Ameriglo safety light sticks

[brandyspaw]

Anyone use the Ameriglo light sticks after their expiration date?

I was wondering if they're worth buying if you can get a deal on some that have an expiration date in a couple of years? I've never tried old ones and was just wondering if anyone had? If so, do they just lose their brightness?

[ArizonaGunOwners.com]

[Thernlund]

They just don't get as bright, and eventually won't work at all.  The two chemicals in them just break down over time.  How long that breakdown takes depends on what the chemicals are and how they're stored.  Heat and humidity are bad I'm told.


-T.

[coelacanth]

^ This ^ .  Also the duration of the glow decreases pretty significantly.   

[brandyspaw]

I figured as much. I actually wasn't sure if the chemicals in them might not glow at all as they age.

It makes me a little leary to buy older ones even though I can get these for 1/4 the cost of the newer ones. Its sometimes nice to be frugal but sometimes you find you're defeating the purpose of long term preps to go cheap.

[Marx-ism's]

20 years ago when I was teaching scuba diving, we used to regularly use expired cyalume sticks on night dives.  They would dim as they aged but still usually put out enough light to be visible.  The newer cyalume sticks on the market seem to be significantly brighter.

[K9ROCKY]

I keep mine in the refrigerator. I think it makes them store longer. 

[ArizonaGunOwners.com]