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Would you recommend buying an ultrasonic degreaser then? I've always done my initial (new) chain cleanings with a brush, repeated dunkings in solvent(s) and ultimately, dumping them some molten paraffin wax, which always flushes out some remaining grease in there;
Yeah, I like it because I don't want to have to be there working on this stuff - busy hippy is busy breaking something else. I can just run the US cleaner while I do other stuff then rinse/wipe clean the parts when its done.
Good idea keeping an old and new wax block.
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kilo of wax
Nah, I broke the kilo block I had into 4 pieces and only use one at a time.
250g of wax easily covers a chain. Also I split that 250g into smaller pieces the first time to speed up melting.I guess If I was doing a batch of chains I'd add some more.
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hippy
@adam1986
I've been waxing my chains for over two years now and have no intentions of going back to lube; as you've found it's a bit of hassle getting started, buying equipment, degreasing chains etc etc but once you get yourself set up and into the swing of it, it's fantastic.
My motivations were very similar to yours', keeping the drivetrain cleaner and reportedly with the added benefit of better efficiency. Anecdotally I would have said that in my experience the lifespan of the chains was a little bit worse, so I was surprised by the data in the CyclingTips link you posted, but perhaps I've been trying to eke out too many miles between waxings.
Would you recommend buying an ultrasonic degreaser then? I've always done my initial (new) chain cleanings with a brush, repeated dunkings in solvent(s) and ultimately, dumping them some molten paraffin wax, which always flushes out some remaining grease in there; I usually use some old wax for this first run and then switch it out for some fresh stuff for all the subsequent waxings.
For actually waxing the chains, I used to just use an old camping mess tin on the hob, but this year I splashed out on the same Breville mini-slow cooker that you posted; takes a good kilo of wax to fill it up and as such, takes a good hour to melt down each time, but keeps things nice and contained and doesn't feel quite so sketchy as having a big dish of molten paraffin above an open flame! I have 4 chains on the go at the moment and just wait until they all need re-waxing and do a whole batch at once; I just give them a quick wipe down with a clean rag to remove any dust/dirt and chuck them straight back in the molten wax; and also give the cassette/derailleurs a wipe down of all the accumulated wax flakes at the same time because it does build up.
Finally, I've tried both with and without the PTFE and MoS2 additives; I'd take it or leave it to be honest. It might be saving you a couple of Watts, but they both sink to the bottom of the molten wax, so I'm always a bit worried that they're mixed in with any grit and dirt that might make its way in there and as you swish it around to mix up the additives, your also mixing in all that (potential) grit. The MoS2 does give it the wax a bit of a grey tint, but it doesn't really "stain" anything, if anything it makes it a bit easier to spot the wax flakes that accumulate around your cassette/jockey wheels/cogs.
Good luck with your waxing experiments!