Shelf life of mechanical gauges

I was wondering if there was any info out there regarding the shelf life of a Bourdon tube style mechanical temperature gauge. ***uming unused and in original packaging, should such gauges last indefinitely? Even one that has been in service, does the fluid begin to degrade over time and affect the operation, or does it maintain the same properties it had at creation considering the probe is sealed properly and the lead has not been bent past the minimum bend radius at any point. Just wanted to get some opinions and experiences, as the oldest mechanical temp gauge I have used is about 20 years old, and I am looking to get some that are 60+ years old.


Mike

 

I have used many from the 30s that were fine.

 

I am running the stock one in my 35 Olds and it works fine.

 

All the SW gauges in my '32 Roadster I've owned since '67 and they've been in 3 different cars, so they're 42 years old. Mechanical gauges can be rebuilt. The capillary tubes can be refilled if tube is broken or replaced if missing. I've had Mo-Ma in Albuquerque, NM repair various gauges and basically they all can be rebuilt. Tele 505-766-6661. The FOGGER

 

What about does it run to have a capilarry tube replaced?

 

Bout 90.00 up here.

 

The layman's answer is, it's not like a can of soup, what's in one to go bad in time?


The only issue I'd see is if it was exposed to frequent great changes in temperature you might get moisture damage from condensation, but even that would depend greatly on the storage environment, since cars themselves can go through those temperature changes all the time and the gauges still seem to work.