RubeRad

Looking at Silca's chain wax, they advertise that it comes in a 'convenient stovetop boiler bag', and you can just put the chain in the bag in hot water on the stove. Mostly I've heard of people using crock pots.

Anybody try out this stovetop method? Is the bag sturdy enough to really last? Or does it eventually wear out and you need to step up to a crockpot anyway? Or, could you just migrate to gallon ziploc bags and replace whenever necessary?

jadmt

just recently tried it and it worked ok but I ended up buying a $15 crockpot at Target and it worked much better. the bag seems plenty strong but it was hard to keep it from floating in the pot of water and then the opening was a little small so it was kind of hard for me to stir the chain around. The crock pot worked way better for me. If I had to do it over I would have used the crock pot first as i had a bit of a time getting all the wax out of the bag once it was melted the first time. I will also say after my first ride I was a convert to the wax.

icemilkcoffee 

Generally I cook the chain in the crockpot where it gets well beyond 220 deg F. Hot enough to boil off whatever moisture or solvent still on the chain. If you do sous vide it might not get not enough to do that.

Aardwolf

I got a wax heater off Amazon (hair removal type), originally for waxing accordions but it works better on bike chains.

It's got a digital readout so you just set it for 92 (centigrade) and put the chain on top of the hard wax and leave it for 40 mins.
500cc capacity and that turns out to be exactly enough for 1 chain.

"Guckmall wax heater" or "Wax Heater WD-001D" will find it: https://www.amazon.com/Guckmall-Kit%...ct_top?ie=UTF8
Shows out of stock on Amazon but anything similar works.

cyccommute 

So that’s what you are paying the extra $36.99 for! A high tech ziplock bag that you could buy for 15¢.

Kontact 

I use a pot. It cost $6.

Kai Winters

I've seen the 'boiler bag' method used on youtube but much prefer a dedicated 'crock pot'...they are relatively inexpensive and much easier to use.

RubeRad

Actually it's on sale for $29.99, and the reason I'm buying that instead of plain household parrafin is I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase (or 30year purchase, which at my age amounts to about the same thing)

Camilo

Best must-have things in bicycling: titanium, carbon fiber, ceramic, and nano-anything.

cyccommute 

I think you’ll be surprised on how quickly you run through wax doing the hot wax process. A lot of wax ends up on the outside of the chain that is just wasted. It doesn’t run off when you pull it out of the hot melt because it hardens quickly due to the low melt point. I can’t say for sure how much wax is on the chain when it comes out of the melt but I would estimate that about 2/3 of the weight isn’t doing any lubrication on the outside of the chain and just falls off during use.

RubeRad

OK good to know

jadmt

I found that after my chains dried I just held them over the crock pot and wiggled them around and most of the dried wax fell back in the pot. I also put a piece of cardboard under the chain after I put it back on the bike and a few more bits fell off when spinning the crank. I would say I was able to save the majority of the wax from the outside of the chains.

jadmt

good find. I liked it so much I grabbed another package from Amazon for the discounted price.

cyccommute 

At around $40 for a 1 lb block of wax (or less on sale), that might be worth the trouble. At $4 per pound it’s not something to worry about. But paying $40 for a pound of wax (or even $30) is pretty silly to begin with no matter how many “nano” things it has in it.

jadmt

silly for you maybe but I have no issues with it. I will say after my first ride it was 100% worth it to me. We all have different things that make us feel warm and fuzzy no doubt. hell for me $30 was worth it just for how cool it looks all melted up....

cyccommute 

You are talking to someone who has no problem spending money on bicycles…I have 4 bikes with Paul Klampers on them, 8 bikes with either Phil Wood hubs or White Industries or Pauls (including a rare Paul RHub), titanium bikes with Moots or Dean house stems and seat posts, etc. I just find spending a lot of money on chains or chain lubricants to be chasing good money after bad.

spelger

I've been waxing for a long time now, I'm having a hard time believing the wiggle dried wax falling bit.

Canker

Even if you go nuts with chain waxing we are still taking about $30 a year, I think I could get over it.

cyccommute 

Or spend $4 per year with the same results. You are missing the point. Silca wants you to pay that extra $30 per year for very marginal returns.

bbbean 

I used the bag for a year, and it worked fine, but using a cheap ($20) crockpot is MUCH easier, and eliminated the possibility of an oops moment.

FWIW, if you accidentally spill a bag of hot wax next to a sink, you will need to replace the trap.

bbbean 

Not exactly the same results. Many of us do appreciate marginal performance gains, longer drive train life, and no grease stains. But if you're happy with what you're doing now, by all means, enjoy it.

FWIW, I can eat a piece of beef at McDonalds for $0.99, or eat a piece of beef at a good steak house for $99.00. Both offer essentially the same nutritional value. I'm pretty happy I have the option to choose what my priorities are at any given meal.

RubeRad

He's saying $4 for regular household parrafin with no additives and no 'boiler bag', which also gets you longer drive train life and no grease stains

cyccommute 

I really doubt you would get much more than very marginal performance gains when using the Silca wax vs Gulf paraffin wax. You certainly won’t see any longer drivetrain life nor grease stains when using Gulf wax vs the Silca. I don’t use oil but I also don’t mess with hot wax. Solvent wax works as well and is far easier to use.

Wrong comparison. McDonalds doesn’t sell “pieces of beef”. They sell hamburger. Someone that is selling you a $99 hamburger is selling you the experience. The hamburger is essentially the same…just like Silca wax vs Gulf canning wax.

cyccommute 

I don’t agree on the longer drivetrain life, especially the wild claim of 25,000 miles that have been made. All I’m willing to say is that wax (solvent or hot) doesn’t shorten drivetrain life over oil. I most certainly agree that either is much cleaner. I deal with other people’s interpretation of oil lubrication all the time and hate the results.




The grim just jumps off the page.

bbbean 

Doubt away. My reading, independent tests, and my experience bring me to a different conclusion. I pay what I pay for the products I buy because I believe they work. I believe what I do because I've read the independent studies, multiple reviews, talked to cyclists I know, and I've been riding long enough to have tried a variety of products to form a baseline opinion. This isn't simply a case of "we all have opinions", but rather a case of "the available evidence points to a particular conclusion."

With all that said, I'm glad you're happy with your Gulf paraffin wax.