ShelfYears

Does starting fluid expire?

It carries a warranty rather than an expiry: CRC gives all its products a conditional 2 years from the date of manufacture, and what runs out in that time is can pressure, not chemistry.

Updated

Starting fluid
Sealed
2 years
Opened
Same 2 years from the date code
PRESSURE LOSS & VALVE AGEING
Degraded performance

Sealed: 2 years Tier 1

CRC states that all its products have a conditional warranty of two years from the date of manufacture, and repeats the same figure on its date-code sheet as a conditional warranted shelf life. The date is printed on the bottom of the can, so the window is readable before you trust the can.

After opening: Same 2 years from the date code Tier 1

An aerosol never really opens — the valve reseals every time — so there is no separate opened figure and CRC's two years runs from manufacture either way. What a part-used can does lose is propellant, a little with every use, which is why an old half-empty can is likelier to spray weakly than a full one of the same age.

How to tell it's gone off

  • Read the date code on the bottom of the can — CRC prints a five-digit production code there, and the warranted window is 2 years from it.
  • A can that feels light for its size, or noticeably lighter than it did when it was new.
  • A weak or sputtering spray in ordinary use, or one that stops while liquid is still audible inside the can — the sign the propellant has gone.
  • Rust, corrosion or denting around the seam, the rim or the valve cup.
  • A can that has been stored somewhere hot: Prestone's safety data sheet for starting fluid asks for below 120°F and out of direct sunlight.

If you use it anyway

Degraded performance

Old starting fluid is a dud rather than a danger. CRC's two years is a conditional warranty from the date of manufacture, and in that time what runs down is can pressure — the ether inside a sealed can is stable. An old can sprays weakly or not at all, which you find out immediately. The thing genuinely worth looking at is the can itself: rust or corrosion at the seam or valve means the package has aged, not the contents.

Why it goes off — PRESSURE LOSS & VALVE AGEING

Starting fluid is ether and a light hydrocarbon held under pressure. The chemistry inside a sealed can is stable; what runs down is the package. Propellant escapes slowly past an ageing valve or gasket, and CRC's two-year figure is a conditional warranty counted from the date of manufacture rather than a claim that the ether has changed.

Every page here commits to one of four states — Harmless · Degraded performance · Equipment damage · Safety issue. How the verdicts work.

How to store it

Prestone's safety data sheet for starting fluid gives the terms: store the product below 120°F, keep it out of direct sunlight, and store it in a well-ventilated area. CRC prints the production date on the bottom of the can, so the age is readable without opening anything.

Never store a can of starting fluid where it can get above 120°F.

Reading the CRC Industries date code

CRC stamps a five-digit production code on the bottom of the can: the first two digits are the year, and the next three are the day of that year, counted 1 to 365. CRC publishes the key itself — 07 = 2007 and 10 = 2010 for the year, 001 = Jan. 1, 035 = Feb. 4 and 365 = Dec. 31 for the day.

Worked examples
Printed code Made on
07182 July 1, 2007
10035 February 4, 2010

The decoded day is what's printed on the container — it tells you the product's age, nothing about this page. More formats.

Sources