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OTHER USES
HOME MADE ROOT BEER
To make one gallon of root beer: One pound sugar One gallon water Two ounces
root beer extract Add 1 to 2 pounds of
Food Grade Dry
Ice to carbonate. Tip for carbonation: put in a triple size plastic container
(1/3 liquid and 2/3 air) and put the lid on tight. The pressure will
dissolve more into the mix and make it fizzier. Otherwise have Club soda to
add for carbonation. If you let the root beer fog too much you will loose
the carbonation. Bring several pounds extra dry ice and put in as you are
serving in order to let the kids see the fog affect. You must keep the root
beer from freezing. Dry ice is -109.3°F and it will freeze the liquid. Add
extra water if freezing starts. Do not ladle Dry Ice into cups. Put regular ice
directly into cups for additional cooling. For different ideas add dry ice
to grape juice and pineapple juice for a goolish witches brew.
CARBONATE LIQUIDS
When CO2 is added to plain water it will make sparkling
mineral water. CO2 is extensively used throughout the
world in the beverage industry for making soda pop.
DENTS & HAIL DAMAGE
Dry Ice will condense
metal and thereby shrink small dents on your car. Place the Dry Ice on the
inside of the dent if possible. Use heavy gloves and press flat sheet
against dent. If it is not possible to get on the inside concave part of the
dent, then using heavy gloves hold the Dry Ice so a corner can fit into the
bottom lowest part of the cratered dent. Hold the Dry Ice until the metal is
frosted at least 2 inches beyond the dent. Let the metal warm up (in the sun
is the best) and repeat the procedure. Sometimes the dent will pop out
perfectly. More often it will not be possible to get a flat smooth finish,
but the dent will be reduced noticeably. Creased metal will still show the
crease line but the dent will be far less pronounced. I have not seen any
paint damage, but I'm sure if the paint is not strongly adhered, it could
peel away.
FOOD STORAGE
Placing Dry
Ice in the bottom of a dry food storage container is a very economical way
to fumigate and store dry goods for an extended amount of time. Make sure
the Dry Ice is not frost covered, as that will add moisture. Put one quarter
pound of Dry Ice per five-gallon storage container in the bottom and then
pour in the dry food. As the Dry Ice sublimates it replaces the oxygen in
the container with CO2. Leave the lid on but not
tightly sealed until the Dry Ice completely sublimates. (About 5-6 hours)
Then snap the lid tight. Without oxygen, neither bugs nor bacteria can grow.
This process is good for seeds, grains, legumes, flower, powdered milk, etc.
An excellent site for further information can be found at
http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/html/FDNS-E-34-1.html
REMOVE FLOOR TILE
Dry Ice will
loosen floor tile by freezing and slightly shrinking them allowing easier
removal. The cold temperature of the Dry Ice will break the bond of the adhesive. Place the Dry Ice sheets centered on the tile to be removed and
wait until it is completely frosted. If it has not popped off, slight
tapping with a hammer or prying with a screwdriver will allow it to be
lifted off easily. It is too time consuming to remove a whole floor, but is
ideal for removing a few tiles that need replacing. This may not be the way
a
Home Advisor flooring expert would remove old tiles but it works fine
for small
jobs. The Home Advisor site has reviews and info on Home Advisor
approved
flooring companies.
GOPHER ERADICATION
Dry Ice is heavier
than air so it will find its way to the bottom of gopher dwellings. Place 1
to 2 inch pieces as deep into each hole as can be reached and fill
the front of the hole with dirt. If you miss some holes the process may have
to be repeated. Jerry Yamamoto of Hayward, California reports that he
successfully used Dry Ice to eradicate regular Argentine ants from his front
yard. Perhaps this could work on fire ants too.
PROTECT SPORT FISH
AND GAME
Pack
your trophy animal or fish in Dry Ice to minimize spoilage while
transporting or shipping it home. Do not let the Dry Ice touch the game
directly as it may cause superficial damage. Dry Ice can be added to regular ice to extend its cooling. For best results use an
insulated container.
BRANDING
Dry Ice is used to
super cool alcohol for branding horses, cattle, and hunting dogs. The
alcohol must be 90% pure - not rubbing alcohol. Methyl alcohol is most
commonly used. Liquid Nitrogen is too cold to work properly. This is now the
second most common way to brand according to Tony Clark of Bassett,
Nebraska.
MEDICAL
Doctors,
to freeze skin for wart removal, use Dry Ice or liquid nitrogen. Many
medical offices ship biological specimens in Dry Ice for laboratory testing
or further processing. Dry Ice is also used to keep bone morrow frozen when it is shipped.
TRANSPORTING PLANTS
Dry Ice will keep flowers cool and delay blooming. Maintaining ready to
flower plants at 34?/b>F will retard blooming. Do not allow Dry Ice to
get too close and freeze plants.
PLANT GROWTH
A small additional amount of
Carbon Dioxide will increase the rate of plant growth.
CHEMICAL RETARDANT
Its low
temperature slows or stops some chemical reactions. It is used to store and
ship special adhesives It is also a neutralizing agent for alkalis.
PRESSURIZING AGENT
When Dry Ice
changes from a solid to a gas it absorbs heat and expands to over 800 times its
original volume.
INERTING MEDIUM
Dry Ice will
replace oxygen in a container preventing or putting out fires. It is used to
safely remove underground gas storage tanks.
SHRINK FITTINGS
Dry
Ice will shrink metal to slide on sleeves, bushings or bearings. Add Dry Ice
to a 90% pure alcohol bath to create a cold liquid near -109.3?/b>F.
that can be used like liquid nitrogen.
DEFLASHING MOLDED PLASTICS AND RUBBER
Dry Ice will cool
and shrink whatever it touches. Rubber parts are tumbled in a barrel with
Dry Ice, making them brittle for easy flash removal. It is used in cold
grinding of Plexiglas, PVC resins and vinyl's.
FRESH MEAT PROCESSING
Dry Ice will keep
the temperature cold and reduce spoilage while processing meat. This is used
in industrial processing of ground meats and sausages.
MOSQUITOES
CO2
may attract mosquitoes away from animals and people. Place pieces of Dry Ice
away from areas where people are congregating. The theory is that
mosquitoes find animals and people by their CO2
exhaled during breathing. Melissa Palm reports that dry ice does
attract mosquitoes. "I use dry ice in some of my mosquito traps as bait and
find that it works rather well." The Clarke Family of Companies of
Roselle IL., sells a mosquito trap designed for using Dry Ice.
WELLS
Dry Ice combined
with detergent, or alone, will improve porosity in irrigation wells. Bill
Hayoz of Reliant Dry Ice in New Mexico, explains that dry ice is used
regularly by the ranchers to improve water flow. He used about 60 pounds of
dry ice in
his windmill well, capped it off, and waited several days before the water
came back with a greater flow. The city of Mosquero used 800 pounds of
dry ice for their city wells. Most well men will use dry ice before drilling
deeper.
OIL INDUSTRY
Dex Welch reports "Dry Ice has been
used in the oil fields for years to clean tank bottoms. When paraffin, sludge, etc
build up, a chemical is added along with Dry Ice to roll (stir up) the tank
bottom. This breaks out the liquids &
separates water from oil in paraffin mixtures so that water can be removed
& the oil saved." Liquid CO2 is also used to crack and increase
oil flow in wells.
BAKING INDUSTRY
Dry Ice is used in
mixing ingredients and retarding yeast growth until the proper time.
FREEZE FRESH STRAWBERRIES PERFECTLY
Karyn Gilbert
writes: "I use Dry Ice to freeze my strawberries - fresh, washed ones, once
a year:
Wash fresh strawberries
Place directly on top of dry ice in cooler for about 20-30 minutes
Close cooler
Remove when solid
Place in freezer safe plastic bag, mark with date
Place in freezer - to thaw take out and set on plate at room temp (use
within a year to be sure freshness)
They will thaw almost like fresh - without being soggy like usual frozen
strawberries are.
I suppose this might work for
other fruits and veggies because of the quick freeze time, not allowing them
to get soggy..."
AIR QUALITY TESTING
Used for United States EPA (40 CFR 60 App.A
Meth.25) Method 25 emissions testing. "Determination of Total Gaseous
Non-methane Organic Emissions as Carbon". The dry ice is encased around a
sample "trap" during each one hour run. The trap is preserved on dry ice
until it reaches the laboratory for analysis. It is not uncommon to purchase
at least 200 lbs of dry ice for a 3 run test series performed on a 1200 F
incinerator exhaust stack on a hot August day in Florida. This is why so
many stack testers use
dryiceDirectory.com. Many are on the road and need a reference source to dry ice vendors all
over the U.S. For a professionally illustrated schematic of Method 25 and
other USEPA emissions test methods visit:
www.activeset.org/methods/index.htm.
FUMIGATION -
Powder-Post Beetles in Furniture
Jim Lockhart of Littleton Colorado writes: "After
allowing the infected cabinet to spend 18 hours in the closed freezer with
30 lbs of dry ice at -25 deg F, I went ahead and removed the dry ice, saving
what was left of it in a small ice chest. I closed the freezer up again and
allowed the cabinet inside to slowly warm up to room temperature (another 12
hours) then took it out. I checked for signs of life with a stethoscope in
the places where the powder post beetles could be heard and ?not a sound. I
checked again for signs of life 24 hours later ?still nothing. It would
appear that the insects either froze, suffocated or both. Of course I have
no way to tell whether or not the freezing or lack of oxygen also killed any
eggs ?only time will tell. I am confident enough at this point that this
worked and would recommend it to anyone in a similar situation. Feel free to
include any and/or all the info I’ve given you on your website. This is a
much less toxic way of killing insects than the use of chemical sprays and
fumigants."
Jim writes one year later to update there is no sign of any
beetle activity and "I’ve been telling fellow woodworkers about the idea and they, too have met with
success without doing any damage to the wood or it’s finish."
Where to find Dry Ice in your area? GO
TO:
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