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bouchy73 t1_iug0cg3 wrote

The metal would be fine if it's not corroded and you give it a proper cleaning. The platic might be brittle in places, if it was in the sun you should probably avoid using the plastic cup for hot things.

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0hellow OP t1_iug4yyy wrote

It was kept under a sink for a long while it looks like. But still quite sturdy!

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mattstorm360 t1_iugibit wrote

Then it might be fine.

Clean it up and give it a test.

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Savings_Ad_9533 t1_iuhxwj0 wrote

There is plastic in the fruit and vegetables we eat now so i don't think it really matters as long as it doesn't taste funny.

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OstentatiousSock t1_iuiib1s wrote

“There’s poison everywhere, so don’t bother trying to avoid more!”

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frecklezs t1_iuixxkb wrote

Not sure if you're trying to make an edgy point, or if you're referring to food wax, but there are a lot of different kinds of plastics. Some of them are food safe, marine safe, temperature safe, etc - but use standardization and marking what a plastic was safe for may not have been common practice when this thermos was manufactured. Additionally, time and UV exposure can invisibly (and tasteless-ly) degrade plastic, making it unsafe.

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kolitics t1_iuj6ogb wrote

The plastic may contain bpa or pthalate

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dex248 t1_iug478n wrote

It’s probably glass…if you look inside and see a mirrored surface, it’s glass.

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0hellow OP t1_iug4vsv wrote

Huh, wouldn’t have guessed. Are the popular Stanley ones lined with glass too? Im wondering if dents would crack the glass?

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Hanginon t1_iug6ltw wrote

The 'popular' Stanley ones have a stainless steel vacuum flask inside them, your old Thermos brand's vacuum flask will be glass, and break probably the first time you drop it.

Dents won't crack the Stanley because they're not glass, they're stainless steel inside, they'll keep working fine.

Source; I've had this Stanley thermos since 1972, 50 years now, and it still works fine.

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applecartupset t1_iuhfkjs wrote

I still remember the day I broke the glass Thermos my dad had had since college. I had no idea it was glass inside, my 11 year old brain was blown

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rulevoid t1_iugiovi wrote

My vintage 60s Thermos King Seeley is stainless steel.

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Hanginon t1_iugj4uf wrote

And I would assume, still working!

I broke several glass ones and then decided to go with unbreakable, which 50 years later, it has proven to be.

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rulevoid t1_iuhsfpi wrote

Absolutely still kicking and used every day. Even tested for lead with no positive indication!

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Hajmish t1_iuhcpgp wrote

Do the glass ones keep temperature longer?

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KdF-wagen t1_iuhk1st wrote

I dont know about longer but if you follow the preheating instructions and put hot water in them for a few min, dump it out and then put your hot beverage, soup or whatever inside. I get 8-9hrs out of mine if the coffee lasts that long lol.

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HalfysReddit t1_iuieyb5 wrote

Just to add on to this:

Think of a thermos like normal cup with a lid and a blanket wrapped around it.

The lid prevents hot air from escaping, hot air escaping makes room for more hot air and steam that then escapes, and the lid basically just keeps heat from escaping through that series of events.

The blanket (usually a gap of air between two layers of metal, but sometimes glass, sometimes styrofoam) does what blankets are made to do and doesn't transfer heat, so the heat inside the cup doesn't leak out through the blanket much.

This is what keeps your beverage hot - the fact that all the ways heat usually leaks out of it are sealed up well, so it takes a lot longer for the heat to leave the liquid. Same thing with cold beverages - the protective barriers of the thermos keep the heat outside of the cup from getting in.

This also means you can enhance any thermos or cooler with your own blankets. Literally wrapping a cooler in a blanket will keep the stuff inside cold much longer than any amount of engineering plastic into a layers of foam (which is basically how most coolers work - they use plastic foam as a blanket). Similarly, putting your thermos inside of a blanket will keep it better isolated as well. I have no idea how long you could expect to keep something hot, but with enough blanket you could conceivably get days out of it.

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raz-0 t1_iuioi00 wrote

In my experience, no. A lot of the glass ones aren't even vacuum flasks.. A lot are glass over styrofoam. They existed because they were much cheaper.

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RG1527 t1_iuhus1p wrote

Yeah i remember when Kids lunch boxes had the glass thermos bottles in them also... Dropped my new lunch box and immediately broke mine on the first day of school.

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TOnihilist t1_iuifwu5 wrote

Yup. I remember the glass tinkling in several lunch boxes. The fear of having to tell my mom I broke another one!

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candid_canid t1_iuisnrd wrote

In fairness, making something that kids are going to literally throw around on the daily out of GLASS isn’t smart product design. Hardly your fault!

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KdF-wagen t1_iuhjt6k wrote

That was their big ad push wasn’t it? That they “cannot break” or unbreakable something like that.

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WgXcQ t1_iuie5eh wrote

> this Stanley thermos

Damn, that bottle has seen things and been places. A world-weary veteran still turning up for duty.

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AllMannerOfMarauding t1_iuiia6s wrote

I had a job driving the snack cart on a golf course. I decided to load up coffee one morning, in a big five or ten gallon urn. It exited the cart at some point, and that’s when I learned about glass thermos containers.

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PowerandSignal t1_iuhu28p wrote

Dude. I'll set up a GoFundMe if you want. We'll get you a new one!

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Trans-Europe_Express t1_iuijnnm wrote

The make the most astounding glass shattering noise if you throw one up into the air and onto the ground but if the cap is still on it makes no mess

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dex248 t1_iug5shv wrote

No they don’t make the glass ones anymore. The huge pump ones may still be.

Stanley, Yeti, Zojirushi etc are all stainless steel now.

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aeroartist t1_iuja3dh wrote

I've used two vintage thermos brands. One held up amazingly. The other side too and then cracked once when I used it. So 50/50 for me so far.

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BoJo2736 t1_iuk7foh wrote

if the glass is damaged you will know it

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ghost_n_the_shell t1_iuho7a3 wrote

Yeah, if my memory serves me correctly, those were glass. I didn’t know until I broke one - because the glass had a shiny coating (I’m guessing to assist with insulation).

Could be wrong - but I broke a glass one that looked like that.

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kizarat t1_iug8foc wrote

Those forks look like they're being swallowed by the sink drain lol

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Itisd t1_iug0sl6 wrote

If the plastic isn't brittle and falling apart, it's fine to use.

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0hellow OP t1_iug4hbf wrote

Sounds good, it was kept under a sink for what looks like 10 years, but it’s held up very well!

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MontEcola t1_iuglybb wrote

Ten years? Might be a bit more than ten years.

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Lee1138 t1_iuh69b3 wrote

That colour screams late 70s-early 80s to me. Used to have a fridge that colour back then.

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BastardStoleMyName t1_iuhmlyo wrote

Might not have been kept under the sink until 10 years ago. Maybe it was kept above the sink before then.

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Longjumping-Emu7696 t1_iugrjmw wrote

It looks like it has held up physically, but I wouldn't trust it to have held up chemically, especially if it was or will be used to hold hot liquids, which can cause plastic leaching. There are plastic products that were in use for years (if not decades) the FDA later banned or warned against after long term testing indicated they were associated with endocrine disruption and birth defects, cancer, and changes in insulin resistance, reproduction system, cardiovascular and brain function. Without knowing which plastic product was used in the thermos it would be too much of a risk for me.

As a side note, there are currently thousands of chemicals in production that the FDA has not had a chance to test, but are still allowed to be produced, which is why my personal BIFL lists tend to feature known and proven substances (glass, certain metals, cotton, linen, etc.).

Edit: typos

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gimpyben t1_iufzbba wrote

BPA?

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FriarNurgle t1_iuiaglv wrote

Most likely given BPA stated to be used the the 50’s. Regardless old plastic will shed particulates so it’s not recommended to use old plastic shit like this. Cool vintage collectible though.

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gimpyben t1_iuidfj1 wrote

I'd be especially concerned with anything that would get heat-cycled, like this.

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bigeats1 t1_iug4ghs wrote

Soak it in oxiclean overnight. It’ll be great for the next 40 years.

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themkt t1_iugxhvq wrote

I wouldnt risk it for cancer

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hoardingraccoon t1_iug8k8e wrote

Honestly, I wouldn't. Especially since I'm assuming you're going to use it for hot liquids? Old plastic+heat=leaching god knows what.

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Llama_Shaman t1_iug56hb wrote

I’d be more worried about the glass liner. Some of those contained asbestos which would be released if it breaks.

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Hanginon t1_iug7uuc wrote

The standard procedure when you drop the old glass thermos is to shake it. Id you hear broken glass rattling around you just toss it. There's nothing left inside it that you want. ¯\_( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛)_/¯

Plus; I've seen some old glass thermoses and never seen or heard of asbestos in one.

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Llama_Shaman t1_iug9ymi wrote

These kind of thermoses have a replaceable glass liner, so the standard is to replace it when it breaks. Replacement glass liners are still made for some brands today, though asbestos free. The oldschool glass lined thermoses are still semi-common in Finland and are made by a company called Airam. I’ve got one myself.

Not the all glass liners contained asbestos, but some did and there is really no way to tell.

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Hanginon t1_iugax2i wrote

I remember there being liner replacements available long ago but I haven't seen one retail in the US in a very long time. That and the cost differential wasn't really much different from just getting a new thermos, and for me the price difference made it barely worthwhile to mess with it.

I switched to Stainless steel 50 years ago, 1972, and I'm still rocing that one. No ragrats. ¯\_( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛)_/¯

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0hellow OP t1_iug5eks wrote

Good to know, it looks like it’s in great condition, but something to keep on mind, thanks!

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M80IW t1_iuh5lfl wrote

Source? I can't find anything about Stanley using asbestos.

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Llama_Shaman t1_iuh7g51 wrote

Isn’t stanley all steel though? I don’t think it is an issue with them.

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M80IW t1_iuhdtto wrote

Sorry, I meant Thermos, not Stanley.

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TheGleanerBaldwin t1_iuhdhnk wrote

I'd be more worried about drinking the glass shards than asbestos

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Llama_Shaman t1_iuhm2kz wrote

If the glass shatters the thermos will feel hot to the touch, also you’ll hear the glass banging around in there, so that’s not a big risk.

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NeverDidLearn t1_iughwyl wrote

I’ll remember to not drink out of a broken, glass-insulated thermos. You know, because to asbestos. I image you are talking about an unnoticeable crack or chip.

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Llama_Shaman t1_iuh7o6z wrote

No, not really. What I mean is if you break it, you now have asbestos in your environment. Particularly if you screw it apart (which one might do if unaware of the issue)

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bbdoll t1_iuhpjvr wrote

please don't use old plastic

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MontEcola t1_iuglnp3 wrote

Does the bottom unscrew? I think the inside is glass. Wash it with soap and water, and you are good to go.

They do break, so be careful. I doubt the Five and Dime downstreet carries replacements anymore. I was a buck-fifteen when I replaced my first one.

That thermos was the standard model that fit into the top of a Stanley Dinner Bucket. What you youngsters call a lunch box.

The five and dime became the Dollar Store, which is now the buck and a half store where I live. Woolworths and Ben Franklin were the brand names for Five and Dime stores.

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randallpie t1_iuidgwi wrote

We still have a five and dime in my town, but only because of the frito pies.

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FriarNurgle t1_iuiamfj wrote

I wouldn’t use it. Old plastic is not healthy.

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hellokalo t1_iuibsa8 wrote

BPA is a risk. I personally would not use it

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Curl-the-Curl t1_iuk5blc wrote

That could go to a design museum.

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lit_up_spyro t1_iufytpj wrote

A guy I work with has one similar. He uses his daily. Swears by it.

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OzTheMeh t1_iugjr0t wrote

I had some REALLY old ones (60s?). The vacuum seals failed and they kind of sucked for thermal. Still cool for the ultra retro look.

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skyfishgoo t1_iugm5fj wrote

chances are the vacuum bottle inside has been compromised by now.

it's probably fine to use, but it may not keep things cold/hot like it did when it was new

and these were made before we understood how plastics behave when exposed to hot liquids so keep that in mind.

and rescue those forks ffs.

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derpskywalker t1_iuhmpzu wrote

Plastics no good, metal n glass all good.

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UntilYouKnowMe t1_iuhpupa wrote

Give it a whirl…. Try it out. Doesn’t mean you have to eat/drink from it if you’re not sure.

RemindMe! 3 Days

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PaulaPurple t1_iuhvi1c wrote

Old thermos’ work so poorly compared to modern day “Yeti” and other brands

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b0xtarts t1_iuin6l4 wrote

man..... i wouldn't risk it.... just go get a new one

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2lovesFL t1_iuj4bee wrote

Its NOT GLASS?

metal was pretty new/rare back then.

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bpwhittle t1_iuj6pfg wrote

Idk man, if I was crazy attached to it I’d probably try to use it for decoration or just around the house. I feel like I’d break it if I took it to work. I might would have a different opinion if I saw it in person but from here it looks as brittle as the interior of my 1991 f150. My toddler kicked it and it exploded, lol

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_yetisis t1_iujydlg wrote

I’ve come back to this multiple times and I can’t decide if the off-center text drives me crazy or if I like the offset. I hope you manage to keep the thermos, it needs to live rent free in your home the same way it has in my mind.

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RBzoner1 t1_iuk0vrx wrote

gosh instead of contacting THERMOS the actual makers and MAYBE ALSO opening it up and washing it clean as new, let me go online and ask people what they think instead ......

​

seriously ?

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yottadreams t1_iugcwiy wrote

That thing will outlast you, your kids, and your grandkids. Dad had one when I was a kid. Far as I know, he still uses it.

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SIXA_G37x t1_iuhl5os wrote

Probably safer than a new one.

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Combatical t1_iuhtymd wrote

That thing will out live you as long as you treat it well.

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GetInTheDamnCar t1_iuijejv wrote

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - Taylor Swift

0