Originally Posted by
DaveO
I'm not military so I don't know the full answer, but you could sure see the rod's useful life deteriorating quickly in a high humidity or high salt spray environment. Who knows, there may be a long and detailed regulation in place to store a newly opened can. Friends have told me that cleverly side stepping rules is almost a religion among certain military types, so it may be easier to complete a form that says "electrodes accidentally dropped into a puddle" or "accidentally fell overboard again, the fourth time this week" than to re-bake rods.