Potentially dumb question
07-14-12, 06:10 PM
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Potentially dumb question
So i was wondering if heating up grease so it melted would be a bad idea for a chain lube. The potentially dumb part would be flammability issues. Thoughts, threats, and insults against my intelligence.
07-14-12, 06:16 PM
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Seems plausible. Back in the 80's I recall heated parafin wax being used on MTB chains.
07-14-12, 06:32 PM
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It's very doable. Just get an old small pot that you dont ever want to use again and a hot plate to do it outside if you dont like your house smelling like a garage. Take wire or a metal coat hanger thats long enough to not get burned and loop it through when end before you start. Hang up and let drip. viola. As long as theres no direct flame you should be alright, grease has extremely high flash point so indirect heat shouldnt give you any worries. Oh and heat it up slow so you dont cause it to seperate.
07-14-12, 06:48 PM
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Yes, heated carefully it should be safe but what's the objective? There are better, cleraner and easier to use chainlubes that don't require preparation. Melted parafin as a chain lube was done because the cooled wax was bone dry and never collected dirt but once your grease cools it will become a sticky dirt magnet.
07-14-12, 06:53 PM
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Most greases used in bearings and so on are a variety of high temperature grease, which is designed for minimal change in viscosity with an increase in temperature. Heating up the grease is likely to degrade it before it makes it much thinner. A thick oil is more likely to work in this way, in fact heating heavy motor oil and then putting a chain in the pot with it, then removing it from the flame and letting the whole thing cool down together, is an old bike mechanic trick which leaves the oil inside the rollers.
- Joel
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07-14-12, 07:15 PM
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Just a random thought. Maybe trying to recreate the original lube on a chain.
07-15-12, 09:27 AM
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I tried this and it did not work because the grease I had would not melt, even when heated directly by a torch. It caught on fire, but never melted. Perhaps you could use a different grease, but I don't recall what I tried.
07-15-12, 10:00 AM
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Most greases used in bearings and so on are a variety of high temperature grease, which is designed for minimal change in viscosity with an increase in temperature. Heating up the grease is likely to degrade it before it makes it much thinner. A thick oil is more likely to work in this way, in fact heating heavy motor oil and then putting a chain in the pot with it, then removing it from the flame and letting the whole thing cool down together, is an old bike mechanic trick which leaves the oil inside the rollers.
- Joel
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07-15-12, 11:05 AM
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07-15-12, 11:49 AM
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07-15-12, 02:20 PM
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the surface needing lubricating are inside the chain
under the roller, around the pins. inner link side plates
the metal from pinching the hole in them, are now forming a surface
between the two.. No Rockwell hardness numbers, engineering data,
[feel free to do those tests and get back]
it is the softest steel of the 3 ..
under the roller, around the pins. inner link side plates
the metal from pinching the hole in them, are now forming a surface
between the two.. No Rockwell hardness numbers, engineering data,
[feel free to do those tests and get back]
it is the softest steel of the 3 ..
07-18-12, 08:29 PM
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Might have been https://www.fuchs-lubritech.com/cms/s...d_produkt=2993
Last edited by sk0tt; 07-19-12 at 07:42 PM. Reason: added link
07-19-12, 05:41 AM
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I guess if you manage to get grease inside your chain, then you can get the excess off with a pressure washer or something...
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List of US/Canada bike co-ops ~~~ Global list
