MileHi Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I use kerosene as a solvent....not as a lubricant. I'm unsure if the kerosene would degrade the rubber seals in the chain, but I wouldn't make an effort to find out...nor would I try to see if it would slip past the rings and denature the lubricant behind the seal. Wipe your chain off if you must, but don't try to REMOVE lubricant from it. Joe's right on here. I've used kerosene to clean my chain once too, and the o-rings started to go. I started to notice a red dust-like substance all over the rear of my bike when my o-rings were going. Check your rear rim for a light coating of this red dust, looks like it might have come from grinding bricks, a sure sign your o-rings are in bad shape. I'm not sure all o-rings are the same so YMMV. But one thing I was told to check before using any cleaning agents on the chain was to test it first. Either soak a couple of links that you took off the chain when you originally installed it, or just go pick up some o-rings and soak them in your test solution. Again, not sure if all o-rings are made equal, but my guess is they probably are. Jay Interesting... Both DID and EK recommend kerosene as the prefered cleaning solvent. I think that is "secret" to cleaning with kerosene is NOT to scrub the hell out of it. I've usually just taken a rag soaked in it and run the chain through the rag... Followed witha dry rag wipe down and liberally lube the chain with motor oil and another wipe down with a clean rag. No rust or deteriorating O-rings. Moderation is the key... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblackbird2000 Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I use kerosene as a solvent....not as a lubricant. I'm unsure if the kerosene would degrade the rubber seals in the chain, but I wouldn't make an effort to find out...nor would I try to see if it would slip past the rings and denature the lubricant behind the seal. Wipe your chain off if you must, but don't try to REMOVE lubricant from it. Joe's right on here. I've used kerosene to clean my chain once too, and the o-rings started to go. I started to notice a red dust-like substance all over the rear of my bike when my o-rings were going. Check your rear rim for a light coating of this red dust, looks like it might have come from grinding bricks, a sure sign your o-rings are in bad shape. I'm not sure all o-rings are the same so YMMV. But one thing I was told to check before using any cleaning agents on the chain was to test it first. Either soak a couple of links that you took off the chain when you originally installed it, or just go pick up some o-rings and soak them in your test solution. Again, not sure if all o-rings are made equal, but my guess is they probably are. Jay Interesting... Both DID and EK recommend kerosene as the prefered cleaning solvent. I think that is "secret" to cleaning with kerosene is NOT to scrub the hell out of it. I've usually just taken a rag soaked in it and run the chain through the rag... Followed witha dry rag wipe down and liberally lube the chain with motor oil and another wipe down with a clean rag. No rust or deteriorating O-rings. Moderation is the key... Maybe moderation is the key. When I cleaned it, I used a wire brush dipped in kerosene, and the kerosene probably stayed on the chain for close to 15 minutes before hosing it down with water (i know, kerosene isnt' water soluable, but I was trying to use hose pressure to remove it) before oiling it. Maybe my O-rings were just about to give way regardless of the kereosene cleaning, or maybe I did let it penetrate the o-rings too long. Either way, i'm going to stay clear of it. I've decided I'm just not going to clean my chain anymore , and probably jump on the Pro-oiler group buy. Thanks for the moderation suggestion though. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Maybe moderation is the key. When I cleaned it, I used a wire brush dipped in kerosene, and the kerosene probably stayed on the chain for close to 15 minutes before hosing it down with water (i know, kerosene isnt' water soluable, but I was trying to use hose pressure to remove it) before oiling it. Maybe my O-rings were just about to give way regardless of the kereosene cleaning, or maybe I did let it penetrate the o-rings too long. Either way, i'm going to stay clear of it. I've decided I'm just not going to clean my chain anymore , and probably jump on the Pro-oiler group buy. Thanks for the moderation suggestion though. Jay Um... I'm guessing it was the wire brush!! It says in the manual SPECIFICALLY not to use a wire brush, but a plastic brush, because the metal wire brushes tear up the O-rings! I even dipped mine in kerosene the one time I cleaned it (at maybe 12k miles) and used a plastic "dishes" brush, and it was fine when I changed it at ~23k miles... It even still had pretty white grease in it! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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