# freezing temp of ethanol/water + safety **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 16, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446 "2005-10-16T05:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/1 "2005-10-16T05:46:11Z")
I’ve googled for a chart of the freezing temp of water + alcohol in various ratios but have failed. I ask because I pre-mix martinis and manhattans and whatnot and put them in the freezer. Those are OK, but sometimes other drinks of different percentages have frozen solid. I’d like to avoid that. Also, I have this old JC Penney deep freezer. If I were to chill drinks in that (getting a better chill) would I be putting myself in danger of frostbite? At what temp would a cooled liquid be dangerous? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/2 "2005-10-16T09:26:28Z")
OK here are the FP stats for methanol and ethylene glycol [http://www.ashchem.com/adc/chemicals/faq\_answer.asp?typeID=3&is\_header=N](http://www.ashchem.com/adc/chemicals/faq_answer.asp?typeID=3&is_header=N) The freezing point depression of ethanol would not be too different. However, I suspect that water may crystallise out of an mixture? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/3 "2005-10-17T11:17:19Z")
Thanks for that info. Surely other Dopers can tell us more? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/4 "2005-10-17T11:35:09Z")
FWIW, we have an alcohol bath we use for calibrating temperature sensors in our lab. It contains ethanol alcohol. I think the freezing point is -98 °C. When a little bit of water is added, the freezing temperature actually goes down slightly, to around -100 °C. ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/5 "2005-10-17T13:41:46Z")
Toward the bottom of [this](http://www.ashchem.com/adc/chemicals/faq_answer.asp?typeID=3&is_header=N) page you’ll see the freezing point of ethanol (etOH) in varying concentrations. Just a reminder that the proof number on liquor is twice the percentage of ethanol in the mixture, so if you have pure vodka it would be 40% etOH, or 80 proof. So this would freeze at -10 F. If you have a mixture of vodka and water which is 25% vodka, then the mixture is 10% etOH and would freeze at 25 F. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/6 "2005-10-18T00:16:39Z")
What about safety? Would drinking a liquid at -10 F be dangerous? What temp is the limit, and what temps do those big deep freezers usually go down to? ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/7 "2005-10-18T06:06:45Z")
Drinking any liquid below the freezing point of water is dangerous, because it can freeze the water in your body and cells. Freezing water + expansion = cell rupture and death. Of course, the quantity of liquid will also be a factor,as very small amounts will more easily be neutralized by excess body heat. Most home freezers operate at about -20 degrees C (-4 F). ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/8 "2005-10-18T06:22:22Z")
> [@light strand](#): > > Toward the bottom of [this](http://www.ashchem.com/adc/chemicals/faq_answer.asp?typeID=3&is_header=N) page you’ll see the freezing point of ethanol (etOH) in varying concentrations. Just a reminder that the proof number on liquor is twice the percentage of ethanol in the mixture, so if you have **pure vodka it would be 40% etOH, or 80 proof.** So this would freeze at -10 F. If you have a mixture of \*\*vodka and water which is 25% vodka, then the mixture is 10% etOH \*\* and would freeze at 25 F. (Highlighting mine) Since when does Vodka come in only 80 proof? There are many Vodka’s, for example, that are 100 proof (and I recall seeing several 70 Proof varieties) and thus would require changing the numbers in your analysis. ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/9 "2005-10-18T14:02:22Z")
> [@Waterman](#): > > (Highlighting mine) Since when does Vodka come in only 80 proof? There are many Vodka’s, for example, that are 100 proof (and I recall seeing several 70 Proof varieties) and thus would require changing the numbers in your analysis. Oh for crying out loud. “Standard” pure vodka is 80 proof. Any calculations beyond that are up to the reader. As far as safety is concerned, I wouldn’t drink anything that I can’t comfortably handle. If it breaks your glass, it’s too cold. Just like you can burn yourself from eating stuff which is too hot, you can freeze yourself with stuff which is too cold. That said, your body contains a nature heat layer, because you give off heat, which will protect you from immediate freezing. So unless you took a gulp of ultra cold liquid, you could probably get it down before it froze you. A home freezer should be at roughly 0 F, which is about -18C. I don’t know exactly how low one can get a home freezer to go, but if you’re freezing your vodka, you can’t drink it anyway, because it’s frozen. One of our lab freezers is at -22C (roughly -10F) the temperature you’ve asked about. I can say, it freezes to a point where the liquids stored in it, are not comfortably handled with bare hands for any amount of time, so I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be tempted drink anything removed from a -10F freezer. So basically, in a standard freezer, you probably could not freeze your liquor to a point where you could actually hurt yourself by drinking it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freezing-temp-of-ethanol-water-safety/326446/10 "2005-10-18T14:44:34Z")
A better grade of vodka would not need freezing in order to be smooth.