A Few Questions About Dry Ice

[Spider Web]

I am considering a punch bowl with a fog effect using dry ice.

From info I have found there seems to be two camps regarding the use of the dry ice. One, just dump some ice in the concoction the other camp preferred a method using two separate bowls - one for ice - one for punch.

Pros/Cons for either?

Pellet or Block form of ice? I can get either. Best type to use?

Oh, small children getting their hands on or in this stuff won't be an issue.

Thanks

[Hauntiholik]

If you are going to use dry ice, use large chunks of it. Smaller pieces will dissolve faster than a large piece.

I've seen the arguments go both ways. IMO, as long as there's no chance of getting pieces of dry ice into the ladle or cup you should be okay. Sure, lots of people say that dry ice is poisonous but we had it in one punch bowl growing up and other than this facial tick I'm peachy.

[Bone Dancer]

The main problem I had when I tried to use dry ice to make fog was the fact that the ice would freeze the water (and I added salt to it too) to the out side of the junks of dry ice. It will continue to sublimate (solid to a gas) and build up pressure under the coating of the ice until it would blow off the coating and start over again. I had all this in a metal pail and the ice hitting the bucket made a fairly good clanging sound. I dont recall the ice coming out of the pail but it made me a bit nervous. Later on I read where you should use a slow cooking pot (crock pot) to help keep the water warm around the dry ice so it could'nt freeze around the junks of dry ice. I can't get dry ice in my area anymore so its not an issue for me. My suggestion is to run some tests on the way you are going to use the dry ice before you have the party or what ever. If you are planning on using it with punch make very sure that no one can get it into there drinking glass. It may look great to have the fog bubbling out of the glass but if for some reason some one decides to drink it all down an gets some dry ice in thier mouth or throat it will freeze the soft tissue that it comes in contact with. Frost bit in the mouth doesnt sound good to me, on the fingers and toes is bad enough. So if you can set it up so it works for you safely then good, Just remember this stuff is a bit dangerous, so treat it that way.

[Doc Doom]

I've used dry ice for years and rarely have had a problem. I tned to use smaller pieces. Although it take more maintenance effort, I thin the effect is better and prevents the entire block from icing over as described above. I now also use a separate bowl of water, either totally separate just foe effect, or inside a larger punch bowl. I've found that dry ice affects the tast of the puch and not in a good way.

[Dr Morbius]

Dry ice is compressed CO2 gas, so it WILL carbonate (slightly) whatever you put it in. this could be good or bad, depending on what the beverage is. It is totally safe to drink something that has dry ice in it, provided it doesn't get into a ladle or cup like Haunti said. You will get a large ice chunk after a while which could be a good thing to keep the punch cold after the effect wears off, which it will after a couple minutes. I would use ONE largeish chunk. That way no bits and pieces will find thier way into a guests mouth. Rule of thumb, if ones cup is fogging, don't drink it. There is dry ice in it. Test it out on your recipes first, because as Doc Doom says, sometimes Dry Ice affects taste because it freezes water in your beverage thus reducing the water content leaving some punches too concentrated. You might want to add more then the usual amount of water to account for freezing.

[Spider Web]

Really big thanks for sharing your experience. You all have pointed out things I had not thought of. First I need to experiment…that means 2 batches of brew and 2 trips to the ice house…crap! But it’s worth it to get it right.

I thought bigger chunks would a least last longer. It never occurred to me that DI may change the taste and may even carbonate the brew. Hmmm…that’s cool, maybe, I

As long as the taste is not adversely affected, I think I like putting DI directly in the bowl.
I did read (somewhere) that placing DI in the bottom of the bowl (actually cauldron) and putting a screen on top of DI would prevent it from being picked up by the ladle.

Hope my brew’s taste is not affected; otherwise I’ll use the 2 bowl method.

Halloween just wouldn’t be the same without the expert advice… thanks again.

[The Halloween Lady]

I've often thought about adding it in my outside fountain but was concerned that it might harm it in some way????? Approximately how long does the smoke effect last?

[stagehand1975]

I too have noticed a change in taste when adding to punch. It was more like a bitter or dirty water than it was concentrating the punch itself.

[Lunatic]

Nope, dry ice isn't poisonous just very cold. The fear comes with flesh burns from freezing if you should swallow pieces or have continued contact with skin. You can touch and handle the ice quickly without harm. Use a glove if you aren't comfortable.

Good point about the taste. Maybe it isn't a pure grade of ice. It's kind of like old icecubes that pick up freezer funk.

Halloween Lady, My experience is using dry ice pellets in hot water which produces the highest volume and most dense fog. The trade off is the hotter the water the quicker the ice melts but it produces the best effect. If you can buy some dry ice locally then try it out and see what happens. The fountain water will slowly freeze and not produce fog though unless you can heat the water. I start out with boiling water added to a crockpot or other electric pot. The water remains hot and ready to go. I've used the electric pot inside of a plastic caldron.

Oh, and the effect only lasts a few minutes per cup of ice. I usually wait for a group of kids to come around and then quickly add some ice. Everyone loves the effect. It's my favorite form of fog!

[Evil Queen]

Very informative site http://www.dryiceinfo.com/fog.htm