I have a new tube of Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease and I bought it in 2014, was wondering if it's still good to use. I squeezed out a little tiny bit and rolled it around with my fingers and it was greasy and wet feeling. I don't see an expiration date on the tube so I am wondering if it's still good to go, or should I invest in a new tube.
What is the shelf life of Arctic SIlver 5 thermal compound ?
jiffysound
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I have a new tube of Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease and I bought it in 2014, was wondering if it's still good to use. I squeezed out a little tiny bit and rolled it around with my fingers and it was greasy and wet feeling. I don't see an expiration date on the tube so I am wondering if it's still good to go, or should I invest in a new tube.
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The oldest Arctic Silver 5 I've used without issues was a syringe I bought in 2008, and still used it in 2019. I actually finished the whole tube. The carrier is a silicone oil, I believe, which allows it to avoid drying out if capped. In comparison, I had a tube of NT-H1 of the same age and it was all dried out and I couldn't push anything out of the syringe.
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I've also used tubes from the 2000s as recently as a few months ago; still gives great thermals.
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You're probably fine. Here are two things that could happen to old paste:
Thermal pastes will lose performance as the silicone (the grease you mentioned) separates from the filler. This makes it harder for the product to spread properly during application and will result in a slightly thicker bondline and lower thermal performance. But it'll still be good enough.
As the paste ages it could also degrade if the silicone polymer is broken down by impurities in the filler. If you're concerned you can check your thermal performance during load testing shortly after you use the paste and again after a couple months. Replace your old paste with new paste if performance has degraded appreciably.
Thermal pastes will lose performance as the silicone (the grease you mentioned) separates from the filler. This makes it harder for the product to spread properly during application and will result in a slightly thicker bondline and lower thermal performance. But it'll still be good enough.
As the paste ages it could also degrade if the silicone polymer is broken down by impurities in the filler. If you're concerned you can check your thermal performance during load testing shortly after you use the paste and again after a couple months. Replace your old paste with new paste if performance has degraded appreciably.
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I've got a tube I've had for years. No idea when I got it. Still comes oozing out nicely and I haven't had a temperature issue on any of the machines I've used it on. Got plenty left for a few more. At the rate I'm using it it will likely turn into a rock before I get down to 1/3 left.
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