A lot of you may already know that dry ice is just carbon dioxide that has been dropped to such a low temperature that it solidifies. What you may not know is that you can actually make it at home! Sure, you can’t mass produce dry ice, but you can certainly make enough to use for home science experiments or parties. So, how to make dry ice? Simple!
What Do You Need When Making Dry Ice?
1
Gloves
To start with, get yourself some heavy duty gloves; you’ll need something stronger and thicker than dishwashing gloves to keep your hands protected.
2
A Cloth Bag
You’ll also need a cloth bag to catch the dry ice you produce, ideally a pillow case or something similarly sized.
3
Tape
It will be easier if you have some industrial duct tape, although it is possible to make dry ice without this.
4
Carbon Dioxide / CO2
The key ingredient for this project is a carbon dioxide tank or a CO2 fire extinguisher. If using an extinguisher, you need to make sure that it is a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher, as a standard extinguisher, the type you’d typically use at home, will not work for this project. To verify if it is indeed a CO2 model, check to see if it has a discharge horn or pressure gauge (the CO2 models generally won’t have these) and review the servicing label (it should have a hole punched in it if it’s a CO2).
