What was wrong?

[John Barney]

Ok, did the horse I had ask about applying equi-build over equi-pak. The equi-pak worked fine as it always has for me. Put the equi-build over it and it didn't want to set. I kept touching it at the bulbs and it stayed sticky. Held the foot up for at least 5 min and when I put it down the build just gushed out , kinda oily looking. Did the other foot, held it up longer, same results. I left the styrafoam boards on for a half hour and it never really set. It also looked oily. Anyway I cut the semi-firm overrun off and threw it in the box, did other work there, another couple of stops, and when i got home and checked it, it was still not firm and felt oily. This was a unopened 180cc tube, new tips, new boards, new mesh. What happened? I couldn't charge for something that didn't work, now I'm out about 27.00. Thanks for any help.

JB

[Cal Chilton]

Hi John,
I don't know, yet. I have my suspicions, but I need more information. Please give me a call at 904/219-4292 and lets find out what happened.

Stay tuned everyone, I'll keep you informed.

Cal Chilton (Vettec)

[Cal Chilton]

Hi!
John Barney called and he had material that had expired in January. All Vettec products have a one year shelf life and the cartridge he had was manufactured in January of 2004. The "tell" was when he stated that it wouldn't set and came out of the hoof oily.
If you want to know how old your products are, look on the back of the cartridge near the bottom of the label and you should find 2 small sets of numbers which are usually the same. Example: 5555A4 The first four numbers are the batch number, the "A" is the month, A=Jan, B=Feb, C=March and so on. The 4 is the year 2004. If you have materials that have
J4,K4,L4,or M4, they are still fine.

All the best,

Cal Chilton

[John Barney]

Thanks for the fast help Cal. It's always great to learn something new.

JB

[Forgewizard]

Cal,
When you say 1 year shelf life, please define shelf conditions.
Refridgerated?
Indoor room temperature?
Truck bed storage?

Thanks,
Kim

[John Barney]

Good question. I would also like to know if you bought some that was expired, or close, and it is unused do you get money back.

JB

[Cal Chilton]

Hi!

I'm going to answer the two previous questions.

For the record, a one year shelf life for a chemically based product is quite good. For those of you that either use or have used acrylics, they have a 6 month shelf life, refrigerated.

The one year shelf life is based on the temperatures that are stated in all our instructions as "best used". "Vettec products are best used between 65° and 85° F (18° to 29° C)." The Instructions also cover storage under "Hot and Cold Conditions". Refrigeration does not increase the life over the one year.

Vettec does not sell old products to the dealers. That would be counter productive. We would have a poor relationship with them, and you would be routinely receiving unusable product. In fairness, we may on occasion, send product that is 2 or 3 months old. Most dealers don't overstock, nor does the consumer, so this is not normally a cause for concern.

Once the products leave Vettec, Vettec no longer has control over whether the stock is properly rotated, anymore than we have control over how long they are kept by the consumer and under what storage conditions. There are also some people who buy our products from a Vettec dealer for resale. Is the freshest or the oldest material going to be sold to him/her? How is it going to be stored and rotated?

We do have a responsibility to back the materials if they are found to be defective in manufacturing. This is very rare. If you have a problem, first refer to the instructions. (Your dealer has copies of the instructions and they are also on the website.) If that doesn't help, call our Toll Free number, it is on everything we ship. Always have the cartridge(s), under question, with you. It is impossible to troubleshoot without them.

The products are to be returned to whom you purchased them from, if they are found to be Defective. Do Not Discard them. Vettec does not replace outdated product.

Cal Chilton
Vettec, Inc.