chefisaac

Thank you for doing this.

If we were to try this method, do we need to start with a new chain and crisp and clean cogs and cassette?

scroca

Great, thanks.

Looking forward to the post of your pictures or video.

Also, can someone living in Phoenix or any other hot place use wax, or would the sun melt it off?

Blinkie

What Alupang said. And look in the canning supplies, for wax jar seal as well; that's pure paraffin, whereas often candles have a bit of other things to help them burn longer (stearic acid, a derivative of tallow -- animal fat) unless marked as 'pure' paraffin (which is a petroleum product). Unscented white candles, unless labeled as soy or beeswax, are going to be mostly paraffin.

scroca

Boy do I wish I'd read your post before I went to Walmart! I went through several employees and traipsed back and forth across the store until I finally ended up in the canning area, which by the way didn't have wax but had an employee who knew where to get the stuff.

And all this time I thought you guys were talking about a pair of fins, so I was scouring the pet supplies.

So anyway, with all the rest of my groceries and the wax, I also got a pan to bake the stuff into submission (I hope). Don't have a crockpot, don't want one. So my plan is to put the stuff in the oven. Does anyone know what temp to set it to? If not, I'll start low and work my way up. Right now the oven is set to pizza (400F). It will be interesting to see if it knows how to operate at any other temperature after all this time solely on pizza duty. I trust I should remove the wax from the container before I start.



So that's my plan. Do I have a chance?

Blinkie

Don't start it too hot! (I know you're not, but maybe others need the advice) Paraffin melts around 150ºF, and needs a heat source to keep it that way. It's why a super-cheap thrift store pot, or sometimes a large aluminum can, is such a common item with wax lubricant users: It's easy to place the container back onto a low burner, or even keep it atop one for a duration.

Also, beware not to over-heat! Pure paraffin's flash point (bursts into flame) is just below 200ºF so don't over-do it! At the first sign of smoke, remove it from the heat source!

dscheidt

Yes, because if the Foomatic chain lasts 10,000 miles, and the Bartasic one only 6,000, the foomatic people will make a big deal of it, and justify a higher price for the chain. If you don't believe me, look at the advertising material for 10 speed chains from the companies who aren't Shimano. Lifespan is a sales point for all of them. You'll also note that not one of them recommends using a totally unsuitable lubricant, like, oh, paraffin wax.

beebe

I use paraffin, with the crockpot method. I don't know if it makes my chains last longer, but it does make sure I don't get oil on my pants. Considering that my two chains have about 2-3k miles and no indication of wear, I'm sure I'll get enough use out of them. I get at least 400 miles between waxes. If I had to do it every 200 I might switch back to oil.

scroca

I'm with you so far...

Oops, lost me.

Not saying you're wrong, just don't get it. Care to expound on the unsuitability?

zonatandem

Have been waxing bike and tandem bike chains since the mid-1970s!
I do remove the chain; wipe it down and then drop it in an old coffee can of wax that's melted on small electric burner in my driveway/garage.
Remove hot waxed chain from can with long handled pliers.
Hang chain to drip dry and re-install.
Usually 2,000 to 3,000 miles between waxings.
If I hear the slightest chain squeak, it's time to re-wax.
Chains last 'up to' 9,000 miles before they need to be replaced.
Wax is re-usable many times.
Yes, I also use Parowax or similar canning-type wax for lubrication.
Ideal thing with using hot wax method is that liquid wax penetrates around each individual chain pin where the lubrication is needed. The outside links are clean too and can be grabbed barehanded without any black residue.
Chain is ultra quiet/smooth/clean after waxing.
We do live in Arizona desert and rain/mud may not be an issue for us, but dust/dirt sticking to oily chains would be.
Ever get caught in a dust devil or blowing dust storm? We have!
So far over 300,000 miles of waxing chains since 1975.
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

scroca

zonatandem,

Guess you just answered my question about whether the sun in the desert would melt the wax off.

zonatandem

Have ridden in temp as high as 117 degrees; nope wax does not melt off the chain!

Alupang

Yep I know I could wait longer between waxing but my procedure of just draping my unbroken chain into the wax take so very little time--200 miles is just once a week. It's my routine so I don't forget.

Alupang

I use medium/medlow heat in a small stainless camp pot---I hope you are not thinking of using that thin tinfoil thing pictured! Watch it like a hawk your first couple times so you don't overheat. I've been waxing chains since 1970s and never had a problem with fire.

And yes in case you are not kidding...remove the wax from the boxes.

Alupang

You could start with used chain and cassette BUT make darn sure it's all perfectly clean.

scroca

Yep, I was kidding about the boxes.

Nope, I'm serious about the foil pan. I was planning to put it in the oven on bake at lowest heat and increase from there if necessary.

Now I'm glad you warned me off of it. The box of wax says expressly to not try to melt it in the oven: "Never melt directly in pan over fire, hot plate or in hot oven." It says to heat it in a pan over boiling water, as in a double boiler.

So here goes nothing:

DEW21

I just use this stuff left over from my motocross days.

chandltp

It's not about lubricating the chain.. it's about running a clean, dry chain.

irwin7638

I wax my chains several times a year, but remove them to soak overnight in solvent first. Then I wax them by soaking in an old coffee can full of melted paraffin I always leave them submerged until their are no more bubbles. The absence of bubbles tell me that the paraffin has penetrated all the secret little places, driven out all the moisture and coated every surface.
Between wax jobs I use a wax based lube like White Lightning Clean Ride, LPS-1 or Boshield for occasional lube. I've been doing it so long I don't know if chains last longer or not, but it's not much of a hassle now and then and I sure feel better about it. They look a lot cleaner.

Marc

jrickards

I was reading an article about chainwaxing just recently and one of the suggestions was to put the can of wax (using the chain removal technique) in a larger container of water (ie double-boiler technique). It was said that even at water boiling temperature (212F), there is no risk of the paraffin igniting. Further more this site (https://www.shamrockaffiliations.ws/P...ash_Points.php) states that the flash point of wax is 390F.

cyccommute 

There would be no need for the chain to be perfectly clean. The paraffin will act as a solvent when hot. Any oil will dissolve in the paraffin and become trapped. It might even act to enhance the lubricity of the paraffin as well as make the paraffin more flexible. Any grit will fall to the bottom of the mixture and be trapped there.

Having said all that, that's the point of solvent carried wax based lubricants. The wax is dissolved in a solvent. After the solvent evaporates, the wax stays behind. Most wax based lubricants use soft waxes (petroleum jelly is an example) as well as harder waxes in the mix to make the wax more flexible and less likely to flake away as can be the case with waxes show in this thread.

cyccommute 

A double boiler is a good idea but, since you are heating the water in the boiler with an open flame, you still have the possibility of igniting the wax.

jrickards

I'm curious as to how well paraffin will work in cold temperatures.

cyccommute 

Cold shouldn't be a problem. Wet is.

Ira B

I'm pretty particular about chain cleaning and lubing and can't believe I have never tried this.
Going to give it a whirl and see how well it works!

pallen