propylene glycol in Australia?

[el wacho]

i'm looking to buy some, hopefully in Sydney, NSW. can anyone point me to a supplier of smallish amounts?


thanks.

 

[Mike Wilde]

one source

I know the shipping will be the killer, but Claire at JD Photochem has sold me this product in the past.

I was going to look for an alternative source this morning wrt trying to make a stock solution of microdol X. I have a 1 gallon dry mix, and will never go though it in time before it dies, so I was going to try dissolving it in heated in a double boiler PG.

You may want to search out more local home lotion and soap maker supply houses; I am pretty sure the British Columbia, Canada based soap supplier I mail order from for my soap making supplies also sells it.

I haven't checked the auto supply store, but I think that some RV plumbing antifreeze for 'winterizing' the septic and water lines uses PG; I am not sure if it can be found without the usual pink/red dye. I am not sure if there is a need to winterize RV's in Oz either.

 

[Uhner]

You might want to try a pharmacy. Propylene glycol is, among other things, used to treat ketosis on cattle.

 

[srs5694]

It's also used as an "eco-friendly" anti-freeze for cars. (Ethylene glycol is the more common substance for this use.) In this form, it's likely to have a colorant and perhaps other additives, which makes it potentially risky in photochemistry. That said, I made some PC-Glycol with the stuff some years ago and I encountered no obvious problems.

 

[Murray Kelly]

I've used ethylene glycol (anti-freeze concentrate 1080g/litre) with the colour in and had no problems. I have also used brake fluid (DOT 4) and it works well, too. Whatever they use to colour it with is very low concentration and is more of a denaturant to stop people drinking the stuff!

Murray
Brisbane

 

[Uhner]

I have tried to use car anti-freeze (ethylene glycol) when mixing pyrocat. The brand I used was apparently not suitable for mixing photo chemicals since the developer lost most of its activity. I suspect that the denaturant is the culprit for this. Is it possible that it changed the ph of the antifreeze?

 

[Aurum]

You'll find that anti-freeze is a right old witches brew that will contain anti-corrosion additives as well as glycol. These can be a variety of stuff including silicates.

Propylene glycol is available from most commodity chemical suppliers, and if you have the gift of the gab you might be able to secure a sample which would keep you going for ages. If you were in the UK, I'd tap some contacts and send you some.

 

[john_s]

In Melbourne I got some at Actrol who supply the refrigeration industry. They have many branches in Melb and probably Sydney too. It is pure and in 5L tins.

 

[el wacho]

thanks everyone. thanks John s, there's an Actrol here in Auburn.

 

[gainer]

You can use glycerol for many solutions including PC-Glycol, if you're not too bothered by the viscosity. I keep mine in a brisker oven that stays about 104 F, which keeps it fairly thin.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

RV antifreeze is only 50% PG.