Kontact

I don't see how agitating is going to do anything but get the water off the bottom and onto the chain. How is half a millimeter of water going to affect the internals of the chain?

cyccommute 

That's standard operating procedure for any lubricant. It's easier to put the lubrication on at the cassette than mid chain.

SoSmellyAir

Easier for sure but also messier and more wasteful than just dripping one or two drops per roller.

I did not even realize that Silca Hot Wax has a specified temperature range. It seems my Crock Pot is slightly too hot.

asgelle

It doesn't unless you use the new strip chip on a new, uncleaned chain, then the wax has to be heated to at least 125C. A Silca rep told me it's safe to heat it up to the point where it starts smoking (way above 125C).

cyccommute 

The White Lightning product has a higher solvent content than oil based lubricants and is meant to flood through the chain to remove the old wax as well as flush out any grit that might be on the outside of the chain. Oil really should have more solvent and shouldn't be put on one drop at a time on the rollers. Since it is so good at collecting grit, oil would benefit from flushing when reapplied. It would be incredibly messy, however. Oil lubricated chains should be stripped with solvent prior to reapplication of the oil, but that's not all that convenient.

From Silca's page on how to apply wax:

There is no reason to keep the temperature at "88°C". The only reason for the temperatures used are because that's what 190°F calculates to. It doesn't have to be that accurate.

However they also have instructions for a stove top method

That temperature would be about 20°C hotter than their crockpot method, not that it would matter all the much. People have been using crock pots and double boilers before that without issue. To limit the temperature to "88°C" is silly. Nothing will happen to the wax. The wax is thermally stable to between 150°C and 170°C (300°F to 340°F). Crock pots operate between 75°C to 140°C (170° and 280° F) which is no where near where anything can happen to the wax. Honestly, this ain't rocket science.

cyccommute 

I wouldn't suggest going that high. Wax is flammable and at a high enough temperature to smoke, it could burn very vigorously.

Kontact

If you follow these directions exactly using boiling water, if you take the bag out when then wax melts and not much more than that, the wax temperature will be the melting point of the wax, not the temp of the water.

Same with a bag of snow in boiling water. When the snow melts it will be 32 degrees, not 212.

cyccommute 

Thats’s not what the instructions say.

The instructions don’t say to put the bag into a pot of boiling water but to bring the water to a boil and wait for the wax in the bag to melt completely. If the water gets up to boiling, the wax will be at the same temperature.

Kontact

The wax can't get above its own melting point until it is all melted. If you remove it when melted, it will be no greater than 190 degrees. Whether the water is boiling or not when this happens will depend on the amount of water, not if the wax is 212 or not.

But I'm not a chemist, just someone that has put cold things in boiling water, and someone who knows a substance can't get above its phase change temperature until the phase change is complete.

cyccommute 

I am a chemist and while what you say is mostly correct, if you put the bag in water and heat the water to boiling, the wax with its relatively low melt temperature will have melted long before the water reaches its boiling point. The water temperature is what drives the temperature of the system.

If you were to plunge the wax bag into a pot of boiling water, the wax will stay at the temperature of fusion until it is all melted. However, following their instructions will not give that result. If you were to monitor the temperature in a calorimeter (a highly accurate, highly insulated piece of equipment for measuring heat), you would see a slight plateauing of the temperature of the system when wax melts. On you kitchen stove, the plateau would be undetectable.

That said, it won’t matter at all if the wax is heated to 100°C or not. It’s not harmed by the heat of boiling water or a crock pot. Their temperatures are too low to have any deleterious effect in the wax. Wax isn’t that delicate nor that picky about the temperature of the application.

Biker Pete 

The cleanliness, that’s what won me over. No more black chain marks on my hands, legs, or clothes. I ride maybe 2500 miles per year split between two bikes. So chain longevity is not really a concern for me. Waxing does involve a bit of time, but most of that is just waiting for the wax to melt, during which time I can do other things. Not trying to convince you one way or the other, just stating my observations.

CaptMike

Just bought the Secret Chain Blend. Been reading a lot of ZFC's stuff. Going to go through the whole clean/hot wax drill. The only thing that seems to be a downside to me, after reading ZFC, if he seems to say even if you do one ride where the chain gets wet, you have to take the chain off and re-wax?? Or get dust, etc, on the chain, same thing? That seems a little crazy. Especially when having two bikes with SRAM chains, where you are supposed to use a new master link every time you remove and re-install the chain (that's a whole other subject). So I got the Silca drip wax to supplement between waxing. It also sounds like if you just wash a waxed chain off with water, it is more susceptible to rust than an oiled chain?? Time to get to waxing. Thank you.

bbbean 

Here's the short version - it isn't as fragile as all that. Yes, if you ride in the rain for any length of time, you'll need to re-wax. This is also true of oil based lube - chain gets wet, you need to wipe down and relube. Fortunately, there's a way to do this without removing the chain. Silca (and others) makes drip wax you can use to top off the chain just like you'd use an oil based lube. just wipe down the chain, add a drip per link (or just drip while pedaling backwards), and let dry for a few hours before your next ride.

Many of us do a full dip before a race or once every 1000 miles or so, and just use drip wax as needed (every 100-200 miles) between deep waxes.

BB

CaptMike

Thanks, bbbean. That's what I plan to do. I ordered the drip wax last night, after reading that on ZFC's site. I would have thought that the water would run right off of the chain, and you could just run it though a micro fiber cloth. I usually only ride in the rain if I get caught in it. Dust and mud I get much more often.

cyccommute 

The water does run right off the chain but not in the right place. In a perfect world, the wax should keep any water from infiltrating into the chain. If the chain was freshly waxed and immersed in water (without moving the chain), the wax would do just that. But as the chain moves, wax is moved away from all of the contact points. Because it is a solid, wax doesn’t flow back so the metal at all the contact points becomes exposed and can form rust when it gets wet. That’s where the “wax washes off” idea comes from. Wax, however, has zero water solubility.

Oil, on the other hand, does flow and can backfill when it is pushed out of the pressure points. However, this ability to flow is also the downfall of oil. Grit gets entrained in the oil and is pumped into the pressure points where it does its damage. Water also gets emulsified with the oil which can cause rust as well. The oil, however, masks the sound of rusty links. They are there but you can’t hear them. Oil really should be refreshed after rain just as wax should.

CaptMike

Thank you, Stuart. So following up with the Drip Wax should suffice after riding in the rain? After wiping down the chain? At least for a temp measure? Hopefully. Appreciate it.