Originally Posted by
gregf83
Yes. 300 degrees won't hurt anything. Not sure if 15min will be long enough.
It's not the heat you have to worry about.
Originally Posted by
masi61
I don't know the chemistry of if but I believe I read that trying to evaporate off water more quickly in the oven does nothing to eliminate the oxidation that you get when thoroughly cleaning in water based degreaser and rinsing.
Bingo! Generally speaking, heating up chemical reactions doesn't slow them down or eliminate them. It speeds them up...most times significantly. A rule of thumb we use in chemistry is that a 10°C (about 20°F) rise in temperature doubles the reaction rate. Heating the chain and water to 212°F from 70°F is a 14 fold increase in reaction rate. Basically, the water evaporates more quickly but it rusts much more quickly as well.
Thermodynamic note: You only have to worry about the temperature to the boiling point of water. Once the water is gone, the vehicle for easy oxidation of the iron is mostly gone as well.
Originally Posted by
trailangel
No water on the chain please
Bingo +2! There are far better solvents for cleaning chains out there than water based detergents. They work better with less volume and don't require complicated rinsing steps. Mineral spirits is probably the most effective as well as the safest of solvents that people will suggest. It's not very flammable...it can still be ignited so use some caution
...and it evaporates quickly. A cup of the stuff will clean, roughly, a dozen chains and, even if you have more oil than solvent, it will continue to clean.
Compare that to "green" cleaners that require a gallon or more of detergent and rinses to remove it.
Originally Posted by
wgscott
Why not just chase the water out with isopropanol, and then let that evaporate at room temperature? This method has the added advantage of not requiring a very large toaster oven if you prefer to keep the chain on the bike.
As I stated above, why chase the water if you can use something that isn't water based? But if you insist on using detergents, there are better solvents to chase the water as well. Isopropanol is usually available in a 70% solution. The other 30% is water. You are essentially chasing water with more water. You might be able to find some 96% isopropanol which would be better.
But there is an even better option. Acetone doesn't contain water, is infinitely soluble in water and evaporates very quickly. It is more flammable and should be handled with care but if you insist on using water, it's by far the best option.