Wind takes a line down and the repair crew says hours, maybe a day. Your freezer full of salmon and pork shoulder has no idea what season it is. This is the exact moment dry ice earns its keep. Used right, dry ice for a power outage can hold a full freezer at temperature for about a day while you wait out the storm or line up a generator.
Saving a freezer comes down to the amount of dry ice, where it sits and a door you keep shut. Start with how long your freezer holds by itself: a full freezer kept closed stays frozen for about 48 hours, a half-full one for about 24 (USDA figures). Dry ice is for outages longer than that, or for a freezer you have to keep opening.
How much dry ice do I need for a freezer outage?
Plan on about 1.5 lb of dry ice per cubic foot of freezer space to hold food frozen for roughly a day. A standard 15 cubic foot chest freezer wants somewhere around 20 to 25 lb. Bigger upright units, scale up from there. If the outage runs longer than a day, you'll need a second round.
That range isn't padding. A half-full freezer loses cold faster than a packed one, so lean toward the higher end if your shelves have gaps. A chest freezer packed like a brick of frozen meat holds longer than one with three bags of peas rattling around in it.
Where do you put the dry ice?
On top of the food, not underneath it. Cold air sinks, so dry ice sitting above your stacked food pushes cold down through the whole box. Wrap the blocks or chunks in a few layers of paper, newspaper or butcher paper works fine, before setting them on top. The paper slows the sublimation rate a touch and keeps the dry ice from sitting in direct contact with packaging that might tear. A sheet of cardboard laid over the food first keeps anything from freezing solid to the ice.
Pack it close to the food, not floating in open air at the top of a half-empty chest. If there's a gap between your food line and the lid, fill it with towels, extra bags, even balled-up newspaper. Dead air space is wasted cold. A full freezer, or one packed to look full, outlasts an empty one.
Then leave the door closed, resting normally, not forced or sealed airtight. Every time you open it to check, you're letting cold air spill out and warm air in. Check once, maybe twice, over the day. Not every hour out of nerves.
Nuggets or blocks for this job?
For tucking dry ice between bags and around uneven shapes, 16 mm dry ice nuggets pack into gaps better than one big block. They settle into the spaces a block can't reach, which matters more than people expect in a freezer that's never perfectly square-packed.
What about the gas it gives off?
Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide at -78.5 degrees Celsius. It sublimates straight to gas, it doesn't melt into a puddle, and that gas is heavier than air. It sinks and pools in low spots: basements, closed utility rooms, and the floor of any small room that is shut up tight.
Keep the room the freezer sits in ventilated. Crack a window if you can, or at least don't seal the room off completely while the outage runs. Garages and basement freezer rooms are the usual spots people get this wrong, because they're trying to keep the cold in and end up sealing gas in too. Air exchange matters more than keeping the room sealed up. For the full rundown on gas buildup, ventilation, and what symptoms to watch for, our dry ice safety page covers it properly.
Handling it without burning your hands
Dry ice is cold enough to damage skin on contact. Use gloves, oven mitts, or at minimum a folded towel every time you touch it, even for a few seconds. Tongs work well if you've got them. Kids and pets should not be handling it at all, and that's worth saying plainly since freezer emergencies tend to turn into family projects with everyone pitching in.
Don't drop chunks into drinks, don't seal it into anything airtight, and never store it in glass. Once the power is back and the freezer is running, pull any leftover dry ice out. Its cold can trip the thermostat, and the freezer then switches itself off while you think it is running. Dry ice is for outages, so keep the leftovers in a cooler with the lid on but not latched.
Getting dry ice when the power's already out
At 9 pm during a windstorm, this is the part that matters. We make dry ice to order at our plant at 2-730 Eaton Way in Delta. Pickup runs Monday to Friday, 7 am to 4 pm, closed on BC statutory holidays. When the order is in stock and placed by 4:30 pm, you can pick it up the same day; otherwise order online by 2 pm for next-day pickup.
Delivery runs Monday to Friday during the day, no set time slot, priced by the distance from our plant and shown at checkout before you pay. Order by 2 pm for delivery the next working day. We deliver with our own driver, not a courier, so if a storm is rolling in, don't wait until the lights go out to think about it.
If you're mid-outage and need something sooner than our normal order flow allows, call 604 239 9333 and we'll tell you what's possible that day. Orders of 150 lb or more go out in our returnable bins, rented by the week, which suits restaurants and anyone managing a walk-in rather than a single chest freezer at home.
A few extra things worth knowing
Any order is fine from 1 lb up, though an order under $25 of ice gets charged $25 plus GST, so small freezer top-ups make the most sense bundled with other needs if you can. Current prices are on the shop page, and 3 mm pellets and 16 mm nuggets are sold by the pound if you want to compare formats before ordering.
Outages don't always announce themselves days ahead. Sometimes you get an hour's warning from a wind forecast, sometimes none at all. Having a rough number in your head, that 15 cubic foot chest freezer wants 20 to 25 lb, means you're not guessing when you're calling around during a storm. If you want more on how long dry ice lasts in coolers and vehicles too, our guide to how long dry ice lasts runs through those numbers side by side. And if freezer backup isn't your only reason for buying, our dry ice uses page covers shipping, fishing trips, and events as well.
When the forecast turns ugly or the lights are already out, order your dry ice online for pickup in Delta or delivery the next working day, or call 604 239 9333 if you need to talk through timing first.
Frequently asked questions
How much dry ice do I need for a power outage?
Plan on about 1.5 lb of dry ice per cubic foot of freezer space to hold food frozen for roughly a day. A 15 cubic foot chest freezer, which is a common size, wants somewhere around 20 to 25 lb. Longer outages need a second round added partway through, since the first batch is sized for about 24 hours.
Where should I place dry ice in my freezer?
Wrap it in a few layers of paper and set it on top of the food, not underneath. Cold air sinks, so dry ice placed above your stacked food pushes cold down through the whole freezer. Fill any gaps between the food and the lid with towels or extra bags, since a packed freezer holds cold longer than one with empty space.
Is it safe to put dry ice in a room with no ventilation?
No. Dry ice sublimates into carbon dioxide gas that is heavier than air and sinks, pooling in low or closed-off spots like basements and small utility rooms. Keep the room around the freezer ventilated, such as cracking a window, rather than sealing it up tight while the dry ice is working.
Can I put dry ice in my freezer once the power comes back on?
No, take any leftover dry ice out once the freezer is running again. At -78.5 °C it can trip the thermostat, and the freezer then switches itself off while you think it is running. Dry ice is for bridging an outage, so keep what is left in a cooler with the lid on but not latched.
Need dry ice? Order online and pick up at our plant in Delta, or have it delivered. Not sure how much? See how much dry ice you need.
