more on cleaning

the recent post inplies that most people use soap and water since they clean
inside the house. i am wondering if is there any reason (other than
environmeltal) that one should not use solvents on the chain & dr's? i
always spray off gunk with starting fluid, brake or carb cleaner. its bad
for the ozone, but not as bad as a car...
-alan

"alan" wrote: (clip)is there any reason (other than environmeltal) that one
should not use solvents on the chain (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lets say you apply solvent to the chain, by dipping, spraying or wiping, and
it penetrates into the link pin clearances. If you then lubricate the
chain, the solvent is in the spaces where you want the lubricant to go. You
could wind up riding with a clean chain and little or no lubricant in the
loaded areas. I like to use a product which is both a lubricant and a
solvent, so I am less likely to wind up with dry surfaces inside the chain.

Exactly what Leo said..

plus the fact that I find using degreasing dish soap to work even better
than the expensive solvents!

Mike
http://mikebeauchamp.com




"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"alan" wrote: (clip)is there any reason (other than environmeltal) that
one
should not use solvents on the chain (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lets say you apply solvent to the chain, by dipping, spraying or wiping,
and
it penetrates into the link pin clearances. If you then lubricate the
chain, the solvent is in the spaces where you want the lubricant to go.
You
could wind up riding with a clean chain and little or no lubricant in the
loaded areas. I like to use a product which is both a lubricant and a
solvent, so I am less likely to wind up with dry surfaces inside the
chain.

"alan" .@. wrote ...

the recent post inplies that most people use soap and water since they
clean
inside the house. i am wondering if is there any reason (other than
environmeltal) that one should not use solvents on the chain & dr's? i
always spray off gunk with starting fluid, brake or carb cleaner. its bad
for the ozone, but not as bad as a car...
-alan

Citrus based cleaners and Simple Green are cheap, biodegradable, work well,
and are not as toxic to you as the products you mentioned.
--
mark

If you use something like gasoline or diesel fuel to clean a chain it
will dry out afterwards but yet leave a microscopic film of lubricant
to keep it from rusting inside until you apply a proper lubricant. Even
if the insides of the chain are not completely dried out, the solvent
will still continue to dry out, leaving just your lubricant.

By contrast if you use a soap or detergent to do the cleaning you must
dry it thoroughly INSIDE and out, then apply your lubricant. The
problem this creates is that you never know if it is dry inside and if
it is dry inside, oxidation (rust) begins to take its toll.

Greg

Using "biodegradable" detergents is no better for the environment than
using a recyclable solvent system. In fact, if you dispose of the
washings improperly, you could be doing MORE damage.

Regular paint thinner is an excellent solvent as it dries rapidly yet
is not a serious fire hazard like gasoline.

Unless you remove the chain and soak/shake, you are only cleaning the
outside. If you use oils, the inside of the chain will be just as
dirty and that is where the wear happens. Since all grit/dirt settle
in paint thinner, one can easily decant the clear thinner for reuse.

There are no ozone depleting chemicals available to the general
consumer since 1995.


--
Weisse Luft