Silca Wax System

[fogrider]

So, Josh has out done himself! it looks like a cool techie hot pot so this will put dent in the sale of crockpots. And with a built in stand, your coat hangers are safe. And I know in the days of $15K bikes, $100 bucks is not a huge ask, but a similar hot pot can be bought for $20 bucks for waxing. Am I missing something?

[Talrand]

Silca logo adds $80 value.

[Permanent socks]

I bought a silca wax system for my son. The main benefit compared to the crock pot that I've been using for years is the regulation of temperature.

Silca wax requires precise temp control. A crock pot isn't capable of that, either not getting the wax warm enough or more likely burning it from too much heat.

Similar to waxing skis if the wax smokes it's cooked. Using the silca pot i immediately noticed that there is less smell, meaning I was over heating my wax with a crock pot.

Seemed like a small price to pay for not ruiing $60cad worth of wax.

[marciero]

I "researched" options on this. There seem to be several broad categories of wax melting devices. You have crock pots or similar, wax pots for hair removal, medical device (forget what those did exactly), and for candle making. I guess the Silka unit would be a new category- made expressly for bike chains. Before Silca introduced their own unit, Josh raved about this instapot- for cooking as well as bike chains. It was still like $90 at my local Walmart. Way too many bells and whistles.

I settled on this pot for candle making. It had the right combo of capacity- not too big or too small - temp control, and price.

[blakcloud]

Someone posted something similar on an Instagram post and Josh responded. He said something like, though the outside is indeed the same as it is a cost consideration move, the internals were not. Better switching units and thermostat. Don't quote me on this but it was something along these lines.

[AngryScientist]

It just makes sense that they would offer a dedicated melter device.

You have to imagine the light bulb that went off in the marketeering war room:

"Dude, we're selling high zoot wax to guys who are melting it in $20 garage sale crock pots...."

An obvious opportunity.

[andrew+]

I just bought a $25 wax heater intended for hair removal and the Silca unit. The Silca's wax pot is slightly larger and the heating system does seem faster and more accurate. The chain hanging stand is also super helpful. I kept the Silca.

[fogrider]

Originally Posted by andrew+

I just bought a $25 wax heater intended for hair removal and the Silca unit. The Silca's wax pot is slightly larger and the heating system does seem faster and more accurate. The chain hanging stand is also super helpful. I kept the Silca.

I'm sure the Silca unit is premium, but for 20 bucks, I'm thinking it should be fine. I need it for the strip chip which needs it heated up to 125C, just heating the wax requires 75C. I've been using the Silca drip wax and it's been good so I'm not planning on full dipping often.

[Josh_W]

About a week before Silca announced their new setup, I bought a $20 wax pot and made a dipper out of a coat hanger.

Those Amazon wax pots are all so small that you can just barely get the chain in there, and it's extra hard to do so when the chain is strung on the stiff hanger. I have to plan ahead and count the number of links on each loop of chain as I thread them onto the hanger, and bend the hanger to get everything to fold and twist enough to submerge in the wax. And I don't know I've done it wrong until I dunk the chain and find I can't get the whole thing in (that's what SHE said). Then when I pull the chain out I struggle to get it hung so that it drips back into the pot instead of all over the sides of it and whatever it is sitting on.

I'm absolutely going to pick up a Silca before I do the chains for next season. Yes, I could Radio sHack a crock pot into compliance, but more likely it would sit on the workbench with the other 50 unfinished projects while my chains go un-lubed.

[jadmt]

$15 crockpot from Target and a sharpie....

[kppolich]

I've been running CeramicSpeed UFO Drip for the last 2 years.
1 bottle is $49 and has lasted me almost 8,000 road, off-road, and MTB miles.

90% of the benefits without the extra equipment, no need to remove the chain, or have multiple chains.

[rice rocket]

What changed in paraffin wax in the last 40 years that requires a special crockpot now?


Oh right, nothing. Except the marketing.

[bshell]

Pot. Stove top. Fin.

[bshell]

Originally Posted by bshell

Pot. Stove top. Fin.

allow me to quote myself, ahahhahaha.

[BdaGhisallo]

Originally Posted by Josh_W

Those Amazon wax pots are all so small that you can just barely get the chain in there, and it's extra hard to do so when the chain is strung on the stiff hanger.

Just get a cheap 3 liter slow cooker. The 1.5L ones are tight but you'll have no problem with the 3L. And it'll be a heck of a lot cheaper than the Silca pot.