The gel ice packs contain gel powder so require hydrating with tap water before use. Self Priming Hydration - simply place the packs in a sink or container of water and they will hydrate to be ready for use within 2 minutes. Self Filling- simply use a funnel to fill the pack through the one way valve at the top of the pack. The 1000ml pack can be filled with between 400 and 1000ml of water depending on your needs.

There is no difference in the performance/chilling of water and gel Water packs have the advantage that they can be snipped and poured down the drain at the end of use. The main disadvantage of water packs is that if the ice pack is damaged when the ice pack melts the water will leak and can cause damage to the contents or outer packaging. If gel packs are damaged the gel will not leak/cause significant damage to the package contents

This depends very much on the freezer they are going into, how they are arranged in the freezer etc., but typically if well laid out with good freezer capability they will take from 8-24 hours.

To estimate how many ice packs you will require try our It is important to note that an ice pack that is melting is doing what it’s supposed to do which is absorb heat(energy) from its surrounding environment. It is very hard to answer precisely how long packs stay frozen as there are so many variables that affect how long a pack will stay frozen e.g. type of packaging and insulation properties, what products are being kept chilled and their starting temperature, what weight of product is being kept chilled, the nature of the product being kept chilled e.g. meat vs dairy vs beverage, how much air surrounds the product, the ambient temperature the packaging is exposed to and the types of heat e.g. convection vs radiation (the Sun's rays). The only way to know for sure is to undertake trials with your own product with key thing being that the ice packs are not completely melted by the end of the supply chain. Once an ice pack is completely melted it no longer has ability to cool. Most customers are conservative and add one extra ice pack to ensure food safety throughout the entire supply chain.