Buying/selling used baby car seats

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Expiry dates on many OTC drugs are exactly the same. Far, FAR in advance of there being any danger.

My understanding was OTC drug expiration dates were due to the active ingredients losing efficacy rather than becoming dangerous.

[you&me]

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My understanding was OTC drug expiration dates were due to the active ingredients losing efficacy rather than becoming dangerous.

Sounds like it's the same argument made for car seats.

[Buster]

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My understanding was OTC drug expiration dates were due to the active ingredients losing efficacy rather than becoming dangerous.

it could be any number of things. But generally speaking it's simply an ultra-conservative approach by the drug makers...one that also serves their interests. IIRC correctly, the military did some long term studies on drug efficacy over time and found that they could keep drugs around an order of magnitude longer than the expiry in almost all cases. Their reasoning for wanting this info is pretty straightforward, and I believe they run their own expiry date program.

I haven't seen the data on car seats, but I would be very, very surprised if the NTSB or similar had data showing an increase in child injury due to expired seat failure. Maybe they have that data.

[AndyL]

In Texas, Vegas and California where temps outside hit 40+ and black cars with 100% tint 100% sealed sit outside all day. Plastic gets annealed until it's brittle...

[rage2]

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Sounds like it's the same argument made for car seats.

And milk.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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And milk.

Milk is real. +/-2 days.
Yogurt still has a month after BB

[rage2]

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Milk is real. +/-2 days.
Yogurt still has a month after BB

http://www.eatbydate.com/dairy/milk/...piration-date/

I grew up going 2 weeks regularly. Buying in bulk, poor, zero issues. It takes 3-4 weeks past before it starts to stink.

Food best by dates are the biggest scam. Learn this growing up poor.

[Tik-Tok]

My 10% coffee cream almost always goes 3+ weeks past expiry. It's just a "best before" date, not a "going to kill you" date. If dairy producers didn't make it early, people would be bitching about how 1/10 milk jugs is going bad too soon.

[Buster]

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In Texas, Vegas and California where temps outside hit 40+ and black cars with 100% tint 100% sealed sit outside all day. Plastic gets annealed until it's brittle...

I cant recall and I dont have car seats any more, but I don't think the plastic was ever a part of the main structure. They always had a metal frame.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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http://www.eatbydate.com/dairy/milk/...piration-date/

I grew up going 2 weeks regularly. Buying in bulk, poor, zero issues. It takes 3-4 weeks past before it starts to stink.

Food best by dates are the biggest scam. Learn this growing up poor.

I've tried but I can't get away with it! The smell starts early but doesn't seem to affect the taste for another couple days.
I think it depends on how long or frequently your fridge is opened or how long it sits less than half full. Once milk hits the magic T=___ temp, that clock starts ticking and it cannot be reversed.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not worried about it killing me, but it tastes like feet and no bueno. Not even Cap'n Crunch can cover that shit up, let alone plain Cheerios.

I agree with the coffee creamer guy. That shit lasts Much Longer with no noticeable degradation... Defeating my above argument somehow.

[ExtraSlow]

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I cant recall and I dont have car seats any more, but I don't think the plastic was ever a part of the main structure. They always had a metal frame.

All ours were plastic, no metal other than buckles.

[D'z Nutz]

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http://www.eatbydate.com/dairy/milk/...piration-date/

I grew up going 2 weeks regularly. Buying in bulk, poor, zero issues. It takes 3-4 weeks past before it starts to stink.

Food best by dates are the biggest scam. Learn this growing up poor.

And even after it starts to stink, it still won't kill you as it has been pasteurized. Yes, it will taste gross and it'll probably make you gag, but you won't die or get sick from it.

[suntan]

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And even after it starts to stink, it still won't kill you as it has been pasteurized. Yes, it will taste gross and it'll probably make you gag, but you won't die or get sick from it.

Pasteurization isn't sterilization. You most certainly could get sick from it depending on what colonized the milk.

[cycosis]

Infant buckets have a expiry range of 4-6 years, convertibles are 6-10 and boosters are 8-12, depending on the manufacturer. You're doing it wrong if your car seat expires while you are using it. Think of how gross kids are. Puke, spit, spilt juice, crumbs, food mush. That all eventually builds up in the harness webbing/locking mechanisms too. I have inspected thousands of car seat installs and I can tell you the majority of parents do not take the time to keep their seats clean and working properly for the duration of the car seat's life span.

The temperature fluctuations and day to day use are the biggest things that cause degradation of the EPS foam, the component which actually absorbs most of the impact energy. Foam has a half life. It just won't be the same after years of use and environmental exposure. The second thing is the advancement in safety tech. Not just for how the car seat performs in a collision, but also making it easier for parents to install their seat properly. Over 90% of parents have it wrong with an average of 3 faults per inspection.

[sabad66]

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http://www.eatbydate.com/dairy/milk/...piration-date/

I grew up going 2 weeks regularly. Buying in bulk, poor, zero issues. It takes 3-4 weeks past before it starts to stink.

Food best by dates are the biggest scam. Learn this growing up poor.

I could see up to 7 days past expiration date, but 3-4 weeks is a definite no go to drink milk in my experience. I find milk goes sour faster if it's sitting idle vs being moved/shaken. That's why we keep our milk in teh fridge door vs. shelf so it kind of always gets shaken every time the door is opened.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Infant buckets have a expiry range of 4-6 years, convertibles are 6-10 and boosters are 8-12, depending on the manufacturer. You're doing it wrong if your car seat expires while you are using it. Think of how gross kids are. Puke, spit, spilt juice, crumbs, food mush. That all eventually builds up in the harness webbing/locking mechanisms too. I have inspected thousands of car seat installs and I can tell you the majority of parents do not take the time to keep their seats clean and working properly for the duration of the car seat's life span.

The temperature fluctuations and day to day use are the biggest things that cause degradation of the EPS foam, the component which actually absorbs most of the impact energy. Foam has a half life. It just won't be the same after years of use and environmental exposure. The second thing is the advancement in safety tech. Not just for how the car seat performs in a collision, but also making it easier for parents to install their seat properly. Over 90% of parents have it wrong with an average of 3 faults per inspection.

Your input is great here but I'll have a tough time believing that "temp fluctuations" of only -40 to +40 do much to plastic or foam in as little as 5-10 years.
a.) That is eff all of a fluctuation to a synthetic material.
b.) A decade is a blink of an eye on the life of plastics and foams.

I'm not going to launch into a giant debate, but one can hear the logic in my point.

[Darell_n]

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Your input is great here but I'll have a tough time believing that "temp fluctuations" of only -40 to +40 do much to plastic or foam in as little as 5-10 years.
a.) That is eff all of a fluctuation to a synthetic material.
b.) A decade is a blink of an eye on the life of plastics and foams.

I'm not going to launch into a giant debate, but one can hear the logic in my point.

Would you bet your kid’s life on this? An FIA racing harness expires in 5 years and basically serves the same purpose as a child seat. The straps age, the bucket doesn’t matter.

[Buster]

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Would you bet your kid’s life on this? An FIA racing harness expires in 5 years and basically serves the same purpose as a child seat. The straps age, the bucket doesn’t matter.

Very profitable argument to make for the seat makers.

Again, the only thing that will convince me is some good science behind the injury rates with respect to expired vs non-expired seats.

[dirtsniffer]

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Your input is great here but I'll have a tough time believing that "temp fluctuations" of only -40 to +40 do much to plastic or foam in as little as 5-10 years.
a.) That is eff all of a fluctuation to a synthetic material.
b.) A decade is a blink of an eye on the life of plastics and foams.

I'm not going to launch into a giant debate, but one can hear the logic in my point.

Plastics and foams can definitely degrade within 10 years, but they have come along way in the last couple decades. I suspect when a lot of these regulations were developed that the lifetime wa sorrtty accurate and that they have no extended with the improvement is technology.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Would you bet your kid’s life on this? An FIA racing harness expires in 5 years and basically serves the same purpose as a child seat. The straps age, the bucket doesn’t matter.

I can and have.
The pendulum has swung too far. Merely 30 years ago kids were not in car seats and the cars had only lap belts. The CONSEQUENCES are massive while the PROBABILITY is miniscule. Risk management.

As for the straps argument... They are seatbelt material. I bet my life every day in my 2005 car? My 2011 SUV?