Heat packs - when to use?

[tolstoy21]

For those of you with some experience shipping fish . . .

In general, what nighttime/daytime temps at the origin as well as destination cause you to include a heat pack in your shipment?

Are there any other things to consider . . . like UPS vs. USPS in terms of heat pack use? When to use 40hr vs 72hr?

I'm guessing there are probably a lot of variables involved in the decision, but I'm really just looking for some high-level tips without going down a rabbit hole of endless nuanced circumstances and scenarios.

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can share. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by tolstoy21

[Cory]

My advice is currently use the longest heatpacks you can get ahold of if not shipping overnight. 96 hour. As for temps, kinda depends on the fish, and how big of a box. Larger shipments, don't overheat nearly as easily as a small shipment. In general with fish, I'd probably use a heat pack when night time temps are under 60 or so. But it can get really tricky if you ship from say a cold place, to arizona where its hot etc.

[lefty o]

im not a fish shipper, but have bought enough that came in the mail. imo insulating the box is more important, as it helps slow the temp swings.

[tolstoy21]

15 minutes ago, Cory said:

My advice is currently use the longest heatpacks you can get ahold of if not shipping overnight. 96 hour. As for temps, kinda depends on the fish, and how big of a box. Larger shipments, don't overheat nearly as easily as a small shipment. In general with fish, I'd probably use a heat pack when night time temps are under 60 or so. But it can get really tricky if you ship from say a cold place, to arizona where its hot etc.

Thanks Cory. I think i was basically wondering that people considered the cutoff for nigthtime temp.

If one is shipping from cold to hot regions, is it advisable to use shorter lasting heat pack, like a 40hr? Or would you go with a 72 or 96 hr pack in most scenarios for for something like three day shipping?

 

7 minutes ago, lefty o said:

im not a fish shipper, but have bought enough that came in the mail. imo insulating the box is more important, as it helps slow the temp swings.

Yeah I plan on insulating the boxes with stryo. 

[Cory]

Well, I always used longer heat packs. You also have to realize if you're selling. There is what the fish needs, and what the customer needs. 10% of buyers will just leave feedback because you didn't use a heatpack regardless of if it needs one or not.

Then every heat pack you put in, if it isn't warm when it lands, and there are any casualties, you'll be at fault. Unfortunately the publics perception of good fish isn't them being healthy, it's how good your packaging is, and how warm the heat pack is when it lands.

It's like the people who drive 8 hours to buy fish...  I NEED A HEAT PACK AND STYRO to drive my fish home.... Don't even mention they'll be in a car where they could set the temp to say 72 for the entire ride home...

So if you're retailing design around happy customers, as unfortunately happy fish is secondary to that.

[lefty o]

4 minutes ago, Cory said:

Well, I always used longer heat packs. You also have to realize if you're selling. There is what the fish needs, and what the customer needs. 10% of buyers will just leave feedback because you didn't use a heatpack regardless of if it needs one or not.

Then every heat pack you put in, if it isn't warm when it lands, and there are any casualties, you'll be at fault. Unfortunately the publics perception of good fish isn't them being healthy, it's how good your packaging is, and how warm the heat pack is when it lands.

It's like the people who drive 8 hours to buy fish...  I NEED A HEAT PACK AND STYRO to drive my fish home.... Don't even mention they'll be in a car where they could set the temp to say 72 for the entire ride home...

So if you're retailing design around happy customers, as unfortunately happy fish is secondary to that.

set the climate control in the car, thats just silly talk.🤪 no doubt perception vs reality is a big factor with people.

[tolstoy21]

5 minutes ago, Cory said:

Well, I always used longer heat packs. You also have to realize if you're selling. There is what the fish needs, and what the customer needs. 10% of buyers will just leave feedback because you didn't use a heatpack regardless of if it needs one or not.

Then every heat pack you put in, if it isn't warm when it lands, and there are any casualties, you'll be at fault. Unfortunately the publics perception of good fish isn't them being healthy, it's how good your packaging is, and how warm the heat pack is when it lands.

It's like the people who drive 8 hours to buy fish...  I NEED A HEAT PACK AND STYRO to drive my fish home.... Don't even mention they'll be in a car where they could set the temp to say 72 for the entire ride home...

So if you're retailing design around happy customers, as unfortunately happy fish is secondary to that.

Thanks for that perspective. I totally get that and truly appreciate it. As with everything in work and life, the illusion is often more important than the reality.

[Streetwise]

I didn’t know which shipping thread to reply to for a winter Co-Op shipment, so I picked this one.

I sent this to @Candi:

These notifications are gold. Vermont got wicked cold, and I was able to run home from work to bring everything inside and pull the plants to warm up. The heat pack did its job, but was cold after a long journey. The plants look good!

 

[WhitecloudDynasty]

I work with cool water fish so, I only add the heat back to help keep the water from freezing up. There's time when they arrive at 35-40 degrees, so I leave a note to bring the temperature up as slow as possible... "Don't float the bag" in other words.

I recommend you using the 72+ for everything just in case. There's alot of stuff you can't control, I rather just wait for better weather months for warm water fish. 

[gardenman]

I typically do the better weather months routine also. Spring and early fall are when I buy living things online. It gets complicated these days as it's not just your temperature and the temperature where the fish are going. With shipping hubs, packages can end up hundreds, even thousands of miles from either location depending on which hub they go through. You can live in Florida and be shipping to another city in Florida and have the package end up in a shipping hub somewhere very cold (or hot.) Shipping hubs tend not to be overly climate controlled due to the open truck bays where trucks are being constantly loaded and unloaded. The package could spend several hours on an unheated loading dock someplace waiting to be loaded onto a truck.

Take UPS. They have five major US shipping hubs. Pretty much everything sent UPS ends up going through either Philadelphia, Louisville, Dallas, Ontario California, or Rockford Illinois. Which hub will a package go through? God only knows! You would think it would be the closest one, but that's not always the case.