Block Ice

[Bruce Hooke]

Does anyone know what the standard size or standard size range is for the block ice that is "commonly" (getting harder to find these days) available from retail stores (in the US)? I have hunted all over the Internet to try to get an answer to this question and can't find a thing...

Thanks!

[Figment]

Around here I commonly buy 10# blocks, though I've seen 5 and 20 on occasion.

[Toemandoug]

A quick search of standard ice equipment seems to make blocks:

Nominal 10 # 6" x 6" x 10"

also saw 5" X 7.5" X 10"

Hope that's what you were looking for.

[Bruce Hooke]

Thanks Figment and Toemandoug. That is what I was looking for.

I looked at some ice making sites and could not find what Toemandoug found. Well done to you! The dimensions you found (especially the second one) fit with my memory, and work out to be 12 pound blocks, which is reasonably in sync with what Figment posted. I am sure there are various sizes available, but it seems like whenever I have been able to find block ice for sale at retail locations it has been roughly the same size block.

[paladin]

The 12 pound blocks should be 12.5 pounds as per my feable memory.....and the larger blocks were 25 and 50 pounds. I'll check at Deale where they still make them. In my first two boats I could keep ice for 2-3 weeks if I was careful. The box had six inches of insulation except at the bottom was closer to 9 inches in the boat extending down below the sole. I could keep eggs painted with cooking oil for about 2 months without refrigeration, and 3-4 months with the ice......I didn't try to use it to freeze...just keep things cool so the potatoes, apples carrots etc would last a long time if the box was closed and a insulating blanket was used.

[Bruce Hooke]

Thanks Chuck. 12.5 pounds would fit perfectly with the dimensions Toemandoug posted. I am looking to build a small ice chest for canoeing and camping so I can't wrap it in 6" of insulation, but I can do better than the usual ice chest. I not going to lock myself into one ice block size but I can at least "optimize" my design to a particular size and since the longest dimension is the key it seems like I can focus in on the 10" dimension.

[shamus]

Round here the only block ice available is what I make in my freezer in 500g plastic butter containers.

[Liam English]

used to be in the fifties standard size was 50 lbs. Them's were the days!

[Dan McCosh]

'The size chopped out of a pond and stored in sawdust in the barn was about a one-foot cube.

[Fitz]

Hey Bruce, where you going??

[Bruce Hooke]

The most immediate trip on my "agenda" is a photography trip in southern Utah, ending with a family trip rafting on the San Juan River, but I have also been scheming to try to get up to the Adirondacks for a multi-day paddle...

[Thorne]

There was a good thread on this last year. Lots of stuff I never knew, including the trick of freezing at home the commercial blocks of ice to make them last longer, how to layer dry ice and regular ice, etc.

[OconeePirate]

There was a good thread on this last year. Lots of stuff I never knew, including the trick of freezing at home the commercial blocks of ice to make them last longer, how to layer dry ice and regular ice, etc.

Is it safe to use dry ice in an enclosed area? Like a small cabin?

[Bob Cleek]

Is it safe to use dry ice in an enclosed area? Like a small cabin?

NO! NO! NO!

When dry ice "melts," or "sublimates" (gasses off), it produces large amounts of what is basically pure carbon dioxide. CO2 is heavier than air and will displace the air (i.e. oxygen) inside a boat's hull, the same way it displaces the air in a container if you put a small piece of it in a container of water. This could asphyxiate you if you were sleeping below in a closed up cabin, for instance.

Also, there's "food grade" and "industrial grade" dry ice. Industrial grade dry ice isn't as refined as food grade and may contain other toxic gasses, such as amonia. You don't want food coming in contact with industrial grade dry ice.

Additionally, dry ice must be stored in a fashion that will allow the pressure it creates to be releived as it sublimates and the gas expands. Dry ice in a tightly enclosed container will cause the container to burst. We had fun making dry ice bombs when we were kids, but now they are outlawed as "destructive devices," in CA at least. A bunch of dry ice in a tightly closed Igloo ice chest in a small boat cabin could get exciting.

As with all such materials, there's no need to be scared of dry ice. Just use it prudently.

[Thorne]

Is it safe to use dry ice in an enclosed area? Like a small cabin?

I'll tell ya another thing not to do with dry ice -- do NOT put it in your freezer overnight "to keep it cold" before use the next day.

The freezer goes in to overtime defrosting itself, and all you have to show for it is a pile of white flakes. "Don't ask me how I know this..."

[paladin]

I know someone who put dry ice in their refrig/freezer during the hurricane and experienced the same problem.....
I took all the stuff outta the freezer, put it into cardboard boxes and wrapped blankets etc around them and then loaded it with dry ice...just ahead of everyone else before they hit the local safeway.....

What you can do if you have an empty freezer or something that will pass as one...like a box the size of your reefer box that will accompany you, is place 8 inches of foam under the box, and 6-8 inches all around, place the ice/food/water in the box that will go with you, then pack dry ice in the space between the two boxes...the ice will get much colder and the food will freeze, transfer to the box at the start of your trip and the ice will last much longer. When preparing for trips on Tana Mari, that was what I did at the beginning and using the small refrig function that I had, mostly solar operated, food would last 3-4 months....planning, planning, planning.

[salty87]

dry ice is fun.

here's something you CAN do. put a keg on dry ice. it'll freeze the water inside the keg while you drink the alcohol. unsuspecting people won't know what hit them. this is best on a camping trip where no one can leave or drive kinda thing. ymmv.

[paladin]

Bruce....24 hours before travelling fill the box/container with cracked or cubed ice and leave it....also keep whatever you intend to refrigerate in the refrigerator or another larger container with cubed ice until just before the trip, then install the largest single block possible consistent with the contents that you want to keep...then put the ice in the bottom and the goods on top. Contain the ice in a freezer bag if possible, the cold water will keep longer than draining it. I used sealed plastic containers and froze them.The sealed containers became fresh drinking water.

[S.V. Airlie]

What I have found is no consistancy. I've seen amounts by weight ranging from 10-20lbs but have found that the 10 pounders are more common.
The only exception. A boatyard in MD. Went in to buy two blocks. The lady at the counter looked at me funny and asked if I was sure. The blocks weighed 50 pounds each.

[Bruce Hooke]

Someone asked by private message how I plan to line the box and I figured others might be interested so I will answer the question here.

My goal is to have a as light a box as I can easily and cheaply build so my plan is to build the box out of "panels" of 1 1/2" thick foam insulation with 1/8" luan plywood on each side and pine around the edges. On the outside bottom I will probably use 1/4" plywood for extra protection on that face. I may coat the panels with some old epoxy or I may just paint the whole works with some good oil-based paint.

[paladin]

Just remember that a pound of water weighs the same as a pound of lead. The frozen water situation has been used by small boat voyagers for a long time.

[Bruce Hooke]

And a pound of feathers!

P.S., Thanks for the tips on "pre-conditioning" the ice chest and food. That is a great idea for trips where I am packing the icebox at home rather than "in the field."

[Noah]

At our Yachtclub we have a freezer, and everyone uses 1 gallon milk jugs (with some water poured off) for "block ice". The upside is you don't have to buy them, and you don't have to deal with water as they melt.

I'm not sure if it will work for your use, but I thought I would mention it.

[zydecotoad]

On Grand canyon ralf trips that take 3 weeks. They pack food in coolers, place ice and water over the top and then place the entire cooler in a walk in freezer so that it freezes solid.

We would typically use dry ice to keep the regular ice cold enough for margareitas for at least the first 3-4 days of a trip. Then you drink the tequila straight.

[paladin]

That's the trick we would use with gasoline delivered in drums at some remote airstrips in Alaska...leave the drums out all night before using the gas.....then pump it into 2 gallon containers first. Gasoline canned in a warm hangar will invariably get some moisture inside...ain't good in airplane motors....