A method for gas chromatographic trace determination is described in which the sample solution is injected into a packed precolumn which is connected to an EC-detector. When solvent and low boiling compounds have been eluted, the precolumn is connected to the cold entry of a capillary column with another EC-detector and the trace compound is collected as a narrow band at the entry of this column. The precolumn is then reconnected to its own detector, the capillary column is heated and the trace compound is eluted and measured. Meanwhile high boiling compounds are swept out of the precolumn. When the base line of the precolumn is stable the next sample is injected and the capillary column is cooled again, and so on. In order to avoid background plateaus and ghost peaks the carrier gas must be purified, which is easily achieved with cooling traps with dry-ice and acetone.