I've done several at once. in a DFF but don't see why in the tine would be different, just move them around a bit, turn them over, etc. I have an old spoke with a 180deg bend in it for fishing out, into the tin lid with a bit of blue tissue on it, and then hung up over a hook on a rafter in the garage with the tin under for drips.
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Well, my Putoline cherry is comprehensively popped, two chains done at the weekend.
First one - tin on camping stove on workbench in garage, wax heated till you can see the surface 'shimmering', chain lowered in using a de-bended, mahoosive, paper clip hooked in at the middle, end of paper clip over side of tin. Wait a few mins, chain hoiked out using the clip (and thick gloves), clip hooked on nail strategically whacked into beam above tin. Excess wax drips back into tin and good wipe down with rag. Left to cool, back on bike, sorted.
Same, except wax heated to smoking (oops, bad, smelly) and didn't quite leave to cool for long enough before putting back on bike (oops, bad, sticky). All fine though, just learning points.
I'm sold.
Wait til you go for your first soaking wet ride and the chain stays silent the whole way round.
I've got to take my bike to the shop tomorrow for a warranty issue so I thought I'd better clean it after last time...
Anyhoo, As the wheels are out and the bike is on a stand, drying in the sun I decided I might as well re-wax the chain. I popped the split link off and lo and behold, under the plates is still packed with wax after 300+ miles. Admittedly, the weather has been good for the last few weeks, but still I'm impressed.
Two unopened boxes in the garage - a DFF and a tin of Putoline.
Guess what this weekends job is?
Triple cooked chips?
well, I have to say, after looking at Wally's photos, that all looks v convenient...
How clean was Wally's chain before it went in the frier? I'm assuming spotless.
IHN - I just give mine a bit of a wipe and chuck it in.
On my SS commuter I don't think I get as long between relines as some others on here, or maybe I just relube at the first sound of chain noise, but I do love the lack of mess, the minimal maintainance and the stealthy silence.
Yeah, I gave mine a good wipe down, and it came out fairly clean, but yours and Wally's seem to have come out gleaming. Maybe I need to leave it in longer, how long do you dunk yours for?
And I've just ordered a DFF 🙂
IHN - once you have been using the putoline the chain does not get filthy and any grit just falls to the bottom when dunked in the wax
👆 mines a nickel SS chain so that may add to its glam! I kinda do what the bloke in the chippy does, let it fry for a bit whilst giving it a shake!
Doing mine yesterday stirred up fond memories of visits to the chippy.
Perhaps I should have let it dry for a bit longer after washing the bike...
Maybe I need to leave it in longer,
I find it gets less gunky if left for a while, presumably it must take a while to soak in and melt all the old wax out of the links. Dunk it in, give it a shake, go do something else (wash the bike, make a cup of tea, have a beer) for 10-15 minutes. Then give it a good shake in the basket to get the wax off the outside once it's done.
Perhaps I should have let it dry for a bit longer after washing the bike…
Yea, take the chain off first or you end up with solidified putoline foam all over the workbench!
do what the bloke in the chippy does,
Swear he’s Elvis?
Feels odd, wanting my hardtails drive to wear because I want to go 1x and fit a dropper. I want to try the wonder wax, but not yet if it means my chain & cassette will last longer.
Yea, take the chain off first or you end up with solidified putoline foam all over the workbench!
Nah, I just shut the lid on the DFF.
Dunk it in, give it a shake, go do something else (wash the bike, make a cup of tea, have a beer) for 10-15 minutes.
Ah, right, I left it in for about five minutes, obviously needs to stay in longer.
five mins is all I do
Aagh, bloody 'ell, make your mind up people! 😉
People using a DFF for this, what temp do you set it to? I'm giving mine a go in the next few days and thought I'd see how smelly, smoky etc it was (plus I couldn't wait so had to have a go at something!) so I've got the wax in the fryer now ready to sort the chain before the weekend. Only thing I don't really know is how hot to get the wax? It melted at a pretty low temp but don't want to balls it up first time by it being not hot enough!
Ta
Yes ^ I could do with knowing that too? I'm sure it has been mentioned previously but there are a hell of a lot of posts to read through. My tin of wax and DFF arrived yesterday and I'm looking forward to trying it.
The Putoline Evangalists (ooh possible band name there) on here seem to be doing a good job of converting the masses.
I let mine melt and then get to a point where is starting to be very runny and have obvious convection currents in it. Well above 100C It needs to be runny like =water and the chain to retain enough heat that excess just drips of before solidifying
I should be on commission!
Thanks TJ!
Daft question then, say I whack it up to max (180-190 I think) so its proper hot, would that cause any issues? Other than extra smell and maybe a bit of smoke!!!
You mean you’re not? Thought all the kickbacks were enabling you to retire!
Well above 100C
I did mine in the kitchen; stuck a meat thermometer in and it was at 150c and pretty runny. I would've liked to get it a bit hotter, but the wife was giving me daggers, so I thought it better just to do the chain and scarper...
I wouldn't get it that hot. Maybe someone using a dff can help. Maybe 140?
I can't remember what the flashpoint is
My dff is set on 160' and never been a problem.
160 here too, gets a wee bitty smoky at 190
Mine's on er 140 I think. Seems to work well. I don't think it gets much runnier after that.
Cheers all! I'll try 140.
How bad a smell are we talking? (assuming the DFF method). e.g. would people who i live with who aren't interested in pointless things such as clean and quite drivetrains going to be bothered other than thinking I'm a bit weird
I'm loving the waxing. Homebrew mix of parrafin wax,bees wax, PTFE and molybdenum disulfide (all procured via eBay). Using a second hand rice cooker (but regretting that as no wire basket so it's annoying to fish chains out with a bent spoke while wax drips everywhere).
I've done all 10 bikes in the household, very satisfying.
Id recommend Josh Partners chain cleaning technique
as easy and fast (obvs after cleaning the chain as normal if it's a longer). If it's a new chain I think a good clean first in solvent is a good idea to get out any little bits of metal that would create extra friction (you can see them in the white spirit after the clean).
How bad a smell are we talking? (assuming the DFF method). e.g. would people who i live with who aren’t interested in pointless things such as clean and quite drivetrains going to be bothered other than thinking I’m a bit weird
I think they'd be bothered. I do it outside as it stinks.
I don't mind the smell and Mrs TJ puts up with it. We do have a good extractor fan tho and maybe I'm a bit odd.
I Like Food - you don't have to clean a chain if using putoline
Just a quick question for the Putoline Evangelicals: is there a low temperature limit to the use of the wax? Is it suitable over winter or does it go brittle? Thanks.
I quite like the smell if I'm honest, although I work with oil and grease on a daily basis!
I'm still doing it at work though where there's more room so I can leave it behind afterwards and not have it linger for hours on end .
So seems like anywhere above 140 should do me fine then. Might get chance tonight, if not tomorrows job
magowen - I have not noticed any real issues.
Thanks TJ, good to know, I have a shopping list of bits to get this afternoon!
@tjagain I assumed it would make the wax stick better (if there was no oil/grease on the surface of the chain). Do you not find that?
PS thanks for all the input into this thread.
Any old oil/wax/grease just dissolves into the putoline.
There was a comment somewhere about running in the chain with the factory grease for the first few rides, dunno how uswfull that actually is though, provably only if youre measuring to +/- 0.1W on a dyno.
I took the plunge last weekend and did 4 or 5 old chains and a couple of new ones. Didn't clean any of them beforehand; the ones off our commuting bikes were pretty grimy from a winters worth of wet lube and road grime. The new ones came out the wax looking pretty much the same (i.e. clean), but with a pleasing sort of feel from the wax being inside. The old chains felt the same but were still absolutely filthy on the outside and took a lot of rubbing down to try and make clean. I think next time I will run old chains through a chain cleaner and let them dry before waxing.
Interesting read thank you all, tin of wax ordered 😀
Yeah it doesn't clean caked on crud from previous lubes, however if you just re-dunk a previoulsy Putolined chain that was clean it'll come out sparkling, because the crud doesn't really build up.
How bad a smell are we talking?
For me it's not that bad. Just smells like an old fashioned machine shop or steam engine room or something. Not quite the same, but that kind of thing. My previous DFF had an exposed element which produced much more smoke and smell due to the higher contact temperature, but the new one is a lot better. I suspect using direct heat on the tin would also have a similar effect, it's probably a lot less smelly in a DFF with the lid closed.
Taken the plunge here as well, waiting for the tin to turn up before I stink the house out, not sure my wife is going to be overjoyed.
How quickly does the tin solidify after taking it off the heat?
I'd really recommend not doing it in the kitchen. It smokes a bit and spits, especially with a dirty chain. Outside on a camping stove or mini fryer, and not on nice clean paving slabs. Smells like a less pleasant version of hot tarmac. Probably a couple of hours to go solid I expect.
This better be good!
DFF ordered and wax due for delivery tomorrow.
Fed up with dry lube drying out after half a ride in the summer in the woods and wet lube for just being a bit sh#t!
Gonna try and clean up the relatively new mountain bike chain with some degreaser (and petrol if needed!) Before the delivery arrives...
Did my first chain last week. Easy enough process with seemingly good results so far. Must admit I was a bit surprised at how sticky it continues to be. I thought it would set harder. Still geting sticky brown finger if I touch the chain.
Sturdylad, you’ve just bought all the lube you’re gonna need for the rest of your life 👍👍
JOrdan - wipe the chain down when warm to remove it from the outside.
... and every now & then spray some GT85 on a rag and wipe the outside with that too
Sod it, I'll give it a go.
Any links from where and also a mini fryer ta.
got mine off amazon, and a basic Cookworks DFF from Argos, which does the job perfectly.
I'm now four chains in to my Putoline future. I've found that the best way to remove old crud is to give it a good 10 min sit and occasional shake in the DFF at 160deg, out, hang up, wipe with a rag really well (wearing work gloves), then back in the DFF again for 5 mins, out, hang up, wipe, leave to cool, done.
The chain on the shopper was rank, it had three goes through the DFF...
@tjagain yeah, must admit I just left it to drip, will wipe it next time. Cheers!
Cheers I'll have a look at Argos and Asda then.
Won't be going near Amazon until they sort out the scamming I had the useles *****
Ebay cheapest for the wax?
I was Argos for the dff and Amazon for the wax.
Work station set up, come on Amazon get delivering!!!
My tin arrived a couple of weeks ago, submerged both my chains and boy #1's chain.
Works a treat, whisper quiet and I'm still on my first chain after 200+ miles, I'll swap to chain 2 when this one starts to get noisy then dip both chains when no 2 gets noisy. Previously I was lubing the chain after every ride.
Well that was a fairly painless experience.
2 chains degreased, washed, dried, waxed and refitted.
Just about to head out to the woods to try the mountain bike.
It's proper dusty and sandy up there right now so a good test.
Warmed the wax up over a camping stove then tipped it into the dff. 140 degree for about 20 mins.
Turns out the Putoline wax is as sticky as factory lube. After using plain paraffin wax this seems like a setback.
I thought so too. Messy horrible stuff. Worse than wet lube. After giving it a go I just don't understand the attraction.
You're doing it wrong. Wipe the outside down thoroughly when warm, then the sticky stuff is on the inside. On my chains, the exterior is completely dry and clean but the chain is still silent, has been that way for weeks.
The attraction is that you do it once then forget about it for 4-6 weeks or even longer depending on conditions. I haven't cleaned or lubed a chain since before lockdown.
After using plain paraffin wax this seems like a setback.
It's made of hundreds of moving parts, why would you want it rock hard?
This time of year I use a spreadsheet so I can keep track of how often it gets done otherwise I'd forget.
Having spent an hour yesterday cleaning up an old rear derailleur (pre-putoline) from the spares box I don't think I will ever go back to using oil. The wax falls off taking the dirt with it and water and a stiff brush soon clean the cassette so it looks as good as new.
So I don't get that it's sticky if you have wiped it down.
This time of year I use a spreadsheet so I can keep track of how often it gets done otherwise I’d forget.
Having spent an hour yesterday cleaning up an old rear derailleur (pre-putoline) from the spares box I don’t think I will ever go back to using oil. The wax falls off taking the dirt with it and water and a stiff brush soon clean the cassette so it looks as good as new.
So I don’t get that it’s sticky if you have wiped it down.
I found exactly the same yesterday when I changed to my 2nd chain. Quick rub with the wife's toothbrush and all the muck dropped off. I haven't had to touch the original chain until now and it was only just beginning to make a bit of noise after a 3 hour muddy ride and 300+ dry miles before that.
Continuously wiping it down was the first thing I did after heating it up to 149C and removing it from a slow cooker. It's still sticky even after wiping it with a rag soaked in WD40 degreaser.
Plain paraffin wax seems to be too crumbly (gets pushed out during crosschaining) and turns into to a weird powdery stuff only after 40 miles, especially in a slightly colder weather.
If you agree using paraffin wax try adding some beeswax. Ten percent of a good start.
It’s still sticky even after wiping it with a rag soaked in WD40 degreaser.
In the wax, shake off the excess in the basket, stick it on the bike. It's probably the WD40 or degreaser thinning it!
Or 5% mineral oil.
It’s still sticky even after wiping it with a rag soaked in WD40 degreaser.
Yes, it is a bit sticky. Then you ride it, and there's a bit of black stuff on the surface, and then you wipe it again and ride some more and the black stuff comes off and you ride some more, and some more, and it stays sweet for weeks and weeks with no attention.\
Continuously wiping it down was the first thing I did after heating it up to 149C and removing it from a slow cooker.
Your slow cooker gets that hot?
When there was flooding, long ago (3 months back!) I found the putoline cult on here and tried it out. MTB Chain is still running fine 3 months & 200 miles later with no attention paid to it. Definitely a big fan.
Found the process easy and the smell fairly pleasant - reminded me of steam engines.
150C was the surface temperature on high setting. 135C was the actual wax temperature.
I don't think that's hot enough, I had the DFF on 160deg
Yeah I suppose that if it was cooler it would be thicker and not drain off the outside as well.
Yeah, that was my thought, on two fronts
1) The hotter the wax is, the runnier it will be, so it'll drain off easier when you take it out of the DFF/tin
2) The hotter the wax, the hotter the chain will get, which then stays hotter longer after you take it out, so the wax stays hotter for longer, and see 1)
I forgot to update....
So far I've done 80km of road on the mountain bike in a mix of dry, dry & dusty, wet conditions. All on the local very sandy trails and The chain is running perfectly, no noise or anything.
It has got a bit dirty but I think that's due to me not cleaning enough excess wax off while it was hot. And the first few rides were very dry and dusty.
I'm going to leave it completely alone though until it gets noisy and needs redoing.
The road bike I've only on 85 dry kms so far but that's running sweet as a nut too, and no oil being flung off on to the frame etc.
I'm a convert.
Gonna offer to do a mates commuter chain and see how he finds it, he'll do more bad weather miles than I will!
JB
DFF heating up right now to do my second chain. Will wipe it down this time.
Gave it a good wipe down this time and now it is lovely and clean with a slight waxy feel all over. Less sticky than a brand new chain.
According to earlier reports it's supposed to be sticky.
Putoline wax
Gary – depends what you mean? the stuff itself is filthy and you have to wipe it off the outside of the chain. It is very sticky so attracts dust – but once a thin layer of dust builds up then no more adheres and cassettes remain cleanBeing a solid wax it does not move around the chain and cassette. Once its on its on.
but I have now been using it for years. chain and cassette replacements are now really rare events whereas with ordinary lube I was replacing them often