Elmers glue Expiration date

[jorgesinghdh]

Dear People,

 

I have found many websites telling that the elmers wood glue manufacture date is read as a letter representing the year but I have found two different sites with different years for each letter

 

http://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/adhesives/cracking-the-glue-code/

Here they say that H is 2005

 

http://community.woodmagazine.com/t5/General-Woodworking/Glue-Expiration-Date/td-p/5294

Here they say that H is 2002

 

Can someone please give me some light?

[wdwerker]

How would I know? I use Titebond! <evil grin>

[Rapid Roger]

What the "H" difference does it make? 

 

Rog 

[jHop]

I'd say that if you're worried about how long you can keep the glue, then you might be buying more glue than you need.

 

I've held on to a bottle or two longer than I should have, and while the results have not been pretty, they have been effective.  Since that's what I was going for at the time, I don't worry.  But when the glue turns orange (as in Wood Magazine's photo), or a brownish yellow, or stops moving in the bottle, I chuck the bottle and find a new one.

 

When I can start building projects on the scale like Marc, Shannon, or even Matt, then I'll worry about a larger bottle.  Until then, I get the smallest bottle I can find, and keep it as long as I think I can.  This has worked out to 3 years on the latest one, which is almost (not quite) dead.  I'm not planning on getting a new bottle until March/April (since the shop is packed up for the season), but it will be the second or third thing I purchase this year.

[anonaccount0]

the fact that companies hide the date of their products in a secret date code is inherently absurd and shouldn't even be legal, if the products have a decay rate.

[Chestnut]

Are they hiding it or just using fewer characters so the stamping equipment is cheaper saving us money? Is it more or less absurd that it's likely a government rule that they need to provide an expiration date with the max of 2 years for a product that will likely last much longer? If you don't like what they're doing buy a different glue.

Pva glues last a long time i have 2 bottles that work great and are 5 years+ old.

[BillyJack]

I’ve got glue before the dating. As long as it looks the same and tacks I’ll use it,.

[wtnhighlander]

Theses are only valid arguments I can think of, for embedding expiration or mfg. dates into a code rather than printing them plainly.

1. Dates are not formatted the same across the globe, and can be misinterpreted anyway.

2. The code may contain other pertinent information, such as a lot number, to aid in identifying a particular run of product.

[JohnG]

The only truly regulated expiration dates in the USA are on infant formula and some medicines. Consumer goods targeted at ages 12 and under require certain information, including date of manufacture, but is loose in its specifics (a set of many different items or components manufactured on different dates may be labeled with the date or period in which it was repackaged, not necessarily when the individual parts were manufactured). Starting Jan 1 2023, California is requiring that any consumer good that contains composite wood products be specially labeled, including month and year of manufacture. I don’t believe any other food or consumer good is required to bear an expiration or “best if used by” date or is regulated to any extent.

Amazon requires that some items list an expiration date in order for them to fulfill shipments. A select few other retailers/distributors may have similar requirements.

While some companies may be trying to hide the date of manufacture, most just need to include more information than the manufacture date for their internal quality control or other tracking purposes. 

We put batch codes on some products we manufacture. Like many other companies, the batch code made up of the date and other characters to identify other internal information. While some may be trying to hide the date, many companies have information easily found online to “decode” their batch dates, Elmers and Titebond included.

We use batch codes because on some packaging we don’t have space to keep everything separate, with all of the other labeling that IS required and regulated. We state a shelf life, but nobody checks it or validates it.

[BillyJack]

I priced gallons the other day at Menards. It ain’t crazy, but it has increased.  I’ll no longer buy 5 gallon's anymore, but gallons I will..