquentincoleman6426]

So essentially take the cooler and sit it in a deep freezer? Hmmm 🤔

[@Anjanya1948]

For all you people in Florida that take a cooler to the grocery store so you meat and milk and ice cream gets home in one piece, although I always forget this is also a good concept to use in your cooler that you put in your car I don't always go straight home so I always have to get a bag of ice from my groceries. But what I seem to never remember to do is to chill out the bag that it's going to go into first haha

[@you2tooyou2too]

I always put my frozen goods into a closed paper bag first, and then a plastic bag, for better resistance to warm winds.

[@bradmetcalf7832]

@@chquentincoleman6426 How bout freezing a few used milk jugs with water and putting them in the cooler the night before to lower cooler temp? Don't take out till your home with dry ice and reg ice, then stick them back in freezer for next go round. I have a Yeti 65qt, I always prechill it and make sure that everything that goes in is as cold as possible and have gotten 5 days with just regular ice.

[@javaman2883]

Our family of 4 uses two coolers on our trips. We have a larger one using regular ice, for drinks and refrigerated type items. We have a smaller one with dry ice in it, for the frozen stuff. We've found that sausages, tater tots, etc will last longer and taste better if they remain frozen. Another big help for us, is keeping water o flavored beverage in a separate beverage cooler. Just stick a bag of ice in the cooler, top off with water, add flavor powder if desired (coolaid, tang, country time lemonade, etc); then dispense as wanted. By keeping it in a container without a lid opening multiple times per day, the ice lasts longer.

[@chrismainman]

You don't need a new cooler or insulation on the outside of your cooler. You only need to put a towel over the dry ice and the regular ice. Then put your food on top of the towel. This will make the dry ice last longer and keep the regular ice frozen longer. Don't forget to leave open the drain plug of the cooler, so when the ice eventually melts all the water will drain and your food will still stay dry.

[@TheYankmchain]

The reason you leave the drain plug open is because dry ice is a SOLID form of CARBON DIOXIDE! It needs to vent.

[@UguysRnuts]

Instead of a towel, use sheets of Reflectix inside the cooler to protect food from the dry ice and instead of ice, try freezing bottles of Gatorade which has a lower freezing point due to the sodium content. Close the drain, make the cooler airtight, pre freeze everything and pre chill the cooler. Add Reflectix to the outside in the form of a loose gift wrapping type shroud and keep everything in the shade and/or under a space blanket. By doing this I keep food fresh and beverages cold for well over a week.

[@PhanOT11]

Next weekend, I’m planning to do this (dry ice) for the very first time. Great help thanks.

[@DannyB-cs9vx]

Wrap the cooler in a space blanket, (shinny side out). This will keep radiant heat from going into the cooler. You also can put a cooler inside of a larger cooler. the lower the air temp is around the cooler that has the ice, the longer it will last. The space between the two coolers can also be used to store food that doesn't need refrigeration.

[@UguysRnuts]

I have used nesting soft coolers for years. As supplies diminish I consolidate groceries and ice to the inner cooler and am able to keep perishables for more than a week. In addition to the space blanket trick, I made loose fitting covers from Reflectix insulation. Getting the cooler up off the ground by the addition of rubber feet is also effective.

[@XxloverspanicxX]

I've never used dry ice in my cooler before, so this was super helpful! Thanks :)

[@eve-504]

You are such a smart camper. I'm using this method for my next camping trip. Thank you for posting this video!

[@heli400]

I mostly weekend warrior camp with my kids, I used to do dry ice, but it was too cold and froze everything. I didn't enjoy having to thaw things while camping and you cant shove a stick into a frozen wiener. One solution I did was a dry ice cooler aka 'the freezer' and a regular cooler kept cold with frozen water bottles aka 'the fridge'. And then I swapped out bottles of water from the freezer to the fridge as they froze with the dry ice and thawed in the fridge (as the bottles cooled the other items) it worked. but now I just use frozen 2L milk containers filled with water as I have found there is still a sliver of ice in them by the time the trip is done. Saves the cost of buying dry ice ;)

[@normpaddle]

Thanks for the tips and info. Yeah planning a 6 day canoe trip in 90 degree heat. What I've done also is in the morning, I would take out the evenings frozen meal and put in a soft sided cooler...by the end of the day it would be soft or thawed. Just keep transfering what you need into something to thaw out. Great video.

[@idbrn4u708]

I have a Kysek Cooler......like a Yeti, big bucks but it's mine for life. One week, is never a problem with even regular ice if properly planned for. Their big, heavy and expensive.....and interior space is more limited due to the thickness of the insulated walls. But like I said, it's a keeper for life and I'll never ever go back to regular cooler again. Thanks for posting!!

[@mrrandybell]

Thanks so much everyone for info on this dry Ice I much appreciate it.

[@markconger8049]

Awesome video! Love the fact that you did multiple days in one video. If I had to suggest one thing to try in the future (if you do) is to insulate your cooler with styrofoam insulation board cut to size. Do all sides (top, bottom, 4 sides) and that should give you at least another 2 days - maybe more. Alternatively, you could use one cooler for frozen goods and another for traditionally cooled stuff like butter and yogurt. This way you're not opening the frozen cooler but when you need it. All in all a great video. Loved it!!

[@Anjanya1948]

@mark_conger that is a terrific idea to build an insulated cabin for the cooler I would assume that in an RV it would also be a good idea to build a insulated cabinet where you would store your cooler...

[@abdullaex4119]

Keep your cooler in the shade at all time. Make shade if you don't have any. Makes a big difference when camping for an extended period of time.

[@jjsparkles5420]

great tip thank you!

[@OynxBlack]

When you use dry ice shade does not matter,…. What matters is keeping it air tight so that the dry ice does not escape. As long as it is air tight,… you will save the cooling effects of the dry ice

[@UguysRnuts]

@@OynxBlack Dry ice can not be kept in an airtight container or it will blow up!

[@UguysRnuts]

And keep it off the ground to eliminate conduction. I added feet to my Igloo BMX25.

[@ericleblond7517]

Your method is very good. The only point I would have changed is freeze your bag of ice in your home freezer before adding it to your cooler. That ice was already melting a little bit.

[@Hg-su8vc]

I have a huge cooler so I used six and it was good for my week and a half trip and well after

[@billturk3734]

Good video. I camp with dry ice too and use a yeti 60. I got 5 days of frozen meat from 75 lbs of dry ice. I also used lake water to make ice for my beer because I didn’t have wet ice after it melted. Camping is camping, you always learn something new or figure something out. Well done.

[@UguysRnuts]

Seventy five lbs of dry ice!!! No way I could afford that. I use twenty pounds for two coolers in addition to prefreezing water and Gatorade bottles and any food that can be frozen. With some simple hacks I have meat and dairy for a full week in my Igloo BMX25.

[@danielevans3932]

From my experience, dry ice sublimates about 2 to 3 lbs every 24 hrs. Sometime more based on the altitude. Last week i bought 10 lbs of dry ice and my food in the whole cooler staid frozen for 5 days. I still put all my frozen meats in there but no fridge food because i but the ice on top of my meats still in bag then put a layer of paper bags on top. Then lastly the dry ice on top. Since cool air goes down your meats and ice stay frozen longer.

[@UguysRnuts]

I put the dry ice in the bottom where I don't have to touch it and then use sheets of Reflectix to create temperature zones within the cooler in addition to pre frozen Gatorade, water and meat. Lasts more than a week.

[@richshawver5877]

On the lower end coolers they are mostly a 2 walled hollow space. If you fill this inner space and the hollow lid with spray in foam insulation it will greatly increase your performance. 2nd insulation enhancement. Make a box that fills your cooler with the home insulation that is bubble wrap with foil exterior and a slide over top. This 1/8 inch thick product gives a R-7 insulation value. This should also help prevent cracking of the plastic from the dry ice cold. Both products can be found at most home improvement stores. I.E. Lowes & Home Depot. Cold improvement. Take flat containers or bottles. Fill them With a saturated water and salt solution. Pre-freeze This mix has a frozen temperature of 0 degrees. This is why the Fahrenheit scale starts at 0 with freezing water is at 32. 0 was the coldest temperature where a saturated salt water solution would consistently freeze. With both water ice and dry ice it is better to use blocks than cubes or pellets. In the larger forms the outer layers insulate the middle. The smaller sized chunks have more surface area. Hence are more exposed and melt more quickly. Hope this helps.

[@AlAl-ji5hc]

Bubble wrap with foil (Reflectics) has R value of 0.5. Company lie about it's R value of 7. Now, after debunked, they changed it.

[@UguysRnuts]

Instead of sacrificing volume, use that "foil bubble wrap" (Reflectix) on the outside where it can reflect solar energy. I basically gift wrapped my cooler with the stuff to make a loose, bottomless shroud which insulates and shades the cooler. I added a single layer in the bottom and double sided taped a piece to wrap around the outer bottom. My BMX25 by Igloo, which costs a third of a Yeti, now outperforms one. Also: Instead of carrying around useless bottles of salt water, freeze Gatorade bottles which does the same thing due to it's sodium content, and you can still drink.

[@UguysRnuts]

@@AlAl-ji5hc It's 'Relectix' and I use it extensively.

[@ricardocuevas2245]

I cant convince my wife in using dry ice! LOL but great vid.

[@gig777]

My suggestion to make the ice last longer is to build a box for your cooler and then line it with 4" of polystyrene. You could even make a lid for it as well. So essentially you would have a cooler in a cooler. The polystyrene comes in 8ft x 4ft sections at any building supply store like Home Depot or Lowes. You can get it in 1-1/2" thickness or 2" thickness.

[@you2tooyou2too]

I did that with mattress foam, and put it into a quilt vacuum bag which I keep on an empty freezer shelf.

[@UguysRnuts]

Try making a soft box out of Reflectix insulation instead of rigid foam. It works great.

[@josephalbano5337]

Thanks a lot man!! We are going camping for 4 days and you definitely answered all of my questions about mixing dry ice with regular ice, etc. Thanks for the help

[@kyouell]

With both dry ice and regular ice it works better to have it on top: cold sinks, heat rises. We had an old cooler that had a try for items you wanted to keep dry and that's where we wild put the ice. Also, with regular ice, block will stay frozen longer than cubes.

[@kyouell]

*had a tray

[@UguysRnuts]

No need to put the dry ice on top where it gets in the way. It lasts longer on the bottom and has plenty of cold to keep stuff cool all the way to the top. Instead of block ice, freeze 2L water bottles and drink the ice water as it melts. Last's longer than an exposed block.

[@joliveaux]

+Jeff Martinez, I want to take a moment to thank you for your service to our country. As a veteran myself I understand what it means to sacrifice years of you life in service and want to make sure you know I appreciate that. Thank you sir!... and have a great veteran's day!!

[@davesevigny4315]

Well Chrazzari, You may be correct, but all I can ad is that I have been doing this for years and have never had any issues whatsoever. It has always worked very well for me.

[@madelectronengineering]

I had the drain plug closed. Just make sure you don't have anything stacked on the lid of the cooler so it can slowly burp the pressure out from the dry ice / carbon dioxide buildup.

[@cuzv]

It would be interesting to see how much longer the dry ice would work with an RTIC or Yeti hard side cooler. 3 days with an inexpensive Igloo is pretty impressive in that heat.

[@UguysRnuts]

I have an Igloo BMX25 which I upgraded with gasket, feet, Reflectix shroud and a few other things and get more than a week of cooling with a combination of dry-ice and frozen Gatorade bottles.

[@PhilipBarkes]

If you have a chest freezer you can put your cooler in it over night and fill it in the morning so that the cooler is already freezing cold before you fill it, saving your ice or dry ice from having to do the work of cooling down the cooler. If you don't have a chest freezer you can sacrifice a bag of ice to pre-cool the cooler.

[@UguysRnuts]

Also, if you have the freezer space, prefreeze everything you can, including meat, water and Gatorade bottles.

[@tezeagle3856]

My local (Aussie) ice works says on their website that 5kg of dry ice will last 1-2 days, 10kg will last 3-4 days, 15kg will last 5-6 days, 20kg will last 7-8 days and 25kg will last 9 to 10 days approximately. 20lb is equivalent to 9kg so according to these figures it lasted exactly as long as it was supposed to. The only way to make it last longer was to buy more dry ice in the first place.

[@carlosabrego7987]

correct, but dry ice will keep your food frozen and regular ice will not,,frozen food will give extra time.

[@UguysRnuts]

Better still, combine dry ice and frozen water bottles. The dry ice keeps the water bottles hard for the first three days and then the ice in the bottles takes over for the next few days. Gatorade is even better because of it's sodium content.

[@summermercier1901]

I leave the dry ice in the plastic wrap it comes in, put them in paper bags to help insulate the dry ice and place in the bottom of the cooler. Put regular ice in the cooler, leaving regular ice in the bag. Your food will stay cold for days that way.

[@ericleblond7517]

Left inside left That was the most short and helpful call I’ve ever heard from a woman !! Military style 🫡

[@BUrffer17]

Thanks for sharing this video, I had been looking into using dry ice for my upcoming trip and this video helped answer a lot of questions. I too am planning on being gone for 5 days, and if I only get three days out of 20 lbs, that'll be fine for what we need. One of the things I've read while researching (take this with a grain of salt, I'm going off of other people's word, and not my own experience) is to fill up the extra air space in the cooler so it lasts longer. Thanks again!

[@MrRShoaf]

Get some foam sheet insulation and make a box to put the cooler in put the foil side out. That should help a lot. And of course keep the box in shade.

[@unclejack41]

once he added ice it voided the whole deal. Ice of which is H20 touching the Dry ice will cause it to breakdown faster.Frozen bottles of H20 not touching the Dry ice will last 5 days in this mohave desert thank you.Done it !!

[@VelveteenRabbit77]

What about if it had bubble wrap around the dry ice or just the foam board and nothing else touching it ????

[@garymitchell9859]

i agree used to buy it all the time for my boat. when you put in normal ice the dry stuff is working overtime to keep it frozen. it would be best to have 2 ice boxes or even dont break up the normal ice keep it in the plastic bag.

[@TheHmurveit]

+molliemollie got to be careful with sealing the dry ice… As it melts/evaporites it expands

[@unclejack41]

Dangerous explosive if your not careful. Do not attempt unless sober

[@VelveteenRabbit77]

TheHmurveit I did not know that!!

[@madelectronengineering]

I agree with the blanket thing. If we're going to use that cooler again this year we might use our old sleeping bags and swe up a cover for it to make it more effecient.

[@UguysRnuts]

This is where the new product called Reflectix is ideal. Adds R-Value PLUS it reflects solar radiation.

[@nikunjakirtan]

I'm super excited to use drybice in my hundred dollar cooler which works amazingly with frozen half gallon jugs.

[@UguysRnuts]

The "Hot Setup" is to use a combination of both.

[@marandaramos3399]

honestly this is perfect for my short camping festival trips !!! im so glad I know how to use it now , thanks so much!

[@TheJim91303]

1) put the cooler In a shady place such as under a thermal blanket 2) line your cooler with an emergency blanket ( foil kind) leaving a flap to cover the top like a 2nd lid 3) if you have room in your freezer make solid block ice using 3x9 baking pans

[@UguysRnuts]

An emergency blanket is much more effective on the outside of your cooler blocking solar radiation and if you freeze water bottles they'll last longer than loose blocks and you can drink it!

[@ericmuse4802]

Had not heard of that one so just looked it up. Impressive! Putting it on my list. Mile High Campground in Cherokee for a few days. Owned by Cherokee reservation. A white water excursion then off the mtn to Ashville.

[@lezannerozaidia2704]

Try wrapping it in a blanket . better insulation. With a survival blanket(shiny cheap 1) wrapped around it

[@UguysRnuts]

No point in wrapping dry ice in a space blanket. Reflectix (mylar bubblewrap) would work because it traps air between the layers.

[@snnnoopy]

I'm wondering though, if air is what makes dry ice sublime, why take it out of the plastic bag? Also, if cold air sinks would it be smarter to put the ice on top if you didn't want to get in and out a lot?

[@UguysRnuts]

Air does not cause sublimation and Dry Ice must not be kept in an airtight container or it will burst. A mix of dry and regular ice works best. The dry ice keeps the regular ice solid for the first few days and then the regular ice does the job from then on.

[@normpaddle]

I use dry ice and have frozen solid ice cream on day 6 of a canoe trip and using a NON Yeti....$39 dollar Coleman Cooler.

[@timothystinson2351]

thanks for the video,im considering using dry ice to transport ice cream when i drive to pick it up a 100 mile trip during the summer

[@UguysRnuts]

Wow! Someone who likes ice cream more than me!

[@debbyfrazier2078]

Thank you for the video. I would have never thought about using dry ice. Great video. I'm going to try it.

[@skullhart]

Good video. I recently purchased a Engel 123 cooler for a Bahamas boating vacation. I'm hoping if I: - Precool the cooler the day before with a couple bags of ice - Wrap three 12x12 dry ice blocks in newspaper - Place hard frozen two inch thick ice blocks completely atop the dry ice - Fill cooler completely That the cooler will remain

[@madelectronengineering]

Jason - I will try the newspaper and cardboard next spring when we go camping again. Thanks for the tips!

[@madelectronengineering]

You can use dry ice for keeping drinks cold as well, just seperate the drinks from the dry ice by using a layer of cardboard.

[@UguysRnuts]

In the past 10 years since you made this comment, an insulation product called Reflectix has revolutionized how we use our coolers. It's a mylar bubblewrap which reflects heat while at the same time adding insulation. Much more effective and no soggy cardboard to deal with.

[@julessanchez9216]

I purchased a 45 qt. Pelican cooler, with just regular ice it has a ice retention from 7-10 days. I have only used it a few times, summer in New Orleans in the summer can be quite extreme went it comes to heat. The ice in that chest lasted a easy 7 days, only problem is that these coolers are very heavy empty, so when they are loaded with ice and food, you need 2 people to carry it. The price are not cheap, but this chest will last a lifetime.

[@Bamboo2234]

You should try propping the cooler up off of the ground lease 5 inches to get airflow under the cooler. I find that just using regular ice my ice last a lot longer with the cooler off of the ground.

[@HamsterLife_EnglishLearning]

Good to know. I would have thought the cooler ground would make it last longer with no hot air floor getting to the bottom.

[@benniemitchell5998]

Wow I'm moving to Arizona and itsa two day drive so I need to know for all my frozen meat will it's last for the two day until we get there.

[@BushmansAdventures]

also COVER your cooler with the sleeping bags when you not using it. Keeps the sun and heat from ever reaching the cooler and warming up the outside of the cooler, and the inside. You can get up to a month with dry ice if you insulate the cooler and keep it in the shade.

[@ericdollarhyde3296]

Mephisto Cat youve gotten a month from a block of dry ice? thats so epic!!

[@UguysRnuts]

@@ericdollarhyde3296 That's one word for it. Here's another: rubbish.

[@MLN65]

Two coolers split the food , insulation is key , bury it. If 4 days camping 1 cooler gets opened over and over. While second one is sealed buried and wrapped old sleeping bags (big plastic bag works best keeping al clean) insulate in layers .

[@UguysRnuts]

Seriously? Buried? Like in the ground? You mean in sand?

[@mikemanges]

Great informative vid. Thanks, I'm going to fallow your tips next time I go camping.

[@mamiri42]

Great job I will defenely will try this my next time camping and I will get back to you thanks for your tips

[@brianx04]

This answered my question about putting regular ice in with it. Thanks

[@UguysRnuts]

I find using regular ice and dry ice together works best by pre-freezing water bottles.

[@DiplomatsDaughter22]

Really useful! Thanks for taking the time to make this video

[@noisey973]

thanx sooooo much for this review.. I have been wanting to know how long this ice would last... thank you!!!!!

[@goose1077]

I have found that just putting frozen food, which often has salt in it, in my cooler will be enough to freeze other things that are less salty. Dry ice would really freeze food. Keeping your non frozen food on top, seems to have worked for you though.

[@UguysRnuts]

Gatorade has salt in it too, which gives it a colder freezing point. I freeze whole bottles of the stuff and it lasts for a whole week with a minimum of dry ice.

[@Anjanya1948]

I'm in Florida here and I'm always concerned with preserving the food during a hurricane or even while I'm cleaning. I literally considered putting the freezer that has frosted up food into a cooler with dry ice just to keep it good while I'm getting it defrosted all day. But I like the idea of your test because a hurricane can leave you without electricity for 5 days and that is not good. Best case scenario you are in a shady inside area and your house is warm but cooler than outside you have fans going in a generator and you have a cooler with ice and dry ice around how much time do you think it would last? Also I would like a link to the thermometer that you hooked up I thought that was a super cool idea it would be nice if they made coolers with a digital readout for the outside so you could see what the temperature inside was maybe there's an apparatus you can find for us and do a video on something like that . I totally enjoyed your video and thank you very much for it I am not a camper for say but I am a survivor of hurricanes I have lived through two category fours and I never run I always stay and face them, hunkered down and praying, of course!

[@UguysRnuts]

I spent Hurricane Hugo in a condo in Fla. on the water trying to keep yachts from sinking thirty feet away. Something I'll never forget. For my 9 day paddling trips in Algonquin Park I use a combo of dry ice and frozen Gatorade because it has a lower freezing temp than mere water. I also enhanced the insulation of my Igloo BMX25 with gasket, Reflectix shroud and silicone feet to get it up off the ground. Works great.

[@FloppyHatPhotos]

Try keeping the dry ice DRY it will last much longer that way?

[@Smokin-kw2hm]

Nice 👍. Thanks for the video. We are going camping for 4 days. And was looking into dry ice or I don’t know what’s it’s call. But I am going to go buy some now. Thanks again

[@thumbi81]

I've done dry ice before for camping. It should have lasted 5 days without supplementing with regularice since you did freeze most of your foods. I would recomend putting 2 layers of cotton towels or better yet a piece of cardboard over the ice and then putting the ice over. My hubby and I took a cooler like yours and only did 1/3rd of the ice on 90degree summer weather camping and it lasted almost 2.5 days before we had to supplement with ice. Maybe if we had done one whole brick of would have lasted 3.5 days

[@bgkdiver1313]

thanks for your experiment! I've always had good luck freezing a couple juice cartons(60 oz) one with orange juice and others with drinking water. last a long time and when they melt your cooler is still dry and you can drink whats in there.Also keeping your cooler in the shade helps a lot. If camping with kids or heavy beer drinkers a small cooler with drinks/ snacks helps because of how many times it get opened..

[@UguysRnuts]

For shade, cover your coolers with a space blanket and keep them off the ground. Adding feet works well.

[@freezerfreezer9097]

Wrap your dry ice in something like a towel. Eliminate the wet ice. And remember only open that cooler when you absolutely have to and be quick about it. Get what you need and close it back up. The last one is the most important one. Because every time you left that lid it exposes the cooler to warm air. One other thing you can do is put a good seal around the cooler. Fishing boats have really good coolers they can pack regular block Ice on the boats and stay out for two weeks. So they're dry I should have lasted a lot longer. But bad seals, open too much, adding ice, and not wrapping the dry ice has left you with only 3 days before it melted.

[@UguysRnuts]

I wrap the dry ice in pieces of Reflectix which works infinitely better than a wet towel.

[@50hellkat2]

You have got this down to a science. Thanks for the tips. I never take my ice out of the bags. It stays better and you can refreeze it and move it over top of food etc. cubes all over the place bug me.

[@UguysRnuts]

Have you considered freezing water bottles?

[@bradmetcalf7832]

2 things I will question. #1 Did you leave drain plug open on cooler? #2 Why are you refrigerating butter, mine sits on counter at room temp 365 days a year? Good video!

[@pamwoodsome620]

Freezing water into block ice seems to keep longer than your dry ice experiment. I just drove from FL to CO (3 days) and camped along the way. We packed my igloo cooler with our prepped food, pre-frozen, and several ice blocks made in my freezer with Tupperware containers. Not only did the blocks stay frozen for the3 day drive, they were still frozen at day 5. By the time I got around to emptying the cooler on day 6, the ice was melted, but the water was ice cold.

[@you2tooyou2too]

That can be true because water has a greater specific heat than dry ice. I'd like to try a dry ice block filled with a bag (or plastic bottle) of 'water ice'. At -100F, that would last much longer than the same volume of dry ice at -100F, or water ice at 0F, and much longer than water ice at just 32F.

[@UguysRnuts]

Instead of Tupperware blocks, use bottled spring water. Lasts as long and you can drink it. Fiji brand comes in square bottles which pack better.

[@matthewmerlan8743]

check and see if your cooler lid is insulated if not. Then DIY drill 6 or 8 holes fill with crack filler foam drying takes a couple of days then seal plastic food safe putty.

[@supremekingjesus425]

No need for a yeti if u know how to pack a cooler

[@MirrimBlackfox]

if you wrap your dry ice in newspaper (then you might want to bag it to keep the wet ice from making news paper mush, or skip the wet ice until the dry ice runs out) you will get more time out of the dry ice.

[@valerie1864]

Do you leave the dry ice in the bags or take it out?

[@UguysRnuts]

It's not that complicated. Freeze water bottles for regular ice. Gatorade works even better.

[@megpeterson2946]

This video is helpful. Thank you!

[@TheKi11erj]

also you need to bunggee the top.. ad the dryice sublemates it creates pressure in the cooler. that pressure will pop the top open

[@osito_pu5367]

in air freight we cover with poliexpan an euro or american pallet at 1m high and put inside 8-10kg of dry ice and it keep it cool from europ to japan 72h.

[@lindsaywest5266]

A block of dry ice is not severely effected by it's insulation. It is a gas and will evaporate at the same rate regardless. Put a block on your front porch and the same size block in your cooler and they will last the same length of time. Those ten pound blocks are actually called, three day blocks where I come from.

[@filipiminican418]

If you wrap the dry ice in like 8 layers of newspaper it lasts longer!

[@sirMAXX77]

I remember someone saying paper is good at holding dry ice as a good insulator.

[@livefreeordie4850]

Michelle good to know

[@lordsamich755]

I suggest an igloo bag.

[@pahwraith]

@Jesus Loves You wrap the paper wrapped dry ice with either plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

[@summermercier1901]

I put it in paper grocery bags

[@cutiemyc]

Thanks for the video , I have wanted to know how it works and this has been very educational.

[@ManScoutsofAmerica]

I’ve always wanted to try this because I hate when my food gets wet. I never have because I figured it would a magnet for mosquitoes.

[@UguysRnuts]

Use frozen water and Gatorade bottles with the dry ice instead of unsealed ice and you won't have that problem.

[@mariotovar6197]

Thanks for sharing! great answered all my questions

[@alazz912]

I was always told, if you want your food to freeze put tue dry ice on top of it, but if you want it to be cole put the dry ice on bottom

[@jeffzaun1841]

It's Sept 3rd, I'm in Jersey City and Irma may be on the way. During Sandy we lost power for 3 days. If the power goes off this time I'm gonna be surviving (or at least not losing the contents of my freezer) because of your video.

[@bonniematthews2500]

a Yeti cooler would be better I think there's videos of folks testing them out and they work for 5 days

[@madelectronengineering]

That fed the two of us, plus a few shared meals with fellow friends that we're also camping. We actually came home with extra food still in the cooler. You could easily pack food for 4 in there for a week if you plan your meals accordingly.

[@joshuaweeksy]

The best is to freeze water in margarine containers they last in a good esky for 5 to 6 days

[@marksorensen1441]

I just watched a test similar to yours only just ice and soft drinks. In the test the Engle cooler did the best in ice retention for 8 days. Yeti came in second. But not by much. I suspect they both would maintain solid ice thru 10 days.

[@dcollins2371]

I use a single 30lb block but if you wrap it in a bunch of newspaper it lasts a lot longer.I use one cooler for food and one for just ice and frozon food. If you don't open the dry ice one until half way through your trip you will have fresh ice and ice cream till almost the end of your trip. I use this method for 10 day canoe trips.Oh yeah I also keep the cooler in the shade when ever possible and cover it with one of those emergency blankets.I usualy have to dump ice out at he end of the trip.

[@UguysRnuts]

Reflectix works waaaay better than newspapers. I do this on my nine day trips paddling Opeongo, Algonquin Park's biggest lake. I used to use the "emergency blanket" technique like you until I made custom Reflectix covers for all my coolers.

[@MovieCritic14]

You need a very large cooler to double ice capacity. The thicker the ice longer it stays frozen like a frozen lake. Also colored coolers are nice but absorb lots of light making it hotter

[@UguysRnuts]

All true, but if you cover the coloured cooler with a space blanket or make a simple fitted cover out of Reflectix it works even better.

[@mikemiller9119]

Very cool. Didn't think it would stay that cool. I'm doing that next trip.

[@diegobaquero2054]

If you put salt on dry ice instead of regular ice it will work much better

[@UguysRnuts]

Anarchist!

[@pamsvitality]

There is a video that shows how to use a foil insulation inside an igloo and use salt water and freeze. I have done this and it helps a lot. I do like your video and may try dry ice also.

[@ruddiediesel]

Great vid my dad showed me this trick when I was a kid. He would wrap the dry ice in butchers paper. And it would last 3 days with 10 lbs of dry ice,1 bag of block ice and 1 bag of crushed ice. We Had an old Coleman steel cooler.

[@rajich8022]

Thank you for the video... We are going for a 5day trip and worried about the food...Now no worries 😃... Thank you once again....

[@philwalker1972]

Do not place your cooler directly on the ground. The mean ambient ground temp will transfer its' warmth to the cooler faster than the surrounding ambient air. Some wood or anything to keep the cooler at least 4 inches off the ground will work. Then some plastic or a plastic lined wooden liner for the cooler will help keep the dry ice and regular ice intact for a longer period as well. If near a small river, check the water temp, and secure cooler with ropes in the water. Works too.

[@UguysRnuts]

Better still, add rubber feet to the cooler and tape or glue Reflectix to the outside bottom.

[@LGCPRODUCTIONSTV]

Trying it this weekend, thanks!

[@2170tlford]

Try using reflective insulation from a home improvement store. Had really good luck with too. The combination might work even better.

[@fritonevarez4405]

Don't put ice in the cooler. Also leave the plastic bags on the dry ice it will keep any melting and condensation away from the dry ice. I did this and the dry ice lasted 6 days camping 8 days. Good tips though have fun

[@journeywithbess]

Just to make sure I understood, only use dry ice and do not add additional ice cubes?

[@wherearetheturtles1408]

Journey With Bess i think thats what he means

[@UguysRnuts]

@@journeywithbess NO! Keep regular ice in sealed water bottles which will still be frozen when the dry ice has evaporated.

[@aslmad1]

keep things colder longer with dry ice on top not bottom or maybe sides, keep in wrapper and use frozen bottles rather than loose cube of regular ice

[@skullhart]

Just returned from Bahamas. Engel 123 cooler. 25 lbs of dry ice wrapped in news paper, topped with 10 lbs ice. Lasted 4 days and made our fruit taste carbonated.

[@ronaldisrael6902]

Just what i needed to see , thanks!

[@2mammaR]

Thanks for this. I was considering buying dry ice for my 7-day trip.

[@jpbeck825]

Interesting -- thanks for your time.

[@joliveaux]

do exactly what you did with a yeti type cooler and you'll see better results by far. I used half a block of dry ice in a 45QT yeti, packed at 10 am on Friday, camped in 92 to 95 degrees. I still have ice and today is Tuesday at 5pm.

[@joliveaux]

Yes...of coarse... That makes perfect sense... Good luck packing all that crap on a camping trip.

[@JeffMartinez648]

+Mark Gray would you please s make video and post the link here? I would really be interesting in seeing your $400 solar powered camping refrigerator.

[@joliveaux]

Jeff Martinez​, I don't think we're dealing with some one that spends much time on the out doors. For one, of your going camping for a week most people don't want to spend that much time hooking up and playing with a science project. Two, you couldn't get but maybe one meal in that tiny little freezer in an RV fridge. Then there's finding space to pack all that stuff. $349 only sounds like a lot for a cooler to someone that doesn't really use a cooler. If I were to add up the money from all the plastic junk coolers I've bought over the last 15 years..... Plus all the ice that those didn't keep... That's bought a couple yeti's. Mine are now going on 10 years old and still are like new, and I buy a lot less ice each time I use it. I'll bet Mark Gray​ has never packed a week's worth of food to any where outside. Any one that has knows the deal here.

[@over40fit80]

+Jason Ogivaux I agree completely, I almost had three exotic deer go bad earlier this year had it not been for the quality of the coolers that I had, a regular cooler would not have held the ice for as long as I needed it.

[@JeffMartinez648]

+Mark Gray you know I really don't give two shits about you & all you're whining about the cold and all this story trying to justify yourself to strangers on the internet just shows what a weak little man you really are. You ain't the only one that joined the Marine Corps and had life to live but the fact that you think that somehow you're better than anyone else exemplifies the petty pathetic person you are. I'm done with all this bullshit you're laying in.