Dry Ice for camping - Can you keep fish in the same esky

[Pazz01]

Hey Guys

I'm heading up the bush this weekend for a week. We have a heap of block ice made up and we are just wondering how we can keep it harder for longer. I've heard about dry ice, but never used it. But I've heard it can leave a taste in things. Just wondering if it will leave a taste in the Fish and crabs if you put them in there? Is there anyway around it.

Any tips on keeping ice longer or using the dry ice would be great. I've read a bit on the other posts on here.

Pazz

[scorpo92]

Make sure u remove melted ice daily.

[Nicko_Cairns]

Mate I tried dry ice once, it worked but what a pain in the ass, it's best in small cardboard packages distributed around the esky but at $80 a big trip, buy yourself a camping fridge/freezer as soon as you can mate, night and day difference.

[scottar]

I have used it a couple of times for week long trips. Usually pack it in party ice and the whole lot freezes into a solid mass. The biggest pain is it will freeze anything you put in the esky in the early stages. Bloody hard to fry a frozen egg - tomatoes not so good either. Draining any water daily will make it last longer. We still used a couple of eskies so the one with the main ice supply wasn't being opened all the time.

[Pazz01]

Cheers guys. We've got a couple of Camp Fridges going for food etc, plus a chest freezer that will run on the generator while we are there. Still deciding which path to take. Thanks for the help.

[marto78]

We had a major disaster a couple of years ago with dry ice it froze all the ice in the bottom of the esky rock solid and we couldn't get the bottom row of beers out.

Which in a 160l esky a metre and a half long was quite a substantial amount of grog that we couldn't access until we got home.

[Pazz01]

We had a major disaster a couple of years ago with dry ice it froze all the ice in the bottom of the esky rock solid and we couldn't get the bottom row of beers out.

Which in a 160l esky a metre and a half long was quite a substantial amount of grog that we couldn't access until we got home.

Jesus Christ that would have been a disaster. I think I would have cut the esky open.

But unfortunately we are going into a dry zone up the cape. So no beers for a week.... not sure if I will survive. But the canteen is about 100km away. If the fish aren't playing the game I might have to make a pit stop.

Pazz

[SCOTTYGC]

make sure you keep it dry and seperate the esky into sections with carboard,

put a few holes in the carboard to keep the air flowing

try not to open it often

[YOOT]

Can you put beer in? Bait?

[mowerman]

Can you put beer in? Bait?
It will freeze the beer. Not good.
We do a week beach fishing twice a year.
80 lt esky with a dry ice week block. This has frozen food(steak), bait and 2 blocks of normal ice.
120 lt esky has cold food(not a lot) and beer with 3 blocks of normal ice.
As the bait is used the fillets go in and are frozen.
About day 4 the 2 blocks of ice from the 80 go into the 120 to keep the beer cold.

Works a treat.

Rod
.

[YOOT]

It will freeze the beer. Not good.
We do a week beach fishing twice a year.
80 lt esky with a dry ice week block. This has frozen food(steak), bait and 2 blocks of normal ice.
120 lt esky has cold food(not a lot) and beer with 3 blocks of normal ice.
As the bait is used the fillets go in and are frozen.
About day 4 the 2 blocks of ice from the 80 go into the 120 to keep the beer cold.

Works a treat.

Rod
.
Stuff it, I'll go block ice, for beer only. I'll use my CF60 as a freezer in the car, and my brother-in-laws 80L Engle at camp running off a 120A AGM.

[McKnight]

I put a 20kg block in a styrofoam box which goes in the esky, they styrofoam box is big enough to pile already frozen stuff in the lot is covered with party ice. There is then room in the esky for items to be kept cold no frozen. You can put holes in the end of the styrofoam box if the cold section is to warm.

In the Brisbane area Ithaca Ice works is $60 for a 20kg block, which will 7-8 days in a quality esky by itself. If you cover it with party ice you will get better results.

[YOOT]

I'm literally 50m from Arctic Ice works so I'll get it there, bit with two fridges the ice box is not critical. Prop just use it to through freshly caught tailor before filleting and freezing. And also to dump frozen pilchards to thaw out for the next day.

[PixieAU]

Last time i used dry ice the gas made its way into food and ruined it
If seal it off if i used it again