Drilling for water

I am trying to ensure I have taken all possible steps to prevent water ingress into my new frame. I have done all bar step one on the bikeradar page detailing preparing a road bike for winter, http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/prepare-a-road-bike-for-winter-riding-35690/

All drain vent holes are well and truly plugged as is the base of the steerer column but I am hesitant to drill a new frame. I know this was also recommended by Sheldon Brown.

Are there any thoughts on this matter? Should I drill or forget about it?

you need divining rods

Don't drill anything for this reason.

Do you mean it's a bad idea? If so why?

If I don't drill the shell should I remove some plugs from the vent holes to allow water that gets in around the bottom bracket to evaporate?

As with some of the comments on that page, what the fucking fuck?

Plug some holes, drill some new ones...absolutely bonkers!

Ever looked at the bb area of a bike that's used in the rain? It'll likely be minging becuase of all the muck, water and salt thrown up off the front wheel. That's where they want you to drill a hole.

Ever looked at the ends of the tubes beside the dropouts where vent/drain holes tend to be? Probably gonna be relatively clean except for maybe a small trace of where the water that's condensed inside the tubes has run out (out as in it's not inside doing harm anymore). That's what they want you to plug.

I commute every day no matter what the weather's like. My bike has full mudguards at the front and rear and I would say the bb area never gets minging. I suspect the reason the vent holes remain rust free (if they even do) is because they are not at the lowest points and therefore not where water collects.

The idea of a drain hole seems sound to me.

Water doesn't collect at the lowest point if there's a hole there

I agree that's the reason for considering drilling the hole. Vent holes used in manufacture aren't usually at the lowest point.

Alkali are you implying drilling is a sound idea?

It's not so different to this

But you'd want this BB condom

or a sealed BB

What's that frame? A sealed bottom bracket is no problem as it's already sealed.

What's the condom thing (in the picture, before someone explains what a condom is)?

I agree that drilling a hole in your BB is probably bonkers.
Insofar as water gathering in BB area is a problem, you can stop a lot of it by fitting an old inner tube at the top of the seat tube as suggested by a poster in the bikeradar article. Second, most moisture will evaporate through the vent holes, providing you haven't bunged them by following the other piece of poor advice in this article. Third, if you're really bothered about it, remove your BB every two months and give the area a wipe round with an oily rag.
Disdavantages of drilling a hole: it will let loads of water and corrosive salt in. The drilled hole will start to rust very quickly, esp if left untreated (the article makes no mention of eg painting the hole). It will contribute to seizing BB threads much more. If it was such a good idea manufacturers would do it. The only bikes that have it done at the factory are generally fairweather lightweight italian numbers that don't have to cope with uk winter conditions.
It's a shame that bikeradar knock out such poor quality advice, they should know better. At least the posters challenge it.

the size of hole required to let the water out is probably not so big that much could get in through it?

I really wouldn't drill any holes in your frame - corrosion in the interior of the BB shell is generally not a problem; it's difficult for water to get in there in the first place. Chainstays are the worst places for rust, especially the RH one as the paint is battered off by the chain, and grimy salty crap collects in the nooks and crannies around the rear of the BB shell/mudguard bridge area (made worse by the fact that this area is a bit difficult to clean).

Personally I fill the frame up with linseed oil (it coats the inside of the tubes and then dries - back in the day it was used to protect steel aircraft and racing car frames from internal corrosion) - other people use JP Weigle frame-saver, or automotive products such as Waxoyl.

If these products are good enough for car chassis that have significantly more water traps than bikes, and are cleaned considerably less often, then they are good enough for the interior of your frame tubes. Protecting the exterior of the tubes is pretty easy - just wash your bike regularly (or at least hose off the road grime with clean water), and apply a wax if you feel like it (I use an automotive wash-wax).

I have used waxoyl on the inside of the frame tubes and plugged all holes used for venting during welding. I then rode the bike for 2 weeks during which time I was out on two wet days. After this I examined the inside of the bottom bracket shell (which was heavily greased throughout) and found traces of water droplets.

I am confused as to how or why an inner tube over the seat tube would make a big difference. I would have thought the seat post clamp would have prevented a good seal of the seat post-tube interface.

I also think that one of the most likely places for water ingress would be around the bottom bracket adjustable cup on the non-drive side. This is like a sleave over the bottom bracket and can allow water in.

Also being a chemist who works with vacuum systems I know that the vent holes in the frame do not allow enough air exchange to permit drying of the inside of the frame to take place. Once water is in there it will either stay or react with the tubes ie oxidize or rust.

In reply to my earlier post, lots of older steel frames had BB cutouts (that's a Masi I presume). If you have an old style unsealed BB then the better ones come with a sort of plastic sheath that stops grime getting in.

As water = rust, I dont like the idea of holes at all.
Think about it, those drilled BB Housings are just there to allow loads of water to get in and soak your insides to shit.
Unless you clean it and dry it after every wet day, it's a real bad idea to have these on your bike.
So What I do is drill a single 14mm hole and put a grommet into it. Once a week, in the winter season, I open it up and let anything in there drain out, and leave the bike indoors overnight to air, but to be fair, nothing ever comes out.

Horses for courses I suppose, but this is my way and I stand by it.