Shelf life of flurocarbon and mono

[Oregon Native]

Really curious about this and am looking for some input.  How long do you think/or know you can keep these lines on a shelf or in a boat with out them breaking down and maybe getting brittle?  Or even loosing their original strength.

Thank you

[roadwarrior]

If you protect the spools from the sun and heat the line will last almost indefinitely.

 

[Team9nine]

If kept right (cool, dark place) then years and years. I've always kept my spools hanging on a pegboard in a garage, but had a serious tourney friend who once bought a refrigerator that he put in his basement and kept all his line spools in it.

 

In any case, I've got some spools I've been using that I know are close to 20 years old (nylon). I think my oldest fluoro spools are closer to 10 though. 

[J Francho]

I just respooled a spinning rod that had 5 year old Invsx on it.  I also respooled a reel that had 4 year old Tatsu.  Those reels are in constant use, and really nothing was wrong with the line.  They were just getting low on the spool.  For mono or copoly, I get a couple of months out of them.  Stored inside in a dark place (a drawer) I have line that is years old, no issues.  I'll mention that I always pre-treat the spool with KVD L&L.

[OnthePotomac]

I am still using a jumbo spool of BPS 20 Excel which is now 15 years old, still in the box hanging on my fishing peg board in the basement.

[A-Jay]

As mentioned previously, when stored properly it should last long enough not to be a concern.

A-Jay

 

[Oregon Native]

Thank you all.....this has been a year of "many" broken lines and for the life of me I have tried to think of everything.....believe you me.  I've been second guessing my second guessing.  So will just chalk it up to old age and feeling like I have to jerk to hard to compensate for the ol body slowing down and falling apart!!

 

[Log Catcher]

I have a spool of Red label floro in 8lb. test. I use it for leaders and it has been in my boat for 4 or 5 years and it is still good. I have not had any problems with it so far.

[WRB]

Fluorocarbon line isn't affected by heat and cold like Nylon or mono line is. 

Modern monofilament lines are blended with UV inhibitors that help to extend life in sunlight, still degrades it.

Stored in cool dark place both have years of shelf life. Cool is the critical word, not freezing temperatures or over 105 degrees for nylon mono.

Tom

 

 

[CrankFate]

It may depend on the line, but I have spools about 20 years old that are fine, especially my old strens that I bought a bunch of when a store closed down. But any old Ande line seems to get harder over time. Most are fine indefinitely. I keep them inside not exposed to the light or elements.   I think the old Stren from the 1990s is stronger than what they make now and use it in place of fluoro leaders when I want rubber band stretch.

[looking45]

I keep all my line in a styrofoam ice chest in a closet in the garage. The chest keeps the light and heat away from the line. I have line that's over 20 years old that's still good

[GReb]

That’s incredible. I burn through a spool of mono in no time. But I’m a bit OCD about changing my line way too often

[looking45]

20 minutes ago, GReb said:

That’s incredible. I burn through a spool of mono in no time. But I’m a bit OCD about changing my line way too often

The local shop has been telling it's customers that line has a shelf life of 6 months, then it goes bad. I would tell you the same thing if I was selling line. If line deteriorates that fast, no one would ever snag any line when they were fishing

[GReb]

7 minutes ago, looking45 said:

The local shop has been telling it's customers that line has a shelf life of 6 months, then it goes bad. I would tell you the same thing if I was selling line. If line deteriorates that fast, no one would ever snag any line when they were fishing

I don’t doubt it lasts forever. But I can’t make a spool last a season much less 20 years ?

[Tennessee Boy]

9 minutes ago, looking45 said:

The local shop has been telling it's customers that line has a shelf life of 6 months, then it goes bad. I would tell you the same thing if I was selling line. If line deteriorates that fast, no one would ever snag any line when they were fishing

I would ask them why they don't have expiration dates on the boxes.  

[looking45]

2 hours ago, GReb said:

I don’t doubt it lasts forever. But I can’t make a spool last a season much less 20 years ?

I'm not talking about filler spools. I buy bulk spools, 1,000 or 2,000 yards. 

[J Francho]

15 hours ago, looking45 said:

The local shop has been telling it's customers that line has a shelf life of 6 months, then it goes bad.

I wouldn't shop there anymore. 

[NYWayfarer]

I keep my filler spools in some shoeboxes in my basement. I buy line in bulk when it's on sale or clearance. I have spools down there for years that I have not gotten to yet.

[FishTank]

If it sits on a shelf as a general rule of them and my personal taste, FC last about 5 years (maybe longer) and mono about 2-3 years. 

 

On a reel that is being used, I check it and if it is bad, brittle, or frayed, I change it. 

[IgotWood]

Years ago before I switched to braid, I’d change the mono on my reels about once per month. I kept bulk spools in my basement that lasted for a couple of years. 

 

One of the the major reasons for switching to braid was to avoid changing my line so often. Now I change it every two years. If I still fished with mono, I would still be changing it often. It just seems to stiffen up a bit from general use over time. 

[onenutinthewater]

I change mono after 3-4 outings. Line is cheap, losing a nice fish is priceless!

No idea on shelf life but cant last long when it constantly gets changed. Compared to all other costs involved in the sport why risk it?

 

[CrankFate]

I’m fishing 20+ year old spools. Some hold up better than others. IMO the very old Stren Original holds up best over time.  I have a very large Tupperware type storage container about 2’ x 3’ x 2’ filled with spools of line and reel parts. Spools of Izor, Diamond line, P Line, Spider, Berkeley, Seaguar Fluoro, Triple Fish Fluoro, yozuri Fluoro to name a few all show no changes, they are all completely fishable even after years and years in storage.

[Oregon Native]

Wow....such a variety of answers...thank you all

[roadwarrior]

On 7/6/2018 at 7:14 AM, roadwarrior said:

If you protect the spools from the sun and heat the line will last almost indefinitely.

 

 

[huZZah]

^^ this has been my experience. Any line.