Glue Shelf Life

[Andrew Catron]

Just a question for everyone here:

I've always heard that yellow carpenters glue has a shelf life and you should write the date on the bottle of glue when you buy it, but i have never seen what the shelf life is. is it a few months? years? what is the cutoff?

Thanks

[D.McDonnel "Mac"]

I have heard anywhere from 1 - 2 years depending on storage conditions. I put the purchase date on the bottle and when I see the first sign of increased viscosity it goes into the trash and I get a new bottle. My current bottle of Titebond is at about 1.5 years with out a problem.

That's my $0.02 worth.

Mac

[Sam Yerardi]

I agree with Mac

[Lance Norris]

I have read 1 year, but I have used pva that was older than that with no problems. If its older than 3 years, I throw it out. I had some walnut colored Elmers pva that was thicker than normal and it was 4 years old.

[Greg Cole]

I've never bought glue in a gallon, so I use mine before it sits too long. if I buy a quart of glue, it seems to be gone in a few months. But I do have a vintage bottle of Gorilla glue that's rather old... I used it on 2-3 things and tossed in the cabinet and said NEVER AGAIN. I'm sure it's still there if I dig deep enough.... leaving it as a reminder to never use it again on anything WW'ing related.
With most things like glue, finishing liquids etc... I usually make a once a year trip through the shop to purge.

Cheers.
Greg

[Chris Padilla]

I'm with Greg: I only buy small bottles when I need it unless I really need a lot I'll go the bigger size.

Some folks swear that their 5-year old 1 gallon jug of Titebond II is still fine. It is up to the user to decide if their glue is good or not.

[Ted Jay]

Taken from The Titebond website:

What is the shelf life of Titebond Wood Glues?
Our literature states the shelf life of all of our glues as one year. Titebond Liquid Hide Glue includes an expiration date on the bottle, because it can progressively lose its ability to dry hard, and this change is not visually obvious. Titebond Polyurethane Glue has a one year shelf life in an unopened container, but is useable as long as the glue remains fluid. Polyurethanes, however, are designed to react when exposed to moisture and can sometimes begin to cure after the bottle has been opened, and solidify.

Most of our yellow and white glues, including Titebond Original and Titebond II, remain usable beyond two years. Should Titebond Original become thick and stringy, or Titebond II turns into an orange colored gel, these changes signify that the glue is no longer usable. The minimum shelf life of Titebond III is stated as one year, when stored appropriately at room temperature. Titebond III is expected to last beyond its stated shelf life. If thickened, shake vigorously by firmly tapping bottle on a hard surface until product is restored to original form.

http://www.titebond.com/IntroPageTB....dSel=FaqTB.asp

[Adam Cavaliere]

I've never bought glue in a gallon, so I use mine before it sits too long. if I buy a quart of glue, it seems to be gone in a few months. But I do have a vintage bottle of Gorilla glue that's rather old... I used it on 2-3 things and tossed in the cabinet and said NEVER AGAIN. I'm sure it's still there if I dig deep enough.... leaving it as a reminder to never use it again on anything WW'ing related.
With most things like glue, finishing liquids etc... I usually make a once a year trip through the shop to purge.

Cheers.
Greg

Why no Gorilla glue?

[Chris Padilla]

Why no Gorilla glue?

I'll take a stab:

(1) Messy...you'll have brown hands/fingers for a week unless you where gloves or are somehow very careful...and lucky

(2) Messy in that it'll foam out of the joint

(3) Recently shown in some wood mags that it isn't as strong as once thought

All that said, I'd say it has its uses once you learn how it works.

[Ted Jay]

Why no Gorilla glue?

my first bottle of GG after using about 1/3 of the bottle set-up nicely in the bottle. A good paperweight though. I then bought a bottle of Sumo glue. Now I have another paperweight for the other corner of the drawing. You can't let them sit for too long.
Ted

[Quesne Ouaques]

I have been using mostly Titebond II for the past 5 years or so. The first gallon I bought lasted nearly 2 1/2 years. The most recent bottle I bought back in mid 2005 is still fine according to the Titebond folks.

I just checked my bottle as a result of this thread, and I saw a thin puddle of orange goo developing on the surface. Having seen the "orange gel" comment above, I thought I'd ask directly to see if the goo was a sign that the rest of my bottle is going bad.

I called the 800 # on the bottle, and I spoke with a very nice lady named Terry. We just got off the phone. She told me quite a few interesting things about Titebond II:

- Actual life expectancy is about 4 years (barring extreme temperatures, freezing, etc.)

- First digit of lot number ink-jetted on bottle is year of manufacture (5=2005, 6=2006, etc.)

- Second digit of lot number is month of manufacture (A=Jan, B=Feb, etc. but they don't use the letter "I")

- The thin floating puddle of orange goo on the surface of my glue is pigment. It is normal for it to separate a little and will easily stir back into the glue.

- The orange gel that signifies the glue going bad is apparently very bright orange, translucent, and will not even allow you to pour glue out of the bottle. It also smells like vinegar.

- If the glue thickens over the years (as may normally occur) you can add water to thin it out up to 5% by volume or weight. This will not affect the strength, performance or water resistance of the glue.

- My bottle was manufactured in February of 2005. She told me I have at least another year of life expectancy.

[Wayne Cannon]

From William Young's "The Glue Book":

"The ... shelf life of a PVA ... is based on storage at room temperature. Shelf life increases as the storage temperatre drops from 70 degrees F. ... a PVA stored at 90 degrees F will have at most half of the shelf life it would have at 70 degrees F.

"... Contents can separate [top to bottom: pigment, glue, solids] ... but separation doesn't necessarily ruin the glue. A PVA can often be stirred back into shape. [The author uses threaded rod, a ground down T-nuts, and toggle-bolt wings to make a stirrer that will fold to slip through the neck of a glue bottle] ... It is a good idea to stir PVA glue if it has stood undisturbed ... for more than two weeks.

"Many of today's formulas can stand up to six freeze/thaw cycles before the degrade. Some precatalyzed cross-linking formulas are not freeze/thaw stable at all. You can tell at a glance when PVA has been ruined by freezing: The glue coagulates and separates and cannot be stirred back to a homogeneous state."
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On the other hand, PVA glue is pretty cheap compared with a failed glue joint, so why take a chance.