cleaning the gunk...

[Patar]

As it stands I have a bottle of methanol and no kerosene...
Can methanol be used instead of kerosene to clean the chain gunk?

[Conquiztador]

As it stands I have a bottle of methanol and no kerosene...
Can methanol be used instead of kerosene to clean the chain gunk?

Use petrol

[vifferman]

"chain gunk"?!?
I think you mean chain spooge. :yes:

If you're cleaning it off things other than the chain, use petrol, chorosulphonic acid, a flamethrower, or whatever the heck you like. However, it's better to clean the chain using kerosene, as it leaves an oily residue, so it's not leaving the chain dry and squeaky.

Have you noticed, that now that the oil companies no longer have drums of kero at the service stations and oil/kero taps on the forecourt (like they did in back the good old/bad old days when dinosaurs roamed the earth so you could harvest their spooge for petroleum distillates, so benzina was only 40 cents a galleon), they sell the kerosene, ethanol (for making into meths), turps, etc to Andrews or whoever, and we have to pay about $8/litre for the stuff! Even though the higher grade kero is sold to airlines (at a huge profit) for around a tenth of that.

The price of progress....

Ooh - and while I'm in MindlessRantingMode, it's a real piss-off that the number of car-related stuff sold at 'service' stations diminishes almost daily. I needed an indicator bulb last week, and had to go to three (3!) service stations before I found one that sold such esoteric things as "bits for your car". And even then, the bulbs I bought were not the right ones, just the nearest thing they had.

[bungbung]

we have to pay about $8/litre for the stuff!

Diesel, $1.18/l close enough

[Blackbird]

Avoid methanol like the plague, especially getting it on your skin. It is easily absorbed and lodges in your renal system for a long time. When I used to drag race, a fellow competitor ended up in hospital with methanol poisoning through using it to clean engine components. I've attached an MSDS sheet to be absolutely anal about it. It's your health!

[SVboy]

I back up blackbird-Methanol is bad shit-absorbed easily through the skin-and repiratory system, with nasty cumulative effects on the body. Use in a ventilated space, with rubber gloves-not for cleaning chains!

[Conquiztador]

Avoid methanol like the plague, especially getting it on your skin. It is easily absorbed and lodges in your renal system for a long time. When I used to drag race, a fellow competitor ended up in hospital with methanol poisoning through using it to clean engine components. I've attached an MSDS sheet to be absolutely anal about it. It's your health!

I bet that he is talking about Meths...

[Patar]

I bet that he is talking about Meths...

Nope, methanol, the stuff that's nasty as hell.

I'll just go ahead and use some petrol as I'm not sure where to buy the kerosene from...

[Conquiztador]

Nope, methanol, the stuff that's nasty as hell.

I'll just go ahead and use some petrol as I'm not sure where to buy the kerosene from...

Ok. Yep. petrol will do. Long as you grease the chain afterwards. But you could always go to the closest petrol station and buy a litre or two of disel. That stuff is better.