Dry ice can be a great way to keep items frozen in your cooler or to keep things cold for longer without having to worry about them getting wet. But how much dry ice do you need for a cooler so it keeps everything cold for long enough but you aren't wasting money.
You need approximately 10-20 lbs of dry ice for every 24 hours you want things to stay frozen food. The better the cooler you have the less dry ice you need or if you only need to keep things cold, not frozen, you can combine dry ice with regular ice to save money.
What Is The Recommended Amount of Dry Ice To Use In My Cooler?
The amount of dry ice that you should use in your cooler will depend on a few main variables:
- How long you want things to stay frozen
- How much stuff you are trying to keep frozen
- How big your cooler is
- How good your cooler is
Below is a rough guide of how much dry ice you should use depending on how long you want it to last in your cooler
How Much Dry Ice Do You Need For A Regular/Styrofoam Cooler?
First let's look at how much dry ice you will need if you have either a styrofoam cooler or some other cheap plastic cooler that you picked up online or from your local department store.
Below is a rough guide on how much dry ice you'll need based on the size of your premium cooler and how long you need things to stay frozen for.
| Ice Retention | 20-Quart Cooler | 40-Quart Cooler | 65-Quart Coolers | 100-Quart Cooler |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 hours | 1-5 lbs | 5 lbs | 5 lbs | 5-10 lbs |
| 1 day | 5-10 lbs | 5-10 lbs | 10 lbs | 10-15 lbs |
| 2 days | 15 lbs | 15 lbs | 15 lbs | 20-30 lbs |
| 3 days | 30 lbs | 25 lbs | 25-30 lbs | 30-50 lbs |
| 4 days | N/A | 30-40 lbs | 40-50 lbs | 50-100 lbs |
How Much Dry Ice Do You Need For A Premium Cooler Like Yeti?
If you have a high-quality cooler like a Yeti that has 2-3 inches of thick insulation as well as insulation in the lid and features like a rubber gasket then your cooler will keep dry ice much longer and you won't need as much.
These coolers vary in how well they can hold ice. If you want to keep ice the absolute longest then check out my list of the coolers that hold ice the longest.
Below is a rough guide on how much dry ice you'll need based on the size of your premium cooler and how long you need things to stay frozen for.
| Ice Retention | 20-Quart Cooler | 40-Quart Cooler | 65-Quart Coolers | 100-Quart Cooler |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 hours | 1-5 lbs | 5 lbs | 5 lbs | 5-10 lbs |
| 1 day | 5-10 lbs | 5-10 lbs | 5-10 lbs | 10-15 lbs |
| 2 days | 10-15 lbs | 10-15 lbs | 10-15 lbs | 15-20 lbs |
| 3 days | 20-30 lbs | 25-30 lbs | 25-30 lbs | 30-50 lbs |
| 4 days | 30-40 lbs | 30-40 lbs | 30-40 lbs | 50-70 lbs |
| 5 days | N/A | 50 lbs | 50 lbs | 70-100 lbs |
| 7+ days | N/A | N/A | 70-100lbs | 100-200 lbs |
As you can see, with a premium cooler you need less dry ice to last the same amount of days. You can also keep ice a lot longer than the cheaper coolers.
The larger 65-Quart and 100-Quart sized coolers can hold dry ice for over a week if you use enough dry ice.
How Much Dry Ice Do I Need For A Small Cooler?
When you are packing a small cooler you mostly likely only need your dry ice to last for a short period of time. Likely from about 6-12 hours up to a maximum of 2 days.
Small coolers are often used when shipping smaller food or medicine items that you need to keep frozen. Styrofoam coolers are popular small coolers for shipping or something like the Coleman FlipLid is dry ice compatible and at 5-quarts is a great little cooler.
See the latest prices and sizes of small styrofoam coolers at Amazon
Trying to get dry ice to last longer than 2 days in a small cooler is extremely difficult and if you need to keep things frozen for longer than 2 days then you'll either need a larger cooler with more dry ice or you'll need to refill your cooler as your dry ice runs out.
| Ice Retention | 5-Quart Cooler | 10-Quart Cooler | 20-Quart Coolers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 hours | 1-5 lbs | 1-5 lbs | 1-5 lbs |
| 1 day | 5-10 lbs | 5-10 lbs | 5-10 lbs |
| 2 days | 10 lbs | 10-15 lbs | 15-20 lbs |
| 3 days | N/A | N/A | 30 lbs |
The Best Small Coolers For Dry Ice
If you're looking to buy a small cooler for dry ice then check out some of the different options below:
Styrofoam Cooler
For a one off usage of for shipping purposes the styrofoam coolers are cheap, lightweight and are good insulators.
They aren't super durable so they won't last you years, but they will keep your stuff frozen long enough for it to reach it's destination.
See the different styrofoam coolers at Amazon
Coleman FlipLid
The Coleman FlipLid is a little 5-Quart cooler which is well built and is dry ice compatible. I did a Coleman FlipLid ice test a little while back if you want to check that out.
Great for transporting smaller frozen items you don't need to keep frozen for too long. Reusable and more durable than styrofoam this is a great little cooler.
See the latest price of the Coleman Flip Lid at Amazon
Yeti Roadie (or Similar)
Yeti Roadie is a high-quality 20-Quart cooler that has thick 1.5-2 inches of insulation and can hold both ice and dry ice for 2-3 days.
It's super tough and durable and you don't have to worry about it breaking, plus it comes with a 5 year warranty.
See the latest price of the Yeti Roadie at Amazon
See other coolers like the Yeti Roadie but cheaper
How Much Dry Ice Do I Need For A Large Cooler (Around 100-Quart)
A large cooler can hold a lot more dry ice and also a lot more food. It can also keep dry ice for a lot longer than smaller coolers, because it can hold more ice overall.
In large coolers using large quantities of dry ice you can get some incredible ice retention of up to and over a week depending on the quality of the cooler and how much dry ice you use.
Below you can see a rough estimate of how much dry ice you'll need in large coolers around the 65-Quart size and 100-Quart size.
| Ice Retention | 65-Quart Regular Cooler | 65-Quart Premium Cooler | 100-Quart Regular Cooler | 100-Quart Premium Cooler |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 hours | 5 lbs | 5 lbs | 5-10 lbs | 5-10 lbs |
| 1 day | 10 lbs | 5-10 lbs | 10-15 lbs | 10-15 lbs |
| 2 days | 15 lbs | 15 lbs | 20-30 lbs | 15-20 lbs |
| 3 days | 25-30 lbs | 25 lbs | 30-50 lbs | 30-50 lbs |
| 4 days | 40-50 lbs | 30-40 lbs | 50-100 lbs | 50-70 lbs |
| 5 days | N/A | 50 lbs | 200 lbs | 70-100 lbs |
| 7+ Days | N/A | 70-100 lbs | N/A | 100-200 lbs |
The Best Large Coolers For Dry Ice
If you're looking for a large cooler to keep dry ice in and to keep things frozen then there are a bunch of good options out there.
Given the size you are looking for styrofoam coolers are available but they can break easily so I don't really like to recommend them.
Below are some of the large coolers I recommend for dry ice.
Budget Option: Coleman Xtreme
If you're on a budget then the Coleman Xtreme is hands down the best cheap dry ice cooler on the market.
It starts in a 50-Quart size but goes all the way up to a 70, 100 and 120-quart size and all sizes are extremely affordable.
They can keep dry ice for 3-5+ days with the larger sizes keeping ice even longer if you pack it right and use a lot of dry ice.
See the latest prices and sizes of Coleman Xtreme coolers at Amazon
Premium Option: Yeti Coolers (or Similar)
If you're after a premium large cooler then something like the Yeti is going to be your best bet.
These are much tougher than the Coleman Xtreme and have much thicker insulation.
I have heard of people getting 14+ days of regular ice retention in the larger Yeti coolers and they could easily keep dry ice for 7-10+ days if you use enough dry ice.
Sizes go as large as 300+ Quart and they have a wide range of sizes available so you'll definitely be able to find the right size cooler for you.
See the latest prices and sizes of Yeti coolers at Amazon
Ultimate Option: Otterbox Venture
If you want the absolute ultimate in dry ice retention then the Otterbox Venture is the best cooler on the market for ice retention.
It outperforms every other cooler out there, holding ice 1-3 days longer than most other high-end coolers.
Their coolers are made in the USA, backed by a lifetime warranty and made by a company known for creating extremely high quality products.
See the latest prices and sizes of Otterbox coolers at Amazon
