Rust advice

rflynnr

One of my bikes is long, so long (3 metres) in fact that it won't fit in my shed. I've built an enclosure for it which works for security purposes and, in theory should keep it dry (i.e puts a roof and a tarpaulin surround over/around it). However it's not completely watertight and I'm experiencing ongoing rust issues: I replaced the chains (it's a triplet so has three sets of chains) perhaps 6 weeks ago and the new ones are already showing signs of rust. Any advice on how I might prevent further deterioration? FWIW, I have lubed the chains pretty well but perhaps I need to do it more often, as in, weekly?

Seaneh

rflynnr wrote: »

One of my bikes is long, so long (3 metres) in fact that it won't fit in my shed. I've built an enclosure for it which works for security purposes and, in theory should keep it dry (i.e puts a roof and a tarpaulin surround over/around it). However it's not completely watertight and I'm experiencing ongoing rust issues: I replaced the chains (it's a triplet so has three sets of chains) perhaps 6 weeks ago and the new ones are already showing signs of rust. Any advice on how I might prevent further deterioration? FWIW, I have lubed the chains pretty well but perhaps I need to do it more often, as in, weekly?

Clean and lube the chains once a week.

Buy either chain and drive train cleaning brushes or a chain cleaner and sproket brush, some degreaser and some good wet lube.

DirkVoodoo

I think I read somewhere (here?) that putting a tarpaulin over your bike will just make the rust situation worse.

Darkglasses

Weekly lubing would definitely help. Consider a lube that has teflon, that must be good for rust-protection!

Would love to see a pic of it by the way!

denbatt

Darkglasses wrote: »

Weekly lubing would definitely help. Consider a lube that has teflon, that must be good for rust-protection!

Would love to see a pic of it by the way!

+1 on the pic.

rflynnr

Darkglasses wrote: »

Weekly lubing would definitely help. Consider a lube that has teflon, that must be good for rust-protection!

Would love to see a pic of it by the way!

Right - will get lubed up, so to speak (an research the tarpaulin issue). Give me a couple of hours on the picc...

cdaly_

I've seen it in action. Very cool (even with only one driver on board...).

wotdef

You could also try a wax based lube. Try the motorcycle ones, better value tham bike specific one. Come in aerosol and have to be sprayed on about 12 hours before use.

GreeBo

Covering it in a tarp will just mean that it stays wet...by all means shelter it with a tarp, but you want the wind the get at it to dry it...

kenmc

bigger shed.

Lumen

Nickel/stainless chains.

http://www.connexchain.com/Bicycle-chains/10-Speed/1_326.html

rflynnr

GreeBo wrote: »

Covering it in a tarp will just mean that it stays wet...by all means shelter it with a tarp, but you want the wind the get at it to dry it...

I've given the wrong impression here. The bike lives inside a cuboid wooden frame over which a tarp is hung but the tarp never touches the bike. The roof is corrugated perspex so in theory the rain can't get at the bike at all and yet...rust, the endless rust.

I may go down Lumen's route though - provided I can find a Wipperman in 3/32 with sufficient number of links.

(Actually, I'm being stupid here: I could just buy three chains which would give me enough for the two connecting chains.)

rflynnr

Btw, in response to popular demand, here's a pic of the offending vehicle.

Crow92

I've seen it all :O

Is it the moisture in the air that's causing it to rust? Droplets sticking to the chain? If it's a wooden box then could you do something more to completely seal it up?

Or even the fact it can get wet and doesn't dry out like it would with heat indoors?

route66

rflynnr wrote: »

Btw, in response to popular demand, here's a pic of the offending vehicle.

Ah, a triplet - now I understand; I thought you meant triple

rflynnr

Crow92 wrote: »

I've seen it all :O

Is it the moisture in the air that's causing it to rust? Droplets sticking to the chain? If it's a wooden box then could you do something more to completely seal it up?

Or even the fact it can get wet and doesn't dry out like it would with heat indoors?

I dunno - I'm genuinely puzzled. The other bikes live in the shed and they're fine but it's not as if the shed is heated (or even particularly airtight).

doozerie

I'd guess that water is condensing on the bike and causing the damage i.e. warm air falling on the cold surfaces of the bike. That issue tends to plague metal tools and machinery that people store in sheds and garages. Mind you, if that is the cause then you'd expect the same problem to affect your other bikes, and other metal objects, in the same shed to some extent or another - maybe the triplet, being larger, is colder and more prone to the problem, or something.

As to how to deal with condensation, it's a balance of a number of things:
* Insulation, to keep the air inside the shed from cooling enough to condense.
* A heater inside the shed to keep the air from cooling enough to condense.
* Seal the shed to keep cold air out.
* Ventilate the shed to let warm air escape before it condenses.
* Remove any sources of water, such as wet clothes, wet bikes, etc.
* A dehumidifier, to remove excess moisture inside the shed.

Some of those things are mutually exclusive to a certain extent (e.g. seal and ventilate), and all in all it can be a very difficult balance to get right. In a shed though you could adopt a more extreme approach than you could with, say, a room inside a house. So you could leave the shed door wide open, for example, as a form of ventilation and see if that does anything to help.

There is a lot of information available online on how to deal with the problem of condensation and sheds and garages tend to feature prominently. You'd think that with such a wealth of information that a good and easy solution would be readily available, but unfortunately not, it always seems to come down to achieving the right balance of things for your specific circumstances.

In our case, we get condensation inside our house, but none (of note) in our block-built shed with concrete roof. We may just have to decamp to the shed (and stop breathing out moisture-filled air)!

Lumen

Here's an idea: bolt some zinc to some part of your drivetrain.

Don't they do something like this with boats?

GreeBo

rflynnr wrote: »

I've given the wrong impression here. The bike lives inside a cuboid wooden frame over which a tarp is hung but the tarp never touches the bike. The roof is corrugated perspex so in theory the rain can't get at the bike at all and yet...rust, the endless rust.

I may go down Lumen's route though - provided I can find a Wipperman in 3/32 with sufficient number of links.

(Actually, I'm being stupid here: I could just buy three chains which would give me enough for the two connecting chains.)

So if you are putting the bike back wet its just "festering" in its own wet...if its completely enclosed the box will have high humidity.
Can you raise the box off the ground or punch a few holes around the bottom to let in some airflow?

also, I dont get why you have a perspex roof and the tarp?

kenmc

Lumen wrote: »

Here's an idea: bolt some zinc to some part of your drivetrain.

Don't they do something like this with boats?

Think you'd need to introduce salt to the equation also.
they only do this with boats in seawater, not freshwater.