Final steps when chain cleaning

Werehatrack:

If drying the chain became a regular ritual,
I'd rinse in 99% isopropanol (rubbing alcohol). Acetone would work
better but it costs more.

How does this work? Does that stuff replace the water and then
evaporate?

Water and isopropyl alcohol are soluble in each other; using the
alcohol as a rinse replaces most of the water with the alcohol, which
then evaporates rapidly; the remaining amount of water is then usually
so slight that it quickly evaporates as well. I have used this method
in other applications. (I generally use denatured alcohol, though,
because it's cheaper.)

It's more than that: alcohol is hydrophilic, which means it readily
absorbs water. When alcohol evaporates, it takes the water with it.
That's why skin becomes dry after having alcohol evaporate on it.

On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 13:27:33 GMT, (Thunder9)
wrote:

Yea but he's keeping the chain on his bike. I don't see why it would
take so long with a hair dryer. 5 minutes?


If drying the chain became a regular ritual,
I'd rinse in 99% isopropanol (rubbing alcohol). Acetone would work
better but it costs more.

How does this work? Does that stuff replace the water and then
evaporate?


In order to boil water, which has to be done to get the water out of
the innerpart of the chain and also get rid of surface moisture, takes
more than 212 degrees for a while. The outside of the chain will get
dry but not the inside.

Water is soluble in ispropanol and acetone. You are solvent washing
the water out with a volatile solvent that is also oil soluble. You
could likely do the water removal with a lot of WD2 sprayed on chain
and then wiped off.

On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 14:56:41 GMT, "mark"
wrote:

I experimented with waxing chains for a while- I found that the safest
method of melting the wax was a double boiler.

Not hot enough to displace water. An electric frying pan and about
300 degrees works great. Do it outside. Deep fry the chain don't
boil it.

Do you have access to an air compressor? you could try spraying it out.

May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!
Chris

Chris'Z Corner
"The Website for the Common Bicyclist":
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 16:03:53 -0400 (EDT),
(Chris Zacho "The Wheelman") may have said:

(Werehatrack) misinterpreted:


He suggests doing it in a pan on the
stove; I melted it in a small, covered
baking pan in an oven set for about
120C. You must make sure that you do
not approach the flash point of the
paraffin, which is at just about 200C, as
it will spontaneously ignite if you do.

WOAH! I never said that! I suggest using a small electric skillet set at
about 250º OR if you don't have one, a double boiler. The skillet
method is, obviously, much safer.

That way the wax never get's near it's flash point of around 350-375º.
NEVER heat wax directly over the stove, unless it's under constant
surveillance and you have a fire extinguisher handy, just in case. It's
no less dangerous than boiling oil when it gets thast hot!

Sorry; to me, a double boiler is still a pan on the stove, although
you're 100% correct that at least it's a *safe* method. Just not
fully effecive. With an electric stove set on a fairly low heat
level, with a meat thermometer to check the temp of the wax, though, a
pan on the stove is probably as safe as an electric skillet; the
principal advantage of the latter would be the ability to do the
heating outside, in the driveway, away from other combustibles. Hmmm.
Now that I think about it, they've had electric frying pans and the
occasional electric deep fryer (now, *there* is an idea!) at Goodwill
regularly for about $5...

--
My email address is antispammed;
pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.

On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 14:32:23 GMT, Werehatrack
wrote:
say for sure. The principal problems with the method lie in the area
of heating the wax without running the risk of igniting it. He

Easy, if you care to apply some money to the problem. Get the
machine whose purpose is specifically to heat that wax without
igniting it. These can be gotten at any beauty-supply store. My
girlfriend is a manicurist and has such a machine.

The wax may be cheaper from a hardware store than from the beauty
store, but hey...wouldn't you want a floral or lemon scented chain
on your bike?

--
Rick Onanian

On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:44:17 -0400, Rick Onanian
may have said:

On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 14:32:23 GMT, Werehatrack
wrote:
say for sure. The principal problems with the method lie in the area
of heating the wax without running the risk of igniting it. He

Easy, if you care to apply some money to the problem. Get the
machine whose purpose is specifically to heat that wax without
igniting it. These can be gotten at any beauty-supply store. My
girlfriend is a manicurist and has such a machine.

The wax may be cheaper from a hardware store than from the beauty
store, but hey...wouldn't you want a floral or lemon scented chain
on your bike?

And no unsightly chain hair, either!

--
My email address is antispammed;
pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.

(TBGibb) wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Thunder9) writes:



Alcohol and water combine to form a mixture (I think it's called an azotropic
mixture) that evaporates more easily than the water does. I little fact of
physical chemistry that bedevils alcohol distilation.

pendantic mode

It's actually an azeotropic mixture.

/pedantic mode

Tom Gibb

In article ,
says...
I ride a Trek Liquid 20 in Singapore. That means inordinate amounts
of mud and water.
I've been wondering about the cleaning and lubricating process.
I end up doing things the way Park Tools advocates...
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/CM5.shtml
Where I'm puzzled is the "drying the chain with a rag" bit, after
cleaning/rinsing the chain and before lubricating it.
The thing I've noticed is, "yeah, I can get the moisture off the
plates and things, but if you look in the cracks and crevices, you can
see that there is definitely water trapped here and there. All the
rag-wiping in the world isn't going to drain it out.
I think about the only thing you could do would be to run a hair dryer
on the chain. Or perhaps if you let the chain sit out overnight it
would mostly evaporate (or rust...)
So what should I do? and how long to wait after "wiping with rag" to
actually spray on the lubricant?

You can do a better job of cleaning the chain by simply removing it and
soaking it in your favorite solvent and agitate the container every so
often. Then let the chain dry and lube with your favorite lube. Do
one link at a time and let the lube soak in. Then wipe the excess lube
off with a clean rag. Then re-install the chain. It goes very fast.
If you use two chains to rotate on and off your bike, you are never
without use of your bike.
-----------------
Alex __O
_-\,_
(_)/ (_)

Alex Rodriguez wrote:
In article ,
says...

I ride a Trek Liquid 20 in Singapore. That means inordinate amounts
of mud and water.
I've been wondering about the cleaning and lubricating process.
I end up doing things the way Park Tools advocates...
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/CM5.shtml
Where I'm puzzled is the "drying the chain with a rag" bit, after
cleaning/rinsing the chain and before lubricating it.
The thing I've noticed is, "yeah, I can get the moisture off the
plates and things, but if you look in the cracks and crevices, you can
see that there is definitely water trapped here and there. All the
rag-wiping in the world isn't going to drain it out.
I think about the only thing you could do would be to run a hair dryer
on the chain. Or perhaps if you let the chain sit out overnight it
would mostly evaporate (or rust...)
So what should I do? and how long to wait after "wiping with rag" to
actually spray on the lubricant?


You can do a better job of cleaning the chain by simply removing it and
soaking it in your favorite solvent and agitate the container every so
often. Then let the chain dry and lube with your favorite lube. Do
one link at a time and let the lube soak in. Then wipe the excess lube
off with a clean rag. Then re-install the chain. It goes very fast.
If you use two chains to rotate on and off your bike, you are never
without use of your bike.

When I do this, my chain doesn't last as long as when I use one of the
on bike cleaners. I tried turpentine for 2 chains.

David