Crock Pot and Ultrasonic Size?

Equipment
21

Good advice. I have a couple of ultegra chains that are in the pkg and picked up some mineral tonight to aid on stripping the grease.

Have to say I am looking forward to being able to touch the chain and not get grease on my hands/gloves.

22

You notice most people see to use this same brand. I have the 2L. $80 Amazon.com

Use ā€œsimple greenā€ as stated by others for the cleaner; you can cut it 3x1 with water and it will clean anything; and you wonā€™t have to worry about disposing of the liquid cleaner.

23

A couple of quick pointsā€¦

  • Use Simple Green HD (it is purple, not green :man_shrugging:). Standard Simple Green is harsh on aluminum and can cause premature failure.

  • Once you have degreased something with Simple Green, SG is no longer biodegradable. You need to dispose of it as you would any other liquid chemical. You canā€™t just pour it down the sink or into a sewer. (Well, you ā€œcanā€, I guess, but it is really bad )

2 Likes
24

You should also pickup some denatured alcohol for a rinse after using mineral spirits or whatever cleaner you use in the US cleaner. Denatured alcohol makes sure there is no film or coating on the chain before it goes in for waxing

1 Like
25

Got everything I need and doing my chains today.

Ultrasonic, simple green hd, paraffin wax, mineral spirits, and crock pot. Should be a fun venture and looking forward to no grease.

1 Like
26

Can you come back and reply how the whole process went?
I know there is a huge group of experiences but I really want the experience of somebody ā€œnewā€ to the whole process.
Specially with regards to noiseā€¦ I canā€™t stand a noisy bikeā€¦even less than grease on my fingers.

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27

Sure can. Doing 3 chains today.

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28

So I just got done with everything including cleanup. The process was pretty good for the first try being a newbie to this.

Here are my thoughts:

  • Overall process took my around 3 hours from start to finish. This seems like a lot but I was taking it slow and waiting for the wax to melt.
  • Process is longer due to de-greasing and cleaning my bike.
  • Worst part is de-greasing existing chain with mineral spirits and dentured alcohol. I think this is what it is and part of the process but moving forward I would buy a pre-waxed chain.
  • Ultrasonic cleaner is a great thing to have to make sure you get everything spotless after the de-greasing. Definitely not necessary but good to have if you can swing it. I already used it to un-clog my power washer carburator so all good there.
  • Waxing the chain was straight forward and the 2qt crock pot I bought at Target for under $10 works fine for 1 chain at a time. I guess you can get a bigger one but not necessary. Since it is small just awkward putting it in there and taking it out.
  • Took me a little bit to put the chain back on with the quick link as I have never used them before and always did the pin method.

I do like it and I bought 2 lbs of wax at Walmart and it will last a long time. Went for a short ride and definitely more quiet but I am not sure how much more vs. greased. Bonus touching the chain no grease.

As other people have said I can see doing 4-5 at once if you need to de-grease as that is the worst. After that I can see just doing one as it is as easy as taking the chain off and dunking it in the crock pot for a few minutes. Longest part would be waiting for the wax to heat up. Hope that helps you.

2 Likes
29

I bought one that would fit my cassette. As a (current) roadie this was relatively straight forward for me but with the size of some MTB cassettes this might be a consideration if you like that sort of thing.

30

Yuuuuuuuup.

A quick link tool helps a lot. Because thereā€™s always another tool to buy. :wink:

31

I have the tool but first time using it but all good now.

32

That is what I have always doneā€¦but I also only used a waxed chain for specific events (IM or HIM). I never used wax as my everyday form of chain lubrication. If I did, I would wax the chains myself.

33

At this point I am more than likely on the wax train. Pretty easy really and interested to see how long it lasts.

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34

I use a 10L unit with a heater, but that was mostly driven by being able to fit larger non-bike stuff and being able to fully submerge a chainring.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10L-Digital-Ultrasonic-Cleaner-Kit-Ultra-Sonic-Heat-Cleaning-Jewellery-Gun/123933997688?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

ETA that I also just use a simple on/ off crockpot, but have a candy thermometer in there to make sure temp gets above 93* C

35

There is a tutorial by oz cycling on YouTube with some great pointers. He recommends adding PFE to your parifan.