Like a fish out of water, your ice sculpture needs special handling if it will be outside the freezer for a long time before the event

*updated 7/8/11

In an ideal world, all of your ice carving clients are close by and you have a decent-sized freezer truck to handle deliveries. Since that's rarely the case and because busy days often have several events going off at nearly the same time, possibly many miles apart, it's important to have a simple way to preserve sculptures outside the freezer for at least for 2-3 hours. This entry looks at a simple and inexpensive method of preventing your sculptures from melting before they're supposed to.

As discussed in an earlier entry, however you transport your ice sculpture, your goal is to keep out the heat. Most insulation systems, whether it be fiberglass insulation for you house or a thermos for your coffee, stop the transfer of heat energy by surrounding the insulated area with a dead air space or series of spaces. There's little movement and no inflow or outflow of air in the space(s), so heat energy has a hard time moving across it.

A simple way to achieve a dead air space around an ice carving is to combine drum liner sized plastic bags (air and water barriers) with sleeping bags (bulky insulators). First, the carving is bagged and the bag tied off. Next, a sleeping bag is wrapped or zipped completely around the carving and taped or secured with plastic wrap, bungee cords, or giant rubber bands if necessary. Finally, the wrapped carving is bagged again. With this method, you surround your sculpture with a dead air space. And space is key, which is why the carving has to be completely covered by the sleeping bag, which gives the space some needed structure. If part of the carving isn't covered by the sleeping bag, then there's nothing to keep the two layers of plastic from touching, a situation that provides little insulation.

The plastic bags stop the air movement and they also should stop any water if there's any melting. Thicker bags are preferable because they're better heat barriers and they won't rip and leak as easily. The bags also should be large enough that one bag will, in most cases, cover the entire sculpture. If multiple bags are required to completely cover a sculpture, this can degrade the air barrier because it's not properly sealed. Husky drum liners, available at Home Depot (about $17 for 60), are a solid choice because they're usually big enough, thick enough, and, as an added bonus, clear. A sculpture in the freezer bagged with clear plastic is less likely to be broken because people can more easily see that it's ice, instead of something less delicate.

When wrapping a sculpture, probably the most efficient procedure is to bag the sculpture from the bottom up. First, open up a bag and set it down. Next, put the bottom of the sleeping bag, partly zipped, on top of the open drum liner. Then put another opened bag on top of the open sleeping bag. Finally, set the sculpture on top of it all and wrap or zip each layer up and around the sculpture. Often, nothing more than the three bags is required because the sleeping bag can usually be zipped up or just wrapped around so that the whole sculpture is covered.

Sleeping bags work well because they're fairly durable, widely available, inexpensive, and zip up. Bags without natural materials tend to hold up better because they don't fall apart if they stay wet for extended periods. Sporting goods stores or Wal Mart-type stores usually have a decent selection of bags in a variety of insulation levels. In most cases, the 3 lb. bags are sufficient, but 4 lb. bags are also good. Some carvers use other kinds of insulation, like moving blankets, but here’s a list of reasons to go with sleeping bags.

1. They’re inexpensive (usually under $15 each)
2. They’re available for purchase 24/7 when you buy them at a Wal Mart or similar
3. They don’t absorb water and water quickly drains out of them when hung up
4. The artificial materials won’t rot if you accidentally store them wet
5. A variety of color options means you can color code your sculptures for delivery if you wish
6. They provide both thermal and physical protection

When you wrap an ice sculpture with this method, your goal is to start cold and stay cold. Your sculpture should be hard frozen when it's wrapped, preferably in a 0 to -10° F freezer. (If your sculpture is stored at those temps, you might even get 5 or 6 hours of transport time out of it!) It’s also a good idea for the sleeping bag to be cold and it definitely should be dry. Wrapping the sculpture too tightly (with shrink wrap or similar) can be counterproductive because it reduces the size of the dead air space and can stress the sculpture physically. On the other hand, wrapping the sculpture too loosely will likely let warm air in and make the sculpture more difficult to move. Like Goldilocks, you should be trying to find the balance of thick and thin that's "just right" for your needs.

After your sculpture is wrapped, it's ready for transport. Most of the time, this means putting it in a vehicle and driving to the destination. There are a lot of options here, from the back of a pickup truck to the passenger seat of a golf cart. Common sense has to guide this process; safety comes first, closely followed by protecting the sculpture from physical and thermal damage. There are lots of potential situations, and it would be tough to cover them all here, but here's a few tips:

1. In an open pick-up bed, provide additional protection for the wrapped sculpture from rain, road wind, and the warm metal bed. UV tarps, additional sleeping bags, and foam sheets can help.
2. Inside a vehicle, try not to block your view of your mirrors with your sculpture(s). Accidents are bad for sculptures (and cars and people)
3. With multiple sculptures, pack them together as closely as possible without risking breakage if they should shift and hit one another.
4. Laying a sculpture down usually puts it in the safest position, but sometimes this isn't possible. Upright sculptures must be secured, and not vulnerable to collisions with other shifting sculptures or objects.
5. If you use dry ice to help cool your sculpture, the dry ice can't be right against your sculpture (the sculpture will crack) Make sure to put a substantial layer between ice and dry ice.
6. Dry ice in the passenger compartment is DANGEROUS and definitely NOT recommended because the resulting carbon dioxide gas can displace the available oxygen creating a very hazardous situation for people and pets. Adequate ventilation when using dry ice is essential!

Finally, if your vehicle has heated seats, turn them OFF if your sculpture will be sitting on them (from personal experience)...

Note: If I recall correctly, Rich Bubin presented the basics of this method at a tradeshow seminar a years ago, so thanks goes to him for sharing the info.

You might also find photos and info from this entry on the ice carving secrets facebook page and you can comment there as well as below. Thanks!

Tags: transport, protection