Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping System

Dry Ice or Freezer

Rooster52

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I plan on archery hunting the first of September. We usually take three days to travel from Michigan to Wyoming. Trying to decide if I should depend on dry ice and a cooler or bring my small freezer and generator to transport meat home.
 
I've never had a problem with dry ice.. I just wrap it up in paper grocery sacks to prevent freezer burn on my meat. I wouldn't like going off to hunt with an expensive freezer and generator in the back of the truck..
 
I'd rather use my cooler with dry ice .As long as I can find dry ice to make the trip back to Michigan
 
I'd rather use my cooler with dry ice .As long as I can find dry ice to make the trip back to Michigan

I don't know if you could find any in 21 (maybe Baggs?), but I know the Safeway in Craig keeps dry ice. Or pick some up in Laramie or Cheyenne on your way through.
 
Dry Ice will freeze that stuff solid. Just put it in a good cooler and duck tape the seems for extra sealing. She'll be good.
 
I guess I'll be the odd man out here..

I take a chest freezer every year with a generator. I've got zero complaints.
 
I'm just curious as to how long dry ice would last if you were to fill up a 54qt cooler, not a yeti type and keep it in the shade at all times. During our archery hunts in NV the highs are around 80-85 degrees.
I usually fill my 180qt coleman with block ice and keep it in the shade. I probably have about 3/4 of it left by the end of the week. It melts a bit when cooling down a quarted antelope or deer but there is always ice left when we get back down to southern NV where it's at least 100degrees.
 
I guess I'll be the odd man out here..

I take a chest freezer every year with a generator. I've got zero complaints.

The OP will need several good size coolers to bring an elk back here to MI and he doesn't need dry ice to do it unless he has it processed and frozen out there. If he's going to bring it back here for processing, all he needs to do is have plenty of ice that he can use to keep the meat cool after it's put in the coolers and keep the coolers drained as the ice melts until he gets back here. Put enough ice in with the meat on top and seal the cooler with tape and leave it sealed for the trip home. The main thing is to get the hide off ASAP and get the meat boned out and cooled quickly because elk are big and can sour pretty fast internally near the rear leg bones and inner chest cavity. The other way is to do as you stated and take a freezer along if he has one and the space for it. That gives the choice of setting the thermostat to either keep the meat cold or freeze it. You also really don't need a generator to run it, as you can use a 500 watt or larger inverter plugged into your vehicle while you're going down the road since refrigerators and freezer motors don't use much juice. If you stop overnight at a motel you can run an extension cord to the unit and if you camp out you may want to have the generator along to use at night.

As to the last question on dry ice, it will not last very long if it isn't kept in an airtight well insulated container filled to the max. If you have ever bought dry ice at a store you know what it's kept in and even then they lose a lot to evaporation in those freezers. Dry ice is very expensive and IMO isn't any better than using good coolers with regular ice when used properly as mentioned earlier.
 
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Thanks for the replys. I have an Igloo ultra 150 quart cooler ,I used it on my caribou hunt in Quebec but it was in December and cold enough we did not need ice.
 
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One thing I did to keep meat out of melting ice water is to make a rack about 1 inch tall that fits on the entire bottom of my cooler. Then I put a layer of blocks under the meat and cover the meat with a big trash bag with the edges draped around to the sides of the cooler so the water from the top layer ice drains around the meat and not on it. I keep the drain open so the water never reaches any meat.
I cut out the bottoms of plastic milk crates and cut to fit cooler bottom.
 
We do the dry ice for our 24 hour trip from NM back to New Orleans. I put newspaper on top of the meat (it is already wrapped), then a layer of dry ice, usually three 10 pound blocks, then more paper or an old blanket or sheet. I then duct tape the seams of the ice chest to make it air tight as possible. Meat is frozen solid, and plenty of dry ice is left when I get home.
One thing to think about with the generator, in some states, it is llegal to have the generator running while the vehicle is in motion. You might get stopped if the Highway Patrol thinks you have a running generator on board (such as in an open trailer and visible).
 
Ive gone with a 7 cu ft freezer from home depot and a generater,,,works great,,i use it for gear storage till i need it,then fire up the gen,,once it gets cold,it only needs a few hrs of gen time a day to keep meat at 30 degrees,,,very good investment,as i usually try to combine 2 or 3 hunts into 1 big out of state vacation trip,that way you can keep meat cared for and jump to the next hunt.
 
I have a 11 cu. ft. chest freezer in the front of my Cargo Trailer, with a 3000 watt Honda generator to run it and everything in my base camp. I bring 95% of our food out in it, and it works great for bringing my game back to Michigan, I just get the meat semi froze and it is fine for the trip home.

Kevin
 
I take a freezer and generator in my cargo trailer. Many motels have outside outlets (all Canadian motels have them). I use theirs when possible and just plug the freezer in at night when we are traveling. Keep the lid closed and you do not have run it for more than a few hours each day. We pack food on the way out and game on the way back. If I have to use my generator at night while we are at a motel, I chain it to the trailer axle.
 
I would have to figure out a way to secure my generator to my trailer if I take it along.To many low lifes in the world to just leave it set while out hunting.
 
Trailer

I would have to figure out a way to secure my generator to my trailer if I take it along.To many low lifes in the world to just leave it set while out hunting.

I leave my generator right in my enclosed Cargo Trailer. I just put a wood block to told the doors open about 4", and put a chain on the side door so I can lock it, and I use a gun cable lock for my back doors.
and I run a 12 gauge power cord to my tent to run things, it works great. IMHO.
I went to the freezer about 15 years, if it is a long drive home it works out good.

Kevin
 
I leave my generator right in my enclosed Cargo Trailer. I just put a wood block to told the doors open about 4", and put a chain on the side door so I can lock it, and I use a gun cable lock for my back doors.
and I run a 12 gauge power cord to my tent to run things, it works great. IMHO.
I went to the freezer about 15 years, if it is a long drive home it works out good.

Kevin

I've secured my generator 2 ways. I've had it bolted right to the tongue of the trailer, worked great. I've also had it just sitting in the bed of the P/u for the trip with an extension cord. That also worked great. I have a 2 way outlet on the front of the trailer so i can plug the generator into the outside and the freezer on the inside.
 
I've never had a problem with anything getting stolen. But since I bought a generator last year I figured it was just a good idea to chain it and the extra fuel to my trailer frame. We camp on public land and there is no one aound for miles.
A generator is an expensive way to learn a lesson.
 
I have had two 20 pound LP tank stolen and a cooler full of groceries both taken at the same time
 
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