Having fun with frozen C02 (Dry Ice)

[photonaholic]

Got bored so I tossed a block of dry ice into a pail of water and broke out the beamage.

Put the greenie directly onto the block of dry ice, it sizzled like grease in a frying pan.

Turned on the 650nm spiro and projected directly into the fog, most of the shots did not turn out as well as I wanted, but here is the ones that turned out OK.

 

[Greenmechanic]

Nice pics. Wayne.:thanks:
I've tried Dry-ice before.
I bought like 6 pounds of it and was going to use it in the morning. I put it in the freezer and......... you can guess the rest. $13 dollars vanished into thin air (thin CO2?)LOL
So I really never had the chance to use it.
Bought my first fog machine shortly after and haven't thought about it again, until just now.
Any major differences between it and using fog?
If I want my fog to hug the ground,I chill it down with a R22 injector.
I assume there would be no difference with CO2, but you made me think about it again. Inquiring minds want to know:thinking:

 

[MarioMaster]

If I want my fog to hug the ground,I chill it down with a R22 injector.

wat

R22 injector?

 

[photonaholic]

yeah, huge difference, I get a block of dry ice every month for free, It's just surplus waiting to evaporate.

I have tossed it in dishwater, the creek, whatever.

Otherwise I'd be throwing it away.

So this time, I just used it for laser play.

foggy bubbles in soapy water is fun. Put it in a glass of coke for super carbonated pop.

 

[Greenmechanic]

wat

R22 injector?

R22 is a type of Freon used in house AC systems. A company I work for has dozens of 30# cylinders laying around.
I use a .0014 Dia. nozzle out of a water misting cooler system to inject the R22@100 PSI, into a piece of vacuum cleaner hose, that is attached to the outlet of the fog machine.
The resulting fog lays on the ground for 10-15 minutes if not disturbed.

 

[MarioMaster]

That's exactly what I was afraid of - not only is that dangerous from oxygen displacement but venting refrigerant is also highly illegal. Your company has dozens of R22 cylinders laying around? Save them - with R22 now banned from being manufactured and used in new equipment, the cost is going to rise as remaining supply is depleted. You could make a good buck selling those.

 

[Greenmechanic]

That's exactly what I was afraid of - not only is that dangerous from oxygen displacement but venting refrigerant is also highly illegal. Your company has dozens of R22 cylinders laying around? Save them - with R22 now banned from being manufactured and used in new equipment, the cost is going to rise as remaining supply is depleted. You could make a good buck selling those.

Rest assured, I most certainly do not "vent" it.
I am EPA 608/609 certified, so I certainly would not risk losing my license for something so trivial.
I simplified my answer so not to bore others with the technical details (my mistake):bowdown:. I use the .0014 nozzle as a "primitive" expansion valve. I'm using a old compressor heat exchanger as my thermal transfer device.(installed inside the vacuum cleaner hose) I then use my recovery machine to recover it.
Although it is now "contaminated" IE: can not be used in AC systems again. I pump it into a reclaim storage cylinder to be used again.
Notice quote from post:

I use a .0014 Dia. nozzle out of a water misting cooler system to inject the R22@100 PSI, into a piece of vacuum cleaner hose

If I was simply injecting it into the hose at that pressure, it would blow the fog several hundred feet away from the area I wanted it at. LOL

In hindsight I should have clarified this, so others would not pollute our atmosphere (or hurt themselves) by trying this at home.

To others thinking of trying this; I am a professional.Do not do this without a way to reclaim 100% of the R22 used. Also R22 can cause severe freeze burns upon contact with skin. Using CFC's inside an enclosed area can cause death from suffication.

MarioMaster, Thank you for pointing out my short sightedness to other peoples trying this without proper training or protection.
+1 for your concern. Thank you. Mark

 

[photonaholic]

Mark rocks!

Never encountered a more caring individual.

 

[Greenmechanic]

Thanks, Wayne.
I simply did not consider the consequences of someone who is untrained, trying this at home. Thank you again for your kind words. Mark

 

[photonaholic]

Hey I did the same thing just a day or so ago bringing up my pyrotechnics hobby.

We are only human......

 

[MarioMaster]

Ahh that certainly makes a lot more sense, it sounded like you were venting it into the vacuum hose

Anyways with the cost of a tank of R22 I doubt anyone would be very willing to try it. Thanks for clarifying your post

 

[Greenmechanic]

Ahh that certainly makes a lot more sense, it sounded like you were venting it into the vacuum hose

Anyways with the cost of a tank of R22 I doubt anyone would be very willing to try it. Thanks for clarifying your post

You never can tell. I was on a service call a while back and some kids were using a full 30# tank of R12 to freeze bugs with
I asked them where they got it at, and they stated,"Mr. so&so up the street gave it to us".
I whipped out a couple of $20's and promptly bought it off of them.:wave:

 

[daveindelaware]

Dry Ice is fun.

I bought a small bag of it from a local ice distributor because I needed some for the "effects" portion of a baking project I did. I created a scale replica of the island of Hawaii, complete w/ an "active" volcano. It was a full sheet cake size. I put the dry ice inside right before presenting it to the birthday guest of honor.

I had a bunch of dry ice left over, so I used the rest of it up in the kitchen, just messing around with it in glasses of water, in the sink w/ soap suds, etc.... Fun stuff.

 

[Arayan]

Nice effects...I always enjoy too when they get new materials in the laboratory on dry ice

 

[Benm]

Nice pics. Wayne.:thanks:
I've tried Dry-ice before.
I bought like 6 pounds of it and was going to use it in the morning. I put it in the freezer and......... you can guess the rest. $13 dollars vanished into thin air

Thats one shitty fridge then - if it has good insulation the dry ice will probably cool everything inside down.

The best way to store the stuff is in the thick styrofoam box, and keep that in a freezer if possible. Is not really required though - i used to ship lab samples in dry ice, and those lasted several days thanks to the styrofoam insulation alone.

 

[photonaholic]

The frozen mice ship in a large box with 3 layers of fiber insulation, I can keep the dry ice in that box for days.

When I let my ex stay here with us, she set up this compact chest freezer in our basement, I put a block in there and forgot about it.

a couple days later I opened up that freezer and leaned down into it to get something, I damn near passed out!

The chest freezer was filled completely with cold C02 gas, I inhaled while I had my head in there.......