2 Part Epoxy shelf life?

[JohnL]

     Anyone have any experience with, or opinions on how long 2-part epoxy stays good, after you open the tubes?  I used about 1/3rd of a pr. of epoxy tubes to splice some siyahs, back in March, earlier this year.  Their lids have been sealed-up tight since then (about 8 months).  Getting ready to do a handle splice.  The product is Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy.  The 30 min handling / 30 min set / 8-12 hr. cure type.

–John

[DC]

Any epoxy I've used lasts forever. Sometimes the resin will get a little grainy but a little warmth gets rid of that.

[Stick Bender]

I only use Smooth-on , I date my cans & retire them after 6 months to overlay use only , somtimes they start smelling different ,I figure its cheap insurance on stressed limb glue ups & after a year I throw them out !  Its not worth it to me to risk a glue line failure !

[Badger]

My smoothon epoxy is at least 6 years old now or older and still works fine. It is getting hard spots I have to dig through to get to the soft stuff.

[DC]

Put it in a bucket of hot water and all the hard spots should smooth out. The resin behaves like honey. When it goes grainy just heat it up.

[PatM]

Generally the resin lasts forever and the hardener expires eventually. Keeping it at  lower temps and away from moisture and sunlight always helps.

[Stick Bender]

Maybe I'm over cautious but all epoxys have a shelf life the only things I have to go by is Temp storage and time , so if there is any question about quality ,I error on the side of getting fresh epoxy it's far cheaper then the components or time invested in making a bow just my 2 cents !

[JohnL]

Thanks, fellas!  I appreciate the feedback.
     –John