Unexpected effect - pitch removal

[Southside]

A couple months back I had a job that required treating the lumber with Sol-u-bor for PPB prevention so I picked up some of the red RV anti-freeze to use to dissolve the powder in.  Had some of the anti-freeze left over so I figured I may as well use it up and tossed it into the lube tank on my 70.  With the 35 I would just take the tank in at night and blow out the line if it was cold so I never used WW fluid or any other type of anti-freeze, just pine sol and soap basically, sometime some cotton spindle picker cleaner. The 70 has a lube mizer so freezing is an issue.      

Anyway I thought I was seeing an improvement in the lube and have been using a lot less lately so I bought some more of the red RV stuff last time I was at Lowes and have been mixing it in the tank.  This week I have been sawing white pine - which in my opinion - is far worse than loblolly pine when it comes to the pitch. I have the lube-mizer down to the lowest setting it has on the 70 and there is almost zero pitch build up on the bands, belts, etc.  I am shocked by this. For sure the logs have plenty of pitch in them as is visible on my jeans, gloves, and hands at the end of the day, far more than yellow pine has this time of year.  The red stuff is about $5.00 / gallon and I am mixing it at 50% most when it was very cold and a tank of that mix got me probably 2000 bf if not more of lumber, so the usage is way down.  

Not sure why, but there is something about that RV anti-freeze that is making a difference with the pitch.     

[Old Greenhorn]

Thanks for the tip SS! I used some of this last fall when I ran out of WW fluid in the middle of the day, still have another gallon or two somewhere in the shop. I have some softwoods coming up in the spring and I will definitely give this a try. Who Knew?

[Ben Cut-wright]

A couple months back I had a job that required treating the lumber with Sol-u-bro for PPB prevention so I picked up some of the red RV anti-freeze to use to dissolve the powder in. 

Anyway I thought I was seeing an improvement in the lube and have been using a lot less lately so I bought some more of the red RV stuff last time I was at Lowes and have been mixing it in the tank. 

The red stuff is about $5.00 / gallon and I am mixing it at 50% most when it was very cold and a tank of that mix got me probably 2000 bf if not more of lumber, so the usage is way down.  

Not sure why, but there is something about that RV anti-freeze that is making a difference with the pitch.    

The pink RV antifreeze at Lowes specs shows it contains Ethyl Alcohol (also called Ethanol),  often used as an industrial solvent and......many alcoholic beverages. 

Found it interesting that RV antifreeze is made from different components; Ethanol, Propylene Glycol, or a blend of the two.  It is also made from Virgin materials or recycled materials.  The ethanol base antifreeze might provide a solvent action.  Propylene Glycol base might provide more of a lubricant action, and the blended antifreeze might provide a bit of both solvent and lube action.  Dramatic difference in prices. The propylene glycol-water blend is four times the price of the ethanol based RV antifreeze. 

Interesting to note the "recycled" stuff can contain chemicals one might not wish to ingest after using it in the RV system.  Guess I never read the "Flammable" warnings on some of the containers either.  Hard to imagine this stuff is much of a combustible hazard after blending and in intended usages.

Also... I have been under the impression that ethylene glycol antifreeze is preferred for mixes with pesticides because of its toxic nature.