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Making dry ice at home

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Re: Making dry ice at home

#11

Post by HWR_14 »

SkyPuncher wrote: post #9
doloputer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never seen plain dry ice for sale anywhere, though I have not gone looking too hard. I have seen the dumping some liquid CO2 into a special sock method though.

I see it in supermarkets, often kept by the customer service counter. I've seen several places requiring ID to purchase dry-ice to avoid youngsters making soda-bottle bombs with it.

It's dangerous enough (suffocation, freezing) that there are plenty of reasons to require an age minimum. I don't think I've seen dry-ice in supermarkets since COVID started, but I haven't been looking much either.

Re: Making dry ice at home

#12

Post by upon_drumhead »

doloputer wrote: post #8
JohnFen wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At that point, why not just buy the dry ice directly? It would surely be cheaper...

I have never seen plain dry ice for sale anywhere, though I have not gone looking too hard. I have seen the dumping some liquid CO2 into a special sock method though.

They often don’t advertise its availability but most grocery stores in the US do sell it.

It’s very useful for road trips, power outages, and shipping perishable items.

Re: Making dry ice at home

#13

Post by [deleted] »

pmx wrote: post #2

it's actually much easier than this makes out. Sodastream bottle, some kind of cloth like a tea towel, pillowcase or even a sock over the end, let 'er rip and you have a chunk of dry ice.

[deleted]

Re: Making dry ice at home

#14

Post by thfuran »

doloputer wrote: post #8
JohnFen wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At that point, why not just buy the dry ice directly? It would surely be cheaper...

I have never seen plain dry ice for sale anywhere, though I have not gone looking too hard. I have seen the dumping some liquid CO2 into a special sock method though.

I think all my local grocery stores sell it and so do at least some of the ice cream shops. None of them really advertise this; you just have to ask for it at the cashier.

Re: Making dry ice at home

#15

Post by freedomben »

upon_drumhead wrote: post #12
doloputer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never seen plain dry ice for sale anywhere, though I have not gone looking too hard. I have seen the dumping some liquid CO2 into a special sock method though.

They often don’t advertise its availability but most grocery stores in the US do sell it. It’s very useful for road trips, power outages, and shipping perishable items.

This kind of depends on the location/jurisdiction. The more rural you go, the more likely you can buy it. In a lot of big metro areas you'd be better advised to call ahead until you find a store that carries it.

Re: Making dry ice at home

#16

Post by thmsths »

JohnFen wrote: post #7
pmx wrote: post #2

it's actually much easier than this makes out. Sodastream bottle, some kind of cloth like a tea towel, pillowcase or even a sock over the end, let 'er rip and you have a chunk of dry ice.

At that point, why not just buy the dry ice directly? It would surely be cheaper...

This may be a dumb question, but how do grocery stores store the dry ice they intend to sell? This stuff has to be kept very cold to prevent it from sublimating. Do they just keep it in an insulated box with a vent and just accept that they will loose some of it?

Re: Making dry ice at home

#17

Post by at_a_remove »

Dry ice has become really quite scarce in the last five years. It was explained to me at the ice shop I used to visit that there were changes in some shipping regulations, not too sensible ones, that resulted in a much higher price and a bunch of people just dropping out of the business. Indeed, that place finally got out of the dry ice business as well.

Airgas has some pretty tight hours and in smaller towns, they don't even have it stock. Penguin supposedly has it in different places like Walmart but it is a complete gamble. Local grocery stores have bailed out. I've had no luck at ice cream places.

Re: Making dry ice at home

#18

Post by JohnFen »

thmsths wrote: post #16
JohnFen wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At that point, why not just buy the dry ice directly? It would surely be cheaper...

This may be a dumb question, but how do grocery stores store the dry ice they intend to sell? This stuff has to be kept very cold to prevent it from sublimating. Do they just keep it in an insulated box with a vent and just accept that they will loose some of it?

> Do they just keep it in an insulated box with a vent and just accept that they will loose some of it?

This is what the stores near me do, yes (they're actually freezers, but certainly not ones that reach dry ice temperatures). I don't know if they have a separate storage location they use overnight while the store is closed, but I suspect not.

Re: Making dry ice at home

#19

Post by gmiller123456 »

HWR_14 wrote: post #11
SkyPuncher wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see it in supermarkets, often kept by the customer service counter. I've seen several places requiring ID to purchase dry-ice to avoid youngsters making soda-bottle bombs with it.

It's dangerous enough (suffocation, freezing) that there are plenty of reasons to require an age minimum. I don't think I've seen dry-ice in supermarkets since COVID started, but I haven't been looking much either.

Never disappeared around here. A lot of people rely on it to get their frozen stuff home without thawing out. So it's more available in rural places where people will have a long drive home.

Re: Making dry ice at home

#20

Post by JohnFen »

SkyPuncher wrote: post #9
doloputer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never seen plain dry ice for sale anywhere, though I have not gone looking too hard. I have seen the dumping some liquid CO2 into a special sock method though.

I see it in supermarkets, often kept by the customer service counter. I've seen several places requiring ID to purchase dry-ice to avoid youngsters making soda-bottle bombs with it.

All of the stores in my area require you to be 18 and produce ID to prove it, yes.
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