# how to, phase 22/cryopak



## The Dendrobatidae Project (Dec 13, 2013)

lot of great info on how awesome these are for shipping frogs. I have them saved from shipments that I have received from other however no I need to use them for a shipment. I can't find much info about how to set them up to ship out frogs. Any advice or how to information, this would be my first time using this method for shipping.


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## Boondoggle (Dec 9, 2007)

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-discussion/158002-helpful-shipping-live-threads.html

The short version is that if you expect your shipping temps to be over 22 degrees C, then you charge the packs solid. If you expect shipping temps to be under 22 degrees C, then you warm the packs to a liquid state. Don't think of the pack itself heating or cooling the occupants like a traditional heat/cold pack. It's more a case of buffering temperature changes by allowing the phase change of the gel to absorb that energy. There are some subtleties, but the thread quoted above should help you.


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## The Dendrobatidae Project (Dec 13, 2013)

Thanks for the advice, and attention to the other threads. So basically I use a box within a box and the gel packs/panels will either absorb or release heat energy to keep the inner box at a constant temp.? Do I have that pretty much correct?


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## Boondoggle (Dec 9, 2007)

The Dendrobatidae Project said:


> Thanks for the advice, and attention to the other threads. So basically I use a box within a box and the gel packs/panels will either absorb or release heat energy to keep the inner box at a constant temp.? Do I have that pretty much correct?


That's the ticket. 

Sometimes if temps are stable you can get away with a single box. Sometimes with extreme temps you can bias the whole process with a heat pack or a cold pack added to the mix. Sometimes if your package is going to see diverse temperatures, both hot and cold, you can charge half the packs solid and half the packs liquid. In some cases in can be as much art as science. 90% of the time, though, the method you described above will work quite well.

Remember...

1. Insulation is your friend, thicker styro is always better than thinner. Two layers is better than one. Seamless is better than unsealed seams.
2. Too many phase change packs/panels will, at worst, be a waste of a little money. Too few will be a waste of a lot more. Too many is better.
3. The temperature of the phase change gel is pretty immaterial (within reason) and will return to room temperature pretty quickly. All the applicable effectiveness comes from the phase change itself. In this heat, once your packs are liquid, they will do absolutely nothing to buffer the temperature.
4. Give your customer a call after the shipment and find out what state the gel packs were in when they received them. You can learn a lot about shipping that way. "Slushy" is optimum.
5. Don't throw away phase change gel packs/panels when you receive them in a shipment. We can keep reusing them in the community, ultimately helping shipping costs.
6. It's not a bad idea to put gel packs into a seal-able sandwich bag when using them. They are pretty durable, but occasionally you may find a leaky one and you won't know that when it is solid.
7. Don't assume that because the airline guarantees a specific cabin temperature and because they've _said_ that it will be stored inside at all times that you will not see temperature swings. After sending a temperature probe all around the country I believe that packages often sit on the tarmac for longer than advertised and I don't believe the planes are as climate controlled as advertised. The insulated box-within-a-box approach helps greatly with this.

For what it's worth.


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## The Dendrobatidae Project (Dec 13, 2013)

Thanks for the info, unfortunately I only have thin styrofoam steamed insulated boxes that I use for shipping snakes. Snakes seem to be less effected by temps than the frogs.


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## ecichlid (Dec 26, 2012)

An excellent tutorial by Shawn Harrington. https://www.facebook.com/FrogWhispe...2495/454191554686609/?type=1&relevant_count=7


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## Brian317 (Feb 11, 2011)

Couldn't of said it better Boondoggle. Shawn does have a fantastic write up on his page. 

I strictly use the styro seamless boxes with lids directly from Polar Tech. They are only around $3-$4 a box. I believe the thickness is around 1 1/2". Could be something to look into...


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

I may have missed it but are there any rules of thumb on how many or how much phase 22 for a shipment? Seems like a lot of people are putting a number of them in packages. 

Also I am not good with facebook but all I see in the facebook link is 1 picture and a couple sentences. Am I seeing it all or is there something more I am suppose to be seeing?


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## ecichlid (Dec 26, 2012)

Pubfiction said:


> Also I am not good with facebook but all I see in the facebook link is 1 picture and a couple sentences. Am I seeing it all or is there something more I am suppose to be seeing?


Do you see the subtle link above the picture that says "Next"?


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

No I was too distracted by the Could it be ADHD ad.


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