New Huntmaster or Outfitter?

[crossbowme]

Thanks for the advice. What lube do you use for cold weather (supposed to be -10F here by the weekend)?

[john swenson]

i have exposed chains on my max 2 6x6 and have been using ''blaster'' brand chain and cable lube with good results. it has the teflon polymers in it. sold at auto parts and walmarts, etc. j.b.

[Coast2Coast]

Don't get worked up over lubing chains. Our chains are in a closed environment and generally not exposed to mud and water. Motorcycle chains are exposed and last from 10 to 15 thousand miles on a street bike and a hell of a long time on dirt bikes that go through mud and sand.

The only problem with that comparison is that motorcycles and dirt bikes use expensive x-ring chains that are fully sealed from the elements on the wearing parts. An unsealed chain lasts me 10 hours on my motocross bike and I religiously clean and attempt to get lube back into it every hour or so. An x-ring chain can last over 100 hours and then I replace them just because they're ugly, but they still have room to wear. With unsealed chains dirt gets down inside the bushings where you can't clean it, then it's hard to get lube to work its way into the inside of the bushings and stay there for any significant amount of time. Pretty much like rubbing sand paper or lapping compound on all the wearing surfaces continuously. Old motorcycles had crap chains but ran in sealed cases in an oil bath. They lasted virtually forever. I believe that the more oil washes over a non sealed chain the more it will clean the junk out and keep it lubed and the longer it will last. Oil in the chain wells is a non issue to me, it just gets cleaned out with the rest of the leaves grass seeds and junk when I clean it. In case you can't tell, I am pro auto-lube lol.

[Coast2Coast]

Thanks for the advice. What lube do you use for cold weather (supposed to be -10F here by the weekend)?

I've been using Motul C3 chain lube on one machine and a rust cure 3000 product on the other. The rust cure is 1000 times messier than the C3 as it flings off, and the way it comes out of the can it applies a lot more than the C3 can does. Not sure it matters which lube you use as much as how well you can keep the chain clean. When they get some crud on them I clean and brush them with a ton of WD40 and a grunge brush for motorcycle chains, it's a brush that cleans the chains on 3 sides at once. Then wipe off excess with a rag, wait a day in the garage for stuff to drip and dry out, sometimes I even get meticulous and air blast the chain off after, then apply the lube.