At 03:12 PM 12/16/1999 MST, you wrote:
>Hi all
>
>All this talk about replacing old hoses with "new" ones made me curious.
>Suppose I buy new hoses for my van from a vendor, and the hoses were
>manufactured in 1988, sat around warehouses, finally were sold to a discount
>vendor, sat around some more and finally were bought by me.
>Are these hoses new or are they 12 years old?
>

That is THE question to ask of your supplier. Same reason it is foolish to
carry a fan belt around for 3 or 5 or 7 years till you need it. Old rubber
is old rubber, used or not. If it is old AND used, it should be replaced.
If it is new old stock (NOS), don't buy it unless you can inspect it for
suppleness and condition before purchase. Most of the rubber I get from my
jobber is 2 to 6 months old on the many items that are manufacturer dated.

If you do buy new hoses to put on the shelf, rub them down with a thin film
of SylGlyde or another silicon paste. As good or better, rub them with
common drug store glycerine, wipe up the excess and powder them with talc.,
bag them, and keep them in a closet in the house for constant temperature.
They will come out 10 years later in superb order.

T.P. Stephens aka Doktor Tim
Surveyor, Mechanic, Poet, Philosopher
San Juan Island, WA