Originally Posted by LUCAS
cyccommute, will diesel fuel actually work better than mineral spirits as a chain-gunk solvent/cleaner? If it does, then a gallon of diesel fuel being much more cheaper than a gallon of mineral spirits, is the way to go.
Please confirm also, that diesel fuel, being less volatile than gasoline would not burn the house down, if stored in a metal can in the garage.
You sound like a chemist. If so, what do you use as solvent/cleaner, and why?
Thanks.
Regards,
Diesel cuts grease well but it's not very volatile. It leaves residue on the chain (kerosene does the same). A good hot day will remove most kerosene but not diesel. I use either mineral spirits or white gas (I mistakenly bought white gas for a camp stove long ago and I have too much of it around
). Both evaporate quickly and work well. They can also dissolve a lot of grease before they have to be disposed of. In a pinch, I've been known to use gasoline but not too often. It's just not worth the potential problems. With all of this I do it outside and I use a closed container to clean the chain (I use gatorade bottles). Someone suggested using an orbital sander to vibrate the container which I thought was a clever idea.
I will say that, for the most part, I only ever do this once to clean a new chain prior to use. After the chain is clean, I use dry lube like White Lightning. I live were it is dry and the trails and roads are dusty and sandy. Wet lubes tend to get a lot of grit stuck to them which then acts like a lapping compound on the chain. I only put lubrication on the chain when it starts to make noise and then only enough to make that noise go away. I can generally go more than a month (if the weather is dry) between lubrication without problems. My chains last as long - or longer - then when I used something like Triflow or Phil's Tenacious Oil plus I don't have chain tattoos all the time