Gas chain cleaning?

Scott C' may have said:

WOW, so many opinions and good advise on all. As I have gas for a lawn mower, I suppose I'll use
this to clean with once in a while, but do like the idea of a degreaser - which I will also buy in
a gallon container.

Big hint: if you live where there are Autozone stores, look for their "Power Clean" degreaser in the
gallon jug. About $6 per gallon, and it can be diluted 3:1 with water (or more) and still do the job
like a champ.

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TBGibb said:

In article said:

Again, gas, while it has many advantages (and I use it), is very dangerous, and should only be
used outside, in a safe area, with no possible ignition sources anywhere near it. I use it on a
large flat rock in the middle of my lawn.

Consider paint thinner. You get the best of both worlds.

Yup, I suggested it in my first post, though I was unsure of it's effectiveness for cleaning chains.

Quoted message said:

Tom Gibb <[email hidden]>

--
Rick Onanian

Werehatrack said:

Most of what's sold as "paint thinner" is mineral spirits; it evaporates about as cleanly as
gasoline but not as fast, it's much safer to work with, and it leaves far less lingering aroma
than diesel or kerosene (none at all on nonporous surfaces). If you shop around,

Agreed.

Quoted message said:

it can frequently be had for about $2 per gallon, sometimes less. Oddly enough, at places like
Home Depot, it's often cheaper in the one-gallon cans than in the 5-gallon drum. (This vexes me no
end, since I'd much rather buy the 5 gallon size, but I'm too cheap to pay the difference...and I
go through about a gallon a month in my screen printing activities.)

Buy the 5 gallon drum once for the dispenser, then go and buy all the 1-gallon cans they have once
in a while and dump 'em in.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

WD-40 is great for cleaning, just don't use it as your lubricant (WD probably stands for Wrecks
Derailleurs).

"WD" stands for "water displacement", believe it or not, but Wrecks

Actually, I did know that, but I didn't want to cause anybody to think WD-40 would be a good lube
for wet rides...

Quoted message said:

Ders is appropriate in my opinion. From what I've seen, it's a *terrible* lube for most purposes.
If you want to destroy the threads

<snip>

Quoted message said:

soak a moving part with that stuff, make sure to go back and coat it with the *appropriate*
lubricant before using it under stress or at speed. The same goes for any kind of penetrating oil,
such as LPS, Rustbuster, or Liquid Wrench.

Liquid Wrench is a good WD-40 clone. They're both great for cleaning. Terrible for lubricating.

Quoted message said:

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--
Rick Onanian

nut-<< I *don't* recommend gasoline for cleaning chains. I use diesel, which isn't combustible. I
haven't tried kerosene. >><BR><BR>

How do those trucks get a goin' then, ya know those great big 18 wheeled things...with diesel
engines???

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Scott C <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:JdTTa.135219$N7.19328@sccrnsc03...

Quoted message said:

Many here have mentioned Kerosene to clean chains - as a kid I recall

using

Quoted message said:

car gas. Does this work as well as Kerosene? I recall someone mentioning Kerosene is not as
flammable? - maybe safer to store. I am aware of Gunk

for

Quoted message said:

cleaning,but don't have this.. wanted to see if what I had would be Ok -

and

Quoted message said:

I have gas for a lawn mower.

Works excellently for me, but yes, it's highly flammable - if you are an idiot/ignorant/totally
unaware of the dangers of using such a flammable substance in this manner, then don't do it.
Otherwise, have at it, I say.

Shaun aRe - I like a nice fat cigar while cleaning my chain. Helps me relax.

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

nut-<< I *don't* recommend gasoline for cleaning chains. I use diesel, which isn't combustible. I
haven't tried kerosene. >><BR><BR>

How do those trucks get a goin' then, ya know those great big 18 wheeled things...with diesel
engines???

Diesel fuel is combustible when *compressed*, requiring no spark (as gasoline engines require). Such
compression, in the presence of heated air, is quite rare when cleaning bicycle chains. ;-)

Not at contradiction to what you say, but we do seem to love diesel fuel for chain cleaning in
France. We also have many more diesel engines in cars, so it may be that access for us is also a bit
easier. The amount of time that the diesel is in an open environment, while cleaning, does not seem
to warrant more than rational precautions. Or is there something I am missing ?

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

nut-<< I *don't* recommend gasoline for cleaning chains. I use diesel,

which

Quoted message said:

isn't combustible. I haven't tried kerosene. >><BR><BR>

How do those trucks get a goin' then, ya know those great big 18 wheeled things...with diesel
engines???

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Rick Onanian at [email hidden] wrote on 7/24/03 6:23 PM:

Quoted message said:

Consider also WD-40, or maybe even paint thinner. I don't know about paint thinner. WD-40 is great
for cleaning, just don't use it as your lubricant (WD probably stands for Wrecks Derailleurs).

Stands for "Water Displacement", which is what it is designed to do. It is evil manifested,
insidiously thought by most to be a wonderful bicycle lubricant, especially if you spray about 3/4
of a can on before each ride.

Luckily, the recognizable odor supplies ample warnings in front of those who use it, for those who
wish to avoid it.

-- jim

Question! Acetone for chains? I used it recently, and it didn't seem to work too well, and it's more
expensive. Anyone here have a similar experience?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Squid-In-Traini
Question! Acetone for chains? I used it recently, and it didn't seem to work too well, and it's more
expensive. Anyone here have a similar experience?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Acetone works great to get nail polish off your chain.

Quoted message said:

From: DiabloScott

Quoted message said:

Acetone works great to get nail polish off your chain.

Also great for removing brain cells and healthy liver tissue. --Tom Paterson

"Scott C" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<JdTTa.135219$N7.19328@sccrnsc03>...

Quoted message said:

Many here have mentioned Kerosene to clean chains - as a kid I recall using car gas. Does this
work as well as Kerosene? I recall someone mentioning Kerosene is not as flammable? - maybe safer
to store. I am aware of Gunk for cleaning,but don't have this.. wanted to see if what I had would
be Ok - and I have gas for a lawn mower.

Thanks

sc

I use engine degreaser, it works good. And at walmart its only .78 cents a can. And i lasts forever,
i use it to degrease/clean my derailer, cassette and that kind fo stuff, it works awesome and its
real cheap.

Try it, its under a buck

Squid-in-Training' may have said:

Question! Acetone for chains? I used it recently, and it didn't seem to work too well, and it's
more expensive. Anyone here have a similar experience?

Acetone is poor at dissolving many heavy lubricants. Lacquer thinner, on the other hand, will strip
oils like crazy. I would NOT advise using either of these as a cleaning agent for chains or
anything else on a bike, though! Like gasoline, the flammability is a lot higher than can be
regarded as safe.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

cyclist101 said:

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

nut-<< I *don't* recommend gasoline for cleaning chains. I use diesel, which isn't combustible. I
haven't tried kerosene. >><BR><BR>

How do those trucks get a goin' then, ya know those great big 18 wheeled things...with diesel
engines???

Diesel fuel is combustible when *compressed*, requiring no spark (as gasoline engines require).
Such compression, in the presence of heated air, is quite rare when cleaning bicycle chains. ;-)

Diesel fuel will burn well when sprayed as a fine mist in air with a spark for ignition. Those in
cold climes can check out the burner on an oil furnace.

See: DIY Diesel Potato Cannon. file:///c:%5C

There is no doubt that gasoline is a far more dangerous solvent.

For truly entertaining and dangerous chain cleaning ethyl ether is hard to beat.

Kids: Leave your chain cleaning, inspection and re-lubing to a trained professional with the correct
safety gear and environmentally friendly disposal facilities, support your LBS.

Marcus Coles said:

Quoted message said:

Diesel fuel is combustible when *compressed*, requiring no spark (as gasoline engines require).
Such compression, in the presence of heated air, is quite rare when cleaning bicycle chains. ;-)

Diesel fuel will burn well when sprayed as a fine mist in air with a spark for ignition. Those in
cold climes can check out the burner on an oil furnace.

See: DIY Diesel Potato Cannon. file:///c:%5C

Try again? I wanna see it, lol.

Quoted message said:

There is no doubt that gasoline is a far more dangerous solvent.

For truly entertaining and dangerous chain cleaning ethyl ether is hard to beat.

Shouldn't be too bad if you have an asbestos or other flame-retardant suit lying around. Just be
sure to sign your will first.

Quoted message said:

Kids: Leave your chain cleaning, inspection and re-lubing to a trained professional with the
correct safety gear and environmentally friendly disposal facilities, support your LBS

In article <[email hidden]>, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"

Quoted message said:

Question! Acetone for chains? I used it recently, and it didn't seem to work too well, and it's
more expensive. Anyone here have a similar experience?

If you are at all concerned about the fire issue don't use it. It will evaporate much faster and
much more cleanly than even gasoline, but . . . WOOF!

Tom Gibb <[email hidden]

Agree with diesel - been using it for ages to clean bike and car parts. Much better than petrol (or
gasoline as the yanks call it).

The biggest advantage is that diesel has over petrol is that petrol evaporates quickly and almost
completely then leaves your parts open to attack from moisture / rust etc. The diesel will leave an
oily residue for much longer, protecting the parts.

After cleaning with diesel, and drying off excess, I lightly oil with used Mobil 1 from my car's
last oil change.

BTW - You cannot compress diesel, it is a liquid and therefore by definition, incompressible.
However you can compress a diesel/air mix.

"cyclist101" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... Qui si parla

Campagnolo said:

nut-<< I *don't* recommend gasoline for cleaning chains. I use diesel,

which

Quoted message said:

isn't combustible. I haven't tried kerosene. >><BR><BR>

How do those trucks get a goin' then, ya know those great big 18 wheeled things...with diesel
engines???

Diesel fuel is combustible when *compressed*, requiring no spark (as gasoline engines require). Such
compression, in the presence of heated air, is quite rare when cleaning bicycle chains. ;-)

roofi:

Quoted message said:

BTW - You cannot compress diesel, it is a liquid and therefore by definition, incompressible.
However you can compress a diesel/air mix.

Not true by definition. Liquids can be compressed at high enough pressures, converting them
to solids.

and if you push hard enough, a solid turns into a black hole 🙂

really?

Then why does ice take up more room than water?

(not taking the [censored], would like to know)

"Jose Rizal" <_@_._> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... roofi:

Quoted message said:

BTW - You cannot compress diesel, it is a liquid and therefore by definition, incompressible.
However you can compress a diesel/air mix.

Not true by definition. Liquids can be compressed at high enough pressures, converting them
to solids.