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I use carnauba wax for finishing metal and have heard about using it on chains. right now about every two weeks I clean the chain with a light mineral oil, the

I use carnauba wax for finishing metal and have heard about using it on chains. right now about every two weeks I clean the chain with a light mineral oil, then a day later I clean again and put down heavier oil. keeps the mud away. would be I happier if I just cleaned the chain and dropped it in a pot of hot wax? is there anything to look out for?

eckza 4y ago
Probably; you wouldn't have to do so much maintenance. Wax fills in all of the voids between the bushings, roller pins, etc - so it physically prevents dirt from getting into your chain. And since there's no oil to cause the dirt to stick to your drivetrain, your gears don't wear down as quickly (as oil / grease + dust is abrasive; each rotation wears the chain and rings down ever so slightly).
loeg 4y ago
> would be I happier if I just cleaned the chain and dropped it in a pot of hot wax? Quite possibly. Chains stay clean and efficient for longer without intervention. And can be handled without dirtying your hands. It's nice. Other drivetrain components wear slower because there's less grit and the chain stretches more slowly. > is there anything to look out for? Main downsides: * For bicycles, a lot of chains (Shimano, KMC) come in some kind of factory oil/grease. Stripping that off takes time and working with solvents. Fine if you have time and a garage, less great for busy people in apartments. I think some manufacturers sell dry chains (I've heard YBN does). * Heating wax up is slow. I use a $12 crockpot and it takes a couple hours. Obviously, it's not like it takes any effort on your part, but there's some built in latency. ("Low" heat is about right in the steady state, but it melts faster if you use "high.") * Again for bicycles, some kinds of quick link / master link wear quite quickly and can only be reused a handful of times (e.g., Shimano 11 speed). So one surprising expense in repeatedly removing chains to hot wax is the consumption of quick links. Can be mitigated with different brands of quick link, and/or using drip-on wax a few times between hot waxes. * A freshly waxed chain will be stiff from the hardened wax. So a pre-install step is going through every link in the chain (on bicycles, typically ~110-120 links) and making sure each one rotates freely around the pin. This takes a few minutes.
- oldgradstudent 4y ago
  > Heating wax up is slow. I use a $12 crockpot and it takes a couple hours. Obviously, it's not like it takes any effort on your part, but there's some built in latency. ("Low" heat is about right in the steady state, but it melts faster if you use "high.") It's a bit silly, but I've used a simple ESP8266 board with a relay and a DS18B20 temperature sensor controlled by some Arduino code to make a simple temperature controller. It runs a Telegram Bot so I can start/stop the Crockpot and it notifies me when it reaches the desired temperature and when when lubrication is done. Over the top, but it was interesting to implement. I might release it one day. > Again for bicycles, some kinds of quick link / master link wear quite quickly and can only be reused a handful of times (e.g., Shimano 11 speed). So one surprising expense in repeatedly removing chains to hot wax is the consumption of quick links. Can be mitigated with different brands of quick link, and/or using drip-on wax a few times between hot waxes. Whipperman makes the Connex Link. It does not require tools and can be reused as many time as you'd like. No 12 speed version yet, for some reason, though. https://www.connexchain.com/en/connectors/detail/connex-link https://www.connexchain.com/en/connectors/detail/connex-link
  - loeg 4y ago
    Do you use the Connex link and recommend it?
    - oldgradstudent 4y ago
      Yes and yes. Just note that there are two ways to install it. Follow the instructions exactly as described. Edit: Specifically, connect the link at the bottom of the chain, put the link on the front of the right hand side link and the back of the left hand side link. Otherwise, shifting to the lowest gear will not be smooth. https://connexchain.s3.amazonaws.com/website/downloads/bedienungsanleitungen/Montage_Connex_Link_2015_englisch.pdf https://connexchain.s3.amazonaws.com/website/downloads/bedie...
      - loeg 4y ago
        Thanks!

eckza 4y ago

Probably; you wouldn't have to do so much maintenance. Wax fills in all of the voids between the bushings, roller pins, etc - so it physically prevents dirt from getting into your chain. And since there's no oil to cause the dirt to stick to your drivetrain, your gears don't wear down as quickly (as oil / grease + dust is abrasive; each rotation wears the chain and rings down ever so slightly).

loeg 4y ago

> would be I happier if I just cleaned the chain and dropped it in a pot of hot wax? Quite possibly. Chains stay clean and efficient for longer without intervention. And can be handled without dirtying your hands. It's nice. Other drivetrain components wear slower because there's less grit and the chain stretches more slowly. > is there anything to look out for? Main downsides: * For bicycles, a lot of chains (Shimano, KMC) come in some kind of factory oil/grease. Stripping that off takes time and working with solvents. Fine if you have time and a garage, less great for busy people in apartments. I think some manufacturers sell dry chains (I've heard YBN does). * Heating wax up is slow. I use a $12 crockpot and it takes a couple hours. Obviously, it's not like it takes any effort on your part, but there's some built in latency. ("Low" heat is about right in the steady state, but it melts faster if you use "high.") * Again for bicycles, some kinds of quick link / master link wear quite quickly and can only be reused a handful of times (e.g., Shimano 11 speed). So one surprising expense in repeatedly removing chains to hot wax is the consumption of quick links. Can be mitigated with different brands of quick link, and/or using drip-on wax a few times between hot waxes. * A freshly waxed chain will be stiff from the hardened wax. So a pre-install step is going through every link in the chain (on bicycles, typically ~110-120 links) and making sure each one rotates freely around the pin. This takes a few minutes.

oldgradstudent 4y ago
> Heating wax up is slow. I use a $12 crockpot and it takes a couple hours. Obviously, it's not like it takes any effort on your part, but there's some built in latency. ("Low" heat is about right in the steady state, but it melts faster if you use "high.") It's a bit silly, but I've used a simple ESP8266 board with a relay and a DS18B20 temperature sensor controlled by some Arduino code to make a simple temperature controller. It runs a Telegram Bot so I can start/stop the Crockpot and it notifies me when it reaches the desired temperature and when when lubrication is done. Over the top, but it was interesting to implement. I might release it one day. > Again for bicycles, some kinds of quick link / master link wear quite quickly and can only be reused a handful of times (e.g., Shimano 11 speed). So one surprising expense in repeatedly removing chains to hot wax is the consumption of quick links. Can be mitigated with different brands of quick link, and/or using drip-on wax a few times between hot waxes. Whipperman makes the Connex Link. It does not require tools and can be reused as many time as you'd like. No 12 speed version yet, for some reason, though. https://www.connexchain.com/en/connectors/detail/connex-link https://www.connexchain.com/en/connectors/detail/connex-link
- loeg 4y ago
  Do you use the Connex link and recommend it?
  - oldgradstudent 4y ago
    Yes and yes. Just note that there are two ways to install it. Follow the instructions exactly as described. Edit: Specifically, connect the link at the bottom of the chain, put the link on the front of the right hand side link and the back of the left hand side link. Otherwise, shifting to the lowest gear will not be smooth. https://connexchain.s3.amazonaws.com/website/downloads/bedienungsanleitungen/Montage_Connex_Link_2015_englisch.pdf https://connexchain.s3.amazonaws.com/website/downloads/bedie...
    - loeg 4y ago
      Thanks!