How Long Dry Ice Lasts

Plan on using 5 to 10 pounds of dry ice for every 24-hour period depending upon the thickness of the insulated shipping container. This will keep everything frozen in a container up to 15 quarts. For larger containers and greater shipping times multiply dry ice quantities by this rate. The best shipping container is a three-inch thick urethane insulated box tested to loose only 5 pounds for a 10-quart storage area every 24-hours. When packing items in the container fill the empty space with wadded newspaper or a paper bag. Any "dead-air-space" will cause the Dry Ice to sublimate faster.

Dry Ice sublimation (changing from a solid to a gas) will vary depending on the temperature, air pressure and thickness of insulation. The more Dry Ice you have stored in the container, the longer it will last. Dry Ice, at -109.3°F or -78.5°C, will freeze and keep frozen everything in its container until it is completely sublimated. These frozen items will still take some extra time to thaw because they will have been so cold.

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TABLE OF AVERAGE AMOUNTS OF DRY ICE FOR PACKING FROZEN GOODS


Weight of Frozen Food	Time In Transit
Weight of Frozen Food	4 Hours	12 Hours	24 Hours	2 Days
1 LB	1 LB Dry Ice	3 LB Dry Ice	6 LB Dry Ice	10 LB Dry Ice
5 LB	2 LB Dry Ice	4 LB Dry Ice	7 LB Dry Ice	12 LB Dry Ice
10 LB	3 LB Dry Ice	5 LB Dry Ice	10 LB Dry Ice	15 LB Dry Ice
20 LB	5 LB Dry Ice	8 LB Dry Ice	15 LB Dry Ice	25 LB Dry Ice
50 LB	10 LB Dry Ice	15 LB Dry Ice	30 LB Dry Ice	45 LB Dry Ice

How Long Dry Ice Lasts

How to handle dry ice?