New Silca Stripchip

[unterhausen]

The problems with Prop 65 are well known. I'm not sure why there hasn't been another prop to fix it given how the warnings are totally worthless. I'm sure grease is bad to eat in large quantities or smoke. I would go by what the SDS says, not prop 65 warnings.

I expect I'm at least mildly allergic to nickel, since we used to braze with nickel silver at Trek. You can develop a sensitivity. It seems like turning it into smoke at 1900F is probably worse than whatever Silca is doing to it.

[sjbraun]

Josh mentions that SIlca wax degrades at 175 degrees. Just to see what temp Silca wax would reach in my crockpot, I cranked it up and let it sit for an hour. My laser thermometer read 330 degrees, so I wonder if I've trashed my wax.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by sjbraun

Josh mentions that SIlca wax degrades at 175 degrees. Just to see what temp Silca wax would reach in my crockpot, I cranked it up and let it sit for an hour. My laser thermometer read 330 degrees, so I wonder if I've trashed my wax.

I assume you are talking °C?

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

I bought the melter and the strip chip. I’m voting for Silca’s success with my dollars and generally just need the easy-button to fully commit to waxing. Will follow up here w results down the line..

Too bad that Silca melter didn't incorporate an agitator/stirrer to keep the WS2 in suspension instead of having to swish the chain around. Maybe Rev 2 will have that and you'll have to upgrade. :-)

[bshell]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

...might actually make a difference in the cycling experience, but all this song and dance associated with lubing a chain?

Yes.

[Mikej]

Originally Posted by MikeD

I assume you are talking °C?

F, 330 C would melt the pot through the table

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

I bought the melter and the strip chip. I’m voting for Silca’s success with my dollars and generally just need the easy-button to fully commit to waxing. Will follow up here w results down the line..

Like

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by Mikej

F, 330 C would melt the pot through the table

Then, the wax won't degrade at 175F. So maybe that's °C and the 330 is °F?

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Like

I did a new thing. Paid retail to the manufacturer and didn’t even hunt a better deal. It felt kinda good.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Too bad that Silca melter didn't incorporate an agitator/stirrer to keep the WS2 in suspension instead of having to swish the chain around. Maybe Rev 2 will have that and you'll have to upgrade. :-)

Should it rotate with or against the coriolis force? What if you cross the equator? Have I already gone to Stripchip 3.0?

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

I did a new thing. Paid retail to the manufacturer and didn’t even hunt a better deal. It felt kinda good.

This message is brought to you by the makers and supporters of the chain waxing industrial complex.

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[Likes2ridefar]

For those that want to support Silca but aren’t keen on all the cleaners and devices might I suggest for $25 their synergetic drip lube. I agree with their summary of the product. Ideally you need microfiber towels for a wipe down post ride the first few rides but then it’s a relatively clean drivetrain in my experience in dusty arizona that lasts a long time between applications. It’s definitely a lot less overall effort and cost compared to wax.

The fastest and possibly quietest oil-based chain lube available today. If you want a quiet and efficient ride without the detailed cleaning of wax, Synergetic is the perfect choice.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

For those that want to support Silca but aren’t keen on all the cleaners and devices might I suggest for $25 their synergetic drip lube. I agree with their summary of the product. Ideally you need microfiber towels for a wipe down post ride the first few rides but then it’s a relatively clean drivetrain in my experience in dusty arizona that lasts a long time between applications. It’s definitely a lot less overall effort and cost compared to wax.

The fastest and possibly quietest oil-based chain lube available today. If you want a quiet and efficient ride without the detailed cleaning of wax, Synergetic is the perfect choice.

It's a very good product indeed and I run it on my commuter/gravel bike.

My Emonda is still bathed in waxy goodness.

[Mikej]

Try the Rex Black Diamond drip if you want easy. It does take an initial chain strip, but it outlasts 5x a hot wax job. It is considered drip wax.

https://zerofrictioncycling.com.au/w...-review-v4.pdf

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by MikeD

The video says to heat the wax to 125°C then put in the StripChip. ZFC warns that heating the wax too high damages the wax. This is too high by ZFCs definition. Also, I wonder if my small Crockpot can get to that high of a temperature.

I found an answer to this question on the YouTube video:

The base wax doesn't begin to damage until around 150C, which is the 'High' temp on most crockpots, so be very careful. The ideal reaction temperature for StripChip is 120-130C and as long as you're in that range, you will get the reaction to convert the oil, AND won't be doing any damage. We are saying no more than 6 chain strippings per 500gm bag of wax. We've seen no degradation in performance at that level, but there has to be some tipping point where having the percentage of StripChip and oleogelated oil will have an effect. In total you should expect 70-80 waxings per bag of wax+StripChip

Seems like a Crockpot isn't a good tool for the ZipChip, because of poor temperature control. Keeping the wax in the range of 120-130C would be hard to do.