Does Titebond glue expire?

[Justin Pfenning]

I bought one gallon of Titebond Original, 2, and 3, about 2.5 years ago, when I was making a bunch of cutting boards. I've noticed some separation in the jugs lately, and I wondered if the glue has gone bad, or if I just need to mix it up good before using it. If mixing is the solution, how should i mix it up?

[Ole Anderson]

I have heard that, yes, it does not have an indefinite shelf life, but were that so, why don't they put a "best by" date on the bottle? They would sell more that way as we would be inclined to toss a bottle rather than take a chance with a glue joint failing.

[Matt Day]

Yes, it expires.

Titebond uses an alpha numeric code that needs to be deciphered using a key which is on their website somewhere.

Edit: http://www.titebond.com/resources/use/all

I think the rule of thumb with glue is that if it starts getting lumpy it’s gone bad.

[Andrew More]

According to Titebond about 2 years. I personally mark mine with the date purchased for this reason.

http://www.titebond.com/App_Static/Literature/ff876_ShelfLife.pdf

[Jim Becker]

This is one reason why I buy it in the smaller containers, even if the ultimate cost is slightly higher. I don't have to decant it into something easy to use while working and it's always "fresh". Years ago I did the gallon buy thing and ended up having to throw too much of it out because it went bad, especially since at that point, my shop wasn't conditioned space like it is now.

[Richard Coers]

Yes it expires. Call Titebond if you don't want to go to their website and read the information. http://www.titebond.com/resources/use/glues/faqs

[michael dilday]

If it looks ok I would test it on some scrap. If edge glued and the wood fails first it's probably good. From Titebond FAQ page.

Frequently Asked Questions
What does the term "shelf life" mean in regard to Titebond Wood Glues?

"Shelf life" is a conservative estimate of the minimum time period that we would expect a given product to remain usable, when stored as directed. This concept might also be called "useable service life" or "storage life," and it necessarily refers to both the physical handling properties and the ability of the product to perform properly. When used in reference to wood glues, reaching the stated shelf life does not mean that a product will "expire" or become unusable. Instead, we view the stated shelf life of most of our glues merely as a guideline to avoid potential aging concerns. In reality, as long as products like Titebond Original, Titebond II and Titebond III remain fluid, without a drastic change in appearance, they will continue to perform as intended. For a complete list of Titebond wood glues, adhesives and sealants shelf lives click here (http://www.titebond.com/App_Static/Literature/ff876_ShelfLife.pdf).

[Frank Pratt]

I had the tail end of a gallon of Titebond Extend go all lumpy & had to toss it, but it was over 5 years old. I've never had to toss Titebond II, which is my go-to. I buy it by the gallon & may go through that in less than a year, or it may take 3 years to use it up. It's so much cheaper, that even if I had to throw some away occasionally, I'm still money ahead. Not had to toss any yet though.

[Zachary Hoyt]

Now I buy a gallon of Titebond 1 at least once a year, as I am building more instruments, but in my salad days I had a gallon of Elmer's Wood Glue that was not new when I got it and I used it for 7 or 8 years before it ran out. It didn't get lumpy, or separated. I have no experience with Titebond 2 or 3, I use epoxy for waterproof jobs.

[Tony Zona]

I got this from the TiteBond site a few years ago.

I have used it in the store when I buy. Sometimes the glue at the rear of the shelf had not been cycled when the clerk restocked. It was old.

Titebond glue expiration
-- Shelf life of two years
Our current lot numbering system is a 10 digit code.

The format is: aymmddbat#.
-- a stands for Made in the U.S.A.
-- y is the last digit of the year of manufacture.
-- mm represent the month
-- 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.

[Rob Luter]

I've got some that's 10 years old. It still works fine. I use it to refill my small bottles. That said, I'll never buy a gallon again. It makes more sense to buy the smaller sizes and pay a few pennies more.

[michael dilday]

I have kept glue for many, many years and it never went bad. I had a very old Elmers not long ago that I tested and it was fine. If kept at a good temperature I think it will last indefinitely IMO.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I’m with Michael and Rob. I’ve never had TB go bad. As long as you store the gallon jugs in the proverbial cool dark place it’s apparently effective indefinitely.

[Warren Lake]

my glue came in five gallon pails, I used four different Helmitin glues, two were contacts. White and Yellow glues have a shelf life. They have different properties. In the real world you dont dick around with well it still seems to be working. Glues should be stirred before use. Info is from the chemists who design the stuff and not a salesman with a shirt and collar.

[roger wiegand]

It does get thicker over time, sometimes lumpy. The thick lumpy stuff still makes a joint much stronger than the wood. "Best by" dates tend to be fairly arbitrary and meaningless; only in drugs and baby food do they have a legal definition, as far as I know. (In drugs it only means that that was as long as they tested it and it was still good, the studies are expensive, once it's "long enough" the study stops and that's the date they use, the drug might in fact be good for decades longer). I use it until I can't spread it easily; if it ever freezes and separated I pitch it. Glue is cheap, don't keep it if you're not comfortable with it for whatever reason. I now buy quarts rather than gallons just to keep the stock a bit fresher. My last gallon lasted many years.

[Mike Henderson]

I buy it by the gallon and then put it into smaller bottles for use. In the cost of a project, glue is cheap so I would recommend if you have any concerns about the glue throw it away.

Of course, you can do a test glue up of some scrap and then break it apart to see how well if glued.

Mike

[Zachary Hoyt]

I use a mustard bottle to dispense glue, I find it much easier to keep the tip clean than the small bottles that Titebond comes in.

[Warren Lake]

Dijon or just regular yellow mustard?

[Mike Henderson]

I use a mustard bottle to dispense glue, I find it much easier to keep the tip clean than the small bottles that Titebond comes in.

That's a good idea. The yellow mustard bottles should work well with that top. The small Titebond bottles always get clogged at the tip.

Mike

[scott lipscomb]

I don't have an answer to the question, but I learned today that it sure doesn't stick to wood when the moisture content is high.
430951

[Justin Pfenning]

Thank you for all the advise.

The glue has never frozen, and it's stored in my mostly dark garage, so I know it's ok from that standpoint.

The serial number showing the date is a big help, so I can see just how long I've had it. Sometimes the years slip by faster than I care to admit.

Yes, I agree, glue is cheap in the big picture and I won't chance a project going off the rails due to bad glue. Wood and time are much more valuable.

I think I'll re-evaluate the value of a gallon of glue.

Thanks again for all the replies.

[Zachary Hoyt]

Dijon or just regular yellow mustard?
Yellow, the bottle is only 55 cents (as I recall) at ALDI when it's full of mustard so it's much more affordable than Dijon. I used two screw top ones for about 10 years, but a year ago I switched to a new bottle with a cap, and it's much handier. The screw threads would get full of glue occasionally on the old ones, but the new one is very low maintenance.

[Pete Staehling]

If it is separated I'd probably pitch it myself unless I had non critical jobs to use it on. Then if it was a lot, I guess I might be tempted to mix it up and test it, but I don't see myself using it on a customer's musical instrument or anything too critical even if it tested out okay.

On the other hand, I have used glue that was pretty old without giving it much thought. Maybe I shouldn't do that though. I guess I have tended to buy smaller bottles more in recent years so i doubt I have had any get very old lately.

[Mark Katz]

I got this from the TiteBond site a few years ago.

I have used it in the store when I buy. Sometimes the glue at the rear of the shelf had not been cycled when the clerk restocked. It was old.

Titebond glue expiration
-- Shelf life of two years
Our current lot numbering system is a 10 digit code.

The format is: aymmddbat#.
-- a stands for Made in the U.S.A.
-- y is the last digit of the year of manufacture.
-- mm represent the month
-- 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.

As of last year, Titebond has started using a 2-digit year code (i.e. ayymmddbat#). It's their Y2K moment!

[Pete Staehling]

According to Titebond about 2 years. I personally mark mine with the date purchased for this reason.

http://www.titebond.com/App_Static/Literature/ff876_ShelfLife.pdf

It seems really strange to me that they list a two year shelf life and then don't put a date on the container in a form that is readable without looking up how to read it. People probably buy expired or nearly expired product from small retailers all the time without realizing it unless they have a lot of control of their supply chain on the retail side and pull product back long before expiration (doubtful). With a 2 year shelf life that only leaves a reasonable amount of time from manufacture to purchase of what? One year? Even that gives the customer only one year of shelf life, which isn't all that much. It is a good thing the 2 years is probably a pretty soft limit.

It seems kind of unethical to me. I have to think maybe two things are at play. First maybe the two year life is a pretty soft limit and with decent storage conditions perhaps it is likely to last quite a bit longer, and second they know that many of the stores they sell to will have it on the shelves for longer than two years or at least customers will balk at buying it when it is close to expiring so they hide the date.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Two years. Local consumer law demands all product must state their shelf life in the label, Titebond included.

[ChrisA Edwards]

As of last year, Titebond has started using a 2-digit year code (i.e. ayymmddbat#). It's their Y2K moment!

I'm pleased you posted that, I bought this bottle about a month ago and that prior code didn't make sense, plus the HD, where I bought it was still a cow pasture in 2011.
https://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i452/cedwards874/Woodworking/TitebondUltimateIII_zpsfzywrgee.jpg

[Peter Bucy]

Last year I made a test lamination of white oak and TB glue that was around five years old. It was in a tightly sealed one gallon container and had no visible signs of degradation. The test lamination is still holding together except for one board that has a 1/8" split. The glued joint held together just fine on both sides; the board split about 1/2" from the glued joint. That tells me that the glued joint was stronger than the 3/4" white oak was. When it comes to glue, that is good enough for me. Just one guys experience.

Pete


I’m with Michael and Rob. I’ve never had TB go bad. As long as you store the gallon jugs in the proverbial cool dark place it’s apparently effective indefinitely.

[Warren Lake]

if I had a failure and took it up with my supplier I will have made sure glue is within its time period as that is likely the first question he will ask before we talk stirring, temps, clamp time and pressure and and.



.

[al heitz]

I just used some TiteBond Hide Glue that is 5 years old. Bought the 8 oz bottle so that was a help keeping the air contact down. Worked fine. One corner opened on me but that was because i think I forced it trying to plane against the corner less than 12 hours after glue up. Forced some glue back in the corner and clamped it. Corner solid again and good as new.

Only adverse comment is that I don't use it often and not used to how it runs a lot more than Titebond II and III. It seems like I'm constantly cleaning up sticky brown glue everywhere. Just need to get more familiar with working with it.

[Ole Anderson]

Why don't they just put a clear "best by" date on it? Implies it doesn't expire, just be aware it does age.

[Michael Schuch]

15+ year old blob of Titebond II "pudding" that has been through multiple freeze/thaw cycles. It still produces a VERY strong bond.

514836

514854

I wouldn't use this old glue for a important high end build... but for a quick shop glue up this 1 gallon bottle of Titebond II has done it job even after years of extreme abuse!

514837

I laminated the uprights and header beam on my gantry with this same bottle of Titebond II "pudding" about 5 years ago. Even under the considerable stress of this 1.5 ton sliding table saw the glue bond is holding up fine. I have lifted even heavier machines with this gantry.

514838

I wouldn't think twice about using 2.5 year old Titebond that still flows as it is supposed to even on an important project.