SP Bel-Art Frigimat Cub - Dry Ice Maker; 5⅝ x 7⅝ x 6½ in. (F38874-0000)

Just hooked up the 50lb CO2 tank as per the directions. Made sure everything was attached and aligned per the instructions. Turned on the gas slowly and took to 1 PSI ... 5 minutes, 6 minutes, no ice anywhere in the chamber - just on the metal tube. Tried again. Nada. Nothing. Zippo. $340 piece of junk ... and I've got a 50lb CO2 cylinder and 'cryo-gloves' that are worthless. Feelin' like a real chump. Sending back.

I wanted this product for a Halloween party I am having, and for future "Fog Making" events. This model was definitely better priced than other units so I bought it, followed the instructions and ended up with awesome Fog Making Dry Ice each time! At less than 1/3 the price of other models, the Bel-Art Frigimat Cub will serve me well for all my Fog Making Parties. I recommend this unit to anyone who wants to make Dry Ice Fog and wants to save a LOT of money!

Update May 2013: We have had no further problems with the dry ice maker or the pressure monitor. Update December 2012: I wanted to create an addendum to my previous comments. After posting this review, I was contacted by a Bel-Art representative who addressed all my concerns and replaced the machine within a week. I appreciate the time and effort that this thoughtful rep. took to satisfy a customer. November 2012: This was ordered to be used in programs with children. The dry ice maker worked fairly well the 5 times it was used over a 2 week period. After that, the gauge suddenly stopped working. I called Bel-Art customer service and was first told that this piece doesn't break. When I continued the conversation, I was promised a replacement part. It never arrived. When I called to find out why it hadn't arrived, I was told that the gauge failure was our fault, and we wouldn't get a replacement part. Now, I have a $340 piece of plastic. It was a nifty little gadget while it lasted, but it's certainly not worth the price or the hassle!

I have used other dry ice makers in the past, and I think that this unit is ok for the price, but not great. The plastic seems fragile, especially at very cold temperatures. It takes about five minutes to fill, and seems to use more CO2 than the classic wooden boxes. The blocks typically come out in 2 pieces and are not as solid as I expected. But, all in all, it does the job we require of it... keeping small samples frozen during overnight shipping.

They indicate that it should be maintained at 1 psi for 5 to 6 minutes, it sends a pressure gauge that only has indicators of 5 in 5, it spent a 20-pound cylinder just to make a cylinder of dry ice, it is absurd, it leaks everywhere.

Dear,we received this item as the attache photo

The instructions say to connect the pig tail to the co2 cylinder. But the high pressure directly out of the co2 cylinder will blow the frigimat cub dry ice maker out of the water. The pig tail should be connected to the low pressure side of a pressure reducing gauge that is first attached to the co2 cylinder.

First of all, this does make dry ice as advertised, and for the price it is an okay product. My complaint is that the description says that it makes a "solid block of dry ice" which is not really the case; it produces a very soft block of dry ice that is more like lightly compacted CO2 snow, which breaks into pieces and crumbles a lot when you try to remove it from the cylinder, which was disappointing to me. Having said that, I kept this rather than return it since it basically does the job. If this type of dry ice is acceptable for your application then this is a nice little device, but be aware the final dry ice product is different than what is stated in the description.