[Sca-cooks] things they dont explain about Pennsic

[Kirsten Houseknecht]

the "guarenteed for five days in 100 degree weather " chests are really
good.
i bought cubed ice, and still had some four days later.

but you need to be really good about not opening the chest until you know
what you need.

Pennsic is not to o hard to deal with, but i *really* advise camping with an
experienced group your first time.

also, my list is colored by the fact that i am a heat stroke and hypothermia
survior... and have ever  after been more succeptable to extremes of
temperature....
Kirsten Houseknecht
Fabric Dragon
kirsten at fabricdragon.com
www.fabricdragon.com
Philadelphia, PA     USA
Trims, Amber, Jet, Jewelry, and more...

I worry about you, wear a reflective sweater...
>
> I have never been to Pennsic.  I have always
> dreamed of going, but now I am beginning to
> change my dream, after reading your list.
>
> However, I have been to quite a few Caidan and
> Atenveldt wars and so I wish to talk about ice
> at wars.
>
> Ice comes in four versions.  Crushed, cubes,
> blocks and dry.  The greater the surface that
> you have on your ice the faster it melts.
> Therefore, crushed ice is all surface and melts
> the fastest.  Cubes melts pretty fast.  Block
> ice melts pretty slowly.  Dry ice doesn't melt,
> it evaporates, but its evaporation time is the
> slowest of all.
>
> Crushed and cubed ice is best for putting in
> drinks and for quick chilling.  A bag of either
> usually will not last more than 5-7 hours by
> itself in an ice chest.  This depends a lot on
> the outside weather temps.  The hotter it is the
> faster they melt.  The cooler it is the slower
> they melt.
>
> Block and dry ice are best for keeping your
> ice chests cool/cold long term.
>
> There are several ways of getting block ice.
> 1) buy it from an ice merchant. Usually in 10 lbs
> blocks, although my local ice merchant is willing
> to cut blocks in half for me.
> 2) take clean plastic milk bottles and fill them
> with water and freeze them in your freezer [if
> you have room].
>
> Usually, a 10 lbs block of ice will take 2-3 days
> to melt completely in an ice chest.  If cut in
> half, the 5 lbs blocks will last only two days.
> Home made milk bottle ice blocks usually last
> one day, but can give you cold drinking water
> at the same time.
>
> My local ice merchant sells dry ice in 7 lbs
> blocks.  However, because dry ice is so cold, it
> freezes anything that it touches for long periods
> of time.  A 7 lbs block of ice usually lasts
> 4 days, depending on the outside temps.  The
> neat thing about dry ice is that when it
> evaporates it doesn't leave water behind, so
> your ice chest doesn't need to be drained.
>
> When I go to a war, I usually bring two ice
> chests.  One for immediate use and for items
> that should not be frozen.  The second for
> use later in the war and for items that need
> to be kept frozen.  I have been known to bring
> ice cream and frozen juice bars to wars.
>
> In the first ice chest, I put one 5 lbs block
> of ice and one bag of cubed ice.  In the second
> chest, I put one 7 lbs block of dry ice and
> the other 5 lbs block of ice.  The block of ice
> is kept next to and frozen by the dry ice and
> buffers the intense cold from the food.  I then
> put things in like ice cream or meats I don't
> mind having frozen until I need them.  I once put
> a carton of fresh orange juice in this chest and
> had to remove it every day one or two hours
> before breakfast so that we would be able to
> drink it for breakfast.  I think I served the
> coldest orange juice at that war.
>
> If I were going to camp at Pennsic, I would
> bring three ice chests.  The third would contain
> another block of dry ice and two more 10 lbs
> blocks of ice cut in half.  This would not be
> opened until the first chest needed new ice.
> This would also keep you from having to make
> an ice run into town too often.  Although you
> still would have to buy drinking ice on a daily
> basis from the camp store.
>
> Huette
>
> =====
> Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they
> shall never cease to be amused.
>
>
>
>
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