Does Thermal Paste Expire???

[//[T.0.P]//]

I have a 2/3 year old syringe of AS5 and I need to reapply some paste to all my heatsinks. Was wondering if the life of AS5 in the syringe ever expires once opened?

Thanks

 

[sirmonkey1985]

no it doesnt expire.. heck you could put as5 under 50C temps for 3 years straight and its still stays soft(and i know this for a fact.. just replace my as5 with mx-2 on my athlon xp 1700+ a few days ago)

 

[BillParrish]

If you leave the capped tube flat in a drawer in a cool place it will last forever. It can separate over a long period of time, and it is easy to tell if it does, it will not look right. If it does separate you can mix it back together (pull plunger out of the back of the tube and remix with a clean tool of some sort and discard the first bit that comes out after you finish. )

 

[riffer]

If you leave the capped tube flat in a drawer in a cool place it will last forever. It can separate over a long period of time, and it is easy to tell if it does, it will not look right. If it does separate you can mix it back together (pull plunger out of the back of the tube and remix with a clean tool of some sort and discard the first bit that comes out after you finish. )

That's my experience. I have an old tube of the original Arctic Silver that I use for non-critical installations and it exhibits that exact behaviour.

 

[//[T.0.P]//]

Okay, I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

 

[Impulse]

My 4 year old tube of AS5 still looks fine, I just used it on a new rig. The cap had stuck a bit (took some force to pull it off) but the plunger still pushed the paste out smoothly.