Titebond Date Codes

[Pappy]

Wasn't quite sure where to post this. The information may have been posted before and I just missed it.

My Titebond II has gone bad and no longer flows. There was an old thread about the date codes on Titebond glues. I knew that the codes that were in that thread were no longer on the bottles in th stores so I did a quick search.

According to Titbeond the codes were changed in 2009 to the following:

"The first digit represents A for America (made in), the second digit is the last digit of the year of manufacture, the third and fourth digits represent the month, the fifth and sixth digits represent the day of the month, and the last four digits represent the lot number.

Example:

A904270023 - This material was manufactured on April 27, 2009"

Hope this helps some of you.

[Bruce Cohen]

Thanks Don,
I used to have it written down somewhere, but I forget where.

Bruce

[LCHIEN]

never mind the date codes, when i can't get it out of the bottle, I figure its too old and I stop using it.

[dbhost]

Glue can go bad? Never experienced that... Guess I use it up too fast...

[Sweet Willy]

I'm still unsure if a few things. Is the date the code represents the date of manufacture or the expiration date? If it's the manufactured date, what is the expected shelf life? I just threw away a gallon jug because it was like a big blob. I'm hoping I didn't wait too long to trash it. Thanks for the info.

[pelligrini]

From the manufacturer:
http://www.titebond.com/frequently_asked_questions.aspx

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. Sometimes, they begin to cure, and solidify, after the bottle has been opened. 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 turn 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.

[LCHIEN]

I take all "shelf life" claims as a guideline, not a point at which the material suddenly transforms from a useful item to a completely useless item (unlike my wife and daughter who thinks anything past the shelf life use by date should immediately be discarded lest it kill you on contact).

My philosophy is that things go badly gradually. In the case of batteries, they lose charge gradually so a 3 year old but unused alkaline battery has only 85% its life left and will continue to decline (50% after 5 years, 30% after 7 years). A drug has a property they call potentcy-it losses effectiveness as its potency drops. Some drugs are more stable than others, and loss of potentcy depends upon storage temperature (higher is worse) and UV light exposure (thats why some medicines come in dark bottles). Also damaging are oxygen exposure and humidity. Rates of loss of potency vary from medicine to medicine depending upon their relative stability. It's foolish to have them all expire in a year as they recommend now except for the byzantine different dates you'd have to have to apply. I know I have one medicine that is only good for 30 days at room temperature, I'm sure others (like potassium chloride supplements) are stable for years - basically its very similar to table salt. Most chemicals like glues and stuff have similar enemies - heat, UV, humidity and oxidization.

Still, forced to come up with dates, most manufacturers go to an easy value (one year) that will cover the worst case storage conditions (an un-airconditioned house in south Florida at 90 degrees F three quarters of the year) in a room exposed to window light.

For me, I keep most things stored in a cabinet in an airconditioned house so I generally let things run at least 2 years if they claim one year shelf life.


The thing that makes me laugh is the arbitrary assumption of a year for so many things. A really laughable one is bottled water, with an expiration date of a year. Really, what can go wrong with water? I do believe its not totally unlimited - the plastic has limited permeability and I've got a really old (7 years) sealed bottle of drinking water I kept as a souveneir that has apparently been losing some content as the plastic has apparently shrunk in some.

Unlike medicines which tend to look the same as they age, glues its easy to tell when they've gone bad. Ones that don't last for me:
CA glues - they tend to harden in those tiny tubes shortly after I puncture the seal to use it for something - essentially single use for me.
PU glues (like Gorilla Glue) they tend to get hard not too long after opening and using; maybe the texas humidity gets inside the bottle and makes it set up. I can't seem to keep a bottle of that stuff.

[Pappy]

I'm still unsure if a few things. Is the date the code represents the date of manufacture or the expiration date? If it's the manufactured date, what is the expected shelf life? I just threw away a gallon jug because it was like a big blob. I'm hoping I didn't wait too long to trash it. Thanks for the info.

The date code is the date of manufacture. The only thing it insures is that you aren't buying a bottle that has been sitting in a warehouse for 5-6 months. The turnover for Titebond glues, especially the yellow wood glues, is fairly fast but I have seen some on the shelf that was over a year old.

[Relative]

14 years ago I put Pergo flooring throughout our house. I bought quite a few quarts of the Pergo-brand white glue and had several leftover quarts. I have one open right now and am using it. Two more are still unopened. The open one has been opened since Dec, 2010 when my son and I built a wall unit for my wife's den. The open quart still flows well and seems to have no problem holding stuff together.

However, I also recently threw away a half-full gallon of Titebond II that was about 2 years old because I couldn't pour it into a smaller bottle. It came out in globs. Probably should have moved it into smaller containers instead of letting it sit half full of air.

Mike Cebula

[Bruce Cohen]

Mike,

What I usually do it to buy one quart at a time. Both Home Depot and Lowes are within one mile of my house and they always have Titebond III in stock.
This way, I never (well almost) have to toss out bad glue.

Bruce

[Relative]

The point I was trying to make is with the way the Pergo brand performed for me after so many years, I think I will seek it out for non-waterproof applications.

Mike Cebula