Wood Glue Freezing

[Ron Citerone]

Would you guys order wood glue via Amazon in the winter? I am wondering about it freezing while sitting in a truck.
Ron

[tom lucas]

Titebond isn't affected by freezing. My gallon freezes all the time. But, it has to be really cold to freeze kind of hard-like. A few minutes on the heater and it's ready to use. I bought once through Amazon. The glue seemed a bit old. Next time I just got it at home depot.

[Jim Becker]

Unless you're in a real out-of-the-way place, it's unlikely that the glue would freeze in transit, but if it need to sit around waiting for you to come home, it might be an issue. Buying PVA glue at the 'borg or any of the many other places that sell it probably would make sense if you believe freezing will be an issue for you where you live, even if it costs a little more to do so. IMHO.

[Steve Demuth]

Depends on the glue. Some definitely can't stand freezing, some it doesn't make much difference. My shop routinely freezes, and I keep Titebond out there all winter. I'd check the manufacturer's website if you're concerned.

[Ron Citerone]

I am looking to buy titebond extend for an eventual glue up where I think I need it and can't find it local.

[Ron Citerone]

Got it. According to Titebond site glues are designed to handle 5 freeze thaw cycles. Problem solved..........Thanks for the advice!

[Dave Zellers]

Titebond isn't affected by freezing. My gallon freezes all the time. But, it has to be really cold to freeze kind of hard-like. A few minutes on the heater and it's ready to use. I bought once through Amazon. The glue seemed a bit old. Next time I just got it at home depot.

There is never any reason to guess the age of Titebond glue- they are very up front about it:

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.


Having said that, I have found Amazon prices for Titebond glue to be much higher than I can buy locally.

[Ted Derryberry]

Last I checked a gallon of Titebond II is $17.97 at HD and Amazon. I've ordered from Amazon before just because I was lazy and they had probably ticked me off that week and I figured they lose money on shipping an $18 item for "free". Otherwise I just pick it up at the Borg when I'm there anyway. As for the less common varieties, my lumber supplier carries most, if not all, of them. There's always Rockler if money is no object.

[Rich Engelhardt]

According to Titebond site glues are designed to handle 5 freeze thaw cycles.Correct. I just read this in a Facebook post last week & looked it up myself.
Anyhow - it takes a long time at single digit temperatures and below (Fahrenheit) for PVA to freeze. Plus the packages should be marked - "Keep from freezing", so, they shouldn't be left anywhere they could freeze.

[Marshall Harrison]

I don't think there's much to worry about it freezing during delivery.


How do you know that the glue isn't sitting around frozen in some warehouse prior to shipping?

[Marty Schlosser]

Titebond isn't affected by freezing. My gallon freezes all the time. But, it has to be really cold to freeze kind of hard-like. A few minutes on the heater and it's ready to use. I bought once through Amazon. The glue seemed a bit old. Next time I just got it at home depot.


Thomas,

I'm quite surprised to hear that you've been able to have your glue freeze so many times and still have successful bonding occur. A friend of mine conducted tests on Titebond III, II and a few other PVA glues where he left them to freeze. He was able to knock the 1/2" X 12" long test panels apart with one quick hammer blow.

[Adam Herman]

interesting. did he let the glue thaw and then dry in an above freezing environment? or was the glue left in a freezing environment for the curing process as well?

[Steve Demuth]

Thomas,

I'm quite surprised to hear that you've been able to have your glue freeze so many times and still have successful bonding occur. A friend of mine conducted tests on Titebond III, II and a few other PVA glues where he left them to freeze. He was able to knock the 1/2" X 12" long test panels apart with one quick hammer blow.

I've never had any difficulty. It is important that both the glue and the wood you glue be above (and I would say well above if you're warming up cold glue) the chalk temperature of the glue. I've also seen Titebond III "curdle" from being fully frozen. In theory you can rehomogenize it after that, but the stuff isn't so expensive that I've ever tried.

I'll also admit that actually freezing the glue is rare in my unheated shop. It doesn't freeze at 30F in a few hours. Even at 15F it's still liquid, albeit the consistency of molasses. My shop gets down into single digits several times each winter, but probably not more than the 5 Titebond recommends.

[Frank Pratt]

I've had Titebond separate into a rubbery gloppy mess after several freeze/thaw cycles. Don't know just how many. I would say that trying to rescue it would not be worth the effort. I tried stirring it for a few minutes & made no progress.

[tom lucas]

Thomas,

I'm quite surprised to hear that you've been able to have your glue freeze so many times and still have successful bonding occur. A friend of mine conducted tests on Titebond III, II and a few other PVA glues where he left them to freeze. He was able to knock the 1/2" X 12" long test panels apart with one quick hammer blow.

Maybe it depends on truly frozen glue. I'm not sure mine has ever quite fully frozen. It's thick when temps are in the teens F, and only frozen when temps below 10 or so, which are quite rare conditions in these parts. I've never had any issues. I do warm the glue and stir before using. It's stronger than the wood itself.

[Jim Andrew]

My original Titebond is not hurt by freezing, but the Titebond 2 I had was ruined by one freeze. Haven't checked my bottle of #3.