keeping rubber goods fresh

[s.e.charles]

we all know to rotate spare batteries & emergency rations/ water supplies, first aid kit medications, and spare fluids.

Q: how is the best way (for product life) to store rubber goods like radiator hoses and fuel line tubing?

my thought is a dry-lok style bag & some boeshield or silicone sprayed on them once a year, but have no idea if that's the "best" - or 'industry standard' way. I keep my bicycle inner tubes rollin' free with bowlers talc in a ziplok bag; not sure if it would work on automotive stuff.

 

[4xdog]

I don't think silicone oil is a good idea (ever). It gets everywhere and interferes with surface chemistry. It does nothing to preserve rubber as far as I know (and I've spent almost forty years working in polymer science and technology). I see no need for Boeshield, either.

The best thing is to get good rubber. There's some real crap out there these days. I have an old British sportscar, a Triumph TR3, and some of the original near 60 year old rubber is in better condition than modern replacements less than five years old. Get respected brand names or OEM stuff.

Then keep it out of the light (to prevent UV degradation) and away from ozone, a variation of common oxygen that's simply murder on rubber. Electrical motors produce ozone, as do photochemical reactions involved in pollution and smog.

Plastic bags really don't have great barrier properties over the long term. For that one wants metal or glass, which sounds like a real pain for spare parts. I simply keep stuff cool and dark, and I've found products like good quality belts, hoses and fuel lines will last at least a decade.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

What about sealed mylar bags with 02 absorbers? Would they also remove the 03? Short of purging the mylar with dry argon I don't know of anything that would stop the 03.

 

[4xdog]

Here's some stuff on ozone degradation from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_cracking

I can't readily find anything on the ozone-barrier properties of polymers like polyester (mylar). But, as noted earlier, polymers really aren't the best barriers for gasses long term. If one were to use a plastic bag of some sort, I'd be sure to get one as part of a foil laminate (like those used for MREs) or at the very least a metallized film.

But getting the best quality rubber compounds from the start is really the ticket to the whole show, followed by the environment where the rubber is stored. Things like packaging will be a minor factor.

 

[Buliwyf]

Simple Green.

 

[s.e.charles]

I wouldn't have it in the house. spent my 60th birthday at the walk-in clinic with a respiratory infection from using simple green (no respirator - my own negligence). that stuff is not good to be exposed according to a gazillion websites regarding household chemicals.

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/simply-green-washing-are-you-using-toxic-cleaner
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/...e-green-cleaners-are-deceptive-and-toxic.aspx
https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/1545-SimpleGreenConcentratedAllPurposeCleaner#.W3lIkfZFz4Y

 

[jadmt]

I have kept running shoes in sealed tupperware bins in the dark and several years later the rubber soles and midsoles are like new. I would say if really concerned keep your rubber products in a sealed bin and out of the light or extreme heat. There is some rubber that comes treated in a waxy type stuff like cosmoline but not sure if it is actually cosmoline

 

[s.e.charles]

from a more generic source: http://pipcousa.com/how-to-store-tire-bladders-and-rubber-parts/

i'll dig around some automobile restoration resources and try to find more information.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

What about heat sealing in a vacuum bag, as you would with food destined for long term freezing? Keeps air away to prevent freezer burn, so seems like they would work.

 

[pluton]

I have my spare belts and hoses under the pass side back seat in extra large ziploc freezer bags. The idea is minimize air exchange. The belts and hoses bathe in their own [unpleasant chemical]smell. Works for me.
OT, Agree that Simple Green has something wrong with it. They may have deliberately made it irritating to mucus membranes when they designed it, cause hurting the user means it's 'working hard'.

 

[s.e.charles]

for those who use plastic storage bags: over time, does the plastic stick to the rubber (radiator hoses or fan belts - specifically)?

thanks

 

[s.e.charles]

... Simple Green has something wrong with it. They may have deliberately made it irritating to mucus membranes when they designed it, cause hurting the user means it's 'working hard'.

if so, the manufacturer certainly got that part right!

used straight, it would remove the epoxy floor finish in the garage & mechanical rooms. not like paint stripper, but the hard protective layer on top so even if the floor looked clean, it now had a flat skid resistant finish and was susceptible to stains & dirt much quicker. key was to dilute it - as the instructions indicated!

 

[pluton]

for those who use plastic storage bags: over time, does the plastic stick to the rubber (radiator hoses or fan belts - specifically)?

thanks

My current set of Toyota OEM belts and hoses has been in the same Ziploc freezer bag for just over 5 years, no sticking, clinging, or deposits. They've been moved around to different storage spots several times. I live in what is supposed to be a fairly dry climate, So. Cal.

 

[s.e.charles]

anyone carry spare wiper blades? I guess they would stay in the original packaging to keep clean & not get bended.

 

[Kraqa]

i know its been said but i will repeat it because its true. UV and Ozone kill rubber. keep it away from those things and theres not much else you can do.