# COLD STORAGE?



## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

*I've been following the common forum protocols and storing my latex tubing in the coolerator, hoping to extend its life. After a recent order, curiosity prompted me to ask the supplier about this. Interesting answer. Can anyone weigh in with scientific info?*

* "**I'm going to use your #202 product for target shooting BBs with a slingshot. On the slingshot forum, it's often said that latex tubing should be stored in a refrigerator to retard the degrading process. Is this true? Also, it's often said that sunlight and even air contribute to shortening the useful life of latex tubing. What are the true facts regarding these issues?"*

"We have always stored our tubing at room temperature and never have noticed any degradation. One manufacturer has stated that tubing stored at room temperature will retain its properties indefinitely. It should not be exposed to extreme temperatures, whether hot or cold. It's true that UV light from the sun degrades tubing. To the best of my knowledge I know of no issues with air.

I hope that helps. Good luck with your slingshots."


----------



## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

I just use a brown bag ..use some talcum powder on the elastic's & store in a kitchen cabinet ..so it is in the dark...temp stay's pretty much the same

yr around 65* too 70*...I have had no issue's......I did get a batch of tubing I ordered that was no good..I was sent a replacement.....

As for UV protection I use 303 aerospace protectant or armor all

~AKAOldmiser

Ps I have also vacuum seal in a bag & placed in a brown bag....this seems to last longer..as there is no air


----------



## Viper010 (Apr 21, 2012)

I keep my elastics stash in a cookie tin in my living room cupboard. 
In that tin, there's also a bunch of different sizes office rubber bands. Of which I also keep a bunch in the back of one of my kitchen drawers. I notice dramatic difference in shelf life between the kitchen drawer bands and the ones in my cookie tin. Both places are well away from sunlight but the ones in the cookie tin keep a lot better for a lot longer.

Could be that the manufacture of your particular tubing puts 303Aerospace or something similar on them to negate loss of quality in storage. Could also very well be, that that coating isn't as stretchy as the latex itself, so that the "expiry timer" might start ticking on your tubes as soon as you give them a couple stretches.

I have no clue about the fridge, but I know my cookie tin helps. Be it for oxygen, uv, or both.


----------



## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

I keep all mine in a sealed tin as well, never had any problems. Never refrigerated any.


----------



## Onyx (Dec 10, 2010)

Mr.Monkeynopples asked a challenging question: what can science tells us about the degradation of latex over time.
In attempting to answer this, I started to read the relevant material on the web...and was quickly overwhelmed.

Maybe a forum member (or friend or relative) with an organic chemistry background could enlighten us on this.

In the mean time it seems reasonable to assume that we can slow down the inevitable degradation by storing
latex in a cool dark place.

NB. I was surprised to learn that microbial activity can be a significant factor.


----------



## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

I bought some pure latex tubing at a hardware store here before they quit handling it. The day I purchased it, it was perfect. I stored some in a black plastic polyethylene bag in my shop so no UV from reflected sun light or fluorescent lighting in the shop could hit it. In about a year it started to degrade with no use, just stored. Cut edges started to crack and show obvious signs of oxidation.

Latex is derived from tree sap and is 100% organic and natural. It can and does oxidize. Oxidation is a chemical process of combining oxygen from the atmosphere with a substance. All chemical reactions take place at a faster rate if temperature is increased...without exception.

It is my "theory", not a well done study with controls, that since a freezer is much lower in temperature than ambient air which around here averages about 65degF in daytime and in the 40s at night, that oxidation of elastic would proceed slower in a freezer than at ambient temperatures. I have no proof, just theory using a chemistry background education. Therefore my theory may be somewhat incorrect. Since it costs nothing to stash elastic in a freezer, I do it and have nothing to lose if I'm incorrect. I can't get elastic here in bananaland so I have to get it couriered by kind expats who live here and visit the real world once in a while...rolls of TBG and boxes of Alliance Sterling big ole fat rubber bands. My hoard is faithfully kept in the freezer.

I think Old Miser's use of Armorall or similar inert silicone protectant is an excellent idea especially for slingshots which are banded up for long periods of time as in a collection...not wanting to band a frame each time it's shot but have it "on deck" ready to shoot when the whim hits. Silicone is inert, the vehicle in which it is dispensed, dunno. Old Miser has used this method for some time with much success...it's high time I tried it myself! I have some protectant, not Armorall but I think about the same thing I'll use on several bands as an experiment.


----------



## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

My memory searched for the keywords "stale rubber" and over night my brain produced the following memory item.

About two months ago I was going through some very old papers, about 25 yeas old. I found a rubber band in he mess. It had completely degraded into an amorphous mass of goo all by itself. It was the "old kind" made of translucent yellowish latex...you know, a "real rubber band". The box of papers was stored in ambience of hot to cold during that time. Similarly, when I was going through my father's things after he passed away, I noted that there were many rubber bands around rolls of papers which had degraded to the same amorphous goo...they were likely 10 to 15 years old.

I would assume any slingshoter would have used his stash of rubber long before the goo factor interceded in the rubber quality...so this is really a moot point. Moot post? Something like that...but since this thread is about degradation of elastic vs refrigeration, thought I'd add this quip. Long term storage of latex apparently results in serious degrading...good to know for the preppers and stashers "for a rainy day".


----------



## Onyx (Dec 10, 2010)

Cryogenic Storage...


----------



## Lee Silva (Feb 9, 2013)

The very thought of not having good latex on hand, at all times, and within arms reach, gives me the night terrors.... I would sooner hock a cherished family heirloom to cover the cost of a fresh roll, before I'd even consider going without.... For any amount of time..... hehehehe So tragically true ...

Because of this very real O.C.D. I tend to stock more rubber than I could ever possibly use! Way more!!!

At one point, TWO FULL SUITCASES MORE!!! Seriously.... I could have crafted custom "cat suits" for the lot of you, and banded your slingshots for several months!!! Holy crap, what a party that would be!!!

I shoot a lot, so I used a lot. I also banded my free-standing turret mounted monster sling(about 15ft draw length) several times, and gave a heap away...... Religiously, I powdered, treated, and double sealed it with silica packets, etc, and still wasted many yards of the stuff, eventually lost to it's very own natural degradation.

I felt horrible! But still no night terrors!!!!! I had a ten ft roll of .030 medi from simpleshot cached away in my "carry-on" that I was dying to slice into!!

Hehehehehe!!!

The moral of the story is.... Keep only a sensible inventory (months, not years worth) on hand. Keep it dry and in it's own container away from the elements, and worry nevermore of rotting rubber....

A good low cost conditioner that I use on slings I don't use daily, that blocks uv and extends life is called "Son of a Gun" by STP brand. It's like a trip to the "Bunny Ranch" for aging elastics! Wakes em right up and puts a spring in their step. good stuff

I also swear by keeping a talc filled "dusting pouch" in pocket. I dust the zhit out of everything constantly. Whether it needs it or not! by the end of the week my room looks just like the final scene in"Scarface", but it smells good, and my rubber's happy!!!


----------



## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

*Great to hear from you LS and thanx for the tip about the Son of a Bunny Ranch stuff. Sensible inventory is sensible advice.*


----------



## Viper010 (Apr 21, 2012)

Still wondering though.... Would it still be good now, had Lee stored it in a freezer?

Cue Flatband for the final and decisive answer! Come in Mr Miller! Keep us in suspense no longer, please! ????


----------



## Colliedog (Dec 12, 2015)

I've got my prize natural catapult with TBG that's been sitting on a shelf in my front room for 3 years and the other week I pulled the bands and they snapped clean in half.


----------

