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His Royal Hiney
Picture of Rey HRH
posted
I don't go by expiry dates for food or medicine as I know that's just based on when the manufacturer keeps a control lot of the same batch in controlled storage for determining where an issue arose in the manufacturing process or outside.

I also understand chemicals break down over time.

Does anyone have a definitive guess as to how long Pepper Sprays and Gels remain effective past epiry dates? These are three year expiration dates.

I also know they're not going to remain effective forever. And it's not like it cost an arm and a leg.

For those who carry pepper spray as part of their job, when do you replace them?



"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
 
Posts: 20355 | Location: The Free State of Arizona - Ditat Deus | Registered: March 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fighting the good fight
Picture of RogueJSK
posted Hide Post
We replaced them every every 3 years or so.

The capsaicin doesn't break down, but the propellant does.

You can test them to see if the propellant still works. (But by doing so, you then shorten the useful life of the remaining propellant in the can.)

Just be sure to do it outside and upwind!
 
Posts: 33608 | Location: Northwest Arkansas | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
The seal on the can also degrades over time, or so I'm told.
 
Posts: 5279 | Location: Iowa | Registered: February 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
The Quiet Man
posted Hide Post
The issue isn't the active ingredients, It's the seals on the can and the propellant. OC doesn't do you a lot of good when you are trying to shake it out of the can like Tabasco.

I've seriously seen an officer pull out an old can and go to spray it to watch the OC dribble to the ground inches away.

I replace mine when they expire. It isn't worth the risk for such an inexpensive product.
 
Posts: 2704 | Registered: November 13, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
His Royal Hiney
Picture of Rey HRH
posted Hide Post
Okay, you guys convinced me. Pinching pennies is not worth it on this item and I found out I can just buy the inserts. Thank you.



"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
 
Posts: 20355 | Location: The Free State of Arizona - Ditat Deus | Registered: March 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
In the yahd, not too
fah from the cah
Picture of ryan81986
posted Hide Post
That reminds me that my vexor spray is nearing its replacement date. But looking online, getting an MK3 can isn't as easy as it used to be through them.




 
Posts: 6471 | Location: Just outside of Boston | Registered: March 28, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of FiveFiveSixFan
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by ryan81986:
...my vexor spray...


Good choice! That stuff is vile!
 
Posts: 7411 | Registered: January 10, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by FiveFiveSixFan:
quote:
Originally posted by ryan81986:
...my vexor spray...


Good choice! That stuff is vile!


Vile is putting it nicely! My first agency used that stuff and it was LIQUID HELL IN A CAN.




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11477 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fighting the good fight
Picture of RogueJSK
posted Hide Post
Um... I don't think there's an OC spray out there that isn't vile and liquid hell in a can.

That's kind of its whole point. Big Grin
 
Posts: 33608 | Location: Northwest Arkansas | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
In the yahd, not too
fah from the cah
Picture of ryan81986
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Um... I don't think there's an OC spray out there that isn't vile and liquid hell in a can.

That's kind of its whole point. Big Grin


Yeah but Vexor is 15 million SHU's whereas the next closest is Fox at 5 million.




 
Posts: 6471 | Location: Just outside of Boston | Registered: March 28, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fighting the good fight
Picture of RogueJSK
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by ryan81986:
Yeah but Vexor is 15 million SHU's whereas the next closest is Fox at 5 million.


And the human body's receptors can't distinguish past ~2-3 million SHU.

15 vs 5 million is just marketing fluff. It makes it seem on paper like it's 3x more potent, but in reality it isn't any more potent to the recipient.
 
Posts: 33608 | Location: Northwest Arkansas | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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