Originally Posted by
J Miller
Grant,
That's good to know. So it does have a shelf life. I guess I shouldn't lay in a life time supply of it then.
Joe
I bet that only applies to the dry lube formula. Or to the aerosol propellant in the can. Something that could settle, evaporate, or clog the nozzle. Personally, as long as I could get it to come out of the can or bottle I would be using it. Teflon (PTFE) is inert. Mineral oil should have much longer than 3 years shelf life. I suppose there might be something in the oil carrier that possibly can go a little acidic or something. Bu I kind of doubt that this is anything more than a "freshness date issue." Unfortunately, I don't have time to go do a lot of Googleing tonight.
okay eta: Some PTFE lubes have corrosion inhibitors and possible those weaken w/age. But I think it would take much more than 3 years for significant change. The bigger issue seems to be that a petroleum-base carrier for the PTFE can go gummy. That is my take on it from reading a weapons lube FAQ here:
http://www.mil-comm.com/index.php?op...d=29&Itemid=43
Question: What’s the shelf-life of your weapon lubricants?
ANSWER: TW25BŪ (and its derivatives) have earned a unique “No Known Shelf-Life” qualification from the U.S. Department of Defense (Defense Logistics Agency “DLA”). It contains NO petroleum ingredients which are what ages in a lubricant and results in it eventually turning into a gummy, tacky, problematic coating.
Personally, I don't think either one is a real serious issue for a sewing machine. Unless it's just sitting on display, it's getting use and all the joints are going to be doing a lot of moving and also people will oil their machines as they use them. I have never read any anecdotes of TriFlow corroded / plugged up my machine, and I've been cleaning up old machines since 1998.
But I am open to other opinions.