Cryonite FAQs

For absolute beginners

Do I rent the gas bottle from you?
No. This is the gas companies main business, therefore, the gas company can either deliver directly to you or, you can pick one up at a gas center. Depending on your needs, it can be more price effective to rent for a longer period of time versus renting by the day. Day rental is typically higher and you pay for each filling of gas. Prices vary between countries.

What kind of gas and bottle should I use?
Gas: You can use any pure CO2 gas in cylinders with room temperature (sub-zero cryo-gas gives a poor effect). A technical grade of 99.5% purity or better is very good. If you can only find gas of lower purity – check with us.

Cylinder: The cylinder must have a “dip-tube”. For explanation see below “Why don’t I get any snow”. That is the only must. But of course size matters. Usually cylinders with dip-tube don’t come in many sizes and our own trolley is made for a size that delivers a good ratio of weight / usage time. It is a 13.5 liter, 10 kg net CO2, diameter 20.5 cm (the trolley can handle max 23 cm), and height to shoulder (below the valve) 52-62 cm. The valve adds about 15 cm. Available sizes vary between countries.

Coupling: The gun is connected to the cylinder with a hose, (gun and hose supplied by us). The connection on the cylinder needs to be the right one, for the hose to fit. Our standard hose fits the European DIN 477 nr 6 / SN 219505 Type 7, as well as the British variant thereof British Standard 341 Part 1 (.860 in x 1/14 in W) / BS341 No. 8. This standard is the most common throughout the world. We can alternatively supply a hose for the US standard, i.e. CGA 320.

For users

Why don’t I get any snow?
It can be one of two problems: Either you have the wrong cylinder or it is empty.

Wrong cylinder: The cylinder has to have a “dip-tube”. The cylinder is filled with liquid CO2, but above the liquid surface, at the top, there is gas. The dip tube goes to the bottom of the cylinder so you get the liquid out. Without it, gas will reach the gun instead of liquid CO2. Cryonite only works with liquid CO2. Check with your local gas company that you are supplied with the right cylinder. It is usually marked somehow, to indicate it has a dip-tube.
Empty: When the liquid is used up, there is still about 15% left, by weight, but only as gas. All liquis is gone. This gas is at first of full pressure, and it comes out of the gun with almost the same look and sound as when snow is produced. Though for a keen eye there are no snow particles in the cold gas-stream, and the sound is a bit sharper. The easiest way to determine if snow is produced, is to spray on some insulating material, e.g. textile.
See also “How much gas is left” below.

Why do I have a gas leak at the bottle?
Check if the washer ring is in place and in good condition. The washer ring stops the hose-bottle connection from leaking. If not: replace with a new ring. Mostly, it will be tight even without, but we strongly recommend using one, as the threads otherwise will be strained, and it may be harder to loosen.

I can not connect the gun to the hose?
You have probably connected the hose to the cylinder and opened the valve already. The pressure in the hose stops you from connecting it to the gun.
Action: close the valve of the cylinder, release the pressure in the hose by unscrewing the hose-nut by the cylinder just a little. When the pressure is gone, tighten again. Connect the gun to the hose first, and open the valve again.

When should I use the high speed nozzle?
Only when it is warranted, as the standard nozzle has a better killing effect, and still a very good penetration in cracks (see “Appendix” in the manual). The high speed nozzle is mostly for cleaning purposes, such as removing moth webbing’s. It has the advantage that webbing and filth in cracks will be blown out. You can also use it to blow away “plugs” to get access to small spaces.

When using the high speed nozzle, it sometimes freezes?
The high speed nozzle is not meant for continuous use.
Action: when this occurs, wait for 20-30 seconds, or until the snow/ice has evaporated and try again.
Check: should you perhaps use the standard nozzle here?
Double-check: you have put it the right way: long piece into the nozzle?

Why does the snow stay so long on the surface?
This can have several causes:
- The snow has been laid on too thick.
- The surface is insulating; with insulating materials the snow stays longer on the surface, as they provide less heat to sublimate the snow.

Can I spray on any surface?
Yes, you can use it on almost every material. As the cold does not penetrate into the materials, and stays a very short time, the effect on inert objects are minimal.
Don’t: No spraying directly onto hot glass (e.g. into the back of an old CRT-monitor/TV) or LCD screens. Though fluorescent tubes and ordinary light bulbs are OK. Flaky paint will get blown loose, of course.

Does the surface get wet when applying Cryonite?
No, not from the CO2. The snow converts directly from a solid to gas, there is no liquid phase. However, when a surface gets cold, it will attract moisture from the air. As the materials are only cold on the surface, they will regain their usual temperature, and any moisture will evaporate quickly. Be careful in more moist surroundings. See “Safely working” in the manual.

Can I use it on electric installations?
Yes. CO2 is safe to use with electric equipment. But when too much snow is used in moist surroundings, moisture may form a bridge for transporting electricity. For maximum safety: switch the electricity off first. If used on live circuits, don’t touch the nozzle to voltage bearing parts, as the gun is an electrical conductor. See “Safely working” in the manual.

Do I always have to use the earth connector?
No. The earth connector will reduce the slight static charge buildup. This charge can only harm computer parts (integrated circuits). If you work close to these, use the earth connector. Cryonite can be applied on a computer housing, even without this, if it is correctly installed, as you won’t get near enough to the circuits inside. See “Safely working” in the manual.

Can anybody use it?
There are no special regulatory restrictions to use Cryonite. However there are always some risks for the user, and the method differs from standard, poisonous methods. Education and training is necessary for successful use.

How cold does it get?
The snow is -78,5ºC. For the conversion to gas, a lot of energy is required, that will be taken from the target surface. The surface temperature can drop, depending on the spraying, the type of surface and other circumstances, to -30ºC or colder, and is cold enough to kill all development stages of insects or mites. Actually, as the freezing is so rapid, the temperature needed for a kill is higher than that.

How heavy is the machine?
The gun itself weighs about 1 kg, the hose and trolley 12 kg. The weight of the cylinder depends on its size. An aluminum cylinder containing 10 kg CO2 weighs about 25 kg.

How much gas is left in the bottle?
The only way to be certain, is to weigh the bottle. A pressure gauge won’t work, as the pressure is the same until the bottle is empty (because the fluid keeps the gas-pressure up). The empty weight (Tara) is stamped on the bottle. There will be about 15% of the CO2 left that can not be used (as it is only gas).
See also “Why don’t I get any snow” above.

How long does a bottle last?
As a rule of thumb: 40 minutes. A standard bottle of 10 kg CO2 will last for about 10-15 minutes of continuous spraying on full throttle. But, as you will be using it by spraying in bursts, shorter and longer, the actual using time will vary depending on targets. The same goes for area covered. As an example bed bug treatment is very intensive in a small area, as opposed to the spacious areas in food industry, where you also might do spot-treatments of breeding-areas, as opposed to the “every crack and crevice” of bed bug treatment.

How much area does a bottle cover?
First see answer above. As a coarse estimate 100 square meters (for food industry), but that depends.
Area covered is not quite the way to describe / use Cryonite, as you don’t treat areas, but rather spots and lines.
To maximize the efficiency, treat a few “hot-spots” more often, to stop the breeding, and bring down the population; which means using less gas per area.
This together with bigger treatments when time / shutdown is available means you have an average, which would vary widely depending on building (old = more cracks), machines (ditto), etcetera, including cleaning schedules and other methods used.

How do I store the cylinders?
Keep the cylinder in storage under 30ºC. The recommended temperature is about 15-25ºC. This temperature is also important when transporting the cylinder.
Never leave the cylinder in direct sun exposure (either outside or in the car); the cylinder sucks up heat much quicker from sun-exposure, than from warm surrounding air in the shadow.
If the cylinder gets really warm (exceeding 50ºC and more) the security valve may open, as the pressure in the cylinder gets to high.
Tip: for use in factories, store the cylinders in cool rooms, and leave the transport of the cylinders to the gas company.

Does Cryonite kill eggs?
Yes, it does. As always, eggs are tougher than other life-stages, but the difference isn’t that great for Cryonite.

Does Cryonite kill bacteria?
No. We never thought of killing bacteria with Cryonite in the first place, and so have never been discouraged by this “inability” – when it kills bugs so well. Sometimes we use the word “sanitation”, which may trigger this question. The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary supplies a definition: “the promotion of hygiene and prevention of disease by maintenance of sanitary conditions” – and that’s what we all should be doing, whether by cleaning, pest-killing or hand-washing. (no, you can’t wash your hands under Cryonite… sorry )

Does Cryonite kill mold?
No – see above answer.

Click here for PMRA approved instructions for storage and use and a full manual.

Call  1- 877-411-0053 or email, for details.