The Ultimate Duffus trap & (D)Evolution Of The Duffus Trap

[earth-thrower 493]

Well i can tell you, that i have fallen out of love, with the half barrel mole trap,.......lol You guys have highlighted very well, all the problems,we have with the fairly recent & current crop.I have probably purchased 150 plus , of the 'bethel' type ,the last 15/20 year. Sadly, the last box i got sent (a while ago,now) the traps were 'substandard'.Previously, i could "tune" them to a satisfactory standard, but the last ones were more difficult.Disappointingly, any other 'samples' i received,from other manufacturers, werent any easier,for ME personally, to 'adjust' either.It really is about time that a manufacturer, should be interested enough,to consult with professional moletrappers, & finally come up with a trap, that is truly, 'fit for purpose' Ideally, for me a trap that needs no "tuning" ?, (cause im not a fan, of having to spend hours, tinkering with traps,...lol) It also wouldnt bother me too much,if i had to pay , a bit extra,for the finished product, either,.....lol

Maybe it was just me, but i felt i had to spend FAR too long,with any duffus, up till now, to get them to perform in a way, I was happy with ? when their quality,deteriorated further, i thought, feck this ! ,.....time for plan B,....ha ha

[Nicepix 5,650]

The plot thickens. Apologies to Phil Lloyd.

 

Most of my traps are out at the moment. I've just got about 12 Flatpacks and a few Talpex at home.The Flatpacks are all less than 30 months old and other than the five regular type Frontbum sent me, all the others were ordered as being the 'Ultimate Stainless Traps' in three separate batches.

 

I started squishing all the Flatpacks I had this afternoon to get them around 60 - 65mm, that is 60mm for the regular and narrower stainless type that are made at 70mm wide, and 65mm for the wider stainless that are 75mm wide as shipped, as they are harder to squish are and all was going well until I got one of the 70mm that wouldn't go below about 68mm. I put it to one side and carried on. At the end I had three that resisted the vice and on closer examination none of them had the Flatpack name stamped on them. Other than the lack of engraving they resembled the other stainless traps that had come in at 70mm. The metal on these is so springy that I could not get them to settle at less than around 68mm.

 

So, in less than three years it appears that Flatpack have made at least three different versions of their 'Ultimate Stainless Steel' trap and sadly the latest incarnation isn't a patch on the earlier ones.

 

Edit; also the earlier ones do have much harder steel in their wires as tuning them is far harder than the later ones.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Nicepix

[earth-thrower 493]

I squeeze mine to 60mm but I've found that it can affect the speed of action due to the friction on the barrel from the catching loops

 

I just had a look at the Flatpack site (and sent them a message to read this), and it seems that all of their barrels are now stainless

 

The very first batch of their traps I bought (about 8 years ago) rusted in no time at all they weren't interested, so I' haven't bought any since, although I understand they sorted out their 'finish' issues

 

As Mr Wasp says, the other startling difference twixt old and new is the quality and thickness of the wire

 

I only hope that Flatpack don't go down the Bethel Rhodes route of fobbing off any criticism of their traps by saying that they still sell plenty

 

On a side note, I heard (or read) on the grapevine that Killgerm are getting lots of traps returned lately. Perhaps BR will listen to their biggest customer when they are told that they just don't cut it anymore?

 

Also read somewhere recently that trap manufacturers aren't interested in producing traps that work well it seems that they want people to fail with them, throw them aside and then buy a few more further down the line.......

 

Great thread BTW I'm off to set some

Makes you wonder, some of that !

Edited February 24, 2015 by earth-thrower

[Matt 160]

 

Many know that for a long time I was a fan of the Bethel Rhodes version.

 

It wasn't perfect, but it was tunable, and of a decent quality

 

Then Flatpack came on the scene, and I bought a few to try.

 

Initially, they seemed very good; minimal tuning needed, and not too wide. The flaw became noticeable after about six months when the bodies started corroding badly

 

I got over that problem by treating them all with Speedip. At the time, I had about 120 FP traps that all got regular and hard work. The dip finish seemed to suit them, and they are still in use today, which is at least 8 years on.

 

The Bethel Rhodes traps were fine for a while, and then I started to notice that there were fearsomely sharp burrs on all the cut edges. Not really much of an issue, but they were shredding my latex gloves, and on occasion, my hands. I contacted BR and told them, but they didn't seem that interested in a small customer like me

 

Anyway, the quality issues got worse and then I started noticing issues with the wire triggers They were never very hard; which in fact was an advantage in some ways because it made them easier to tune, but they became so soft that whenever a mole blocked one they actually bent the trigger wires right back so that you had to 're-tune' the trap when you removed it.

 

Again, I spoke to BR and they were even less interested than last time and just moaned about how busy they were telling me that they weren't taking on new customers because they couldn't keep up with their big customers (like KG).

 

So I stopped buying them.

 

Now I find myself in the position of probably needing to buy a few this year to make up my losses (mainly from stripey vermin) and I honestly don't know where I'll go for them.

 

I've sent Flatpack a message asking them to read this thread. I doubt they will, but perhaps others could increase the pressure on them by also sending them a message?

 

I noticed today when I looked at their website that as of this year they are only making traps with stainless steel bodies. Standard traps will have galvanised springs and triggers, whilst stainless springs etc will be available as an option.

 

Now don't get me wrong; I'm sure lovely shiney stainless bodies will suit some; but I'm more interested in them making a trap that actually resembles the original and will still be usable in 40 years time like the originals (OK, the Jolly versions) shown at the start of this thread

 

I think the issue with all the modern copies is that they are copies of copies of copies You can see that the way they attach the springs to the catching loops has changed (it used to be laced with wire, it's now bent) which is an obvious change to improve the manufacturing process But if you actually compare it side by side with an original, you can also see clearly that the holes through the barrels are quite a bit larger, and the wire that forms the catching loops and triggers is thinner and less robust

[Nicepix 5,650]

I haven't got a micrometer and to be fair, the old Duffus has suffered a bit of corrosion on the wires but I'd wager that the loops on the modern S/S Flatpacks are a tad thicker and of a harder temper than the Duffus. I form this opinion based on filing the burrs off the trigger latches and bending the trigger wires. On a FP I have to use pliers to hold the top of the loop while I push the bottom of the loop forward. And it is a hard push. With the old trap I can do it just using my thumbs. I'm only talking about the stainless wires on the FP. I found the regular version of the FP traps had more malleable loops though so S/S is the way to go and squeeze the bodies in.

 

The version I mentioned earlier with the stronger body is also smoother to set than the other types of FP traps. With the S/S versions of FP traps I would tune them so they were like Arkwright's till and sometimes they would go off when placing them, but I put up with that. After a couple of weeks they settled down and after a month or so I tuned them again and that was that. they never needed touching again. And I didn't have to do that little trick with the triggers after placing the traps either.

 

I'm driving over in Oct / Nov and might just pop over to Skipton with the versions of S/S taps and ask them about them. I know I'm only small fry but they advertise sets of three traps and so should be geared up for us Mickey Mouse outfits.

[OldTrapCollector 377]

Has anyone seen the Fenn or Springer versions of the Duffus trap? The Fenn was essentially flat with turned down sides, but the Springer one was much more curved, akin to the original Duffus type

[Matt 160]

Has anyone seen the Fenn or Springer versions of the Duffus trap? The Fenn was essentially flat with turned down sides, but the Springer one was much more curved, akin to the original Duffus type

I had an original Fenn double loop many, many years ago. I don't know what the hell happened to it; it's probably rusting away underground somewhere.

 

I do have a modern copy of the single catch version; I've never got round to actually trying it out, but will do at some point.

 

It's different; very different

 

I didn't know that Springer made a trap? Do you have any pictures OTC? I'd love to see one

 

[Matt 160]

I haven't got a micrometer and to be fair, the old Duffus has suffered a bit of corrosion on the wires but I'd wager that the loops on the modern S/S Flatpacks are a tad thicker and of a harder temper than the Duffus. I form this opinion based on filing the burrs off the trigger latches and bending the trigger wires. On a FP I have to use pliers to hold the top of the loop while I push the bottom of the loop forward. And it is a hard push. With the old trap I can do it just using my thumbs. I'm only talking about the stainless wires on the FP. I found the regular version of the FP traps had more malleable loops though so S/S is the way to go and squeeze the bodies in.

 

The version I mentioned earlier with the stronger body is also smoother to set than the other types of FP traps. With the S/S versions of FP traps I would tune them so they were like Arkwright's till and sometimes they would go off when placing them, but I put up with that. After a couple of weeks they settled down and after a month or so I tuned them again and that was that. they never needed touching again. And I didn't have to do that little trick with the triggers after placing the traps either.

 

I'm driving over in Oct / Nov and might just pop over to Skipton with the versions of S/S taps and ask them about them. I know I'm only small fry but they advertise sets of three traps and so should be geared up for us Mickey Mouse outfits.

That's interesting Nicepix

 

To be fair, I've never actually seen one of the stainless versions up close and personal; as I posted earlier, the problems I had with my original batch of Flatpacks put me off ordering any more

 

I'd ask, nay beg, anyone reading this with an interest in the subject to get hold of Flatpack ASAP and ask them to read what's been written here

 

Here's a link to their contact page

[perthshire keeper 1,239]

matt i MUST get one of thease traps to you..the triggers are bad "out of the box" and they are errm exspencive but to me their the best i have used... might not be to you but i think their worth a look at.

 

now can some one give me the length of a duffas trap please?

[Matt 160]

matt i MUST get one of these traps to you..the triggers are bad "out of the box" and they are erm expensive but to me their the best I have used... might not be to you but I think they're worth a look at.

What's 'expensive'? I'm happy to pay a premium for a decent trap that doesn't need 15 minutes fettling, and lasts a good few years

 

now can some one give me the length of a duffas trap please?

Mr Wasp or Nicepix will be happy to confirm, I'm sure, but I think the length of the trap body is about the only thing that hasn't changed

 

 

By the way PK, I wish you'd download a spellchecker Being the spelling fairy on here is wearing me out

[perthshire keeper 1,239]

 

I haven't got a micrometer and to be fair, the old Duffus has suffered a bit of corrosion on the wires but I'd wager that the loops on the modern S/S Flatpacks are a tad thicker and of a harder temper than the Duffus. I form this opinion based on filing the burrs off the trigger latches and bending the trigger wires. On a FP I have to use pliers to hold the top of the loop while I push the bottom of the loop forward. And it is a hard push. With the old trap I can do it just using my thumbs. I'm only talking about the stainless wires on the FP. I found the regular version of the FP traps had more malleable loops though so S/S is the way to go and squeeze the bodies in.

 

The version I mentioned earlier with the stronger body is also smoother to set than the other types of FP traps. With the S/S versions of FP traps I would tune them so they were like Arkwright's till and sometimes they would go off when placing them, but I put up with that. After a couple of weeks they settled down and after a month or so I tuned them again and that was that. they never needed touching again. And I didn't have to do that little trick with the triggers after placing the traps either.

 

I'm driving over in Oct / Nov and might just pop over to Skipton with the versions of S/S taps and ask them about them. I know I'm only small fry but they advertise sets of three traps and so should be geared up for us Mickey Mouse outfits.

That's interesting Nicepix

 

To be fair, I've never actually seen one of the stainless versions up close and personal; as I posted earlier, the problems I had with my original batch of Flatpacks put me off ordering any more

 

I'd ask, nay beg, anyone reading this with an interest in the subject to get hold of Flatpack ASAP and ask them to read what's been written here

 

Here's a link to their contact page

 

be be blunt...as long as they keep selling a great heap of traps then they wont give a toss and no one can "not" buy traps.....

 

new question...where can i buy say a dozen springs to suit a mole trap

[perthshire keeper 1,239]

 

matt i MUST get one of these traps to you..the triggers are bad "out of the box" and they are erm expensive but to me their the best I have used... might not be to you but I think they're worth a look at.

What's 'expensive'? I'm happy to pay a premium for a decent trap that doesn't need 15 minutes fettling, and lasts a good few years

 

now can some one give me the length of a duffas trap please?

Mr Wasp or Nicepix will be happy to confirm, I'm sure, but I think the length of the trap body is about the only thing that hasn't changed

 

 

By the way PK, I wish you'd download a spellchecker Being the spelling fairy on here is wearing me out

 

i have one...just don't use it

where has the gap between the springs come from? or am i being dumb?

[Matt 160]

new question...where can i buy say a dozen springs to suit a mole trap

You could try DB Springs

 

I did hear on the grapevine that the reason FP got into mole traps was that they made a load of springs for BR at one point and it developed out of that I know there is no love lost between the two companies

[Nicepix 5,650]

The Duffus is 150mm long by 60mm across. Same as the 'regular' Flatpack is now that I've squashed it. The stainless FP is 150mm x 65 after squashing, 150mm x 74mm prior to being altered.

 

Regards tuning; Using a Dremmel with a grinding wheel and small pliers I can do a Stainless FP in under two minutes. Then about 30 seconds to a minute a few weeks later. After that it doesn't need touching. The regular FP was a matter of seconds. Just push the loops forward with thumbs. But I haven't used them for long enough to know whether they will need a re-tune.

[3175darren 1,100]

Bloody hell I will be out measuring all my traps now,good thread this,I use flat pack and agree there quality has slipped,I do have a few ultimate stainless I bought a couple of yr ago and love them,will have a look around as I will be buying again soon,and this thread has made me think a bit,