Chemical / Fuel shelf life

[KAP]

I opened a 2.5 lb tub of Potaeeium Perchclorate I purchased 5 years ago and it looks like the plastic bag liner is breaking down. I don't know if this is common or if I need to circulate my stock of chems better. All of my chems are stored in a cool dry place with all of the lids on them.

I would suspect there is a shelf life here, especially with fine uncoated metals.

Any suggestions on what to burn sooner than later?

Maybe I am making excuses to buy more goodies.

[WarezWally]

It depends on the chemical or element, potassium perchlorate will slowly decompose over a long period of time back to potassium chloride (and oxygen) but this takes many years and even longer if properly stored. Metals on the other hand will oxidize relatively quickly unless they are coated or properly stored but even then I would say they would last for quite some time.

[al93535]

What makes you think the bag is breaking down? Did you look at the bag when you first received it? KClO4 should last many decades in proper storage, and that is at the lower end of its shelf life.

 

Usually plastic bags break down from UV light, and thats after an extended amount of time. Even if the perchlorate was breaking down, which it wasn't, the free oxygen wouldn't do anything to the bag. If that was the case, all the plastic bags would break down in the environment.

 

The worst chemical to store is uncoated magnesium, and it will store well in a sealed container for 10+ years. When you open the container it will oxidize from the O2, otherwise it will just sit there in its current state until you let more O2 in.

 

Don't worry, your chems are just fine sitting there in their sealed container.

[KAP]

Very good, no need to rotate stock. I will try to use up my magnesium or coat it for longer shelf life.

I thought it was strange the bag rotted right at the line where the perch met the top, and it is crumbly below that.

Maybe it was stored in sunlight at the supplier's, I will sleep better knowing I don't have to go out and mass produce comps before my supplies go bad.

[tentacles]

Only volatile things, like HCE and dechlorane, really have a shelf life, and you could prolong it greatly by storing it in a container that will hold pressure (raise the vapor pressure, no more evaporation).

[Frozentech]

Only volatile things, like HCE and dechlorane, really have a shelf life, and you could prolong it greatly by storing it in a container that will hold pressure (raise the vapor pressure, no more evaporation).

Add Napthalene to that list, for the same reason, it's volatile enough to just sublimate away and not be there when you want it