Shelf life for crowns

[sbradt]

We are trying to decide whether or not to buy crowns in greater bulk due to the economies of scale and to avoid out of stock issues due to long lead times. One concern we have is with the shelf life on standard oxygen barrier (as opposed to oxygen scavenging) crowns. We would be buying about a years supply. Does anyone have any insights on the shelf life of crowns? We have the space to keep them in an area that is air conditioned in the summer time.

[HansBlix]

While I can not comment on the shelf life of oxy-barrier vs oxy-scavenging I can say that I have been advised that the shelf life of crowns is one year at most as they begin to oxidize and rust. While optimal conditions do probably retard the breakdown and oxidation to a certain degree, it would probably still be a gamble stockpiling anything over a year. This is unfortunate most custom crown suppliers have a minimum run of 500k or appx 21k cases and lower quantities usually have much higher associated costs. I am sure your supplier is the person to talk to.

[astir]

While I can not comment on the shelf life of oxy-barrier vs oxy-scavenging I can say that I have been advised that the shelf life of crowns is one year at most as they begin to oxidize and rust. While optimal conditions do probably retard the breakdown and oxidation to a certain degree, it would probably still be a gamble stockpiling anything over a year. This is unfortunate most custom crown suppliers have a minimum run of 500k or appx 21k cases and lower quantities usually have much higher associated costs. I am sure your supplier is the person to talk to.

True that most suppliers require 1 pallet orders, our pallets are 400k. However, we can always make exceptions depending on design and annual quantities. We usually ask for a setup charge when running lower runs for say 100k.
Cheers,
Frank