question regarding pedro's chain cleaner/degreaser

I just bought a chain cleaning unit which came with a small bottle of pedro's degreaser. The
cleaner's instructions says to fill the unit with the degreaser to clean the chain. That would be
the whole bottle. Could someone who has used the pedro cleaning kit let me know if there is a
dilution or if I need to buy a VERY large bottle. Also after I clean the chain, do I rinse it or
just wipe it off with a towel? The directions were next to nothing. As you can tell I'm rather new
to the concept of bike care.

I appreciate the help

thank you

John P

 

In article <[email protected]__optonline_._net__>, John Prokopek
<[email protected]__optonline_._net__> wrote:
>I just bought a chain cleaning unit which came with a small bottle of pedro's degreaser. The
>cleaner's instructions says to fill the unit with the degreaser to clean the chain. That would be
>the whole bottle. Could someone who has used the pedro cleaning kit let me know if there is a
>dilution or if I need to buy a VERY large bottle. Also after I clean the chain, do I rinse it or
>just wipe it off with a towel? The directions were next to nothing. As you can tell I'm rather new
>to the concept of bike care.

If this is a citrus degreaser, you need to replace the degreaser in the machine with water (maybe a
couple of times) to thorougly remove it from your chain. Let the chain dry (in the sun works great)
before lubing.

 

<< >Could someone who has used the pedro cleaning kit let me know if there
>is a dilution or if I need to buy a VERY large bottle. Also after I clean the chain, do I rinse it
>or just wipe it off with a towel? The directions were next to nothing. As you can tell I'm rather
>new to the concept of bike care.

If this is a citrus degreaser, you need to replace the degreaser in the machine with water (maybe a
couple of times) to thorougly remove it from your chain. Let the chain dry (in the sun works great)
before lubing. >>

I don't bother to clean my own chains beyond a spritz of lube and a wipe with a rag, but if you want
to use a commercial chain cleaning product, Park ChainBrite is good. It is petroleum based, so you
don't need to rinse the chain after using it. It comes in a 16oz bottle that only costs a few bucks
at the LBS, and you can reuse it many times. Just pour it back into the bottle after you use it, and
the dirt will settle to the bottom.

 

Use diesel. Heck you wasted money on a chain cleaner. Just run a chain like SRAM with a Powerlink.
Take it off ever few hundred miles put it in a plastic bottle with some diesel, shake it up fish it
out. Filter the diesel with a funnel & coffee filter, a gallon will last forever.

On Wed, 21 May 2003 22:59:15 +0000, John Prokopek wrote:

> I just bought a chain cleaning unit which came with a small bottle of pedro's degreaser. The
> cleaner's instructions says to fill the unit with the degreaser to clean the chain. That would be
> the whole bottle. Could someone who has used the pedro cleaning kit let me know if there is a
> dilution or if I need to buy a VERY large bottle. Also after I clean the chain, do I rinse it or
> just wipe it off with a towel? The directions were next to nothing. As you can tell I'm rather new
> to the concept of bike care.
>
> I appreciate the help
>
>
> thank you
>
> John P

 

John Prokopek <[email protected]__optonline_._net__> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]__optonline_._net__>...
> I just bought a chain cleaning unit which came with a small bottle of pedro's degreaser. The
> cleaner's instructions says to fill the unit with the degreaser to clean the chain. That would be
> the whole bottle. Could someone who has used the pedro cleaning kit let me know if there is a
> dilution or if I need to buy a VERY large bottle. Also after I clean the chain, do I rinse it or
> just wipe it off with a towel? The directions were next to nothing. As you can tell I'm rather new
> to the concept of bike care.

i hate those things.. that said, when ive used them before, i could get away with just using
detergent and water, with a lot of water changes. ive used various solvents, depending on whatever
i have on hand (white gas, deisel), and simple green with good effect for that first clean. all of
these are cheaper than bike-brand degreaser. the hardware store will have heavy duty degreasers for
cheap too. ive seen citrus, which is quite nice, in lowe's-type stores for far cheaper than any
bike store.

my favorite is put the chain (got a quicklink? gotta' get a quicklink) in a plastic wide mouth
bottle, slosh in a half a cup (maybe less? a quarter?) of aggressive solvent, and shake like crazy.
then dump the dirty solvent into another bottle. after a couple hours the junk settles out and you
can use it again.

recently ive been using very little solvent, becuase it is also my camping fuel. i generally do a
quick shake with soap afterwards which pulls the free dirt out, and then a final rinse with hot
water. bright shiny chain. no gritty feeling inside.

if i used more solvent, i doubt id need more than that initial shake.

 

ant wrote:

"ive used various solvents, depending on whatever i have on hand (white gas, deisel), and simple
green with good effect for that first clean."

White gas? Are you serious? Or suicidal?

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

 

[email protected] (Chris Zacho "The Wheelman") wrote in message
> White gas? Are you serious? Or suicidal?
>

more like some combination of thrifty, lazy, and careful. its not like im

a) spilling any, or even leaving bottles uncapped
b) dealing with a high explosive (yes, i know about the vapor. see 'a')
c) cleaning chains all day in a small confined unventilated flammable space. while smoking.

with caution, i dont think its irresponsible. myself and many many people regularly do much more
dangerous things with white gas surrounded by dry pine forests, with large groups of people, and
inside tents.