Way to go, PuddleDuck! Impressive! Thanks.
Critique: "3-4 liters" to clean a dirty chain?
Nah, not at all. I think that's total overkill. I've had really good luck using four solvent baths of about 16 oz. of solvent in each.
1 initial mineral spirits bath. This gets dirty.
Second mineral spirits bath. Gets less dirty.
Initial 91% isopropyl alcohol bath. Gets dirty.
Second 91% isopropyl alcohol bath. Stays pretty clean.
I blow out the chain with compressed air between baths. This does a good job dislodging a lot of gunk so you aren't re-introducing it to your bath(s). Oh and I obviously wipe down the chain before even submerging. I've even used Q-Tips to get the accumulated gunk out from between the link plates. That helps reduce the solvents I need to use.
I let my baths sit for a few days so I can extract the clear liquid from the gunk collected on the bottom. Just common sense that allows me to use less solvents overall.
I do admit looking forward to the day when I've finally converted the family's collection of bikes over to wax. To not have to deal with dirty chains will be really, really nice.
I'd add one caveat: don't let this lengthy, impressive, detail-filled post intimidate you.
It's just wax!
Get the grease off you chain and soak it in hot wax!
Sure, there are a few details to know.
And yes, it's good to do it right.
But ultimately, it's pretty straightforward.
I made my own home-brew wax mixture of candle wax and tungsten and molybdenum disulfide powders. $40 for a lifetime supply of wax. I did, however, order some higher-grade Gulf food-grade wax for my next recipe.
So it doesn't even have to be expensive at all.
Hi TB, thanks for your compliment.
You are spot on that it doesn't have to be expensive. I started with inexpensive food-grade wax, and an inexpensive slow cooker, and re-using coffee jars for doing my cleaning.
I
tried to keep the process as simple as possible by offering tips to remove uncertainly, and by "chucking down" the elements. I tried to "lower the bar" to action. Hence, From my perspective, for someone who states that they don't want to read too much, and wants to keep things simple, dealing with used chains is a rabbit warren that raises the bar to action (especially compared to using a strip chip).
As background, the context in which I wrote what I did is that I'm very wary of polluting my expensive wax, and that affecting 8+ chains for 4 other bikes...
Our differing experiences in "cleaning" used chains, and the many other things I mention below are why I'd recommend that the inexperienced start with a new chain if they don't wish to do a LOT of reading & research beforehand.
This is especially true if they are space limited.
This is especially true if they're using expensive wax.
This is especially true if they want simplicity.
One reason that I didn't mention for starting with new is that if there's any water in a chain, and it's left to soak for long enough in mineral spirits, hydrogen embrittlement will occur....and the chain will probably break under load...
As an aside, I let new chains soak, and I leave them on top of an active clothes washer to give them some free agitation 😎
...I've even considered putting them on top of the engine cover of my car...never done it though. 🤔
Another reason is that chain wear isn't linear due to the hard/special coatings on chains. A chain might be half worn in 1000 miles, but fully worn in the next 500 miles....so unless the chain is almost brand new, and is expensive, it's probably not worth cleaning it.
Another reason is that the amount of cleaning required will vary with:
- the brand of chain,
- how old it is (which impacts on how rough the internal surfaces are...the rougher they are the more surface area for crud to stick to...the longer that "cleaning" will take),
- what cleaning was done previously, and
- what lube(s) were used previously.
Anyway, how did I clean my used chains?
What does clean mean to me?
- I used the MSW method in the linked doc in my post.
- My chains were never initially stripped, were lubed with BeoShield T9, and were cleaned regularly with a Park Tool scrubber.
- I scrubbed used chains in a pan to remove the exterior gunk, then did
- I used multiple solvent baths, wiping the chain between baths, until wiping the chain left almost no residue on the rag.
- It took 3-4 litres of solvents (which aligns with ZFC's experience), and the whole process took hours
Aside from the fact that it was a leaning experience, it was a waste of time and money for the over half worn 9 and 10 speed chains on my old bikes
SO, from my perspective, there are too many variables and complications to make "cleaning" used chains SIMPLE for the user...
...where one of the criticisms of waxing is that it's too complicated, takes too long, and needs too much dedicated equipment.
THIS is why I am such a huge fan of Silca's approach, Josh solves problems that users
didn't even realise that they had...which is gold standard product innovation.
