MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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As per title, whats a sensible size to get for bike related stuff.. cassettes are the biggest issue i guess...
I have this one:
Only ever used it for chains though, would fit a large road cassette, not sure about 48T ones..
I have one,I don't use it as much as I thought I would.
It's out on loan just now to a friend,for his motorbike bits.
Can I do a bt of a hijack to also ask what size crockpot to get for waxing one chain?
I use a very small crockpot with no problems - took it whilst clearing my mum's house.
Won't an ultrasonic cleaner take the anodising off a cassette carrier?
I have nothing to add except that this is a great idea and it is going straight on my Christmas list.
Can I do a bt of a hijack to also ask what size crockpot to get for waxing one chain?
I've got one of these:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7173961?clickPR=plp:1:7
For the ultrasonic cleaner I got a 6l one, probably a little too small. I think a 10l would be better for doing cassettes, although if you are only cleaning chains smaller will do.
For the crockpot I got an insta pot 3l, silca recommend instapot as they apparently have better temperature control so you are less likely to ruin the wax. Plus you can get spare inner pots so you can still use it for cooking
Genuine question, but why do you think you need one?
I used to work in a cleanliness lab testing engine components off the production line for contamination. They make sense for something like motorcycle carbs which get gummed up in inaccessible places, then live the rest of their lives sealed up breathing filtered air and drinking filtered fuel.
They kinda make sense for chains as you could argue that the dirt builds up inside the links and it makes sense to clean it out if you're hot waxing which then prevents much dirt getting back in. But it's debatable though. And I can't think of anything else that would need to be that clean unless you're into "car detailing" levels of visibly clean for the sake of it.
Won’t an ultrasonic cleaner take the anodising off a cassette carrier?
No, that's down to the solution you use in it. The proper way to do it is to fill your bath with water, then put the component in a glass beaker filled with an appropriate cleaning solution (acid, alkaline, hydrocarbon, deionized water, non-polar aqueous, etc). That way you don't end up with a cleaning tank full of dirt.
It isn't the dirt on chains you need to remove, it is the oil that stops the wax from penetrating into the links. Quite a few people just shake chains in jars of terps and nitros thinners to remove the oil, but that is using chemicals that need disposing.
I am quite new at waxing so have only done a couple of new chains, I don't think it is worth trying to use used chains.
I am going to put a new chain on a bike next weekend with a used cassette, and I want to make sure that no oil contaminates the chain from the cassette. The ultrasonic should make that process more thorough, but I don't think it is essential.
but that is using chemicals that need disposing.
I was still using the same gritty 2l bottle of white spirit to clean chains for the past 7 years.
Tidied the garage last week and now can't find it so had to open a new one.
I think people massively overthink chain waxing as it's "new" and there's websites telling you how spending an extra few hours and a few hundred quid on kit will save you 2W (disingenuously portrayed as a 300% improvement, a small amount off a very small amount to begin with). When the reality is you could use simple putoline in the most slapdash way possible, spend the money on a coach and the extra time on the bike and probably make more than that 2W gain.
If waxing I'd just use citrus degreaser on the cassette. The dishwasher is a good shout if you're really worried about it. Used it to clean brake rotors in the past, plus some bits for the car, can't remember what, and they all came out lovely. Does wear away anodising slightly though, but I'm not that bothered by that.
Only ever used it for chains though
I gave up doing chains after 2 snapped!
I guess I can't say 100% it was the Ultrasonic Cleaner (similar to the one above but without the drain). I've never had a chain snap before or since thought.