Using dry ice

RVTravler wrote:
we are going to travel to our rv manufacturer and have a residential refrigerator installed. I figure it will take us 4-5 days to get there.

It's not that complicated.

I just measured the size of the hole the Norcold would vacate, ordered a fridge that'd fit online. They delivered it to my campsite, I stuck it in the hole and plugged it into the 120v power from the old Norcold. Then put a couple of pieces of plumber's strap from the hinge bolts on the top of the fridge back to the cabinetry to keep it from jumping out of the hole.
I left the vents from the old fridge on the side of the camper for ventilation. And screwed a couple of 2x4's to the back of the fridge's compartment to allow for air flow. On the hottest day I stuck a thermometer in the back of the fridge to check temperature rise over the ambient temperature and found everything was OK. I didn't need to add a circulating fan.

I'll tell you, RV manufacturers are not refrigeration engineers. You'd be better off finding someone that knows a little about refrigeration to do the job. I'm an HVAC tech.

I now have a nice 20 cu ft Samsung French door fridge with the dual evaporators & ice maker. For $1057. If you count the cost of the trip, you'll have $5,000 in your conversion.

You don't really need to travel clear across the country to get it done. (Unless you're making the trip anyway) Just sayin'.....

wow you can tell these guys never go fishing offshore. LOL

If you get it at a ice house it will come wrapped in brown butcher like paper. Just leave it in the paper, then no burns. Walmart sells it and most stores sell it near the coasts. It's hard to say how it's packaged but wrap it in newspaper if it isnt in paper.

It will last 3 - 5 or 6 days depending on the cooler and how many times you are in and out of it. I usually throw 2 or 3 blocks in a 80 qt. cooler and load it up with regular ice on top. I use the dry ice to keep the regular ice frozen and use the regular ice in the other coolers as needed.

Dtaylor wrote:
Dry ice is a solid form of CO2. Used in a confined space - not good!

Nobody is living in the fridge. Whats REALLY stupid are the nightclubs dropping it in drinks

Dry ice is far superior to "wet ice" if you don't mind its frozen temps. Keep the dry ice insulated with newspaper or another fabric so it's not touching the cooler as its extreme cold can warp your cooler. As long as your enclosure is well vented it's not a problem as CO2 sinks to the floor. Just don't strap down your cooler unless you like explosive results!!!

Dry ice is a solid form of CO2. Used in a confined space - not good!

I like dry ice.
Lasts a LONG time, and when it melts, you don't have a watery mess.
Just use the precautions noted above, it's really not that difficult nor dangerous when used correctly.

Of course it needed to be replenished, just like ice that obviously leaves equivalent water. It was replaced twice in eight days

SCVJeff wrote:
I just had a friend who's NORCOLD 1200 went out and he continued on just using dry ice. The fridge got down to the low 30's and the freezers went below 0. All three compartments were fully loaded

But how long did it last? Did he have to replace the dry ice several times? How much dry ice?

I just had a friend who's NORCOLD 1200 went out and he continued on just using dry ice. The fridge got down to the low 30's and the freezers went below 0. All three compartments were fully loaded

I also second the use of block ice over dry ice. The only place I'd prefer dry ice is if I wanted to keep things frozen.

Good info on using Dry Ice.