Is this feasible or just daft

bbug
bbug Posts: 83
edited January 2011 in MTB workshop & tech
Ok. I was cleaning my chain today, in a jar of petrol as I usually do. (I pinch it from the lawn mower). then, as usual, Ihung it to dry, when I thought,

"If I put oil in the last rinse, the oil will be sucked into the rollers and when the petrol dries away, the oil will be left and I'll have with a ready lubed chain"

Has anybody tried this or is it a barking mad idea?

Comments

  • al2098
    al2098 Posts: 174
    I would think you should wait till the petrol dries completely before applying oil as the petrol will amalgamate with the oil probably destroying the basic properties of the oil and causing you issues. (as you know, oil and petrol are 'oil based')
    Most importantly, why bother? clean it well and lube it after it dries. The quality of the oil would be of much more importance.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    What al said.
    I don't do smileys.

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  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    The base oil will be unaffected by the petrol but certain additives will be and may be destroyed completely. Maybe worth adding a small amount of a regular oil to the petrol, maybe a car transmission oil as its 'heavier' than engine oil, then you'll have some residue, then oil with chain oil after, Sheldon Brown has some good tips on chain oiling and care.

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • 02gf74
    02gf74 Posts: 1,168
    years ago I used to clean my chains much as you described , in fact it was deriguer for motorcyclists to do that in days of old; remove chaing, clean with petrol or paraffin then put in saucepan filled with grease and place on cooker in order to melt the grease so that it flows in between the rollers.

    anyways, after the cleaning, the chain felt really slack and gritty as the grease was removed from the chain and then relubing it by spring on grease did not seem to make it feel "tight" as I am guessing the grease that was remvoed was no entirely replaced,

    nowadays, I give the chain a wipe and spay with motorcycle grease, much eaiser and quicker and just as effective - the grease that is in the links will be pushed out to some extent and having an overgreased chain will be bad as it will hold grit that will act as grinding paste.

    these are my opinions, no doubt you will get others.
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    anyone tried using a small pressure cooker to get grease into the rollers?
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
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  • Chunkers1980
    Chunkers1980 Posts: 8,035
    I used a big one to the same effect. Tasted awful though.
  • spursn17
    spursn17 Posts: 284
    How about a splash of 2 stroke oil? Pre-mix is designed to be disolved in petrol.
  • bbug
    bbug Posts: 83
    02GF74 wrote:
    years ago I used to clean my chains much as you described , in fact it was deriguer for motorcyclists to do that in days of old; remove chaing, clean with petrol or paraffin then put in saucepan filled with grease and place on cooker in order to melt the grease so that it flows in between the rollers.

    Remember Link-Lyfe? I've still got a tin of it in the shed. It must be thirty years old now, if not more. Hoarder? Me? Never...

    Thanks for all the replies chaps. I guess it's not a good idea after all. I wasn't thinking to save time, but thought it would encourage the lube to get further in to the links.

    Ah well, back to the drawing board.

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