Loctite shelf life

I am told that loctite has a limited shelf life ??? I today used Loctite 648 adhesive to secure a shaft into a crank (Stuart engine) I have had this Loctite for about 30 years and it has worked just fine the crank is immovable on the shaft after about 2 hours. Is there really a shelf life on this adhesive ?. David

I've wondered about this as well. Also with other glues. I had some Milliput which at 14 years old still worked ok even though it was well past it's use by date.

I do wonder if these dates are all to do with manufacturers protecting themselves. For example, I had some paracetamol tablets which I discovered were about to exceed their "do not use after" date. Unfortunately, this was approaching New Year and I could not get anymore, so I reasoned that it was very unlikely that they would suddenly become unusable immediately after this date and so I used them, until I could get replacements.

On the other hand, I did have some medical cream which was a few months past its use by date, and when used, made the situation worse.

Perhaps it's a case of all these dates are the minimum expected life of these items, and any use thereafter is at the users own risk as they may, or may not, work.

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

I have some Locktite 601 which must be 25 years old it still works

Roy

I am sure that loctite shelf life is an invention of Quality Control engineers and the manufactures. The only good thing about shelf life is that it can provide a ready source of free loctite if you are in the right place at the right time. One of my bottles of 648 is about 20 years old and will still create immovable bonded joints.

Hi, I'm not aware of any shelf life of the anaerobic liquids as I have some of them and have used the at work for many years and they have always worked OK. There is no mention of a shelf life on thier data sheets that I've looked at, which can be found at this **LINK**

Peter, I believe at lot of tablets and the like just become less efective to the point that they do nothing at all after the use by date, they apparently woun't do you any harm, but if you are unsure, it is best not to take them.

Regards Nick.

One of the biggest users of Loctite is the military so if you can convince them that it only has a years shelf life you are guaranteed a job for life.

We use all types of loctites, sealers, adhesive and tapes where I work and every single one has a use by date. We are not allowed to use anything out of date.

Tony

Oh well ... here goes my 1,000th Post ... might as well use it for a reasonably definitive statement.

About 25 years ago, when working at BAE in Stevenage, all Loctite drawn from our stores carried a Shelf Life label. ... Having an urgent need to use some 638, I found that the bottle in our Lab was out of date.

I telephoned Loctite at Hemel Hempstead, to ask if it was safe to use.

The reply was that these products work simply by changing from liquid to solid, so ... if it's still liquid it's still good to use. If it's already solid, its already "used".

Loctite did not acknowledge the concept of a Shelf Life for Anaerobic Adhesives.

That's really all there is to it.

MichaelG.

Chaps, it most certainly does have a shelf life - as QA director to a large usa corperation I can assure you that we have tested the oem claims - and they are substanciated. Thats not to say that your 25 year old bottle isnt still good, its just to say that it shouldnt be! As above, ita an anaerobic reaction so if its still liquid it should be ok....but I wouldnt use it !!

Is loctite one of these products that are best stored in the fridge to extend shelf life?

Doug

Hi Doug, according to Loctite's data sheets their anaerobic liquids should be stored at an optimal temperature between 8 - 21 C. They should not be stored below 8 C or above 28 C as this can adversely affect product properties.

RRegards Nick.

I've got some Loctite 641 and 326, both well over 25 yrs old and both still work well. Also thread lock still good. On the other hand I've bought new from a shop and the stuff is solid in the jar ! Get what you pay for I guess. 2 pack stuff seams to last forever . Low temp. is recomended , my stuff is all in cold damp shed.

I work on the idea that if its still in the bottle, its OK, if the bottle is empty, it's reached its shelf life.

Ian S C

I don't know about loctite, but mature Stilton is inedible until at least a month after the date on the label!

Seriously though, I've noticed 'superglue' type adhesives go off quickly, presumably because of moisture getting in, whilst anaerobic adhesives seem to last.

Neil

I've some loctite thats 18 years old and still going strong!

Mark P.

Peter, I believe at lot of tablets and the like just become less efective to the point that they do nothing at all after the use by date, they apparently woun't do you any harm, but if you are unsure, it is best not to take them.

Regards Nick.

In general I agree with you, but I do not accept that tablets etc suddenly become unusable/ineffective the day after their "Do Not Use After" date. Maybe not even after a week, or a month, although I certainly wouldn't make a habit of it. But as happened recently, the old back pain flared up again, I went through the usual rigmarole of hot water bottle, then paracetamol, and finally Codeine Phosphate only to find that despite my regular checking, they were a week or two out of date. Now my Surgery tells us to allow 3 days before collecting repeat prescriptions so I used the old pills. Fortunately they worked. I now have a new set of pills.

The cream that I used was a few months out of date and that DID cause problems.

Regards,

Peter

Just as an aside, I've not had much luck with Loctite or equivalent adhesives. Or indeed many other adhesives. In fact, I find good old Araldite the best adhesive ever and I find it quite surprising just how often Araldite works after other adhesives have failed.

When I say Araldite, I suppose I should really say "2-part epoxy adhesives", but as I have only ever used Araldite as a liquid adhesive, and Milliput as a solid (?) adhesive, those are all I can recommend.

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

Dry pills are unlikely to degrade as the chemicals are 'locked' in place. Wet (water or oil based) preparations allow molecules to move and mix, so chemical reactions to take place.

There are exceptions. I'm sure.

Neil

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Peter,

Assuming that by "Loctite" we mean specifically the Anaerobic Adhesives; I am intrigued ...

I don't think that I have ever had a failure with Loctite [and I've used it in some fairly extreme situations]. It behaves rather like a cold version of soft-soldering .. Low peel-strength, but very effective in compression and shear.

Please let us know what problems you have had.

MichaelG.

Michael,

To tell the truth, I haven't used them that much and can't really think when and where I did try them. I also think that on at least one occasion, it probably wasn't a suitable adhesive because I can remember thinking I'll try this and see what happens.

I have tried superglue occasionally. Again, that not really work.

I have a suspicion it may be down to a combination of surface preparation, specifically cleanliness and smoothness. Epoxy adhesives do have gap filling properties.

I know that on numerous occasions I have used good old Araldite because nothing else has seemed to work. Certainly on one item I have been, and still am, surprised that years later it is still holding - this was one of SWMBO's garden ornaments in the shape of duck where it broke across the neck. It is quite heavy and can still be lifted by the neck.

I have been using Araldite for nearly 50 years now, the first ocasion being a repair on my Austin A35 van. On these vehicles, the door windows were pushed/pulled up & down by a small piece of glass perhaps 10 x 50mm which was glued onto the window itself. When one came off, I used Araldite (what is now called the Standard version - 24 hours full setting time) to glue it back on. Initially, it was held in place with Sellotape or equivalent.

Araldite doesn't always work. Eg, little grandaughter presented me with a toy horse with a broken leg. I glued it up, but a few weeks later back it came. This time I pinned it as well.

As you can see, I like Araldite. I wonder if I'm addicted to it!!!

Regards,

Peter