has anyone ever used dry ice in an intercooler ice box for a air to water intercooled set up? i know its like -113F so it may freeze thae water, i have a pressure valve on it so that would be ok , just wondering if anyone has tried this?

 

Taken from a website:
Dry ice gives more than twice the cooling energy per pound of weight and three times the cooling energy per volume than regular water ice (H2O).

I say it might be worth a try

 

would it freeze a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze?

 

yes, a 50/50 mix is only good to -78*F

 

Actually it will make the water boil from being so cold.

 

DO NOT TOUCH IT, wear gloves or better yet use some type of tongs to hold it.

 

If the dry ice is in contact with the water, it will not chill the water(very well). If you were able to put the dry ice against the side of an aluminum water resivior then it would chill much better. The gas coming off the dry ice insulates it from having contact with the water.

 

hmm keep the responses com,in gthis is interesting.

 

Dry ice is frozen solid carbon dioxide. It can make the water cold enough that it can freeze, but I doubt that would happen in a turbulent system like an air/water intercooler setup especially in an engine bay. The "boiling" witnessed when it is placed in water is the carbon dioxide subliming (going straight from solid to a gas, doesn't pass through a liquid form) as opposed to the water boiling because it's so cold. It does give off alot of gas though and I would be concerned about the purge valve handling all of the pressure. If it fails, you could have a big problem on your hands, not to mention a potentially dangerous one if your sticking your head in the engine bay when it happens. Ever seen guys pack dry ice into a 2 liter bottle, pour in water, cap it and see what happens. It probably wouldn't happen but it might not be a good idea regardless. Additionally, and this is a stretch, bubbling CO2 through water makes it basic, and somewhat corrosive which can oxidize the aluminum in your intercooler. The same reason why it's not good to use "hard" alkaline water in your cooling system. Long post, but I have to use my chem knowledge somewhere

 

what about a bag of dry ice taped to the radix ic?