Australia's Science Forum

I am new to this site
I am looking to be able to obtain liquid nitrogen and dry ice for School use . The school is located in Nambucca Heads( NSW).
Anything local or within the Coffs Harbour area would be great.

Regards
Steve

Hi Steve ,
Welcome to the forum

I'm at Macksville High ....Howdy Neighbour
I've tried to get Dry Ice around here and its a nogo . Closest was from Brisbane and I was informed there would be hardly anything left by the time it arrived

We get our Liquid Nitrogen from the Macksville Vets . I bring in a thermos flask that has a venting lid . They give us about $20 worth that is enough for superconductor prac and plenty left over for entertainment .

Now I transport this in a padded esky in the back of our hatch back with all the windows open . Its only 5 min up the road . That's my risk assessment and I'm happy to do it . Most will refuse . Its your call .

Note the importance of using a vented Thermos flask . If you use a normal screw shut flask , the pressure will build up almost immediately . I hate to imagine the consequences . Our flask has a press to vent button on it .

If this is for a cloud chamber , I might be able to loan you ours . I made it and it only needs a sink of Ice water , Its has Peltiers in it to bring the temp right down . Doesn't require dry Ice or Liquid Nitrogen .

Thanks Richard. Really appreciate the advice

Hi Guys

Your other option for dry ice is to purchase a CO2 cylinder ( we have DE size and food grade) and a snowpak gadget that screws on to the top of the cylinder. This allows you to make puks of dry ice that are about 5cm in diameter and 2 cm high,a cylinder makes a lot of puks, I'm gussing about 50-60. Its an expensive outlay initially but after that you just pay for the refill when you need it . I purchased ours from BOC. We use it for all sorts of pracs.

Cheers
Krysia

Teacher at another school used to use the CO2 fire extinguisher to get Dry Ice . I tried that once at home with our old shop Fire extinguisher as my Mrs ( Physics teacher ) wanted some and said it would work . Well it did but there wasn't that much Dry Ice and when I enquired about refilling the Extingisher , they wanted close to $250 .....a very expensive experiment .

Thanks Krysia Lee ....I just looked up DE CO2 bottles , they are 6kg . If you can get that much Dry Ice out of them that sounds like a great deal.

Hi Bigmack
I purchased ours in April last year and it was $179.88 + GST and $30.99 for the CO2 fill. I think that's like a hire charge for the bottle. There is another place that you can buy the bottle outright and just the $30ish for the fill.Their bottle are more expensive but there no on going charge and I will use them next time. It a company called Speedgas I believe they are in the coffs area.

P.S. Bigmack I had a think and about the how much it makes and have decided I over did it and would say30- 40 puks. The snow pack thing you buy is a one off purchase and at around $350.00 is very expensive but worth it.So initial outlay is a lot but after that its not to bad. You can use dry ice for so much. Good luck with it.

Hi Steve, I have my own dry ice machine and sell blocks to other local schools. $20 for a full block (18cm x 8cm) and $12 for half. I am in Port Macquarie but there may be a courier that delivers your way. Hope that helps. Cheers, Kerrin

Cool Kerrin ....Literally speaking . That's only an hour away . How long does it last ?

Hi Bigmack, It is pretty cool - however I get funny looks when I tell people I make 'ice' at school and sell it !! It would last the hour for sure but depends it on the couriers schedule I suppose. Maybe do a ring around to see if anyone does a direct run to Macksville. Cheers, Kerrin

Breaking Bad ...not really a Laughing matter I suppose
Definitely will keep this in mind ...The dry Ice Thanks Kerrin