Heat pack question

[Transylvania]

Worried! Heat packs...

Okay, this is my first time shipping a T so I need some info. I'm shipping a big sling off today using overnight shipping, but I only have 8-hour heat packs.
The forecast for my area is:
Today
High- 81°F
Low- 48°F
Tomorrow
High- 50°F
Low- 31°F

And the forecast for the recipient is:
Today
High- 63°F
Low- 34°F
Tomorrow
High- 38°F
Low- 26°F

I'm hoping the 8-hour heat packs will warm up the insulation and keep the box warm by the time it gets to the other person's house. Am I right about that (oh please say yes) or do I need to get some longer-lasting heatpacks?

 

[green_bottle_04]

yeah man. the 8 hour should be fine. just use alot of news paper shavings and a styrofoam box and it should be just fine. if you are using ups. over night shipping they gurantee it to be there by noon the next day.

 

[WyvernsLair]

make sure the heat pack is on the otherside side of the insulating wall of stryofoam than the spider.. don't let the heat pack be next to the spider directly. For one heat pack.. might be best to have one on the bottom of the box then have the insulating styrofoam sheet on top of it.. then a good layer of shredded paper and then the spider then more paper before capping it off with another stryofoam sheet.... considering the temps on the other end, you might want to also think about maybe another heat pack on top of the upper foam sheet.

since they are only 8-hour packs... it might be best if you can try to do a late afternoon shipping.. box it up right before you take it to drop off. That means the spider won't be subjected to the outside and inside heat during the first part of the journey where the heat could potentially get excessive. The inside heat is needed more for the overnight part of the trip anyway looking at your temp predictions.

And doing a late afternoon ship gives you a little bit extra time to account for any weather report changes that might happen unexpectedly to decide if you want to use more than one pack or not. I recently had a spider arrive properly packed and with heat packs for the forcasted weather, however, the weather patterns on my end shifted beyond expectation. By the arrivial time on my end, the morning temps were well into the 80's when they were supposed to be in the low 60s! Surprised even me. Needless to say, I had a gorgeous but very dead spider in the box. That is the only down side to shipping at this time of year.. the weather patterns fluctuate too much. High summer temps one day, cold temps another. sigh.

 

[cacoseraph]

i would either not use a heatpack or hack it

hack it by leaving it in the plastic oxy-tight sleeve and merely rip one corner off the sleeve. normal heat packs are bad news for bugs, spike temp of 160*F. hacking them reduces spike temp and lengthens burn time

 

[Transylvania]

I shipped it off and here's what I did:

The heat packs I used are those Icy-Hot ones where you rub/shake/squeeze them with your hands until they're warm enough, and they're really not too hot, I don't think. They stay at the maximum heat when exposed to skin, and since these won't be, they might cool down a bit and the temps inside the box won't go too high, hopefully.
Anyways, the layering of the box is: Outer cardboard, styrofoam walls, small bubblewrap, then the three heatpacks all lining one side of the box (it was a big box compared to the little vial, and the maximum heat on those things cools down quickly while maintaining a relative warmth). Between the vial and heatpacks is a little shredded paper and above all that is a big piece of newspaper.
I hope that'll be okay. I was really lucky though: Immediately after I dropped off the package, the overnight delivery truck pulled into the loading area. This was all at about 12:30pm.
Fingers crossed!

 

[Transylvania]

I'm trying to go to sleep but can't. I'm laying awake worrying that I packed him wrong. Could someone please read my last post and tell me if it was okay? I'm hoping I was right in thinking those Icy-Hot pouches wouldn't overheat too much, and I'm worrying that 3 was too many. Someone please give their input so I can rest easy. Thanks so much.

 

[ShadowBlade]

The heat packs I used are those Icy-Hot ones where you rub/shake/squeeze them with your hands until they're warm enough, and they're really not too hot, I don't think.

I haven't really seen a heatpack that doesn't get 'hot', unless its made for shipping animals. (But then again, I've only used heatpacks we take hunting).

Is there any 'wall' between the heat packs and the vial? And how big are the heatpacks?

Not trying to worry you, but it does seem like it may get a little warm.

-Sean

 

[Transylvania]

I haven't really seen a heatpack that doesn't get 'hot', unless its made for shipping animals. (But then again, I've only used heatpacks we take hunting).

Is there any 'wall' between the heat packs and the vial? And how big are the heatpacks?

Not trying to worry you, but it does seem like it may get a little warm.

-Sean

There's some shredded paper between them and the heatpacks are pretty big, about 5" in diameter (flat and circular). The night before I was testing a heat pack out and it was a bit hot to the touch, but after a couple minutes it became slightly warm. Leaving it alone for a few more minutes, it started to cool down. So I really think they need constant body temperature and rubbing to keep that really hot heat up.
Info on the "Long Duration Hot Pack": http://www.icyhotpro-therapy.com/Products.asp#longDurationHotPacks