shelf life of PVA
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Lazurus
Established Member
Ditto on the titebond.
As an aside I keep all my super glues in the freezer (they don't actually freeze) and even opened bottles last for months with no noticeable degrade or going hard in the bottle. Same for polyurethane, I was skeptical when it was recommended to me but it really works.
As an aside I keep all my super glues in the freezer (they don't actually freeze) and even opened bottles last for months with no noticeable degrade or going hard in the bottle. Same for polyurethane, I was skeptical when it was recommended to me but it really works.
Not sure it's helpful here but just in case.
Titebond (at least) has a code on the bottle.
'How Do I Read The Lot Numbers?
Our current lot numbering system is a 10 digit code. The format is: aymmddbat#. The "a" stands for Made in the U.S.A. The "y" is the last digit of the year of manufacture. Digits "mm" represent the month, and "dd" represent the day of the month. The final four digits represent the batch number used for quality control purposes. Therefore, a product with the lot number A104270023 was manufactured on April 27, 2011.'
http://www.titebond.com/frequently_asked_questions.aspx
Never seen a batch code on builder centre type pva..... hold that thought..... In fact I just walked all the way to the kitchen in the name of science to check. Bottle of Bostik pva cementone has a printed number on the bottle. I'd guess this is the same. Never thought to look tbh but it makes sense.
I find Lazurus's post a bit mad. I don't doubt it mind, no disrespect meant in the slightest of course, I'm just baffled because I always thought you protected pva from freezing temperatures. I'm about as far from an expert as possible of course but I'm a bit intrigued. Perhaps its the constancy of temperature that works not the variations you're likely to get keeping it 'outside' that mess it up.. Does any one have any further views?
When you think about production, transport and storage you have to wonder really. I've never seen a heated storage unit at a build centre in winter that's for sure.
Probably a case of right if it looks alright its alright right?
Cheers
Chris
Titebond (at least) has a code on the bottle.
'How Do I Read The Lot Numbers?
Our current lot numbering system is a 10 digit code. The format is: aymmddbat#. The "a" stands for Made in the U.S.A. The "y" is the last digit of the year of manufacture. Digits "mm" represent the month, and "dd" represent the day of the month. The final four digits represent the batch number used for quality control purposes. Therefore, a product with the lot number A104270023 was manufactured on April 27, 2011.'
http://www.titebond.com/frequently_asked_questions.aspx
Never seen a batch code on builder centre type pva..... hold that thought..... In fact I just walked all the way to the kitchen in the name of science to check. Bottle of Bostik pva cementone has a printed number on the bottle. I'd guess this is the same. Never thought to look tbh but it makes sense.
I find Lazurus's post a bit mad. I don't doubt it mind, no disrespect meant in the slightest of course, I'm just baffled because I always thought you protected pva from freezing temperatures. I'm about as far from an expert as possible of course but I'm a bit intrigued. Perhaps its the constancy of temperature that works not the variations you're likely to get keeping it 'outside' that mess it up.. Does any one have any further views?
When you think about production, transport and storage you have to wonder really. I've never seen a heated storage unit at a build centre in winter that's for sure.
Probably a case of right if it looks alright its alright right?
Cheers
Chris
colonel-cueball
Established Member
I have a litre bottle of Evostick Exterior woodglue (PVA Type) and it was bought in....ummm what year did Woolies go bankrupt again?
Lived under the kitchen sink for years and its still fine, apart from stuff in the nozzle, though wouldn't buy it again, don't think it sticks as well as it claims to.....
Lived under the kitchen sink for years and its still fine, apart from stuff in the nozzle, though wouldn't buy it again, don't think it sticks as well as it claims to.....
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I suspect stuff formulated in the last two or three years goes off quicker than the older stuff. :?
thetyreman
Established Member
I've got some titebond that is coming up to 3 years old that still works, I keep PVA indoors in winter though, got another one that's over 1 year old that's still going strong.
AES
Established Member
FWIW, I agree with lazarus about storing super glue (cyano acrylate) and polyurethane in the fridge (not freezer). I have a small, very old fridge in my cellar. It works for me, along with 2 part epoxy (the liquid casting type, not the 2 tube Araldite type). I've never tried storing PVA there, and re-reading his post, he didn't mention storing PVA there either.
screwpainting
Established Member
What makes it go off though? I wonder if a biocide would work, I have ceramic glaze mixes that are over fifteen years old which show no mould growth at all due to an addition of a little Detol as a biocide(trade secret there) even though there is a fair amount of Carboxy Methyl Celulose incorporated as a glaze suspender. Leave out the Detol and a whole batch will develop mould within weeks so may be similar to pva??
Any chemists out there :?
Any chemists out there :?
Well there ya go. I'm an silly person again. You're quite right. How did I miss that?! #-o I'm glad I made a polite effort not to disagree! :roll: Another thing learnt. Thanks for pointing my error out Aes, appreciated.AES":bsr9d701 said:
Better to be seen a fool by others than remain a fool to yourself I'd say
. Always learning!Regards as always,
Chris
AES
Established Member
If I were you BM101 (Chris) I wouldn't worry about it. You aren't the 1st to have missed the point of a post, and you certainly won't be the last - and that includes me, in Spades, doubled!!
But reading back through this whole thread, we don't seem to have got a definitive answer - responses seem to vary from "almost forever" to "yesterday" (paraphrasing somewhat)
Personally I'd really like to know if there is a definitive answer, especially for someone like me who does not use a lot of PVA, and not all that regularly either.
Example: I have a 1 litre bottle of PVA marked "wasserfest" (directly translated that means waterproof, but personally I'd rather regard that as meaning water-resistant (after hardening). That bottle is about 2 years old (max) and is always stored in my warm dry cellar, NEVER outside in the extra hot (right now 35 deg C) or extra cold (could be minus about 15 C).
I used some just this week (repairs to a garden gate) and although stored tightly closed and inside, as above, I found it had the consistency of very thick treacle or honey. No mould or anything, but would not even drop off the gluing brush. I used it anyway, it was quite difficult to spread out, but after overnight drying clamped, it seems fine - joints nice and close, no looseness anywhere.
So my question is, as a not very frequent user, especially not of the water resistant type, what happens when I need it again? can I thin it with water, well stirred in, until it's more or less back to it's normal creamy consistency? Or do I just bin it, bearing in mind that I will MAYBE need it again in a week or so, maybe not for 6 months?
I do appreciate that such stuff is pretty cheap and is a consumable, and not worth risking on an important job.
So perhaps next time, instead of buying a litre I should buy a quarter of that (which works out even more expensive that in multi-litre or gallon sizes). In fact, depending on answers here, perhaps I should change my buying habits altogether (as far as any PVA is concerned) and only go and buy very small quantities as and when I really need it? Up to now I've tended to treat it like "standard size" nuts bolts n washers for example - always some in stock.
I'd be interested in others ideas on this.
TIA
But reading back through this whole thread, we don't seem to have got a definitive answer - responses seem to vary from "almost forever" to "yesterday" (paraphrasing somewhat)
Personally I'd really like to know if there is a definitive answer, especially for someone like me who does not use a lot of PVA, and not all that regularly either.
Example: I have a 1 litre bottle of PVA marked "wasserfest" (directly translated that means waterproof, but personally I'd rather regard that as meaning water-resistant (after hardening). That bottle is about 2 years old (max) and is always stored in my warm dry cellar, NEVER outside in the extra hot (right now 35 deg C) or extra cold (could be minus about 15 C).
I used some just this week (repairs to a garden gate) and although stored tightly closed and inside, as above, I found it had the consistency of very thick treacle or honey. No mould or anything, but would not even drop off the gluing brush. I used it anyway, it was quite difficult to spread out, but after overnight drying clamped, it seems fine - joints nice and close, no looseness anywhere.
So my question is, as a not very frequent user, especially not of the water resistant type, what happens when I need it again? can I thin it with water, well stirred in, until it's more or less back to it's normal creamy consistency? Or do I just bin it, bearing in mind that I will MAYBE need it again in a week or so, maybe not for 6 months?
I do appreciate that such stuff is pretty cheap and is a consumable, and not worth risking on an important job.
So perhaps next time, instead of buying a litre I should buy a quarter of that (which works out even more expensive that in multi-litre or gallon sizes). In fact, depending on answers here, perhaps I should change my buying habits altogether (as far as any PVA is concerned) and only go and buy very small quantities as and when I really need it? Up to now I've tended to treat it like "standard size" nuts bolts n washers for example - always some in stock.
I'd be interested in others ideas on this.
TIA
