FlyingDude Posted March 4, 2022 Report Posted March 4, 2022 Hello guys, What's the best storage temperature to maximize aeroshell grease lifetime? If you keep it at room temperature, does it last even beyond expiration date? (I assume the expiration date is gauged for bad storage... Maybe it's not, though...) Thanks Quote
carusoam Posted March 4, 2022 Report Posted March 4, 2022 What does its documents tell you? Some things like to avoid temps below freezing… Some things like to avoid warm temps… Grease is a compound of different materials… that probably want to separate from each other… Check the shell website to see if they have storage conditions for their products… We can also ask @Cody Stallings (how he stores his propellor greases) Put it in the refrigerator, and turn it upside down every other week…. PP thoughts only… -a- Quote
FlyingDude Posted March 4, 2022 Author Report Posted March 4, 2022 Hey A, The conditions listed are very generic... 0-40C, no high humidity, not outdoors... I'm assuming the expiration dates listed are factoring in some amount of abuse... And that one could get extra mileage with babying it... 1 Quote
carusoam Posted March 4, 2022 Report Posted March 4, 2022 22 minutes ago, FlyingDude said: Hey A, The conditions listed are very generic... 0-40C, no high humidity, not outdoors... I'm assuming the expiration dates listed are factoring in some amount of abuse... And that one could get extra mileage with babying it... Keep it in the beer refrigerator… it will last forever…. Tipping it upside down every now and then keeps stuff from floating or sinking… Anything with a best used before date or expiration date on their package… is based on studies they have done under those conditions, and time… the stuff inside doesn’t necessarily go bad after that date… Oil that is in the grease has been around for millions of years… without changing… If grease were sensitive to oxygen, or moisture level… the packaging typically fails the day you open it…. Then it would be just a matter time before it dried up or hardened… Some products have volatile compounds in them… they are trying to evaporate, and often molecules escape through the primary packaging walls… expect the viscosity to change if the some of the oils are visibly escaping through the packaging…. Not all plastics are good for long term storage… Saran Wrap… is much better than a ziplock bag for keeping moisture and O2 from getting in or out… Then there is the take it out, stir it up, and put it back in its container routine…. But, I digress…. Stand by for some real mechanics to stop by and share their experience… PP thoughts only, not a packaging engineer or transport phenomena expert… Best regards, -a- 1 1 Quote
FlyingDude Posted March 4, 2022 Author Report Posted March 4, 2022 Makes sense... Thanks. So better on the 0* than 40C side? Or outright room temp at 20C?... Quote
carusoam Posted March 4, 2022 Report Posted March 4, 2022 Colder is better at keeping molecules from moving around… Right up to the point something freezes and causes separation…. Avoid uncontrolled storage… where temps can go unusually high in the summer… or extremely cold in the winter… Windows can allow sun in, and heat out… sometimes offices have some storage that they shouldn’t … -a- 1 Quote
carusoam Posted March 5, 2022 Report Posted March 5, 2022 Dude, Came across this thread earlier today… -a- 1 Quote
FlyingDude Posted March 5, 2022 Author Report Posted March 5, 2022 I was meaning to call aeroshell but forgot about it. I'll post any response I get. Thanks for that post. Yeah Things like acetone, alcohol, thinner seem to hold up. I had some mineral spirits go bad last year, so this year I'm keeping it in the garage (thermostat set at 45F). Quote
EricJ Posted March 5, 2022 Report Posted March 5, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, FlyingDude said: I was meaning to call aeroshell but forgot about it. I'll post any response I get. Thanks for that post. Yeah Things like acetone, alcohol, thinner seem to hold up. I had some mineral spirits go bad last year, so this year I'm keeping it in the garage (thermostat set at 45F). Mineral spirits would likely only have a problem if it was contaminated. I've had it go bad if it got water in it, but otherwise mineral spirits should be fine in the cold. FWIW, "thinner" (well, paint thinner, anyway) is just mineral spirits with maybe some other ingredient enhancements and different branding. If your thinner survived, your mineral spirits should have survived. Mineral spirits is usually my first go-to solvent for most things. It gets used a lot. Edited March 5, 2022 by EricJ Quote
A64Pilot Posted March 5, 2022 Report Posted March 5, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, FlyingDude said: I was meaning to call aeroshell but forgot about it. I'll post any response I get. Thanks for that post. Yeah Things like acetone, alcohol, thinner seem to hold up. I had some mineral spirits go bad last year, so this year I'm keeping it in the garage (thermostat set at 45F). How did the mineral spirits go bad? I can’t imagine that, evaporate maybe? With grease it seems that high temps aggravate the oil separating. ‘Many things have a expiration date that’s just a date that the manufacturer feels comfortable in guaranteeing the product with no real testing to see how long it will last. Bought distilled water the other day, noticed it had an expiration date? Other than maybe something growing in it, how does water go bad? Edited March 5, 2022 by A64Pilot Quote
PT20J Posted March 6, 2022 Report Posted March 6, 2022 9 hours ago, EricJ said: Mineral spirits is usually my first go-to solvent for most things. It gets used a lot. I use that also -- but I get the odorless version. Apparently it is made by hydrotreating mineral spirits which removes sulfur compounds by adding hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst during refinement. A painter friend put me onto it. Skip 1 Quote
A64Pilot Posted March 6, 2022 Report Posted March 6, 2022 Am I the only one that still uses 100LL Quote
PT20J Posted March 6, 2022 Report Posted March 6, 2022 5 minutes ago, A64Pilot said: Am I the only one that still uses 100LL Yes When checking for oil leaks on the DC-3 the mechanic had us wash the engine down with Varsol and then dry it with 100LL. Works great, but it scared the hell out of me to be spraying gasoline with a pneumatic sprayer. Lucky I don't smoke. 2 Quote
EricJ Posted March 6, 2022 Report Posted March 6, 2022 19 minutes ago, PT20J said: I use that also -- but I get the odorless version. Apparently it is made by hydrotreating mineral spirits which removes sulfur compounds by adding hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst during refinement. A painter friend put me onto it. Skip I use both, and kinda switch between depending on what's available. The odorless is the only kind I've had go bad, but it appeared to have gotten water in it or something. It may have been because it was packaged in a plastic bottle, too. 1 Quote
A64Pilot Posted March 6, 2022 Report Posted March 6, 2022 (edited) There is a lot of “odorless” paintbrush cleaner sold now that’s worthless in my opinion, I don’t know what it is, but it’s not mineral spirits. Mineral spirits depending on where you are is called white spirits, mineral turpentine, Varsol, solvent naphtha, Stoddard solvent and paint thinner, charcoal lighter fluid and even sometimes paint brush cleaner, but be wary of the odorless paint brush cleaner, to start with its white like milk, you see that and you know somethings wrong, and it comes in a white plastic bottle I only bought it once for cleaning the winches on my boat and had to go back and get the real stuff Edited March 6, 2022 by A64Pilot Quote
FlyingDude Posted March 7, 2022 Author Report Posted March 7, 2022 On 3/5/2022 at 4:28 PM, A64Pilot said: How did the mineral spirits go bad? Developed white gunks floating around. Simple green goes bad, too. I have the concentrate. The concentrate seems to hold, but the mixed solutions separated: white foam at top and pink liquid on the bottom. On 3/5/2022 at 4:28 PM, A64Pilot said: how does water go bad? Tiny bits of PET detaching from the structure and entering the water. That's why bottled water is not to be stored in direct sunlight. I recall how bottled water could taste stale at the end of a summer-time mountain hiking. On 3/5/2022 at 9:01 PM, PT20J said: DC-3 the mechanic had us wash the engine down with Varsol and then dry it with 100LL. And I used to consider myself brave... apparently, I'm not brave enough to do that. Do you open the hangar doors to allow for speedy evaporation? Anything wrong with washing engine with mineral spirits? Quote
PT20J Posted March 7, 2022 Report Posted March 7, 2022 23 minutes ago, FlyingDude said: And I used to consider myself brave... apparently, I'm not brave enough to do that. Do you open the hangar doors to allow for speedy evaporation? Anything wrong with washing engine with mineral spirits? We did it outside. Mineral spirits is fine. Varsol is just trade name for essentially the same thing. i think “light petroleum distillate” is the generic term. It takes a while to evaporate, and the subsequent gasoline spray speeds evaporation. We only did that because we were time pressed to find an oil leak before an airshow and needed to run up a clean, dry engine to find the leak. 1 Quote
EricJ Posted March 7, 2022 Report Posted March 7, 2022 1 hour ago, FlyingDude said: Anything wrong with washing engine with mineral spirits? +1 that it's actually what you're "supposed" to use. Many of the FAA docs say to use "varsol", which is like saying "kleenex" instead of "tissue paper". 1 Quote
carusoam Posted March 9, 2022 Report Posted March 9, 2022 On 3/5/2022 at 8:51 PM, A64Pilot said: Am I the only one that still uses 100LL Most conversations around here find 100LL used as a cleaning fluid… becomes too dangerous while not looking… Especially in a heated hangar… gas burners and 100LL vapors don’t mix… Same for static electricity… Winter brings dryness… dryness brings sparks… Find the conversations with José discussing washing out the oil pan with 100LL… Yes it works… but, there are better alternatives… Compare vapor pressures of your different favorite solvents… Best regards, -a- 1 Quote
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