I bought a cooler bag to fit in our barrel Primus Cooler Bag
Does anyone else use a setup similar to this? I have never taken dry ice on a trip before but we leave for a 13 day trip next week and I am thinking maybe I should try dry ice this time for bacon, brats, etc.
How is dry ice typically sold... 5/ 10 lb blocks? Any thoughts or helpful hints on taking dry ice?

Gary

I have never used Dry Ice on a canoe trip. When I did base camping with large group trips into Quetico and I wanted to keep steaks, chicken, burgers, brats, cheese and lunch meat cold for 7 days ... I used the Stu Ostoff method for refrigeration. He has written about his unique refrigeration in the BW Journal many times. I pack a BW Insulated Food Pack with a Poly Box and I would add in two 1 gallon plastic orange juice containers frozen hard with water. Throw a piece of 2 inch Insulation Foam like R30 on top and it served us well for many years.

Gary they sell Dry Ice in rectangular blocks by the pound. Hyvee in Davenport IA sell it in 1 x1/2 to 2 inch thick by 6 to 8 inch long. I would pack all my frozen meat with a couple of blocks of dry ice in a good cooler for my 525 mile trip up to Ely every 4th of July. The Dry Ice would really keep my frozen food “rock solid”. Then when I was ready to leave for Prairie Portage I would place the rock solid frozen meats in the Insulated Food Pack with the 2 gallon ice jugs.

I have read many posts regarding Dry Ice vs. Frozen Water and I believe the concensus was that the frozen water jugs lasted longer than Dry Ice. Perhaps you can freeze some water in a round container that would fit your new Primus Cooler Bag compartment?

I would do a “Search” on this site and look up the Dry Ice discussions.

Enjoy your trip next week. Let me know how your Primus Cooler Bag in your barrel fared for you.

I agree with everything Mike told you. One thing to keep in mind is that the lakes will still be cold next week and can provide excellent refrigeration. At whatever point your ice melts, you can tie a rope on your bag and lower it into a deep hole. Use your now empty plastic jug as a bobber. Lower it after dinner and pull it up before breakfast.

You can also precook bacon and other meats to reduce waste and lower weight and bulk. Have a great trip!

I have used dry ice placed with regular ice. It super freezes the regular ice which then can really sustain some cold in your pack. Put some ice and the container you will use on the trip filled with water, mostly as it will expand, into your cooler. Add dry ice and then top off with regular ice. I put my cold things on top and when heading out at the ep will put a couple beverages in the cooler. When I come out the cooler is still cold with nice chilled beverages. Remember a full cooler keeps longer as open air allows faster transition from ice to water. I often use the plastic bubble wrap to fill up any space.

I have used dry ice a couple times. It worked great for us. The nice thing about it is you don't need a separate container for it as it evaporates it doesn't melt. You can buy it by the lb.

Thanks guys... lots of really good information! I will have to check out our local HyVee, the size Mike described would be perfect.
I may pick up another block at the Holiday station in Tofte on our way in too, if they carry it.
I can't see myself going 'full Stu' on the gallon jugs of ice... makes my back hurt just thinking about it :-) A block or two of dry ice should buy us a few extra days of food safety. I did paint the lid of my barrel silver so that should help reflect a bit of sun. Plus it will make our barrel unique looking... those of you who saw my Fall 2018 slide show will know what I mean :-)

I have never used dry ice on a canoe trip, but I have used it often on desert jeep trips. A 20 lb. chunk would last us a week, in a cooler, wrapped in newspaper.

A couple things about dry ice, because of the gas it gives off, it's a skeet magnet and will also suffocate your crawlers. And EVERYTHING will be frozen solid in your cooler. So allow sufficient thawing time before your meals. Findings may be different in a cooler bag.

Duff,

Good points.

Also, Be real careful how you handle Dry Ice. WEAR GLOVES when handling as the surface temperature of dry ice is -109.3 degrees. It will give you a severe burn if you touch it directly.

I pick up a couple of the smaller plastic bottles New Pioneer Co-op has on hand for bulk liquids (maybe 16 oz.), fill with water and freeze them and they stay frozen for several days at least. I also chill my Yeti in the freezer overnight before I pack it, and store it in a larger cooler on the way up to Ely. Skube's and Babe's sell dry ice in Ely, and Zup's probably does too.

Dry ice is colder and weighs less than frozen water. Zero chance I would carry two gallons of frozen water on a portage. That's about 15 pounds. The same freezing power of dry ice would weigh probably 1/4 that. But, it won't last as long and it does have the insect drawbacks mentioned above.

Best solution I've found is to use the dry ice to get everything frozen rock solid and whatever is still left by the time you start your trip will evaporate quickly. We bought a bag of frozen Hormel meatballs to make spaghetti and meatballs (also good in mac & cheese) once and this worked perfectly... put the already frozen meatballs right next to the dry ice, and other stuff you want to freeze around or on top the night before the trip. This will freeze the meatballs rock solid. Once the dry ice evaporates, the meatballs will be the "ice" of the food pack. The meatballs, as they are already cooked, should be relatively safe until the 2nd night, if you cook them thoroughly - or just eat them the first night.

Generally, we don't carry fresh food for after the 2nd night - freeze dried meals or other shelf stable food only after that.