[Rhodes22-list] Dry Ice

[Roger Pihlaja]

Bill,

There is just a slight material of construction problem associated with
using dry ice in the onboard ice chest + the safety issue you already
alluded to.

The interior liners & ice buckets of the R-22 on-board ice chests are made
from ABS plastic.  At -70 deg C, the temperature of dry ice is well below
the point at which this plastic gets very brittle.  Any mechanical loading
on the liner from the weight of the food, wave action, or even residual
thermal stresses left over from the compression molding process used to
fabricate the liner may cause it to crack or even shatter.  If you are going
to attempt to use dry ice as the refrigeration source, then place the dry
ice inside of a small polystyrene foam ice chest 1st (these ice chests are
frequently sold in bait shops for carrying minnows) & then put the small
foam cooler into your on-board ice chest.  The dry ice will not harm the
polystyrene foam & it will provide sufficient insulation to protect your
expensive on board ice chest from the extreme cold.

As far as the intrinsic safety hazard of smothering gaseous carbon dioxide,
you are on your own.  Carbon dioxide is more dense than air & will tend to
collect in any low spot.  I leave it to you to decide if you want to have a
continuous source of colorless, odorless, smothering gas down below in your
galley.  Personally, I keep my dry ice in the lazzarette compartment.

FYI, dry ice is also a significant thermal burn hazard.  Never touch dry ice
with your bare skin.  It will burn you in a fraction of a second!  Always
handle it with gloves or some sort of a tool like pliers or tongs.

By the way, these days we use a Stanley wide mouth stainless steel thermos
bottle to hold dry ice + ice cream when we cruise.  The vacuum dewar bottle
will hold a pint of ice cream + dry ice rock hard for several days.  The
Stanley thermos bottles are almost indestructable, the dry ice won't harm
the stainless steel, & they are much easier to pack than a foam ice chest.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ben Schultz" <BenS@ApproSystems.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 11:46 AM
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Dry Ice


> I found another good alternative at the Annapolis boat show.  They come as
> pieces of paper, perferated into small squares.  you soak the pages in
> water, which cases each little square to swell into a bulge.  Then, you
> freeze them.  Supposedly, they stay cold for days once they are in the ice
> chest.  I'll give you a review once I have a chance to spend a whole
weekend
> aboard.
>
> Ben
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob [mailto:romin@csionline.net]
> Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2002 06:49
> To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Dry Ice
>
>
> Hello Bill
> I have to get one! Where can I buy one of these?
> Bob
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bill Effros" <bill@effros.com>
> To: "R22 List" <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2002 3:42 PM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Dry Ice
>
>
> I purchased a dry ice maker at the beginning of this season that could be
of
> interest to anyone thinking of short term cruising.
>
> It cost $125, which I though was a bit pricey for what it is--little more
> than a fitting for a CO2 tank, and a cloth sack that can be attached to
the
> fitting via a hose clamp.
>
> However, it does work.  And a pound of dry ice in the top section of the
ice
> box will keep the bottom section as cold as a home refrigerator all day
and
> night with just a little effort.
>
> CO2 is not expensive and can be purchased at welding supply companies.
The
> tank must have a siphon.  That lets out 5 lb. tanks.  25 lb.s is the
minimum
> tank size.  The efficiency is 20-25%.  A 25 lb. tank will fit in the
> lazarette, however, remember it weighs more than 25 lbs when full, and
gets
> lighter as you use the gas.
>
> If you buy some dry ice before you start, and replenish as you go you
could
> probably stretch it out to a week of cruising if you are careful.  Some of
> the dry ice would be stored along with food in coolers as Roger has
> described in the past.
>
> I don't know about the safety factor, however my boat is less than air
> tight, and I have the pop-top up most of the time I'm on board.
>
> Bill Effros
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