FYI: Purchasing Propylene Glycol

[Eric Woodbury]

I usually buy my chems online, but this product is heavy. I know one can get antifreeze, but I'm put off by using something for my car as a darkroom chemical. I discovered that Propylene Glycol may be purchased from a livestock and feed store. It is commonly fed to cows. It appears to be a food grade, 100%, no dyes.

If you live in a rural area with cows, here's another source.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I get mine at a local brewers supply store. No idea what it is used for, but it is also food grade.

[rdenney]

I usually buy my chems online, but this product is heavy. I know one can get antifreeze, but I'm put off by using something for my car as a darkroom chemical. I discovered that Propylene Glycol may be purchased from a livestock and feed store. It is commonly fed to cows. It appears to be a food grade, 100%, no dyes.

If you live in a rural area with cows, here's another source.

If you don't mind the red color, "RV Antifreeze" is propylene glycol, and is intended for winterizing potable water systems, and is therefore completely non-toxic. Note that propylene glycol doesn't necessarily stay liquid--if it gets cold enough it will freeze into a gel, but it won't expand and break things the way plain water does. RV Antifreeze is available everywhere for generally under $5 a gallon.

Rick "not knowing the intended application" Denney

[BrianShaw]

Rick "not knowing the intended application" Denney

Isn't that the stuff they make you drink gallons of to flush out the system for a colonoscopy? I remember thinking that it was very odd to be drinking antifreeze.

[c.d.ewen]

I get mine at a local brewers supply store. No idea what it is used for, but it is also food grade.

Beer is made by boiling its' ingredients, then crash chilling it to fermentation temperature (32-68F). Refrigerated glycol is used to absorb the heat. It's food grade, 'case there's a leak


Charley

[rdenney]

Beer is made by boiling its' ingredients, then crash chilling it to fermentation temperature (32-68F). Refrigerated glycol is used to absorb the heat. It's food grade, 'case there's a leak

If that's the case, then the worst that can happen if a bit of RV Antifreeze gets into the beer is a rosy tint.

Rick "versus a bit of ethylene glycol, which is deadly even in small quantities" Denney

[Drew Wiley]

Does it do the same thing to your darkroom as it does to your colon?

[Nathan Potter]

Isn't that colonoscopy stuff Barium Sulfite? Maybe there is an MD on board.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[nolindan]

"versus a bit of ethylene glycol, which is deadly even in small quantities"

LD-50 in rats is 5g/kg.

For a 70kG (154lb) man that would be 350g or 12 oz by weight. Not a terribly small amount - i.e. getting a small amount of anti-freeze in your mouth won't do much of anything.

Big problem with E. glycol is it tastes sweet. Spillage from an overflowing radiator often brings wildlife who slurp up the antifreeze to no good effect.

[BrianShaw]

Isn't that colonoscopy stuff Barium Sulfite? Maybe there is an MD on board.

I'd welcome that kind of input... even from a nurse. I found a site that talks about the variety of cleansing methods and makes me think I was wrong in my earlier post. What I was recalling might have been Polyethylene Glycol 3350.

http://www.endonurse.com/articles/281feat1.html