Author Topic: Super Glue mini-bottle that doesn't harden by itself while stored capped?  (Read 8766 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline RoGeorgeTopic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7012
  • Country: ro
When stored for long (after opening the mini-bottle), even when properly capped, and put back in its original blister + an extra plastic bag, it still dries out by itself after a few months.  It is used vary rare, one drop at most, once at a few months.

Any tricks to avoid cyanoacrylate based instant glue to harden while stored?  Is the reaction reversible?

Offline Fraser

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 13526
  • Country: gb
I use the Loctite Power Gel superglue and have had an opened one in my fridge for a couple of years! It still works perfectly every time I go to use it. Brilliant stuff  :-+ I really like the Power Gel version as it meets many varied needs. I learnt many years ago that superglue lasts longer when stored in a fridge.

Fraser
If I have helped you please consider a donation : https://gofund.me/c86b0a2c
 
The following users thanked this post: silenceisblissfulness

Online themadhippy

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3266
  • Country: gb
Quote
Any tricks to avoid cyanoacrylate based instant glue to harden while stored?
Buy the smallest amount possible,it dont stop it going off once opened,but you waste less.our dollar store equivalent often has packs of 8 small tubes for a quid,one tube is more than enough for most jobs
 

Online xrunner

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7836
  • Country: us
  • hp>Agilent>Keysight>???
When stored for long (after opening the mini-bottle), even when properly capped, and put back in its original blister + an extra plastic bag, it still dries out by itself after a few months.  It is used vary rare, one drop at most, once at a few months.

Any tricks to avoid cyanoacrylate based instant glue to harden while stored?  Is the reaction reversible?

Put in small glass jar with a desiccant pack. Has kept mine good for several years.  :-+
I told my friends I could teach them to be funny, but they all just laughed at me.
 

Offline Stray Electron

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2253
I use the Loctite Power Gel superglue and have had an opened one in my fridge for a couple of years! It still works perfectly every time I go to use it. Brilliant stuff  :-+ I really like the Power Gel version as it meets many varied needs. I learnt many years ago that superglue lasts longer when stored in a fridge.

Fraser

  X2.  I keep mine in the fridge and I've never had any harden by itself.  The tube that I have now has been in there for several years.
 

Online Halcyon

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 6126
  • Country: au
Moisture is your problem, not necessarily air.
 

Offline RoGeorgeTopic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7012
  • Country: ro
Thanks, will try to keep the next one moisture free.  Maybe in a closed jar, with desiccant or rice, in the refrigerator, too.
Meanwhile googled more, and found someone who researched how to change the polymerization speed:
https://www.quora.com/What-additives-can-be-added-to-change-the-set-time-of-cyanoacrylate-glue
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/superglue/superglueh.htm

Others were using a needle and petroleum gel to seal the opening, then put the cap over the grease.
https://lifehacks.stackexchange.com/questions/4061/how-should-i-store-super-glue-to-prevent-it-from-drying-out
« Last Edit: April 20, 2023, 02:12:22 pm by RoGeorge »
 

Offline jwet

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 634
  • Country: us
A pet peeve.

I've developed 2 solutions-
1. Buy tiny tubes, HF and dollar stores sell 3/4" long tubes in packs of 12 that are just use once and pitch.  Downside is its just generic thin generic superglue.
2. "Stick Fast" brand sold at wood working stores comes in a decent 2.5 oz. plastic bottle and they acknowledge the problem by selling replacement screw on lids and caps in a pack of 2 for 2 bucks.

I like some of the advice above but having this stuff double wrapped is kind of a pain for something I use a lot.

Next pet peeve- leaky, nasty 2 part epoxy tubes....
 

Offline mwb1100

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 572
  • Country: us
1. Buy tiny tubes, HF and dollar stores sell 3/4" long tubes in packs of 12 that are just use once and pitch.  Downside is its just generic thin generic superglue.

This.  With two small differences: I only toss the small tube when it gets unusable, and the dollar store around here also sells a gel style super glue in the small tubes.
 

Offline SmallCog

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 312
  • Country: au
Not sure how common this brand is in other parts of the world but I've never had a bottle go off.

There's one of each on my bench that are at least a few years old, and bottles in my field gear too.

Seems to stick well to everything I've tried

https://www.altronics.com.au/p/t3016-chemtools-surface-insensitive-adhesive-glue-8401-20gm/

t3018-chemtools-adhesive-glue-8406-20gm/
 

Online Someone

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 5156
  • Country: au
    • send complaints here
When stored for long (after opening the mini-bottle), even when properly capped, and put back in its original blister + an extra plastic bag, it still dries out by itself after a few months.
Use a more airtight storage such as a jar or rubbery "tupperware", and as above you can use a low humidity location such as a fridge or freezer. Lots of people here saying years... I have some 14 year old Loctite cyanoacrylate that has become ever more viscous but is still usable.
 

Offline Muttley Snickers

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 2389
  • Country: au
  • Cursed: 679 times
From my experience the dollar store stuff is a lucky dip, more often than not it is utter garbage and a complete waste of time and money. It can harden even when not opened and I've seen other shifty store stuff never cure at all. ie: water.

One of the best super glues I have purchased to date has been the Workzone stuff from Aldi, you get two 7 gram tubes for a few bucks and it sticks like mud to a politician. I put all my glues and epoxies in zip-lock bags and keep them in air tight containers.
 

Offline jpanhalt

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 4005
  • Country: us
Polymerization of commercial super glue is base catalyzed.  Water can act as a base.  Keep it dry.  Dry air is not an issue.  Cold also reduces reaction rate -- very roughly halving (or more) for each 10°C lower.  NB: Note that Loctite thread lockers are are so resistant to air, they cure only when air is removed.

My climate is relatively dry.  I have stored them in sealed, small canning jars in the freezer for periods over a year.  Be sure to let them thoroughly get to room temperature before opening the jars. Drierite and other water absorbers can help, but I don't use them.  If you have a tank of dry argon (which I also use to preserve opened wine), flushing the jar will help.

Water thin versions may get a little thicker, but still work as adhesives.  If you need them to be really thin, fresh is best.
 

Online themadhippy

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3266
  • Country: gb
Quote
sticks like mud to a politician.
not very well?
 
The following users thanked this post: newbrain

Offline Muttley Snickers

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 2389
  • Country: au
  • Cursed: 679 times
Quote
sticks like mud to a politician.
not very well?
No, once stuck it cannot be undone or removed.   ;D
 

Online themadhippy

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3266
  • Country: gb
you must have a different breed of politicians to us,ours are made of teflon.
 
The following users thanked this post: Someone, newbrain

Offline jwet

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 634
  • Country: us
Muttley and others maybe-
Agree about dollar stores- who knows what you're getting or if you'll get the same thing on next visit.  However, Harbor Freight is another story and is pretty good at commodity stuff like this.
 

Online Bud

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7276
  • Country: ca
As Fraser said, use gel superglue. Stays workable for much longer and is not that runny as vanila superglue.
Facebook-free life and Rigol-free shack.
 

Offline EPAIII

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1165
  • Country: us
I do three simple things.

First I buy the small tubes. They are OK until opened and that can be years.

Two, I wipe them after using. You don't want any glue at the tip that can harden.

Three, I store them with the cap as tight as possible and standing VERTICALLY with the CAP FACING UP. That keeps them from leaking past the cap and having the air/moisture come in contact with any that leaks past the cap.

This can keep an opened tube good for years. But nothing is perfect and super glue is inexpensive.





Moisture is your problem, not necessarily air.
Paul A.  -   SE Texas
And if you look REAL close at an analog signal,
You will find that it has discrete steps.
 

Offline GLouie

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 176
  • Country: us
Storing in the refrigerator has been the answer for me. I buy the multi-packs of small tubes and after opening one, keep it in a heavy (4 mil) mini zip lock bag in the fridge. They last years this way.
 

Online Alex Eisenhut

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3550
  • Country: ca
  • Place text here.
what about the stuff with separate activator? Maybe the glue part keeps longer in that case?
Hoarder of 8-bit Commodore relics and 1960s Tektronix 500-series stuff. Unconventional interior decorator.
 

Offline mzzj

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1298
  • Country: fi
Hobbyking no-name cyanoacrylate has exceeded all of my expectations with self-life: I had to check from old emails and I have ordered the bottles in 2008/2009!
On top of that it was dirt cheap, 5 usd for large 50g 1.7oz bottle.
I have kept the bottles in fridge but sometimes they have been sitting also half a year in room temperature.

Nowadays it seem to be even cheaper but no guarantees if it  is same stuff as nearly 15! years ago.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-super-glue-ca-50g-1-7oz-medium.html
 

Offline jpanhalt

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 4005
  • Country: us
And I hope everyone understands that it lasts longer in the refrigerator because of the low humidity, not the temperature.  Room temperature + silica gel is just as good.

I didn't realize it was only humidity.  The relative humidity in my refrigerator is quite a bit higher than room air.  Absolute humidity is approximately the the same as as room air most of the time.   That is there is no condensation inside the refrigerator except on very humid Summer days.*  Do you have a reference to support your view?

On the other hand, the standard polymerization reaction is base catalyzed as mentioned before (attachment 1).  One might expect that reaction to be affected by temperature.  In addition, the ionization of water is strongly affected by temperature:

Code: [Select]
T (°C)	Kw (mol2 dm-6)	pH	pOH
0 0.114 x 10-14 7.47 7.47
10 0.293 x 10-14 7.27 7.27
20 0.681 x 10-14 7.08 7.08
25 1.008 x 10-14 7.00 7.00
30 1.471 x 10-14 6.92

Source: https://chem.libretexts.org
Thus, at 25°C the concentration of OH- (a base) is almost 10X3X the concentration at 0°C.  Since CA is in great excess, one would expect that 10-fold decrease in the other reactant to have a significant effect.

*EDIT: Assuming you mean open in the refrigerator.  I keep my CA sealed in canning jars whether in the refrigerator or freezer.  The absolute humidity is the same as when put in the jar, except for any decrease related to initiating the polymerization.

EDIT2: Ionization constant is the product of [H+] and [OH-]. Thus it is approximately only 3X not 10X.  Fixed in text.  Sloppy on a Sunday afternoon.  It now agrees with the pOH.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2023, 06:07:22 pm by jpanhalt »
 

Offline rdl

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3667
  • Country: us
From what I've read, before being opened refrigerated storage can extend the usable life of CA glue by up to 50%. After being opened, air enters the container. Any moisture it brings will condense when cooled and lead to problems, so storing opened containers at room temperature is recommended.
 

Offline antenna

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 420
  • Country: us
Heat a hot glue stick with a lighter and apply the hot glue to the tip of the tube.  Thats what I use and those cheap single use tubes they intend to be tossed out actually last until they are empty that way! I get months of use from those, and I am sure the bigger bottles would last a long time like that too.  The glue comes of easy with a twist.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2023, 06:12:44 pm by antenna »
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf