Dry ice danger reminders
General Topic
Just a reminder. Don't forget dry ice gives off CO2. If not ventilated correctly, it can kill you. My buddies dad died a few years back using dry ice down in a well. The ice gave off CO2, it stayed low in the well, and he died. EMT's thought he had a heart-attack, went down the well and almost died too. I just wanted to post this reminder as people might use dry ice in coolers to keep meet etc.
Thanks for the heads-up. I didn't even think about that being a risk.
Does it give off CO2 or CO?
Co2
But enough will displace O2 and you will pass out and eventually suffocate
CO2 tastes slightly sweet. I used to work around it in enclosed spaces and it’s no joke. Not much of a problem in a space that couldn’t be filled with water, but down a well is about as bad a situation as I can imagine.
And I think you do have to get permission from the captain of an aircraft to have it in a checked cooler, since planes are airtight.
Wow, didn't know that, great tip.
Wells are subject to confined space entry requirements
Dang ryanrc that's sad. I've heard of people "shocking" deep wells to clean them up with dry CO2 but never while in the well.
1 pound of dry ice or a cube about 6"x 6"x6" will produce about 250 liters of gas. A concentration of 3% or higher will knock you out in minutes. Trouble is once you are unconscious you drop into the invisible and odorless cloud of gas at even higher concentration since the CO2 is heavy and sinks. CO2 in general is a serious concern in breweries and marijuana grow operations as well as confined spaces like beer coolers and bar and restaurant basements where a small leak can raise levels to dangerous/deadly levels quickly. The city Denver for example has instituted city wide monitoring, alarm and auto shut offs as required systems in all places with 100 lbs or more CO2 on site in case of elevated levels.
Be safe,
Sandbrew
Also remember it can't be placed in a tightly sealed cooler like a Yeti bag style. It will pressurize as it off gasses and can blow up the bag, it is clearly listed on most water tight coolers/cool bags manuals. If you leave the zipper cracked a hair you are good to go.
Good heads up ryanrc.
We had that happen to us when heading out on a fishing trip to Canada once. Had the ice chest with all of our frozen stuff packed in the passenger area with us in a big transport van. Stopped and got dry ice and put it in the cooler, then went into a Subway to eat. We crawled back into the van and were headed down the road. I started feeling kinda tight in the chest and short of breath, as did everyone else in the van. My uncle rolled his window down for some reason, and we all felt immediately better. Didn’t take long to realize what had happened. Pretty scary!
Gotta say though that I just used dry ice on top of block ice in a regular coleman cooler, taped it up, and still had ice in it 8 days later. Froze a bunch of my beer
Wow, didn't know any of this. Never though it could be a threat. Thanks
What is the proper way to use dry ice in a cooler?
I've always stuck it on top of whatever I want to keep cool (cold air sinks), use a towel or blanket to occupy whatever leftover airspace still exists, then ductape the cooler up to keep air inflow to a minimum. Great way to get meat across several states in a still frozen condition. Now I know it's a great way to keep block ice frozen for days. Just keep some outside air circulating if it's in the occupied area of your vehicle.
