Glue and temperature

[Munroast]

Noticed on the glue bottle (yellow PVA) it says min temperature 13c. - what happens if it is only about 8 or 9 in the workshop.

Does it just take longer to cure or do you end up with a weaker bond ?

I have used it many many times at these temperatures and it seems to work fine but am I getting a weaker joint ? I have tested it and it is still stronger than the wood but why do they give a min temperature ?

 

[^woody^]

More to do with the viscosity at lower temperatures?

 

[opps]

• PVA glues don’t cure well in cold temperatures. It’s best to apply PVA glues at room temperature. Most of them list minimum application temperatures of 10°C to 16°C (50°F to 60°F). Titebond III can be used down to 7°C (45°F). Below the recommended minimum, glue films won’t form properly. If you need to apply glue in colder conditions, several common slow-set epoxies can be used down to 2°C (35°F).

And more here

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/effect-of-cold-on-pva-glue.8488/

 

[big-all]

always store glue indoors and use on warm timber to avoid damage to the glue from cold and going cloudy

 

[Munroast]

• PVA glues don’t cure well in cold temperatures. It’s best to apply PVA glues at room temperature. Most of them list minimum application temperatures of 10°C to 16°C (50°F to 60°F). Titebond III can be used down to 7°C (45°F). Below the recommended minimum, glue films won’t form properly. If you need to apply glue in colder conditions, several common slow-set epoxies can be used down to 2°C (35°F).

And more here

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/effect-of-cold-on-pva-glue.8488/

Yes, i had read both of those before posting, but non-the-less thanks for your reply.


I was really trying to get at real world experience in using PVA glues when the temperature is a little lower- for instance I had to glue some stuff up tonight, recommended on the glue bottle above 13c, temp in workshop 10.2. I know it will stick it quite well (I have done this many times before) bu will it be weaker and is there a limit when it really would be unwise?

 

[^woody^]

I've used various PVA glues on site where temperatures were lower than 13 degrees, probably between 5 and 10, and it worked as it should.

 

[big-all]

to be fair temperature on the news or an app bares no real relation to actual temperatures at any given time
it can say overnight at -3 and day time at +10 this is an average over a vast area in the shade
a well insulated workshop heated every day will far exceed those levels
iff in the sun the temperature can be far greater due to solar gain
but in the well insulated shed ignore the local forecast and use a thermometer in the shed to measure the actual local heat level that wont accurately follow a forecast but in a well insulated shed will lag well behind but be between a bit warmer to far warmer than the forecast

 

[Munroast]

to be fair temperature on the news or an app bares no real relation to actual temperatures at any given time
it can say overnight at -3 and day time at +10 this is an average over a vast area in the shade
a well insulated workshop heated every day will far exceed those levels
iff in the sun the temperature can be far greater due to solar gain
but in the well insulated shed ignore the local forecast and use a thermometer in the shed to measure the actual local heat level that wont accurately follow a forecast but in a well insulated shed will lag well behind but be between a bit warmer to far warmer than the forecast

Not the shed I use, its a huge concrete structure with no insulation, it sort of preserves the cold. at one point last winter after an intense cold spell it was 4c in there, the weather then turned much milder but the shed held onto the cold, leaving on a night time was weird going outside into the warmth.

Not that I had any bother with glue then, but now I know there is a min temp I am now over-thinking it.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

If you use PVA on timber where the material is at or below 5°C you can start to see a phenomenon called chalking where the glue literally separates out and leaves a white chalky deposit and the glue bond is invariably iffy. The nearer you get to 0° the more this occurs. Same goes for storage - freezing weather and outside storage are not good for any water-based glues, like PVA. Below 10°C water-based glues also takes longer and longer to set, although Everbuild D4 (which is neither a PU glue, nor a true PVA) seem to work a bit better at lower temperatures, however being non-solvent (therefore water-based) it will still be destroyed by storing too cold for extended periods.

Aren't you in a workshop? So shouldn't that be nice and warm when you are doing glue-ups?

 

[conny]

Don't wish to appear as though I am hijacking this thread but regarding glues, I had a pack of Araldite two part mix in my shed which I needed to use last week. Over the past couple of weeks the outside temp has been as low as -6C
When I tried to squeeze the tubes it was quite difficult so I kept in doors for a few days and when I tried it again it seemed ok to squeeze and mix. Will storing it in cold conditions have damaged/ruined it? It was only a minor/non-structural repair and seems to have held ok.

 

[mattylad]

ISTR Stumpy Nubs did a video about his workshop glues:
Here -