Propylene Glycol

[buckrutt29]

Can Propylene Glycol be used as an antifreeze in a red meat bait for k-9's ? if so how much do I mix to 1 gallon of ground bait ? thanks

[thebeav2]

Here's what I would do. Take some of your bait and let It soak In a cup or two of the Glycol . Once the bait has soaked up the liquid then you could place it In the freezer and see what happens.

Here's what I do. I cut up my bait Into egg sized chunks. I then let them soak in my bait solution. I then place all the chunks on cookie sheets and freeze them. Once frozen I place them In plastic bags or Ice cream buckets. Now when I come to the set I can just take out a frozen chunk of bait and toss It down the bait hole. Take my word for it the animal will be able to smell that odor frozen or not.

[trappnman]

depends on what temp you want it to not freeze at- PG ain't going to do very much at all in single temps, and below zero, forget about it.

[Stef]

depends on what temp you want it to not freeze at- PG ain't going to do very much at all in single temps, and below zero, forget about it.

I don't think so Steve.
PG excel below 32F but its thin.
Glycerin becomes extremely thick below 32F and looks like melted lard below 0.
PG will be thicker below 0 but pour able no problem!

You'll be better using glycerin in your bait

[trappnman]

my only experience with P Glycol is as an antifreeze over traps- and in my experience its this- you can soak the bed down with the stuff starting in layers, and that it works great until the single digits, then its hit and miss meaning that if the thermometer shows say 5 F out, some freeze solid enough to make trap operation impossible, some do not. For me, using st glycol, it gets down to zero or below, and good luck.

never used it for bait, etc

[buckrutt29]

Stef the temps here gets into the teens but only for a couple of days and then creeps back up. I dont want the bait real stiff. I want the consistancy of Junes widowmaker for example.

[thebeav2]

I trap in both SC NC take my word for It your frozen bait will thaw out In no time flat once you get It In the dirt hole. Frozen bait chunks are just much easier to handle.
If your on location and have a decent lure at your set the animal won't care If your bait Is frozen or thawed or some where In between.

[NEPISIGUIT]

Ste: Does your bait have to be soaked in glycerin or just coated?

[wheelie]

Straight glycol is the bomb to keep lure working & poorable at -25...

The waterdown stuff like RV antifreeze is useless in everything except putting it in your RV.

In bait I would do what beav said, let meat soak up the glycol and put in freezer and see what happens.
You don't want your lure or bait to be froze when down in a d-hole as it locks in the scent making it "almost" useless, unless the critter is right on area.
When I am bustin hump in zero temps to keep everything thing working the last thing I need is a locked up lure leading the way for me.

[trappnman]

RV antifreeze is worthless as a trap bed additive- it gets below 20, and its done.

So- PG keeps lures and bait from freezing.

Why does it not perform better in field? I soak the bottom of the bed, then the trap, then cover with some dirt, soak, repeat until trap bedded, then spray extended area down well.

I use a heavy mist, so that the dirt is wet, but not soaking.

I used it for years (before peat moss) and my results were pretty consistent- it worked well (100%) until single digits, worked iffy then, much below zero worthless.

for me, PG was a tool for those misty nights, or thaw/freeze times where temps then got into the 20s & teens. If it got really cold, you were SOL, but the remedy was then to switch to only dry dirt.

so you were only out those extreme transition nights-

wonder why it doesn't stay non freezing to 25 below on the line? One guess would be the mist is too thin, but wet is wet.

Any thoughts?

[thebeav2]

You must have got a bad batch or were using the wrong stuff.
I used It for years and my biggest complaint Is that after a few nights that's all you had was a defined wet spot where your trap was.
I guess the thing to do Is place a cup of glycol In the freezer and see what happens.

[trappnman]

I used gallons and gallons of it over the years- all bought from MTP or Gerald.

don't misunderstand me- I'm not saying as a liquid, or mixed with bait, it freezes.

but am saying, with considerable experience in using it at sets, thats its not reliable insofar as preventing a crust from forming over the trap in extreme cold.

yes, the wet spot is indeed a problem, which is why the extended pattern use.

[Scott W.]

I'm wondering what the percentage of the PG is that the supply houses are selling. We use veterinary grade PG for ketosis in our goats. It is pretty thick. I don't believe it could be pumped through a spray bottle successfully. According to a chart I just looked at a 60% solution of PG to H2O freezes at -55 F.

[renny1]

The last year I trapped fox seriously I used Glycol and loved it. Never froze and we get plenty cold here. I put bone dry dirt into my tub and just poured it(glycol) straight into the dirt, no mixing, just poured it in. Next morning it was dispersed throughout the dry dirt as if by magic. I used step downs so didn't worry about the wet spot, and it does look wet. I did not mix with water as some say to do.

[trappnman]

renny- how many days below zero did you trap?

[renny1]

I can only guess, it was a while ago. Probably not more than 10 if that, but I used just dry dirt till it got cold then used the PG. Not everyday is below zero. I very seldom go past Christmas. Snow drifts so bad here and the gates are the first to block. One thing I do remember is it was a dry fall and it never rained that year while trapping. Conclusions? Don't know. It worked that year. Ideal conditions? I would say so.
The way that stuff travels in dirt wouldn't you think it leaches out?

[trappnman]

I did just the opposite- use only dry dirt when it gets cold enough not to freeze/thaw.

no, not every day is below zero or in single digits, but when I did winter trap, enough were to make PG a not very viable solution for me.

As I said, it works great above 10 degrees.

but if using it on site dirt, which is always going to have moisture in it here, I just had poor results as a everytime freeze retardent when it did get cold.

for me its not the answer to having sets freeze proof- it might well leach out, or evaporate, or ?. In any case, its hard enough true winter trapping to trap as it is, let alone having sets freeze. And I agree, most times it works just fine- and has its place- but its not an absolute that I could count on at all, in very cold temps. Quite frustrating actually.

Scott- what we get from the supply houses mighht well be diluted- because while "thick" it does spray.

[wheelie]

I get Glycol straight from our oil supplier here at work.

I use the Industrial grade (cheaper) and not the "food grade" which is more expensive.
I asked the diff. in the 2 grades and found out that the only diff. is that food grade is ran over stainless during every process. industrial grade is not required to be ran through stainless. Both are same oil and makeup with same properties, etc

[trappincoyotes39]

I used to add glycol to urine to keep it from freezing 10oz to half gallon would make it where it could get into single digits and still stay 100 % liquid form, at zero or below it would slush up some but still not frozen solid.

I think the top crusting is the product drawing mositure to the set in areas with higher humidity and then cold temps crusting the tops of those sets.

[Forrest London®]

P.G. can change glands and urine overtime I prefer to use glycerine for urine... I use PG for antifreeze with very good results I can pull a bait out of the deep freezer and it is a very pliable paste...