Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Using Dry Ice in an ice chest to keep meat frozen for a week

Hi guys,

I'm going hog hunting in Texas again, however this time driving. I have lot of travel to do in addition to this hunt for my safari business. So we are doing a road trip with the 22' travel trailer as our base camp.

I have two Yeti ice chests to bring meat home in. However from the termination of the hunt, to the arrival home might be 6-7 days on the road. I've not used Dry ice to achieve this in the past.

Am I correct in assuming that I should load up the pre-frozen meat into the ice chests first, then lay the dry ice on top? I understand the science of the dry ice, and the cold air should in theory sink, so putting it on top should be better?

I'm guess two blocks on top of each chest should would for a few days? 3-4 days? then I replace it or add more every 3 days as I go? If you have experience with this and the success or failure using it, do share!

The Yeti's are 85 quart and will be transported in the pickup bed under the canopy. There will not be any food for the trip in the ice chest so once closed they will stay closed until I add more Dry ice. Fortunately the fridge and freezer in the camper are plenty big enough for the food we will use on the trip without the need of the ice chests.

JJ
We have done this many times. Dry ice works very well to keep meat frozen. Couple of points. Use more than you think you will need and do not open the chests once you close them up. Also do not keep them in your camper at night as the carbon dioxide and humans don't mix well. Put it on top and you will get at least 10 days of freezer time if it is not 100 plus degrees out each day.

Thats what Iv done when I used dry Ice, should last longer in the yeti! careful that stuff will burn you!

What they said.Just try and keep as much 02 from getting to the dry ice..

We've done that quite a lot in the past.

Yes, pre-freeze the meat. I also pre-freeze the ice-chests themselves, just to provide a totally frozen environment (probably not needed)

I've always put a frozen piece of heavy cardboard over the meat and placed the dry ice on top of the cardboard. My theory is that by doing so, the dry ice will not "cold burn" the frozen meat.

Use lots of dry ice and don't open the top until you get home. O2 is your enemy.

Keep for a full week ... absolutely not a problem, especially in the Yeti coolers.

Blessings,

Steve

That'll work. Duct tape them closed (maybe a vent for co2 to escape). Then put wet towels on over them, evaporative. Re wet at fuel stops. Also if you can put the coolers in the freezer with the meat while they are freezing that really helps.

Here's what we do when rafting on 16 day trips in the Grand Canyon layer of vacuum packed meat. Water to cover. Freeze until solid. New layer of meat. Water to cover. Freeze until solid.

Repeat.



Stay out of the cooler. Maybe once a day. Keep air out and use towels for evaporative effect.
Bottom layer frozen on day 16.

Put some dry ice on the top layer with some bubblepack between it and the food, probably never even have to replace the Dry Ice more than once.

be careful with ventilation , also check this :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete

thanks
Persian.

I bring vacuum sealed fish home from Washington in Igloo coolers with dry ice. It's a two day trip. The temperature in the coolers isn't uniform, but we've never had a problem. You shouldn't have a problem keeping the meat frozen so long as you check the coolers a couple of times per day and add dry ice as needed. I would definitely check them more often that every three days.

Why is that?

I think he means air. Air exchanges in the cooler will melt stuff faster than anything

Dry ice can evaporate in 12 hours or so, to slow this wrap in paper and then place in ice chest

That's because your using Igloo and not Yeti's. They keep things cold a lot longer.

A lot guys are going to small chest freezers and generators these days.

Size of the Yeti makes a huge difference... bigger is obviously much better. I would be surprised if the one application of dry ice in the biggest Yeti did not last a week.

I got a yeti sticker and a yeti hat

so people will think I have a yeti cooler and be part of the yeti nation

peer pressure/social acceptance sorta thing I geuss.......

Please, it doesn't matter wtf you have. You will never be socially acceptable.

That makes sense. I could not formulate a CO2-O2 reaction.


To pick nits, dry ice sublimes - no melting or evaporating; it goes from solid phase to gas phase completely bypassing the liquid phase (at atmospheric pressure)
Thus endeth the lesson.

I've seen two different groups handle sockeyes like that (with a vac packer as a middle step) about 25 years ago in Chitna.

many years ago i shot a hog in northern california, deboned it and hard frozen. Placed in a cooler with a lot of dry ice over the top. From n. california to central arizona, couple day trip.
Took it to a processing place, they told me it took a couple days to defrost it enought they could work with it.

go skirt up your trailer
keep the possums and stray cats out