# help with cryopak



## bristles (Jan 19, 2011)

I normally use phase 22 panels (which I love) but someone gave me some cryopak bags to ship their frogs to them with. I've never used them before & my question is how do you heat them up ? I'm guessing in a bucket of water with an aquarium heater (like phase panels) also how long do they hold their temp ? I asked the person who sent them to me & they said they had no idea as they were in a shipment of frogs they received.


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## ZookeeperDoug (Jun 5, 2011)

They work just like the panels, they're just soft sided packs. You can't really heat these up. Same thing with the panels. They're not really designed to hold heat or cold, but rather hold a temp of 72 degrees which is the phase change temp of the liquid inside. If you're concerned about cold temps, ship with these in liquid phase, if you're concerned about heat, start with them solid.


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## Amphinityfrogs (Jan 30, 2013)

We keep them in hot to warm water to turn them to their liquid state. Put them in the fridge to change them to a solid.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

They weigh about half of what a hard sided panel weighs. There is only a little more than half as much phase change material in a soft sided pouch. This means you have to substitute at the rate of about 2 pouches to 1 panel.


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## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

... and put them in a ziplock if you really want to play it safe.

s


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## redfrogger (Nov 6, 2010)

I actually prefer the pouches. They weigh less and they seem to fit into the boxes easier. 

During the summer, I put them in the freezer and cool them right up. I'll put at least 2 room temp pouches in the box as well. 

During the winter, I will use a heat pack (at least 48hr and def not a hand warmer heat pouch ) and a couple of room temp pouches. 

During the spring or fall or if my temps are good ( I'm here in AZ) and the destination is cooler, I will fill up the sink with hot water. I'll throw a pouch in there for 15 min or so. I'll check the temp with a thermal gun to get it around 85-90 degrees. Then I'll use 2 room temp pouches with it in the shipping boxes. 

You always want to make sure the room temp pouches are the barrier between the heat or cold source taped to the underside of the lid. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

redfrogger said:


> I actually prefer the pouches. They weigh less and they seem to fit into the boxes easier.


They do fit better, but please be careful. I have had a LOT of Phase pouches and Phase panels come through my hands. Since I ship a LOT of bugs out, I've just used and seen a lot of them.
When I purchased soft packs, not a single one of them survived more than 2 or 3 trips. They get holes VERY easily. Especially if prepped into the cold/solid phase. When solid they get holes quite easily. The mess is disgusting. It gets everywhere. You can wash your hands 10 times and still smell it and feel it. Technically, it is a safe substance. Cryopack says to just wash it off, but it just won't wash. Besides, how do you wash off a frog if the worst happens? 
And by the way, the worst DOES happen. I received back dozens of badly leaking Phase panels on my deposit program. Four of them came back COMPLETELY flat and "steamrollered". That was a mess! It got to be so bad I began weighing each return on a digital scale. Almost all of them had some loss by the time they had been used once and returned.
Somebody actually posted a thread once where they had ordered frogs, and one frog came drenched in Phase 22 material! I believe he said the frog survived. (I was NOT involved in that shipment).
On the flip side, I have had hundreds of Phase panels come through my hands. I just found my very first, very slightly leaking, hard panel.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Scott said:


> ... and put them in a ziplock if you really want to play it safe.
> 
> s


I still wouldn't trust them. If I'm going to re-use a soft pouch, I put them in a heavy duty Seal a Meal vacuum bag.


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## Steverd (Sep 4, 2011)

Scott said:


> ... and put them in a ziplock if you really want to play it safe.
> 
> s


This is a great idea, because I had a Phase 22 POUCH leak recently and let me tell you, it's a mess.... Hard to clean, and if it gets on your skin you will smell it all day, no matter how many times you waste your hands. It actuallys smells like some old bug spray we used to use in our greenhouse... YUCK!!!

And after read Doug's post above, I only plan to buy the PANELs for ALL future shippments. One panel is about the same weight as two of the Pouches.

Steve


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