Posted: 3/30/2025 8:16:45 PM EDT
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Okay so I just recently had occasion to buy a bunch of red and green chem lights for some night time activities. Now those activities are at least temporarily over, and I have two partial packages of chem lights that I would like to save for next time instead of just trash. Unfortunately both of the packages that I bought they came unwrapped just loose in a box- full disclosure this was somewhat last minute so I literally chose the ones that I could get one day shipping from Amazon with absolutely no regard to good better best or anything else. I know from previous experience that the older they get the less effective or reliable chem lights are, especially if you stored them out of their original foil packaging, or if even the foil packaging is damaged. I've searched around on the internet a little bit and seen everything from people insisting that after 10 or 15 years they're just perfect to people that try to put them in their freezer to get them to last longer. Most everybody seems to agree on cool and dark and for some reason dry (which I don't really understand but I'm willing to take on faith.) I did have the idea that I have a vacuum sealer so presumably I could toss a desiccant pack in and vacuum seal them to try to maybe keep them fresh, maybe storing them in an ammo can to keep it cool and dark. Oh and yes I understand that there are much better methods of making light available LEDs and so on but that's not how I use these, these mostly end up being tied on to things as markers that you can see in the dark without having to Jack with batteries and not having to care. So any suggestions on how I could possibly store my generic chemlights to get them to last a little longer so the next time I need them I don't have to scramble like I did this time? |
You got gun law problems, I feel bad for you son. I got 99 problems but a ban ain't one. -Sylvan
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From my search (copy/pasting below) heat and humidity .so refrigerator or freezer, Mylar and a desiccant? maybe do a control test with 3 of the same batch and color. Put one in the freezer, one in the fridge, and one outside for .a few months? Then bring them to room temp, crack them and take a pic. copy pasta: The outer plastic tube holds a solution of an oxalate ester and an electron-rich dye, while a glass vial inside contains hydrogen peroxide How should I store un-activated Glow Sticks / Glow Products? Glow light products should be stored in a cool dry place in their original container or package. Heat and humidity will shorten the shelf life of glow light products. How long is the shelf life of Glow Sticks? Depending on how they are packaged the shelf life is 1 to 4 years. Glow products kept in foil packaging will last for up to 4 years and items with no foil packaging have usually just over a 1 year shelf life |
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They should last a couple of years at a minimum. Over that length of time, you might be able to draw down your inventory and rotate in some new chem lights. They're cheap enough if you buy them in bulk that it's about the cheapest prep I can think of |
*post contains personal opinion only and should not be considered information released in an official capacity*
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The good ones—Northern Lights, et al, have expiry dates stamped on them and 2-3 years is typical depending on who you’re buying them from. I keep mine in the fridge FWIW and pulled one out last week and fired it up after ~7 years and it was beautiful the entire night. Chris |
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About a year ago I found some old Cyalume brand (Mil issued) chem sticks that were foil wrapped and expired in 2014. I opened one up to test them and they worked fine in 2024 so about 10 years past expiration. If you stock up on the Cyalume brand you should have no issues with long term storage for your next ones. |
| I’ve got a bunch of the small bobber light micro style ones I use for work. Theyve lived in my car 24/7 for a few years and still fire up when I break them. The liquid has slightly changed color but otherwise they work fine still. |
“ Well, it feels like someone took a rubber band and snapped it right on the edge of your anus.” -JThompson
We have a bunch at work of the old military grenade style ones where you squeeze the handle to crack the bottom one and the black plastic outer covering breaks off at the same time. The remaining part has a metal clip on it for attaching or you can toss it to light an area (somewhat). I want to say they have 1980’s dates on them and I cracked one about 6 months ago and it still worked. 
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A closed mouth gathers no foot.
Make it "Idiot Proof", along comes a better idiot.
Official Site Nickname, given by NorCal - "Smack"
Make it "Idiot Proof", along comes a better idiot.
Official Site Nickname, given by NorCal - "Smack"
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Standard Cyalume sticks will last a long while. Cleaning out some older gear, poppped a couple recently that were purchased in the early 2000's, which means they weren't new when they were purchased either. Stored in connex containers in hot, humid S. GA. Absolutely no need to store them in any special manner other than out of direct sunlight. |
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Originally Posted By CA_TX-Cop: We have a bunch at work of the old military grenade style ones where you squeeze the handle to crack the bottom one and the black plastic outer covering breaks off at the same time. The remaining part has a metal clip on it for attaching or you can toss it to light an area (somewhat). I want to say they have 1980’s dates on them and I cracked one about 6 months ago and it still worked. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/95505/IMG_4319-3540164.jpg I remember those, likely still have a few in deep storage. I think the idea was if you were injured or could only use one hand. Very neat design albeit not as compact. You could keep the plastic cover to act as a filter, similar to sticking them back in the packaging. |
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Thick Member
Joined:
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Posts:
745
EE: 100% (22)
NM, USA
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Funny, I just popped one out of the foil and used it last night to mark an extension cord (no streetlights and limited external light where I live, but there was a trip hazard for an old person). Milspec Ameriglo I picked up in AFG probably 15 years ago, so it probably wasn’t brand new then. Still worked although not vivid bright. |
Pretty much focused on off-grid property, acquisition of needed things for an uncertain future, and lightening the load of things.
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Ok, Smol update. I just had occasion to try a couple that I had sealed in mylar and kept climate controlled since just after this thread was started, call it 11 months. the third was just in a clear plastic bag on my workbench this whole time. I broke 3, 2 reds and a white. All 3 were noticibly dimmer during my unscientific usage. When they were new, a single red was enough to read an unlit LCD (old school kindle) once my eyes adjusted. Now, not quite a year later, 2 reds (one mylar one bench) weren't quite enough to read paper or an unlit LCD. One of the reds was also dimmer than the other, but I mixed them up, so I can only assume the bench one lost more uumph than the mylar one. The white one I broke was supposed to be a 30 min high intensity, but it too had degraded sharply compared to when they were new. I don't have any way to actually measure anything, I am not Project farm. So far the moral of this story is generic Amazon chemlights should be used directly after purchase, not stored. |
You got gun law problems, I feel bad for you son. I got 99 problems but a ban ain't one. -Sylvan
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Not a controlled experiment but I had some that I kept in my chest freezer for several years and they worked fine when I gave them to kids at Halloween, safety first! I just keep the replacement ones in large ziplock freezer bags at the back of my refrigerator's vegetable drawer. I only use them as markers and not much else, although a couple of red ones zip tied to a pickup truck load does work at night too. |
Think of how stupid the average person is and realize half of them are stupider than that.
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Last year we sold a personal vehicle. When preparing to sell it, I pulled out the emergency kit that I put in it when I bought it in 2015. That kit had a handful of Walmart chem lights. Every one of them worked. That black vehicle had baked in 100F and froze in -5F for 10 years. |