lineinthewater

Even if I had it submerged in lube for 12-24 hours? I think I know the answer.

FBinNY 

Yes, you might as well wash it again since it probably has a water/oil emulsion inside. Wash it thoroughly with multiple rinses until nothing comes out. The put it onto the oven at 200 for about 20 minutes (Warning, if it isn't hot, your oven is broken). let it cool and oil it. If you're using Chain-L or Phil Tenacious, oiling while the chain is warm speeds things up and makes wiping excess off easier.

BTW- if your ultrasonic is large enough, don't wash the chain in water. Instead put the chain in jar with some OMS or naphtha, close the lid tightly and put that into the ultrasonic. Glass is transparent to high frequency sound, so you'll get the same powerful cleaning action, without the drawbacks of water cleaners. Change and save used solvent in a tightly closed container, where the dirt will settle so you can reuse it in the future. You might need 3-4 rinses to be sure the chain is clean. When you pull the chain out, these solvents will dry completely within a short while (don't bake since the solvents are flammable).

BTW- do not use a flammable solvent in an ultrasonic, except in a closed container. The ultrasonic increases the evaporation rate of solvents, and greatly increases the flammability.

pierce

my old favorite place to dry stuff was on top of the big TV set, back when they were CRT's. they generated lots of nice dry warm air that rose out of the top.

obviously, you didn't put anything up there that was dripping wet, but I baked the water out of several pieces of waterlogged electronics like a cellphone, by leaving it on top of the TV for a week.

kinad hard to do with today's flat panels, hahahah.

FBinNY 

It may or may not rust depending on the PH of your local water supply, but why take the chances. Do not leave bare steel in contact with water any longer than necessary.
If you wash is water, spin out as much as you can (outside) then bake it dry, or use a hair dryer.

FBinNY 

If you live in a house the next best place is on top of the hot water heater. If jeff Wills is reding this, the hot water heater is one of my cats' favorite places when it's cool. We discovered this spot when trying to figure out why he had short whiskers with little balls at the ends on one side only.

lineinthewater

Do you think the water emulsion can prevent rust for the next 12-24 hours? I really can't get to this tonight. Well, unless my chain is likely actively rusting. I actually did 3 chains at the same time, so it's kinda a pressing issue if I fubared the whole thing.

You provided excellent info ... thank you.

pierce

mine is A) in the garage, B) natural gas (humid exhaust fumes), and C) so well insulated it doesn't get warm on the outside.

an incandescent 75 or 100W light bulb in a desk lamp makes an excellent dryer. put whatever it is in a pan, shine light on it from a couple feet away.

again, not so good with CCFL or LED lighting :-/


btw, I second the emotion about using warm oil and/or oiling when warm. oil hardens to wax when its cold, and flows much easier when its warm or even hot.

FBinNY 

I wouldn't obsess over it unless the water is pretty acidic where you are, (in most places it's quite the opposite). Rewash and dry the chains at the first opportunity, but don't drop everything.

lineinthewater

Thanks. I will definitely re-ultrasonic the chains tomorrow, and probably take the heating route. BTW, maybe noob question, but what do you mean by OMS or naphtha? I'm guessing I don't have them on hand.

FBinNY 

OMS is odorless mineral spirits, naphtha is just that (naphtha). Both are petroleum distillates sold in hardware stores as general solvents and paint thinners (oil based paints). On the scale of oil products these are somewhere between gasoline and kerosene in flammability and evaporation rate.

OMS seems to be the solvent of choice among the knowledgeable here on the forum. I prefer naphtha because it dries faster (it's also more flammable) and seems to be a slightly more aggressive solvent.

Treat either with respect, use in vell ventilated areas, away from ignition sources (no basements), and either wear gloves, or limit contact with your skin. Handled with reasonable care either is relatively safe to work with.

pierce

napha is, I thought, more flammable than gasoline? OMS is pretty much light kerosene, give or take.

since you ultrasonic'd it in a water solution, I think I'd go with the acetone (because I have a can) or denatured alcohol (safer) soak and agitate to extract any remaining water, then compressed air blast it to get rid of that stuff, then drop it in a can and cover it with some warm oil, leave it overnight to let it thoroughly soak in.

lineinthewater

So, one of the reasons I invested in an ultrasonic cleaner is because I was tired of the toxic chemicals. It seems the recent advice is steering me back that way. There are three reasons to limit the extreme chemicals: health, being kinder to the environment, and I don't have a garage. Is there a downside to ultrasonicing the chain in Simple Green & water solution, and then rinsing thoroughly, and then heating in the oven? I've got to admit, there is probably someone reading this forum that thinks we've all gone off the deep end of OCD. LOL.

gregjones

If your ultrasonic cleaner has a heater in it the Simple Green will drive you out of your house. Otherwise I guess it's up to your nose.

I use Chain-L according to the directions. No ultra nothing, no solvents. Wipe the chain clean then..........well, follow the directions. No chain worries.

dsbrantjr

If you decide to dry the chain in the oven after thorough water rinses, set the oven to 250 degrees or so. You need to get the water above the boiling point long enough for it to vaporize and be driven out of the tight spaces in the chain. If you don't get it hot enough it will take a surprisingly long time to fully evaporate. Then lube the chain and go ride.

pierce

there's nothing 'green' about Simple Green but the color.

aramis

Why would you take a new chain and soak it with degreaser? Is it a mountainbike or cyclocross bike or something ridden in super muddy conditions? I remember on Sheldon Brown's site reading about chain maintenance and he said to keep the factory lube on as long as possible, because it works the best.

Honestly, I adopted my motorcycle chain cleaning mantra after years of worrying about constantly cleaning and lubing my chain I decided that I would just occasionally wipe it down with a rag and maybe a little kerosine and then relube it every once in a while. I figured chains are only about 70 bucks and it wasn't worth my time to constantly clean and lube and I could just replace the chain more often.

But the interesting part was it turned out my chains lasted longer this way.

I think constantly cleaning/relubing can just get dirt and crud in there and just keeping it lubricated works fine.

gregjones

I remember we used PJ1 on motorcycle chain. It sprayed on like WD40 then set up with a "waxy" feel. I never had chain problems. It worked fantastic on door and hood hinges also.

Jeff Wills

Eek! I can say that won't be a problem for Mango and Pumpkin since:
1. The water heater is in the garage.
1a. The water heater is a recent, high-efficiency gas unit, heavily insulated.
2. My current project in the garage is generating copious amounts of fiberglass and Bondo dust. It's hard enough wearing a filter mask, much less putting one on a cat.

Back to the original sidebar: I'm of the opinion that over-cleaning the chain will kill your chain faster than not maintaining it at all. For my last couple chains I've just cleaned the dirt off the outside, scrubbing it with a shop rag sprayed in Simple Green, then lubing lightly if it's started squeaking. They've lasted through Pacific Northwet winters with weeks between cleaning.

Jeff Wills

No, chain lube threads are SOP for Internet bicycle discussions. I remember endless email and Usenet threads back when I first got connected, back in the mid-'90's.

FBinNY 

The water heater itself is a new high efficiency, well insulated unit. The top is just a bit warm, which is why Pesto likes to sleep there. It's the flue pipe that is hot enough trim whiskers.

lineinthewater

So, just want to spice it up a little ;-). I see these road cyclists ride by me (other side of the steet, of course ), and I never see them worrying about their drive train noises. So, are they mostly expert home mechanics, blissfully ignorant, or have plenty of money to spend for quality maintenance?

That said, I appreciate everyone's attention to detail, and their way of doing things. I'm reading all input, and synthesizing. Much appreciated.

FBinNY 

Maybe, they use Chain-L. (sorry, I couldn't resist)

ThermionicScott 

That's brilliant! I've been wanting to try ultrasonically cleaning my chains, but I don't want to go back to water-based cleaners.

lineinthewater

What does the L stand for?

Jeff Wills

"Lama"- just like the Dalai Lama, only for bicycle chains.