sean.hwy

I am looking for a container that I can shake with mineral spirits and chain. So, water tight and not shatter with a metal chain being shaken ( no glass mason jars etc.. )

This two stroke mixing container is great because it's meant for gasoline. Has a secure lid I can shake with the liquid and chain. Downside is the opening is too small to stick your hand in and clean it.

Crankycrank

I use old plastic peanut butter jars. Nice wide top, various sizes and OMS won't kill them either. Ask your peanut butter loving friends to save them.

sean.hwy

Mine leaked. ha-ha

Which peanut butter did you get?

I have tried various left over food containers without much luck. They would probably be ok if I didn't shake the container.

dedhed

Anything HDPE which is what poly gas cans are made from.

BCRider

You can check with the local paint stores. The ones that sell nothing but paint typically have empty cans. A quart size will do ya as long as you go easy with the shaking to avoid denting it badly from the inside. Just don't shake it around like a set of maracas !

You could even improve this setup by buying some 1/4 inch square grid screen. That stuff is stiff enough that you could make a "cup" like shape with it that you deform a little then push it edge lip downward into the can. Then with a little tweaking straighten it up at the bottom of the can so the chain cannot rest on the bottom. That way all the grunge settles through the chain and screen to the bottom. And it's open enough that you can easily fish the chain out with your fingers while wearing proper nitrile gloves.

Yes it will require a paint can opener. But with some reasonable care it can last a LONG time. And if you don't use enough care then at least they only charge a buck or so for the cans.

Gloves you ask? Why yes... Solvent absorption through the skin is a serious enough thing that it's worth protecting yourself. It can cause irritated skin and even ezcema on a lot of folks. And over time if using the solvent often enough can cause damage to internal organs. It's bad enough that we breath the fumes. At least protect your skin and cut down on how much you take in. Gloves are cheap.

icemilkcoffee 

I use a large pork sung glass jar. It has a large enough opening for you to stick your hand inside and swish the parts around.

Crankycrank

Skippy, worked in a restaurant so had plenty of empty jars to take home. Some leaked, some didn't.

Andrew R Stewart 

The classic is a soda bottle, 20oz Coke as example. Use a coat hanger or spoke bent into a hook for chain extraction. Let the used stuff settle out and pour off the clean into another soda bottle to reuse.

At a tiny LBS I worked for 1 season we had a bucket and pasta strainer with kerosene for our parts cleaner. Needless to say not many repairs got more than a wipe off cleaning... Andy

sean.hwy

After I let the mineral spirits settle for a day or two I strain the rest through a coffee filter. I probably should have waiter more a like week for it settle. oh wells.

Do you just soak the chain? I thought it worked better when you shook the chain with the mineral spirits so I did not want to use glass/pyrex etc...

Andrew R Stewart 

I didn't say anything about shaking or not shaking. But, yes, shaking does help loosen up grime from the chain's insides. As to jar material- I would think if glass was used the wrench would be prudent in how hard they were shaking it. If that aspect is lost or not understood i hope you use a torque wrench as I would also question other "how hard to..." judgements. Andy

MudPie

I use a glass jar without problems. I do more of a swirling action with the chain in the jar, so solvent tends to wash over the chain. I don't shake the jar, but swirl it as if I was nursing a gin and tonic at the bar trying to appear sophisticated.

JoeTBM 

Instant Coffee jar, 8oz size. Change it out every 2-3 months for a new one. No reason to clean it

Racing Dan

Alternatively, decant used solvent to a different bottle (old vine bottle) and shake it out with a bit of clean solvent. If you let it sit in the wine bottle for a few weeks, all of the gunk will settle to the bottom and you can reuse the solvent. Thats how I do it. Saves me from cleaning the the jar with my hand and saves on solvent.

dedhed

I prefer a sports drink bottle because of the wider mouth than a soda bottle.

KenCarlson

I use Gatorade bottles, and I don't even need to buy the drink in the first place. I just pick up discarded bottles from the roadside.

-Ken

RGMN

Talenti Gelato jars

cyccommute 

Good choice. I’ve had mineral spirits in Gatorade bottles (polyethylene terephthalate) for years without any bad effects. Can be shaken as vigorously as you like and the wide mouth makes chains easy to get out.

sean.hwy

That's really good to know that it can last years. I have tried a few food containers without much luck.

BCRider

Does it work?

A wide mouth glass jar or an old 4 gallon size ice cream bucket and just swishing it around will also agitate the links well enough to aid with working out any grit between the plates. There's really no difference between a good vigorous but non splashing swirling action and putting it onto a container and shaking the snot out of it.

The drink mention also just reminded me of my buddy and his martini shaker. If you insist on a way to shake the snot out of the chain then perhaps a martini shaker might be the solution for you. It's all metal and I don't recall him having any martini on his hands after shaking the innards. Seriously, I think this might be an option. And with the top removed it's a pretty wide open mouth.

As for a settling jar I've got one here with my chain cleaning mixture. I use one of the hook on types with the three brush wheels instead of removing the chain. When left for a week or more the clear solvent is easily poured with a gentle touch into the cleaning gizmo. And then the dirty just used solvent which I collect in a cookie tray below the chain gets poured back into the jar once done.

I used to have a section of roof gutter I used for this which was also used for cleaning my motorcycle chains. But it went somewhere many years ago and I've used the baking sheet since.

sean.hwy

I have been using a funnel and coffee filter to clean the left over mineral spirits. I should probably need to let it settle for a week or more. After a few days it's not settled that much but I want to clean another chain. ha-ha

Today I used a Gatorade bottle. I like the idea of metal drink shaker. It was so cheap I just bought one and will see how that goes. Looks really easy to clean.

thanks everyone for the great ideas.

jccaclimber

No, it will not make you look sophisticated, at least it didn’t work for me .

I keep my solvents in glass jars. After a quick swirl-of-sophistication I put the entire jar, sealed, into a cheap ultrasonic cleaner (which is otherwise full of water) and come back in a while. It seems to work well enough through the glass jar and I don’t have to deal with the solvent evaporating during the cleaning process. Remove the chain before it settles and put the lid back on the jar.

sean.hwy

One of these I am going to move to place that I get ultrasonic cleaner and air compressor.

Outrider1

[QUOTE=KenCarlson;22572146]I use Gatorade bottles, and I don't even need to buy the drink in the first place. I just pick up discarded bottles from the roadside.

I know a guy who does something similar with vodka and a dumpster.

-

easyupbug 

In my industry salvage commercial ultrasonic cleaner after all of that shaking if I put the chain in with the same cleaner of choice in a glass container I get a lot
more cleaning.

Yan 

What's wrong with a plastic Coca Cola bottle? I thought everyone used these.