Does RV antifreeze go bad?

DrewE wrote:
It doesn't generally go bad. The dye may fade or change over time, but the ethanol and/or propylene glycol doesn't break down, at least over the course of a few years, assuming the container is closed so the contents cannot evaporate. If it's a few decades old or has evidence of some weird slime growing or something like that, I'd probably pass, but otherwise it shouldn't be any problem at all.

This.

mfg often are required by gov't regulations to state a shelf life on a product. Now in some cases, there is a real shelf life, an example is DEF which depending on temperature has a shelf life of a few months to a few years.

In other cases rather than go through the testing to determine shelf life on long lived products,they create one.

The two compounds used for RV antifreeze are propalene glycol which has an very long shelf life under normal conditions or ethanol. Now ethanol has a shelf life of decades, even centuries.

If the antifreeze was sealed, I'd use it.

mfg often are required by gov't regulations to state a shelf life on a product. Now in some cases, there is a real shelf life, an example is DEF which depending on temperature has a shelf life of a few months to a few years.

In other cases rather than go through the testing to determine shelf life on long lived products,they create one.

The two compounds used for RV antifreeze are propalene glycol which has an very long shelf life under normal conditions or ethanol. Now ethanol has a shelf life of decades, even centuries.

If the antifreeze was sealed, I'd use it.

I've found information that indicates that RV antifreeze has a shelf life of one year or two years depending on what source you choose to believe. Note that that info was for a sealed, unopened container.

my search

Thank you for the replies. They appear to be sealed and still very pink.

If you are concerned about any funk in it, just use it in the toilet and traps and get the fresh stuff for the domestic water supply.

It doesn't generally go bad. The dye may fade or change over time, but the ethanol and/or propylene glycol doesn't break down, at least over the course of a few years, assuming the container is closed so the contents cannot evaporate. If it's a few decades old or has evidence of some weird slime growing or something like that, I'd probably pass, but otherwise it shouldn't be any problem at all.

Sealed Yes. Unsealed, I wouldn't trust it. Whatever you do, don't dump it on your lawn unless you want a big dead grass area. Don't ask me how I know.

Is it sealed yet?

All chemical combinations “go bad.”