"Dry" Ice Release

[Caliro]

Hi there,

well, "dry ice" makes the most of you probably think of frozen carbon dioxid etc. But what I use is actually a usual icecube release method, which does not drip at all however. Plus: if set up correctly, it's quite failproof, meaning that I'd not know what could possibly fail.

It is ideally used in combination with a hogtie or any tie where you can reach the ground.

You need:

• A medium link-size chain, link diameter about 0.25 to 0.5 inch (~ 0.5 to 1 cm)
• Two anchorpoints
• Icecubes
• A small plastic bag, such as you use for bread and butter
• Quite a length of rope; make sure it'll not tear off anywhere; there won't be much force applied to it, but yet it's important.
• The key
• A few inches duct tape
• A piece of sticky tape OR a piece of wire OR a small key ring

Here's how it works:

1. Attach the chain to two anchorpoints, so that it'll hang in a height you will not be able to reach when bound.
2. Put icecubes in the bag
3. Pull the open end through any free link of the chain.
4. Stroke out the air to make the bag as flat as possible. This is super important!
5. Make a tight knot in the bag, so that the icecube is on the one side of the chain link and the knot on the other. Make that knot as close to the link as possible.
6. Take the rope and knot it into the bag: grab both the rope and the bag's end and make a knot as if you were just knotting the bag. Do not simply make a knot into the rope around the bag, as this will probably slip off. This knot should be in the middle of the part sticking through the chain.
7. Duct tape the rope to the wall in the height you'll be reaching for it. And yes, please actually use the duct tape, no knots. The end of the rope should now be about ground height.
8. Finally, you attach the key to the remaining bit of the bag. I use regular sticky tape. You might as well pierce a key ring or a piece of wire through the bag.

The idea is that you cannot pull the bag through the chain before the ice has melted (just like the ice stocking release method). However, it does not drip, since it's a plastic bag, and the knot keeps the water inside the bag.

What could go wrong, and how does it influence the release?

• The first knot is leaking. Answer: there's a second one. The amout of water getting through both (if any) should be minimal. Furthermore it does not actually influence the release, the key won't get wet since the outlet is below the key.
• The bag is leaking. Answer: bad luck, but it shouldn't really influence the release. You can inflate the bag to check for leakage beforehand if it's crucial the key doesn't get wet.
• The bag falls but you cannot bend to pick it up. Answer: grab the rope and lift the bag.
• The bag does not fall. Answer: This is why the rope is A) long enough to reach to the floor and B) just TAPED to the wall. You can grab the string from here, detach it from the wall. Hint: it's more likely the bag does not slip through the chaing because the melting water works like a counterweigth.
• The bag falls and the duct tape rips off the wall so it's all on the ground. Answer: you'll have to drop yourself to the floor, unfortunately. Try to make sure you're not going to need to do this.
• The bag stays up and the rope tears or slips off. Answer: This is what I meant with "if set up correctly". You're screwed now...

Attention. Do not forget to strike the air out before making the not. Otherwise, the bag is inflated and won't fit through the chain link. I tried that once, it's possible.

I wanted to share a picture but I haven't made it to create one yet. Maybe soon.

Greetings, Caliro

[gemt]

I have done something similar with a balloon containing ice over an eyelet ring mounted on the wall. I think this ring was intended to hang hand tools such as screwdrivers from... well I "rescued" it from a garage workshop.
The only issue really is that you are relying on the melt water dripping through the eyelet into the lower portion of the bag, and it may not, but instead the bag "flop" sideways and the pool of water stays above.
Now you are relying on the strength of connection to your release rope, to tug the bag through the eyelet, also there is a temptation to try to tug the bag through before the ice is fully melted.
Most likely, the worst that will happen is the plastic bag will tear, spilling the water.

[Caliro]

I have done something similar with a balloon containing ice over an eyelet ring mounted on the wall.

I actually use a chain preferred over a ring because the form of link provides enough inner area for the bag to slip though, but due to it's "narrower" side it doesn't let the ice cubes slip through very early like a ring with the same circular area would. Until now I have always only used one large ice cube which lasts already 1-1.5 hours, depending on the room temperature.

By the way: I have found the plastic bag's ending to be very strong. You can take the end, smooth it, and fold it several times. Thereby you get a multilayered plastic film, which is strong enough hold a clothes hanger that weigths several kilos. You should probably wrap it with duct tape beforehand, though, to prevent tearing.

And yes, tugging is a temptation, but actually I've found the bag will usually not slip through before the ice is really melted down almost completely. That's the advantage of using a chain link as eyelet.

Greetings, Caliro