Does Pepper Spray or Mace expire?
Does pepper spray have an expiration date? Does it lose power over a certain time period? Just wondering, had a conversation with a co-employee, of which has a daughter in college and she stated that her daughter has been carrying the same bottle for over two year. And I heard that is lost the power if it was old. Could you please verify.
-Nita.
————————————————————–
You are absolutely correct: all pepper spray products (or Mace products, to this matter) do have an expiration date. For the self-defense products it is usually between 9 to 12 months, depending on the manufacturer’s recommendation.
We also recommend to test pepper sprays and mace sprays every 3 months to check that the pressure in the canister propels the mixture sufficiently far.
A 2- year old canister has to be replaced by a new one – no questions, no doubts about it!
It is simply dangerous to rely on it and carry around.
Please get back to our store (www.PepperSprayCenter.Com) as soon as possible to get the replacement for this old dangerous bottle of pepper spray.
Look forward to seeing you in store soon!
Thank you,
Pepper Spray Center
HerbM
I don’t sell any sprays; I am a consumer of them — and every single one of my sprays that I bought in 1999 still test FINE — like new.
I believe a spray you have not tested cannot be trusted, but expiration dates are very arbitrary.
The 8 year old spray I just tested, it preferable to the brand new one that is fresh out of the package if a BAD GUY is approaching now and I only get one try.
—
Herb M,
Thank you for your comment!
You are correct: if the pepper spray TESTS fine, so it shoots at a normal range for its size (probably 8-10 feet), you can use it.
The problem comes when the owner does not test the spray assuming it should work.
A surprise might be very unpleasant and untimely.
Also keep in mind that while you test the spray, you deplete its propelling power ever so slightly.
After a year and 3-4 tests, the range may go down noticeably and we recommend to replace the pepper spray no matter what.
They are not expensive, you can buy one once a year.
Stay Safe!
John decruze
Very well written … nice to read this . . . .