Chain waxing is amazing and I do it every 400-500 miles. I clean the chain with a degreaser, scrub, and back into the crockpot of Silca wax. I’m able to get things looking pretty good, but wonder how much an ultrasonic cleaner might help to get my chains that much cleaner.
Anyone dip their chain in the ultrasonic cleaner? How’s it working out?
by Kinky_Wizard69
10 Comments
Yes. Been using one for about 15 years now. They work great to degrease parts.
I have heard of people using them to wax chains, but I’m not on the waxing bandwagon.
You clean your chain every 400-500 miles? Thats a hard pass from this fellow waxer. I rub down and wash dirt off and top up with drip on wax. I do want an ultrasonic cleaner though.
I use small and cheap ultrasonic cleaner with a 50/50 mix of hot water and simple green. Works fantastic especially for the dry fine dust that builds up in the nooks from mountain biking. Combine it with regular cleaning of cassettes, derailleurs, & chain rings for quiet riding and longer part life. I don’t wax but I tend to use dry wax lubes like Squirt. I’ll rinse and hang dry for a few hours before remounting. Road chains can go very long between cleaning.
I have one. Its amazing. It really speeds things up, and you can be confident your chain is properly degreased.
I have one and wax. I love it. I use it with simple green extreme. It is rated for aircraft cleaning under a certain concentration and does better preventing hydrogen embrittlement. I had issues with a couple of chains breaking in a row so I stopped using regular simple green (although it might not have anything to do with it).
With wax, I have heard you can put a chain in boiling water and it will clean it. Never tried though.
I just bought one. I got a larger unit that is more square shape. 11×12 or something like that.
It’s pretty awesome. I used it to clean everything and switch to waxing my chain.
I got one a while back, to use for cleaning brazing flux and also degreasing drivetrains. It’s not as effective for degreasing as I hoped, even with hot water and simple green. Maybe I need to up my concentration, or try another solvent..
I use ultrasonic to do the initial cleaning. After it’s waxed I don’t bother. Too much effort. Just wipe it off and throw it back into the wax.
I have the bigger version of this one. It’s amazing. Get it. Make sure to get some sort of mesh for smaller parts though. Lots of small bits will fall through the basket
Why do you clean the chain with degreaser after it’s already been waxed? Silca clearly states that you can just throw it back into the wax or if it’s really dirty put it in boiling water…. Aside from the initial cleaning there is no degreaser etc needed for waxed chains… that’s the best part.