bonsai171

Hi,

Has anyone used Zep heavy duty citrus degreaser for degreasing a bike chain? Is this too strong? It also worked wonders when I stripped the paint off my singlespeed


Dave

Johnny Mullet

I use motor oil. Lube the chain with oil, rotate and wipe chain with a rag. Repeat several times.

FBinNY 

It will degrease a chain pretty effectively, but you have to use it right.

With any degreaser, you need to give it enough time to break down ALL the greases and oils. Then multiple rinses (with the same stuff) to flush the dissolved crud and dirt out of the chain, which takes more than you think, because it's well sheltered in small spaces.

Once you're getting clean rinses, then a citrus must be rinsed with water, which will take a few rinses, then the water has to be dried out. Then, because citrus/water can be acidic, I do a rinse with water to which a bit of baking soda was added.

So, citrus can work well, but a petroleum distillate is easier in the long run, and can be saved for reuse.

rydabent

This year I used Super Clean that I get at the auto store. I brushed my chain on all 4 sides rinsed good and let dry. I then relubed with Mobil 1.

drlogik 

I use Zepp both the Citrus and the Heavy duty stuff. Converted from solvent-based degreasers this year actually. I think it works at least as good as parts degreaser maybe better. It's certainly easier to deal with.

Previous posts are correct though, you need to use it properly. Let parts soak long enough, rinse THOROUGHLY with hot water and dry completely and quickly and re-lube as soon as it is dry.

Tips I have found that work pretty well:
- Put chain in 2 liter coke bottle with Zepp and shake like heII and let sit. It helps to start with warm water.
- Rinse and repeat
- Rinse THOROUGHLY with warm water.
- Blow part/chain off with compressed air - some advocate drying in a low temp oven. It's probably not a bad idea. I dry in the sun as it is hot where I live and the lube I use is water-based anyway (Squirt)
- Lube right away

ramzilla

IMHO (with all due respect) you have to be nuts to put a water soluble detergent on a chain. It makes you have to clean it twice. Once to get off the grease and twice to get off the soap. Just dunk the chain in a can of diesel fuel or mineral spirits and be done with it.

Leebo

Run chain backwards with a rag. Apply new lube, small amounts.

FBinNY 

The first step in degreasing a chain is to decide if it really needs that. A decent cleaning job is messy and time consuming, and in many cases totally unnecessary.

Whether it's necessary or not, degreasing chains often does more harm than good. Unless done thoroughly it doesn't actually get much dirt out of the chain, and can leave compromised lubricant inside, compromising any effort to relube after ward.

One thing that's rarely mentioned in these cleaning thread is how to get solvent and dirt out effectively. This is a key step in the cleaning process and often skipped. Imagine if your washing machine didn't have a spin cycle between wash and rinse, and between rinses. Your clothes may get clean, but they'll come out full of detergent residue and some of the dirt you were trying to wash away. Of course, if you rinsed them often enough, you might get the detergent and dirt out, but spinning removes most of the residue more effectively, leaving little to rinse off.

So, regardless of what you use to clean your chain, you'll get better results if you take it outside hold it in the middle and spin it like a windmill to drive the dirty solvent out, between wash and rinse steps.

rumrunn6

+1 on the mess. be careful what is under your bike when you do it. some stuff kills grass, so if you like your lawn, don't use White Lightning Easy Clean aerosol (can be found at Walmart) without covering the grass ;-)

TimothyH

This is actually a very interesting and shomewhat useful thread.

FBinNY 

Give it time, the name calling is sure to start soon enough.

Homebrew01

LOL... no doubt .....

I'm too lazy these days.
1) Dribble some lube on every now & then
2) wipe off excess
3) ride.

TimothyH

Yeah, I'm not holding out much hope of a good outcome but your post especially about acidic degreasers and baking soda reminded me of what I had know but forgotten long ago.

I'm wondering if it isn't more cost and time effective or even easier on the environment to just use a couple of old bike bottles full of odorless mineral spirits, decanting the clean stuff off the top once in a while. That's what I do anyway and I typically take it all to the county dump/recycling center along with my automotive fluids when I happen to go once or twice each year.

FBinNY 

I agree, and said so earlier. Here's my concluding line from post No.3

So, citrus can work well, but a petroleum distillate is easier in the long run, and can be saved for reuse. [emphasis added]

There's lots of debate on the environmental question, but I'm one of those who believe that a bad product, well managed and reused or recycled, is better for the environment than a not so bad product flushed down drains.

bonsai171

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I'll definitely have to try taking the chain off, it has a quick link, so that should be really easy. Probably going to try the zep/water rinse/compressed air method, though I have one of those park chain scrubber things too.

Dave

cyccommute 

I agree that you need to use it correctly but as you pointed out, that requires many unnecessary...even harmful...steps. The mistake that most people make when it comes to water based degreasers is the "water" part. Yes, you need to remove the degreaser and the best way to do that is with water. But...and here's the "harmful" bit...the water should be remove quickly before it has a chance to start oxidation of the metal in the chain.

It really shouldn't be allowed to dry nor should heat be used to remove the water. Simple drying allows time for the oxidation of the metal to proceed at a slow pace. Using heat just increases the rate of the oxidation reaction. Heat doesn't change the fundamental process. If you really, really need to use a "green" solvent, you should chase the water off the chain with alcohol or acetone to dry the chain very quickly. But, as you pointed out, this increase the volume of the waste several fold which negates the "green" aspects of these cleaners.

Baking soda, by the way, is a completely unnecessary step. Citrus cleaners aren't very acidic. They are made from an acidic fruit but none of that acid gets into the cleaner.

I agree 100%! Mineral spirits require a small volume of spirits that can be reused many, many times. It's actually the "greener" option as it produces significantly smaller volumes of waste.

As an added benefit, it works much faster, too. Less than a minute of agitation of a chain in about a cup of mineral spirits will completely strip any lubricant off the chain...including the factory lubricant.

rumrunn6

I use that to start with ... but I really like 2 tooth brushes taped together facing each other. it's great on the chain, chain rings but especially the rear derailer rollers! I only clean my stuff like this rarely & only on a hot sunny day. this year everything dried really quickly. the more bikes you do the better you get at it. when I had to get my backup bike on the rd quickly I was much more efficient with my efforts, methods & time. it helps to have paper type shop towels + a couple small cloth towels for getting between the chain rings & rear cogs. remember you'll be cleaning your tires & wheels brake surfaces as a last step, well, drying & wiping the frame might come after wheel cleaning. this thing (chain keeper) makes spinning the chain without the wheel way easier. also these brushes are useful.




learned about this via the forum - so smart!

NJgreyhead

I like this idea, plus it is a fun mental image. Thanks, Francis.
-NJg

Jarrett2

Why do people put so much effort into cleaning their chains?

They seem to last about 6 months before they are stretched out and cost $20 to replace.

kingston 

I agree with @Jarrett2. Here's my simple three step process:
1) Remove old chain
2) Dispose of old chain
3) Install new chain

DeadGrandpa

Hey, hey, what about ultrasonic cleaners? If I'm going to be doing something unnecessary, I don't want to pass up the opportunity to buy an unneeded piece of equipment. Or are you all a bunch of luddites?

kingston 

I have actually used a power washer on a bike a few times. Chain comes out sparkly.

Jean3n16

I wonder what kind of chain youre using if it only lasts 6mo!

I just took my 20+yr chain off my Huffy because it was gunky, nasty and just gross. I used Dawn dish soap and a toothbrush.

DrIsotope

Seconded. Only with me, I measure chain life in weeks and not months.

Same here. By the time my chain is dirty/gunky enough to clean, it's also too long, and is ready for the bin.

My last chain lasted 13 weeks. Average 280 miles a week and chains have a remarkably short lifespan.

Sy Reene

How much does Zep, air compressor, 2 liter bottle of coke etc. all cost. vs. a new chain?