Solution to the problem of ICE

OceanBlue · 02-09-2003, 09:07 AM

With Tuna season approaching :grin: I've been keeping my eyes and ears open for a solution to the problem of ice.

While at the sportsmen's show, I happened across a booth for Techni-ice.

This company makes these 'sheets' of chemical ice - kind of along the lines of blue ice, but the stuff is colder and lasts longer. Each sheet is about 11"X16" and has 24 "cubes".

Hard to describe how this stuff works, but the bottom line is that it is pretty expensive, yet impressive. Light weight, compact and reusable.

So, maybe I'm a sucker, but I bought enough to keep a 120Qt cooler at 31 degrees for 5 days. We'll run a trial and see how it works.

It won't relieve the need for ice for the quench tank, but I figure it should cut the ice consumption in half at least.

Here's the beauty part. I cut a deal with these folks and they'll give me a rate of $2.50 a sheet for 250 sheets. Each sheet is normally $9.00.

I'll bring some to the TA meeting in March. If we get enough interest, we can order in bulk and the stuff should pay for itself quickly!

Hawg Hunter · 02-09-2003, 09:23 AM

PM,
Before you buy a whole bunch of these, I suggest you use them for a month or two. I bought 10 sheets of them two years ago and thought I found the greatest thing since sliced bread. After about the fifth time of using them, they really started to lose their ability to stay as cold as when they were new. I even followed their instructions on how to regenerate them. Maybe you will have better luck or the formula is different now. Just my .02

skein · 02-09-2003, 09:27 AM

Wow! Way to go. $2.50 a sheet - good deal! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

I looked it over, and wondered if it was a gimmick or the real thing, but at their price I didn't see it as affordable. I didn't think about volume discounts. [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

I was going to use the old "freeze the milk jug full of water" routine. This sure would be a lot more convenient.

Skein

Sensei-san · 02-09-2003, 02:16 PM

How'ze it I see Pilar's Mate posting all the time and no Pilar?

Is he hibernating like a grizzly bear that ate too much salmon or is it tuna in his case?

A friend that is a refrigeration mechanic gets takeout flake ice machines all the time. He sells them for 600 bucks or more depending on capacity. I'm sure there are some HVAC mechanics in Portland that can find them too...

Let's see I drive to SE Portland and climb over the fence at a house on SE seventy something where there is a blue boat.... But the big rottenwieler bit my leg....

wak'm&stak'm · 02-09-2003, 11:26 PM

Intersting that this subject should come up today. I was taliking to the owner of the seventy six station in agate beach and they no longer will pump gas. so i brought up the ice subject and said we needed lots of inexpensive ice. She said to come back and talk to her because they were revamping the store and they could get a bigger ice machine. Details to follow !

Mark Mc · 02-09-2003, 11:42 PM

Hey Wak, if you talk to them again soon, maybe you could tell them about a flake ice machine, vs the usual cubes. To be realistic though, now the fishermen would have the good flake ice for fish, but this would not necessarily be good for tourists filling their ice chests for drinks, etc. Worth a try anyhow!

OceanBlue · 02-10-2003, 06:57 AM

Hawg Hunter: Did you seal these in plastic before using them with fish? The outer material is one-way permeable so it will absorb cark and maybe this is causing a "degeneration". ??

Pilar is a skeptic on this subject as well, but I think it deserves a thorough trial effort. If 20 of these sheets can replace 100 lbs of ice, I'm a happy camper!

Skein: Don't stop freezing those milk jugs (that reminds me, I need to tell the kids to stop putting them in the recycle bin) - you'll still need ice blocks for the quench tank.

Sensei: Pilar has been a very busy boy. Between his job and working on the boat, I'm lucky to hear from him much myself these days. The good news is that the Pilar saw the water yesterday. We got to fish Kelly point for about an hour and a half! The bad news is that it was only fishing (no catching) but the good news is that she's running (& looking) beautiful!