Coral shipping question: hand warmer use

[JoJosReef]

Who uses puts a hand warmer or toe warmer in their shipping boxes? I've seen them taped to the top of Styrofoam box lids, especially for Fish. But I'm wondering what the temperature inside the box will actually be. These HotHands toe warmers get about 100 degrees F for up to 9 hours. Hand warmers can get hotter. That good for the corals inside the box? I suppose better than freezing... Anyone have any knowledge on how best to do this, or just tape one to the lid and hope for the best?

Thanks!

 

[907_Reefer]

I've thought about this same idea for our few tank moves up here, last one down to -20F ambient, 5 hr drive. We keep stacks of these on hand. But, since they keep the wife's feet warm enough at similar temps on a snowmachine, I felt like they would melt the corals and decided against..

Maybe we should run a few home tests, I do like the idea of strapping them to the exterior.. :thinking-face:

 

[VintageReefer]

Stolen from another thread:

remember to use a heat pack rated for a little longer than the expected time in the box. if you pack the corals at noon, and they wont be delivered until 10:30 the next day, a 12 hour heat pack will not be enough. I always try to shoot for about an 8 hour cushion, so if I expect 12 hours in transit, I look for a 20 or 24 hour heat pack.

Product I found:
https://coralsunlimited.com/products/uniheat-40-hour-shipping-warmer
10 pack on Amazon
https://a.co/d/2EkRPVb

 

[JoJosReef]

Stolen from another thread:

remember to use a heat pack rated for a little longer than the expected time in the box. if you pack the corals at noon, and they wont be delivered until 10:30 the next day, a 12 hour heat pack will not be enough. I always try to shoot for about an 8 hour cushion, so if I expect 12 hours in transit, I look for a 20 or 24 hour heat pack.

Product I found:
https://coralsunlimited.com/products/uniheat-40-hour-shipping-warmer
10 pack on Amazon
https://a.co/d/2EkRPVb

That's great, but at 100F surface temperature for 40 hr, what kind of temps do you think the inside of a Styrofoam box would reach? Just don't want to cook the corals.

 

[Doctorgori]

That's great, but at 100F surface temperature for 40 hr, what kind of temps do you think the inside of a Styrofoam box would reach? Just don't want to cook the corals.

I’ve shipped a few fish, what I do is either tape it on the top/inside lid OR on the side with insulation in between…
I’ve done the bottom but there is no reliably/or good way to keep them dry that I know of…

As for your question: relevant are:
-origin vs travel vs destination environmental temp difference
- actual air/water volume
- air/water ratio
I did vary air/ water volume depending on temperature risk vs time in bag risk: for instance (roughly speaking)
shipping to Phx or Mia? Insulated box, Lots of air, fewer/no heat packs…
Detroit, Chicago? more water, more heat packs (relatively)

 

[VintageReefer]

That's great, but at 100F surface temperature for 40 hr, what kind of temps do you think the inside of a Styrofoam box would reach? Just don't want to cook the corals.

I would tape it to the lid, not allow direct contact with the shipping bag, pack free space with newspaper for insulation and seal it up. That’s how all my coral get shipped to me. YOLO!

Remember to give the heat pack 10-15 min in free air to get up to temp before sealing it in.

 

[JayM]

Strapping those to the outside of a Styrofoam box will render them 100% useless. I'd pack them inside the box in such a way that there's no direct contact with whatever it is your trying to keep warm.

 

[KrisReef]

Cold is a lot less stressful than too warm/ hot for things to survive in inside of a bag inside a cooler box.

 

[Lucky Corals Verified Sponsor]

hand and foot warmers burn hotter for less hours than the heat packs for shipping fish and reptiles. You run a risk of getting the animals too hot at first then too cold the second half of the trip. A 40hr, 60hr, 72hr animal fish or reptile pack is your best option.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Heat pack use in styro shipping containers is pretty well worked out in the reptile hobby. There are some numerical guidelines, though a lot of it is still based on fine tuning of experience. We also use Phase 22/24 packs (my go-to method; they're really safe, and reusable), and simple thermal mass packs (a ziplok full of wetted polyacrylamide gelcrystals) to help moderate temps. Molded styro boxes resist heat loss/gain better than panel boxes or DIY insulation jobs. Smaller boxes have less surface area so resist heat loss/gain better than larger boxes.

It is true as noted above that the shipper should take into account all the expected temps along the way, and also consider the possibility of delays (which usually happens at the hub -- Indy or Memphis, for FedEx), and whether the package is being delivered to an address or held for pickup (temps in delivery truck are same as outside temps, + hotter on a sunny day).

A 40 hour heat pack in a 6" x 9" x 12" panel box (3/4" styro) will raise box temps 5-10F above ambient. We tend not to use heat packs in smaller boxes than this to avoid overheating.

Taping the pack to the underside of the top styro panel is the standard way. Note that the tape should be only on the edges of the pack; if the pack is covered by tape it won't get O2 and won't make heat. Loosely wrapping the pack in newspaper can help it breathe. And as mentioned if they get wet they stop working (happened to last marine shipment I received -- somewhat poorly packed).