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Unchained Malady

I've acquired a deep fat fryer with a thermostat (range 0-190C) - this seems an obvious solution for heating my Putoline chain wax & pampering my drive chain (it's even got a little basket!).Using this would save precariously balancing  the enormous 1kg tin on my camping gas stove & hovering with one hand on a fire extinguisher whilst it smokes & the chain relaxes.

Has anybody else tried this?

Unfortunately the Putoline tin does not give the required temperature for optimum penetration, does anybody know what this might be?

Cheers, Mike

 

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9 out of 10 for the thread title. I guess you have to be of a certain age to get where it comes from?

I can't see anything wrong with using the fat fryer for chain wax. The lifting basket just makes it a de luxe job.

I still have a vintage tin of original Linklyfe which always used to keep my chains in beautiful condition if dunked every 1000 miles... Looking forward to digging it out again when the Commando hits the road as it's no good for the O-ring chains I currently use.

I always used to use a little meths burner which was quite stable and contained just the right amount of meths to melt the solid grease. A strategically placed hook in the ceiling served to suspend the hot chain over the grease tin to drip back into.

I don't think an ideal temperature exists? All you need to do is get the wax molten and then remove the heat....Simples. Remove the chain before the wax starts to re-set.

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I've used one for years, but be careful as they heat very quickly and stay warm which means that they can be smoking before you realise.

I watch the grease carefully and unplug it as soon as the chain starts to sink as it will continue melting.  I still use the old bent coathanger system to extract as it provides a means to hang the chain up while it cools. The basket simply makes things messier.

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Do not for any reason lift the hot tin of grease with the supplied handle, its most unstable and will make an unholy mess. Divorce may follow.Thread a bit of wire through the doubled end of the chain before you start and have a hook/nail ready to hang from. Allow plenty of cooling time before attempting to move the tin. All advice from painfull experience!.

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Bring the heat up slowly, as the extreme heat of the element can boil and burn the surrounding grease while the outer layers are still cold.

 


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