Chain cleaning how often?

[ducatiz]

Interesting that they state the exact material of the rubber

NBR/HNBR is a nitrile and will have no problem resisting kerosene, wd40 or even gasoline!

Sorry it was Diamond Chains
http://www.diamondchain.co.uk/usr_doc/DC_cycle_chain.pdf

'O-ring chains may be cleaned externally by washing in kerosene. Do not use any other cleaning agent or the O-rings may be damaged. When cleaning O-ring chain, clean only the external areas of the chain. Do not attempt to force kerosene into the pin-bush cavity.'

O-ring seals are usually made of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, which is highly resistant to oil, heat, and abrasion.

The link plates holding the O-rings are under compression. This means greater force is required to articulate the chain, and the transmitted power is decreased. At places where the chain tension is low (such as the return side) the strand will retain the bend. The manufacturing tolerances of the O-rings are generally large, therefore, it is difficult to make the bending resistance of O-ring chain smaller and stable.

The life of O-ring chain is usually determined by the durability of the O-ring. To improve the durability, there should be an oil film on the O-ring at all times. When the oil film between the O-ring and the link plate is gone, the O-ring will wear and deteriorate. Rubber has a "creeping" property, and it tries to make the contacting surface flat. Therefore, it becomes more difficult to get lubricant into the O-ring and maintain the flm. Even though it is a sealed chain, lubrication is required to extend the working life of the O-ring. Cleaning sprays may cause deterioration of the O-rings. Do not allow chains to air dry after washing, or it will rust.

During long-term operation, the O-rings may start to fall off the chain. Then, the elongation at that spot will progress very rapidly. If this occurs, it is time to replace the chain, even if the total chain has not reached the elongation limit (1.5 percent).

[Howie]

Interesting that they state the exact material of the rubber

NBR/HNBR is a nitrile and will have no problem resisting kerosene, wd40 or even gasoline!

Regina recommends kerosene also, but only if too dirty for the chain lube to do the job.  My concern with WD-40 on the chain is the Stoddard Solvent and other solvents.   Good ol' wikipedia seems to think they know the ingredients     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40   Since Stoddard Solvent is paraffin based I doubt it will hurt O rings, but the other ingredients?  I think wiping the chain with WD is probably safe, but soaking it would worry me since WD is considered a penetrating fluid and might get past the O rings.

I usually use chain lube to clean my chain as well as lube it.  A can usually lasts about a year, which is about 15 clean/lubes.  My last chain lasted over 22K miles and was just beginning to show signs of deterioration

[ducatiz]

I've used WD40 for years as a cleaner and Maxima chain wax as a lube.  Works fine for me, but I do an overnight drip after spraying down with wd40 to get it off the chain.

However, lately I have been using a chain lube spray I picked up at home depot to clean instead of the Wd40 (and still using Maxima for final lube).

It's the "Liquid Wrench" brand of chain lube -- and it costs about the same as a large can of WD40.  It seems to float off the dirt fine and I still do the same regimen:  soak the chain, wipe, soak again, let drip overnight, then light spray with Maxima.

Got it at home depot for $3/can.

I figure cleaning with chain lube is the best, I just am too cheap to use the Maxima to clean like Chris does.

[ducatiz]

Regina recommends kerosene also, but only if too dirty for the chain lube to do the job.  My concern with WD-40 on the chain is the Stoddard Solvent and other solvents.   Good ol' wikipedia seems to think they know the ingredients     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40   Since Stoddard Solvent is paraffin based I doubt it will hurt O rings, but the other ingredients?  I think wiping the chain with WD is probably safe, but soaking it would worry me since WD is considered a penetrating fluid and might get past the O rings.

I usually use chain lube to clean my chain as well as lube it.  A can usually lasts about a year, which is about 15 clean/lubes.  My last chain lasted over 22K miles and was just beginning to show signs of deterioration

Any material resistant to kerosene will also resist WD40 or Stoddard Solvent.

Tsubaki specifically says not to use kerosene, but only because it is flammable, and says to use a "moisture displacement spray".. the site used to say to use "WD40" but i guess they changed it.

Whatever you want to use just contact the chain manufacturer and see what they recommend and what their o-rings are made of.  Nitrile is petroleum resistant, so almost any aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarbon (stoddard's solvent for instance) will be fine, as will kerosene. 

There may be other substances in the product, but I think with wd40 that is just mineral oil and LPG, which won't both any kind of rubber.

[Capo]

On an O ring chain, what you are lubricating is the roller and the contact faces of the O ring

[ducatiz]

On an O ring chain, what you are lubricating is the roller and the contact faces of the O ring

correct, you get a gold star