Chain Cleaner Kit

Gavin

Hermy wrote: »

I know I'm repeating myself here but who's counting!
Firstly, I would never use white spirits to clean any part of my bike as it is a corrosive substance and repeated application to alloy parts is going to do some damage.

Search as I may, I can find no documentation stating that White Spirits is corrosive to metal. It even appears to be of use in anti-corrosion materials for metal components.
http://www.fuchs-oil.com/814.html

It does appear to be corrosive to certain plastics/rubber, but it comes in a plastic bottle so it can't be that bad..

In fact, according to the WHO, it's not particularly bad for the environment !
http://www.inchem.org/documents/hsg/hsg/hsg103.htm

5. HAZARDS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR PREVENTION

Only as a result of spillage are substantial amounts of white
spirit likely to be found in the environment. However, most of the
constituent compounds evaporate fairly rapidly. The less volatile
constituents partition to soil and sediment; this lowers the
bioavailability and reduces the uptake by organisms.

White spirit is moderately toxic to aquatic organisms. There is
moderate potential for bioaccumulation but the tendency for bio-
concentration is probably low.

Bambaata

hwo is one supposed to disregard of the waste liquid?

DirkVoodoo

I gotta say, after it was recommended to me here i bought GUNK, worked a charm!

Downside was my bathroom stank of the stuff for days afterwards. Suggest you scrub your hands outside extremely well afterwards.

blorg

Bambaata wrote: »

hwo is one supposed to disregard of the waste liquid?

Down the sink- one of the reasons I went to citrus degreaser. Admittedly I don't know how good for the fishies all the oil that comes off with it is though. The citrus degreaser itself they love, if the packaging is to be believed.

Seaswimmer

Petrol. Your only man for chain cleaning. Cheap and very effective. However leaves chain very dry so you will need to lubricate after. Also diesel nearly as good and leaves the chain with a slightly oily coating. Have been using both for years on a variety of bikes with no problems. A rag soaked lightly in petrol is also great for cleaning derailleurs, cranks, chainrings ect..and the smell evaporates off after a while. Place your used petrol/diesel in a can and drop it into your nearest recycling centre when it is full. You will probably find that nearly all the chain cleaning products are petroleum based anyway...

Hermy

The problem with petrol is that it is not soluble in water and that it may evaporate before you've finished the job.

Diarmuid

Bambaata wrote: »

hwo is one supposed to disregard of the waste liquid?

If you use a Citrus Degreaser you can just throw it down the toilet. It's biodegradable and non toxic. I would see no point in using other degreasers.

Hermy

Verb wrote: »

Search as I may, I can find no documentation stating that White Spirits is corrosive to metal.

It does appear to be corrosive to certain plastics/rubber,

I stand corrected.
You're right, it's certain plastics that it eats into.
I just seem to recall that having used white spirits for cleaning, that it left the chain feeling rough, as if the white spirits were corroding it.
I probably imagined the whole thing.
Matter of fact there was no chain.:p

davej

Well I got me a Park Tools CM5 Cyclone, and it worked a treat:)

As other posters mentioned, it is still a reasonably messy affair. Newspaper on the floor is a definite requirement !

Anyway it's great to have a clean chain again !

davej

blorg

davej wrote: »

As other posters mentioned, it is still a reasonably messy affair. Newspaper on the floor is a definite requirement !

Not doing it indoors is an even better idea ;-)

Bambaata

haha jesus id never clean my bike indoors!!! i use lots of hot water and liek to throw it all over it so that and indoors just wouldnt work!