Chain Waxing System Tutorial with Josh: A Step-by-Step Guide!
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- Опубликовано: 22 мар 2024
- Explore the art of chain waxing with Josh through a detailed tutorial on The Ultimate Chain Waxing System. This guide covers everything from the basics of waxing your chain to sharing insider tips for maximizing your drivetrain's efficiency and longevity. Additionally, gain clarity on when to use the StripChip hot wax additive versus the Chain Stripper + Wax Prep solution, including their distinct benefits for your waxing situations.
Experience the Components of the Ultimate Chain Waxing System - Get an up-close look at how to effectively use the melting pot, chain hanging stand, and cable coupler.
Discover Optimal Temperatures - Learn the ideal temperatures for various products like SILCA Secret Chain Blend Hot Wax, SILCA Hot Wax X, and SILCA StripChip for optimal results.
Efficient Chain Preparation - See both of SILCA's chain degreasing methods in action, designed to be straightforward and minimize the fuss and time compared to the alternatives.
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Products mentioned in the video:
The Ultimate Chain Waxing System
silca.cc/products/chain-waxin...
StripChip
silca.cc/products/strip-chip
Ultimate Chain Stripper + Wax Prep
silca.cc/products/chain-stripper
Get a shirt like what Josh is wearing - VW Team Van T-Shirt - Mapei Team Edition
silca.cc/products/vw-mapei-te...
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▬▬▬▬ ABOUT SILCA ▬▬▬▬
Founded in Milan in 1917 and now based in Indianapolis, SILCA is renowned for its passion for cycling. Led by cycling industry leader, Josh Poertner, the brand has expanded from the iconic SuperPista pump to a full range of high-end cycling tools and gear, collaborating with UCI World Tour teams to enhance cycling performance. SILCA combines tradition with innovation, inspiring cyclists to enjoy both riding and maintenance.
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Two years ago I was a vendor at Leadville. I got my booth set up the day before and went about waxing my chain in my Sprinter van using a pot on the stove top. A dude popped his head in and asked what I was doing. I told him I was waxing my chain using Silca secret chain blend wax and that he really needed to check it out because of how awesome it works. The guys name was Josh. You can probably guess who I'm taking about. It was super funny! BTW, Josh is a really great guy in person and literally a freeking rocket scientist with the best stories to tell abut the cycling world!
Came for the waxing demo, walked away the nifty filter trick that solves my issue of knowing when to stop reusing the cleaner. Thanks Josh!
my waxing pot finally arrived yesterday and i already waxed 2 chains. what i would have loved is a 3 minute quick guide video instead of slow talk of 20 minutes. maybe you guys could add that, it would make stuff easier for first time users.
Long form is always better. It's not for the attention deficit
Written instructions even!
If you’re already going to the length to wax your chain, spend all this money and take care of your drive train, it’s worth the time to do it right. Which requires comprehensiveness, as it is not a simple process.
@@RossThompson89 bingo
I have done 2 chains with the Stripper Chip/Chain Waxing System. Loved the idiot-proofness (good for me) and it resulted in what seems to be a very good end product. Due to weather, have only been able to put 150km on the chains so far, but if they make it to 250-300km before needing to be re-waxed, then this whole thing is a huge winner. I don’t really care about the efficiency gains, just the cleanliness and wear longevity. Well done.
Perfect timing. I just got my Crockpotanator 4000 yesterday.
Wow! You just created a google whack with the name you came up with! Chapeau!
Bonk Bros credit
@@frankvanthof4562I didn’t know that term. Awesome!
I have a crock pot with your wax, I have a large ultrasonic cleaner and plenty of solvents. I just filled your beautiful t controlled pot (Arrived last week) with a new bag of wax and will be getting one or both of your de-greasing systems. Thank you for making this so simple and uncomplicated. Now there is no reason for any one to use any thing other than wax! I just love this system, and your wax emulsion (I use it every 100 to 150 miles and keeps things running great for 1000 miles between hot waxings)
Thanks for the tutorial. Well-waxed chain is the key to minimizing transmission wear. Big hug from Portugal.
I always learn something from your videos, Josh - today it was that I don't need to worry about waxing the quick link 👍
I love Silca's transparency! Very informative!
Your information and honesty in your products is why I'm a customer.
Josh, awesome showing us the quick and simple way to fold the chain into a easy shape for dunking🙏
I wax the quick link by putting the chain together with the link clipped together but not fully engaged. I also cut my chain to length before waxing. I also let the chain stay in the 75 degree wax for a little while to let the chain get to 75. It would be interesting for you to put your wax pot on a scale and weigh before you put the chain in and and after the wax is done to see how much wax you're using, how much you lose per chain.
Thanks for the full process review, new to waxing and just got my set up from you guys!
Got mine chain wax system since day one waxing chain is effortless and its actually fun to use
Been waxing for few years and have gone from buying wax from a hobby store and using multiple jars and days for stripping to the SILCA method. No more getting yelled at by my wife for the wax drippings. I know there are naysayers out there, but if you put the miles down like I do you will get a lot more miles out of every chain making the price of the SILACA system negligible. Thanks for being a company that is transparent and informative. Big fan.
You guys rock, products are really great, thanks Josh for the demo
Josh, thank you!! Your videos are always great and chock full of inspiration and information!!
Great stuff, Josh. Love Silca!
Loving the setup so far, much more refined setup than my old crockpot with a candy thermometer stuck into it that I constantly had to monitor temperature and was much slower. The one small issue I had was on my first use, the screw in side of the cable that goes into the holder popped off. Luckily I was able to track it down and it appears to just be a crimp connection on. I got it back on and use a cable crimping tool to reattach it so hopefully it holds. Would be great if we could order a spare on of these though.
Got my new Chain Wax system this week and had to try it out right away. Wasn't sure what to do with my old instapot once the wax was out of it. Took a previously waxed chain and dropped it into the instapot and covered it with boiling water. A few minutes later, clean as could be put it into the new wax pot. Like a previous comment could not keep the hanging handle from wanting to fall into the wax. Place a screwdriver across the top of the pot through the hanging handle. Problem solved. Makes me want too wax more often. Great upgrade.
Great video….very informative and helpful. Good job!!!
I like the coffee filter trick. I will try that on my next bottle, which I didn’t plan to buy due to my inefficiency with the first one. But due to that process change I think it’s worth another shot.
I figured out with an instapot, put it on saute, when the temp hits 110, put it on slow cook. It will creep up to 125 and hover there for the 10 minutes you need.
Great video for everyone waxing a new chain, looking forward to the next video detailing how to use these products now that they've already got a waxed chain!
Agreed this is something I was thinking about as well
I think that’s where a wash might be needed first to get rid of dirt / sand particles. Then you strip or not and rewax.
+1 for this.
And in reply to @lechprotean below: I did ask Silca once and was told that you don't need to strip before rewaxing. However, my thinking has always been that any grit and dirt in the chain would contaminate the clean wax in the hotpot, thereby potentially contaminating future waxings. As for washing first, I'm not so sure that any particles embedded in the wax would be removed by washing. Or am I just being overcautious?
Scroll down to the question by @mustridefaster. Silca have answered this question there
@@hydemucI am also overcautious. It is, after all, the grit from the road which wears transmission components at fast rates when using wet lubes. When waxing chains (in my head), dunking used waxed chains repeatedly would ultimately result in accumulation of grit in the wax mixture. So I wash the chain, rinse with boiling water, wash again, and rinse with warm water before patting dry. This I do while the wax melts and is effortless. ... bunch of neurotics sharing obsession-compulsions down in the comments section 😂
Love the nod to CUTTERS of grease with the Masi from Breaking Away in the backdrop;)
nice and easy to wax the chain. cheated a bit to get up to temp quicker by setting to 100. took a couple attempts at cabling the chain to get a setup that didn't immediately want to flop over into the wax. But really nice to use something dedicated and obviously not for food and not having to have giant labels on it so it doesn't tried to be used for food.
Loving the Mapei t shirt! Glad I got me some from you guys all the way to Australia! Now just to wait for the pot.😂
thanks for the update
Thank you for these great videos, Josh. How do you clean the cassette, pullies and chainrings (both new from factory grease and used)? Can't find a jar with twist cap large enough to fit the cassette/chainring to put them in the stripper. Thanks!
great video! now, I waxed my chain, rode, re-waxed, and so on. rinse-and-repeat 6 times. the chain is still ok at this point, the wax is not. do I need to strip (or somehow clean) the chain before replacing wax?
Hi Josh, I have a question - what is the best temp to pull the chain from the hot melt wax? In a Silca video from months ago you mentioned pull at 140/high 130 degrees F and this video is 75 degrees which I assume is celsius or around 165 degrees F. Many thanks and love your products
I use bend spokes with the crockpot (need to do multiple chains at the same time). Now I like the cable coupler with this holder, are/will these be available separately?
As for cleaning oiled chains, for years I’ve used mineral spirits in a heated ultrasound machine with excellent results. I have a basket suspending the chain about an inch above the bottom. After removal I used compressed air to blow off the chain. Then I hang it to dry. I have used an old air fryer toaster oven if I’m in a hurry. But it’s probably not advisable to do because mineral spirits is flammable. Once the chain is dry, I use compressed air on it again.
I use the mineral spirits over and over again. I pour it into a clear glass jug. Let it settle out for a couple days, then pour it through a coffee filter.
Just be sure to remove mineral spirits with acetone or alcohol before waxing the chain, mineral spirits residue is a nasty contaminate to the wax.
Hi Josh. This is not a question but an observation after just a few uses. Generally, the system is good, it works, but I don't know if it only happened to me while waxing, that the handle with the rope on which the chain is ...falls completely into the wax. So in my opinion, this is a small (?) problem. There is no way to prevent it, I tried to thread it differently chain but it's the same every time. Of course, I deal with this by placing a piece of wooden spatula through the hole in the cable, which protects it from sinking in wax, but this is probably something worth considering when modernizing this station. That's all :)
An old spoke cut to the diameter of the pot works well.
Happened to me as well, I just scooped it out with scissors and the loop stood by itself (probably due to the wax).
Silca’s waxing system is the way to go and keeps getting better. Where can I get a Silca Tshirt?
Is there any thought about selling the cable coupler separate? It seems nice for people who don’t want to use the tire spoke.
I’ve just received my chain waxing system, as soon as I have bikes again (my old ones were stolen) I’ll look to wax the chains. I have a waxed chain on my turbo setup, the chain was degreased in an ultrasonic tank then with ChainStripper before being waxed/lubed with Secret Austen drip on chain wax. Can I now just throw it into the chain waxing bath or do I need to do any prep first?
I love the super secret sauce, not going from it but still curious about this vid. And now, I have an amazing trick on how to use my unused coffee filters to save some money XD
I appreciate the explanation for why the pot is not bigger! Idk if it would be a good investment for the company, and if not I totally understand, but it would be cool if you guys could make the bigger pot as a separate product and just charge a bit more for it while still selling the smaller pot at the same price
I do like the idea of a larger pot as I tend to wax more than one chain at a time
@josh why are the super cool mapei silca t shirts not available for purchase in the silca canada web site ?
Thanks Josh and Silca! Have been trying to order one to Singapore, but if I choose the eu type (we are 220) it says I can’t order it. Any advice to get one shipped here? Thanks
No idea how you get the handle to stand up, no matter what I did the handle fell in, even if I used a hex key threaded thru the red holder tying to keep it in place. Could you please do a v2 with a holder on the red backplate? My handle has already failed because the wax stopped the screw from coming out and the cable broke off its handle ;(
I just received my Chain wax system pot this week. Next chain swap I plan to try it out. One question that I have not seen however is that shouldn't we be cleaning the chainrings and cassettes with stripper or something similar, not just the new chain? Since I have been using oil lube all this time they are both covered in the stuff. Thanks for the products and video!
Yes, you will want to clean your drivetrain well before installing your waxed chain. Stripper or most any degreaser will work. SILCA Brake and Drivetrain is a very good option and a bit less expensive than Stripper: silca.cc/products/ultimate-brake-and-drivetrain-cleaner
Can I use the Chain Stripper + Wax Prep to clean and prepare a used chain (that still has a lot of life left) for waxing? What additional steps are needed? Thanks!
Hi there you guys have some great products. Question does the degreaser also work for used chains, to get rid of the oil?
Hey Josh and team. Thanks for this! I'm using a different slow cooker that just has warm / low / high settings but am monitoring with thermometer. Is there any harm done if I lose track and the wax gets hotter, like ~80C?
Great products and informative video. Really excited to start using a waxed chain system 🇬🇧 are there any plans to do a starter pack i.e. Pot / wax / stripChip?
Thinking of ordering this setup very soon, but have a question regarding your recommendation. Working with a few racers prepping for marathon mtb nationals, using e13 cassettes with sram axs drivetrain and was wondering what chain you'd recommend using for those marginal gains? I've heard you say how good and efficient the dura-ace/xtr 12spd chains are, would that be your recommendation over a sram or kmc chain? thanks in advance
Hi Silca, really appreciate your high quality videos. I have been looking for economic alternative of the wax pot, the 3rd-party pot I found can only reach to 120 degree celsius. I wonder if this 5 degree deficiency can affect the wax quality? Or can I just soak the chain into the wax for longer time to make this up?
As @silca has mentioned before, the used chain stripper solvent needs to be treated as contaminated waste (ie not dumped down the drain) because of what is potentially in the grease stripped from the chain. But, I'm wondering about disposal of the water used to rinse off the chain after using the stripper solvent. Can that be dumped down the drain or does it need to be treated as contaminated waste as well?
Might be overdoing it but I use the chain stripper to clean the new chain, and use the strip chip as another level of assurance that I got rid of all the grease
You certainly could do it, but definitely no need.. save yourself some $$ and just do one or the other and buy some other beautiful SILCA products with the money saved ;-)
I waxed my chain for the first time last week and was impressed by how quiet my drivetrain ran. However after 150km it sounds noisy again. I was under the impression I'd get more milage from a waxed chain before i have to top it up?
I'm not much of a mechanic, but this was super easy for me. I did 3 chains as soon as I got it. And I have 2 more to do now. I thought I read somewhere that you should only do 6 chains this way before swapping out the wax. Is that right? I so, do I just toss the wax once it's cooled down?
Any chance you will be selling couplers individually? Would be very handy when doing multiple chains!
What about after you have waxed and ridden for couple of thousand? Or a year, or gotten the chain dirty. How do you rewax the chain? Boil itto removewax? Thanks
Question: I'm riding a pre-waxed DA chain from you, what process best to clean and rewax? Been adding supersecret drip at times, but may want to clean and start over. Ultrasonic or other?
The chain stripper has a very high freeze point, like DMSO. It was starting to solidify in my garage at about 45 degrees F.
Thanks for sharing this detailed tutorial. Worked like a charm :)
Now I have a few more chains to wax - and it looks to me, as if I just have to put in a new strip chip. They weight of pot and wax didn’t seem the be notable less after one fresh chain.
Or what else do I have to do before the next chain?
If you are re-waxing a waxed chain, just heat the pot to 75 and wax away. If you need to wax another factory greased chain, then add a Strip Chip with that chain. If you need to wax a used chain that has other lubricant on it, then clean that first with Stripper.
Thanks Josh! Great information as always! You mentioned how much more environmentally friendly Chain Stripper & Chip Strip are than the mineral spirits & acetone method. How do you recommend disposing of the spent Stripper & contaminated wax? Thanks again!
Spent stripper that is sufficiently diluted can be put down the drain, or if you have a lot of it like some bike shops doing large scale waxing, you can dispose of it at any tox-drop type location in your city where you would dispose of paint or other cleaners. As for the wax, you should be able to continue using it until it's gone.. it it does get contaminated is some way, it can just be thrown away as it is a non-toxic solid, separate from whatever contamination it may have in it.
On a freshly installed waxed chain, some of the wax will stick to the cassette. Should you clean off this excess wax? It might be good for the chain system, but it looks ugly. Any comments on Silca from a technical perspective?
What do you advise when using a sram flat top chain using a powerlock quick release @£8 a time?
A couple suggestions for V2… some kind of retention system for the chain holder when in the wax. With the chain laying in the wax, it seems to want to flip the handle into the wax. It needs a quick easy method to hold the handle out of the wax…. Also I’m not sure if it’s normal, but mine takes 45+ minutes to fully melt the wax at 75. Both with fresh granules from the bag, and a second remedy for a second chain. Second time I upped it to 85 after 40 minutes and it took another 10 to fully melt. Trying to follow the directions as close as possible but tempted to go higher to melt and then drop it down so I don’t spend an hour plus to get a chain waxed.
I just got my silka hotpot today, because I used the strip chip I had to heat to 125 so I loaded wax and the chip and total took about 15 min to melt it. If not using strip chip I’m no expert but my guess would be it’s okay to save time by increasing your heat past 75 just to melt it then lower it to 75 to put your chain in.
@@mtbkev8935 Yeah in a later video Josh confirmed that it’s ok to crank the heat up higher to get the wax melting quicker. The PID controller keeps the heating element from getting any hotter than the setting, so it does take a very long time to melt the wax in the center. Instructions could probably use an update but at least it’s been officially confirmed as an acceptable practice with no ill effects on the wax.
What if I got sidetracked and after using chain stripper solution I did not rinse with warm sink water. The chain air dried and was put into wax. Should anything be done after the fact? (Ie. dispose of hot wax, restrip chain etc). Thank you for the advice.
Is this more commonly done , waxing the chain , for road and gravel bikes.
Not conviced with waxing during a cold wet winter in the north east of england. To many rusty components after a wet ride and trying to dry the chain and cassett as best i can.
How many miles will it last in humid weather like south Florida?
Forgive me if this has already been asked and answered. I had to re-wax for the first time a few days ago but could not find any information out about length of time to submerge in the wax. I eventually settled on 10 mins at 75c. Is this correct it should the chain remain in the waxinator for longer? Thanks.
Hey Josh. Great summary! We are adding chain waxing to our shop services but will use the stripper as it seems to be more viable. The question I have is relating to the frequency of filtering back through a coffee filter paper? How many chains can I get through if I'm emptying the entire 16oz into a large jar and going through the required process?
It really depends on the jar.. the challenge over time with stripping multiple chains in it is that all of the encapsulated grease will float to the top forming a skin. If your tank is wide enough, you can likely just drop a paper towel on the skin and it will stick to it.. you will be able to see if you've removed it this way. If the tank/jar has a smaller opening, then I'd filter every 4-6 chains or so as you eventually end up pulling the chain out through this oil slick of encapsulated grease which just makes rinsing more difficult.
If you use 6 strip chips in a bowl of wax do you beed to replace the wax before strip chipping a 7th chain?
do I need a new chain before waxing? or can I strip my current chain?
Should you be using gloves when using the chain stripper?
Any tips for using this with a bag of hot melt wax that was used once before using the stovetop method? I haven’t looked, but I’m assuming it’s a big block now as opposed to the pellets that are in a brand new bag. Do I have to melt it again and then pour it in the Silca pot where it will stay from now on?
You could try to cut the bag away from the wax and put it into the pot, but if it's too big to fit, you can just melt it in the bag and pour it into the pot.
How long should it take to melt around 300g of wax @75c?
I run my chain with your wax. I also use the Drip wax lube. My question is what should I do when I go on a multi week or months long bike tour or bikepacking tour on my bike. How do I maintain my chain while out on the road on tour. I'll be camping most of the time so will be difficult to re-wax via hot melt method. Any suggestions as to how to keep the chain waxed and how often does the chain need to be rewaxed.
For bikepacking we recommend using the drip wax as a top off, just be sure to apply it after your ride so that it has overnight to fully cure. I'd recommend wiping the chain with a microfiber cloth every 150-200km and reapplying the drip after that.
I connect the quick link to the chain before waxing them together. This seems to work well.
Are you using a connex link for this ? You would have to install for waxing , uninstall to get the chain on the bike then install so you could ride.
Good question. I'm using the quick link that comes with the chain. Aware of the increased number of installations / uninstallations but haven't had any issues. It's a commuting bike; not used for sprinting.
Not sure where to comment ... but I would very much appreciate a discussion on SRAM road chains. The current Rival, Force and Red chains do not wax as well as Shimano chains - can you discuss any tricks to help (higher melt temperature ... use a strip chip ... ??). And, what about the new Red chain - I have heard that the finish is different ... how does it take wax?
Could you strip a chain & just use the super secret wax lube?
Josh, regarding chain stripper solution - is it better to return the filtered solution into the orig bottle, or keep in another bottle (eg. second ball jar) separately for next use?
Totally up to you, I like to use the bottle so that I'm only using 1 ball jar in the process, but that's purely out of space constraint.
When it comes time to rewax a waxed chain, is any specific cleaning suggested (e.g., boiling) to remove the old wax and any associated road grunge? Or just remove chain and immerse?
+1
Rise thoroughly with boiling water in a colander to remove old wax.
Will the chain stripper damage the color coatings on Sram XX1 chains? Mine has a copper color, and I would not want to damage the color or even fade it a little.
At what point do you shorten/size the chain? After the wax or does doing it before save some wax?
I do it before the stripping
If you don't mind the more laborious factory grease removal process using either mineral spirits or one of the wax makers' proprietary grease removal products, followed by alcohol baths and drying, prior to waxing, is that still preferable to the strip chip, or basically the same?
Btw were these designed to look like chocolate bars? I swear they look delicious! 😅
StripChip and Chain Stripper both provide results equivalent to (or slightly better) than the traditional mineral spirit/acetone/alcohol method, but do it in much more environmentally friendly ways. We say possibly better as both products contain agents which promote adhesion of the wax to the metal.
One note on using the @Silca chain stripper solvent (unused) with factory-new SRAM AXS road chains: after running it through the stripper, shake, let it sit for ten minutes, agitate again then rinse steps, the chain still had a small amount of grease on it which I could see when I wiped it off with a microfiber towel. So, I ran the chain through the stripper, shake, wait, and rinse steps a second time. Then it came out clean with no grease coming off on the towel. I'm wondering if @Silca tested with SRAM chains and if this is something specific to the preservative they use on their chains. It's also possible I did something wrong in the process but I can't think of anything as I followed the steps here closely.
Some SRAM chains have nastier stuff on them than others and may need 2x stripper. We go through hundreds of SRAM chains here for our pre-wax program and for at least the last year they have all been covered in more of an oil that washes out pretty easily, but we have seen ones that are covered in a much more aggressive sludge that can take 2 strippings to remove.
When I want to wax two new chains with the chip, what kind of ratio do i need to keep in the pot of Wax:Chip or is it ok to dump the whole bag of 500g wax into the pot with two chips?
One chip per factory chain, do them one at a time.
So, after the warm water rinse, no concerns about putting the chain right into the wax without a full and proper drying period? I was under the impression that the moisture on the chain would inhibit the wax from adhering.
You want to shake or blow most of the water out, but as long as you leave the chain in the hot wax for ~10 minutes or so, the water will boil off.. you can accelerate this with temperature, just put the chain in, raise temp to 100C, you'll see bubbles popping on the surface for a few minutes as the water boils off, then drop to 75C.
Hi, have converted to waxing and loving it. Recently purchased the Chain Waxing System (long wait as in the UK) and really happy after the first use with a Strip Chip and new chain. Even better results than the Super Secret Chain Lube I initially started with.
I have just come to do the first re-wax, so at 75°c and even after half an hour the wax would not fully melt. The pot was indicating 75°c. I was doing it in the garage and the outside temperature was 15°c, not that it should affect it.
Does the Strip Chip prevent it from re-melting at the lower temperature? I had to turn it up to melt it then back down to put the chain in. Thanks, Adrian.
This is the one downside with the PID control.. we can only measure temp in the metal of the pot, so the heating element heats until the pot is 75 and then stays right there.. to make it melt faster you can put the temp to 90 or 100 and then just turn it down when it gets to 75.
With the chain stripper is it safe to be rinsing it off in the sink and disposing the coffee filter in the garbage?
Ideally with all forms of oil/grease, no.
Considering the chain stripper is made of "only" 3 very concentrated surfactants that are used to remove the oil, it's likely fine.
It would be like if you dumped pure concentrated dish soap combined with cooking oil. Bad if you do that constantly, but not an issue if you only do it every once in a long while.
Got a new chain that included the quick link in the same package as the chain (Connex). It's definitely got factory grease on it... I'm assuming I'll want to degrease the QL before i install?
You want to degrease it, but no need to wax it.
Does the chain that was cleaned with the stripper and water rinse have to be completely bone dry before submerging into the wax? Or is some moisture ok as you drop it into the melted wax?
Unless you want to chase maximum longevity/performance, being dry to the touch is good enough.
The water will be displaced from the hot wax solution as it heats up.
And if the wax is over 100c the water will just boil off.
A few questions: What is the re-waxing process? Do you re-strip/clean the chain to remove contaminants or just simply re-dip the chain? I've also noticed on dura-ace chains the hollow rivets tend to fill with wax using more wax and adding a marginal amount of weight to the chain. I've used low pressure air to blow out some of the excess while the wax is still hot and it seems to remove much of the excess wax from the rivets and where it tends to glob up at the bottom of the links. Is this safe to do? Any risk of actually blowing wax out of the internal surfaces doing this? I find it also help cool the chain and wax down quickly preventing the internal wax from seeping out. Finally, is it acceptable to dip a wet chain? I noticed that you didn't dry or allow the stripped chain to fully dry after rinsing it before you waxed it. Is there any risk in doing that as far as trapping moisture in the chain or potentially adding unwanted water to the wax solution?
If the chain is relatively clean, you can just wipe it with a microfiber cloth and then straight into the wax. It it's dirty, you can rinse with water or something like SILCA brake and drivetrain cleaner and then water.. and then into the wax. You can wax a wet chain, but just give it extra time to evaporate the water.. you can also push the temp to 100C to speed the evaporation, and then cool to 75C before pulling the chain to cool. As for wax filling the hollow pins, this is less than 1 grams of wax in a 116link chain, so we say it's not worth the effort and much of the weight saved is likely blowing wax out from inside the chain where you might need it..
How important is temperature control? I'm using a small crockpot for waxing and constantly checking the temp with a candy thermometer is rather cumbersome. Will I lose the benefits of waxing if I don't hit the 125C and 75C temperature marks exactly?
For just hot waxing, the temperature is not that important, but for using the Strip Chip it is very critical. I would recommend using chain stripper to strip the chains if you are using a crock pot.
So. Water rinse with no final rinse with alcohol? Wouldn’t that be even better? That ensures the chain is drier after the degrease?
How are you getting the handle for the chain holder to just chill in the air like that 😅 Mine is like a fish out of water gasping for air trying to dive into the wax, it dunks itself in every time. I had to rig up something by bending a spoke to hang it from the red wall, and hook it on that (and even then it sometimes manages to hop off into the wax). Any plans for a hook piece to mount on there? I guess thinking about it again, I could use a chop stick or something braced across the melting pot so that it can’t submerge.
Maybe I’m threading my cable coupler too wide so the cable doesn’t have as much slack to flex out and grip the sides of the pot. 🤔
So you stripped your new chain with the chip strip and waxed your chain. You put it on, ride it, and are now ready to re-wax. Can you use the wax in the Crockpotanator again (with the chip strip in it)? If not, do you just throw away the wax with the strip chip?
You just keep using the wax that's in there, and as it gets lower you can add more to it, no need to throw it out.
Is the bowl in the StripChip wax pot replaceable or integrated into the unit ? If replaceable then do you sell them ( have looked and do not see any ). It would be handy to have 2 bowls so I could use the ZFC 2 pot cleaning system. First bowl to Strip Chip / clean contamination off chain / boil water out . Second bowl to contain wax for actual chain waxing.
The bowl is integrated to allow for much better temperature control as well as faster heating and cooling. We looked at replaceable liners and it added a lot of size and cost to the unit while roughly doubling the heating and cooling times, so we chose this direction to make the system as affordable and fast to wax as possible.
@@SILCAVeloThank you for that. It might have been useful to subtly include in the product description to set expectations / explain the compromise / improvements ? I'm trying to give you constructive feedback here, even though I may seem a bit harsh on some comments ?
What was unfortunately cut out is what you did with the water after rinsing the chain. Is it safe to put in the drain? (In respect to the environment and in respect to the seals in the drainage system since we learned that it ate the seals of the bottles)
Once diluted it can be put down the drain with no risk to environment or seals.
I bought a fully built bike from the bike store. The chain is already installed. I've already put couple hundreds miles with the bike. As such, the chain is already collecting dirt and dust from multiple bike rides. If I need to wax the installed chain, would you recommend that I strip the chain with the StripChip? Or how would you recommend I treat the existing chain? Thanks.
Definitely clean this one with Chain Stripper.. it will better remove all the factory grease as well as remove any dirt sticking to the factory grease. In this instance, StripChip will waxify the factory grease, but you'll still have any dirt stuck to the factory grease from use suspended and floating in your wax which you really don't want.
In previous videos you suggest letting the wax cool to around 60c (surface temp with digital thermometer) before pulling it out of the wax. Is this not necessary anymore?
We see no difference between 60 and 75 in terms of wax holding, both are far better than the 90-100C that is the standard crockpot low setting.
Are specific chain brands more optimal for waxing (i.e. sram, Shimano, kmc). Also, is waxing good got mountain bike and gravel chains, or more a roadie thing?
I have heard negative things on waxing KMC chains, but I use them (waxed) extensively with great success. Higher tier chains, such as 10 or more speeds, usually have coatings on their surfaces. These coatings wear far slower on waxed chains which is why Josh has stated that in these cases a new chain is better than converting a used one from oil to wax.
I actually prefer waxed chains on gravel and mtb over road due to lower mileage rides in dirtier roads. Wax excels in both these circumstances. For road, it's up to you since some poeple ride over 200km weekly and it might become a chore.