Contact

Storing Rubber Sealing Elements

Recommendations for storing sealing elements

The mechanical and physical properties of rubber and plastic sealing elements can change during storage. These changes are caused by various environmental factors; paying attention to them during storage preserves product quality.

Storage factors

  1. Environment, humidity and temperature
    Storage temperature should be between 5 °C and 25 °C, with relative humidity kept at around 60%. Low temperatures do not change the technical properties of the product, but seals should be brought to 20–25 °C before installation. Keep products away from direct heat sources.
  2. Dirt and cleanliness
    Dirt can harm the mechanical properties of rubber and plastic products, so they must be protected from dirt during storage and installation.
  3. Light and ultraviolet radiation
    Rubber and plastic products must be protected from direct sunlight, ultraviolet radiation and fluorescent lamps. The store should be lit with red or orange light and kept free of UV exposure.
  4. Oxygen and ozone
    Oxygen and ozone can have oxidative effects on rubber. Products should be packed in polyethylene and kept away from ozone-producing equipment such as electric motors.

Other important recommendations

  • Deformation: Rubber and plastic products must not be stressed or compressed during storage; otherwise their mechanical properties and resistance to environmental effects are reduced.
  • Contact with greases and fluids: Keep products away from solvents, oils and other chemical fluids.
  • Contact with metals: Metals such as manganese and copper can damage rubber products, so products must not come into direct contact with them.

When these conditions are observed, rubber and plastic products lose no quality even after long storage.

Matching stored stock correctly

The most common problem with seals that have been in storage for a long time is that the code on them becomes unreadable. In that case you need to measure the part to find its equivalent: enter the inner diameter, outer diameter and height in the size finder to reach matching records.

For products with technical drawings and size tables see our product catalogue, and for O-ring material and size selection see the O-rings category.