# Log chain



## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

I keep a 20' length of log chain in the pickup box. Its in an ammo box. What can I spray or coat it with so its not a mess when I pull it out? No, I don't put it in wet as best can be. But without having oils leaking or wetting the tool box, what do you use? Granted, in the season there will be some moisture if I have to use it. And I try to dry it out. But how do you protect your invaluable chains?


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

I don’t. They seem to last forever no matter what they look like.


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## coolrunnin (Aug 28, 2010)

Unless you have flaking rust I would not worry, surface rust isn't a problem.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

OK guys, I get it. I was thinking of painting them pink and putting a few condoms in there so if someone raided the tool box they might think twice. OTOH, I'm not that far from Portland....


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## RJ2019 (Aug 27, 2019)

JRHill02 said:


> OK guys, I get it. I was thinking of painting them pink and putting a few condoms in there so if someone raided the tool box they might think twice. OTOH, I'm not that far from Portland....


What a fun idea! You should do it.


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## Montanarchist (Feb 24, 2005)

Keep them in a cloth bag with a little bit of fine sand.


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## Snowfan (Nov 6, 2011)

I don't see a problem but have you considered a strap instead?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Are you keeping something UNDER the log chain that you 1) don’t want folks to know about and 2) you want to protect from rust dust?


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

JRHill02 said:


> OK guys, I get it. I was thinking of painting them pink and putting a few condoms in there so if someone raided the tool box they might think twice. OTOH, I'm not that far from Portland....


I think pink is a great color for those chains. I recently rattle canned several new chains Kubota Orange so I could find where I left them. When I got tired of my old chains leaving my hands rusty I painted them black.


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## doc- (Jun 26, 2015)

GTX63 said:


> I think pink is a great color for those chains. I recently rattle canned several new chains Kubota Orange so I could find where I left them. When I got tired of my old chains leaving my hands rusty I painted them black.


Don't black hands still show the rust?


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Didn't we discuss this in the thread referring to "they" and "them"?


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

I spray then down with WD-40. I use chains to secure heavy loads, say a vehicle or a tractor. And I have one on my tractor that I skid logs with. When not in use or being carried around in my truck, I hang them on the side of my shipping container/saddle barn. They get wet when it rains, but they dry quickly, and never set in water. When they start to look rusty, I drag them behind my truck, down about ten miles of dirt road.


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## robin416 (Dec 29, 2019)

I like that idea about painting them orange. It would color coordinate with my tractor. But would be easier to find if I ever happened to leave it laying in the vegetation. Which so far, I haven't done.


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## 012345 (6 mo ago)

Anything you put on it will make it messy. But, WoolWax will coat it nicely and you can wipe off as much as possible and it would still leave a protective coat. I spray the underside of my truck with it just before winter for salt protection.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

012345 said:


> Anything you put on it will make it messy. But, WoolWax will coat it nicely and you can wipe off as much as possible and it would still leave a protective coat. I spray the underside of my truck with it just before winter for salt protection.


Same here. My truck has no rust, and it’s 12 years old. That’s saying a lot for a Wisconsin vehicle.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

Montanarchist said:


> Keep them in a cloth bag with a little bit of fine sand.


I like that idea. A few weeks ago I was heading to town and a large old ppine snag had fallen across the trail on, of course, the BIA land. The DW and I knew it was going to happen. It was hung up in an oak and obvious that if it got lose it would cross the road. But there are non resident land owners who use this lower part to access their parcels who never do any maintenance and actually the opposite - like running in 2WD and spinning wheels all over the trail, throwing stones that have made up the trail bed for 60+ years and probably much longer. I had a 20' plastic with loops on each end in the tool box but the hitch is in the back. No I'm not going to back up 600 yards to turn around and back down. So I went home and we both chuckled. BTW, I usually have the electric saw I bought this year in the tool box for just this purpose but I had been using it to dice up small stuff for this winter. Long story short, SOME one came through with a saw and cut it. Not sure when....

A few thoughts:

plastic stuff is great if you keep it out of the sun and its fresh. And you have the appropriate link to connect it to your rig after looping it around the fallen obstacle. My pickup has those massive loops in the front that the threaded link won't fit and getting the other end captured is a PITB.
plastic, sigh. Try as you might to protect it, it will get damaged - usually abrasion. When it snaps you don't want to be around. The only thing better is steel cable as it is stronger but if IT snaps it is the worse of the worst disaster.
log chains (quality). Best of the best. Dirty, ugly nasty things. So this was my question. The winner is the bag with some sand. And clean the chain by dragging it down the road for a ways. But know this: I have dragged logs. Stone and rock can really screw up a chain, sawing and wearing on links. And a plastic strap, that's just burn pile stuff.

Never use a frayed plastic strap. Never rely on a chain that has even ONE damaged link.

If I had the chain the snag was a non issue.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

JRHill02 said:


> I like that idea. A few weeks ago I was heading to town and a large old ppine snag had fallen across the trail on, of course, the BIA land. The DW and I knew it was going to happen. It was hung up in an oak and obvious that if it got lose it would cross the road. But there are non resident land owners who use this lower part to access their parcels who never do any maintenance and actually the opposite - like running in 2WD and spinning wheels all over the trail, throwing stones that have made up the trail bed for 60+ years and probably much longer. I had a 20' plastic with loops on each end in the tool box but the hitch is in the back. No I'm not going to back up 600 yards to turn around and back down. So I went home and we both chuckled. BTW, I usually have the electric saw I bought this year in the tool box for just this purpose but I had been using it to dice up small stuff for this winter. Long story short, SOME one came through with a saw and cut it. Not sure when....
> 
> A few thoughts:
> 
> ...


I drag logs and trees with a chain, I pull stuck vehicles with a nylon strap. And I keep both in my truck.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

muleskinner2 said:


> I drag logs and trees with a chain, I pull stuck vehicles with a nylon strap. And I keep both in my truck.


Same here. I keep a couple heavy tow straps in my bed. A lot easier on the car I’m pulling out, especially if I have to give it a jerk. With the lightweight cars these days I’m always afraid I’m going to screw something up on their vehicle as it is, I figure a strap has a little “give” to it. Sure was nice when cars actually had frames under them. I rarely even use my winch for stuck vehicles.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

muleskinner2 said:


> I drag logs and trees with a chain, I pull stuck vehicles with a nylon strap. And I keep both in my truck.


You would be a good neighbor if you were here full time. But most of our neighbors are non res Portlanders. And Oh boy, its save Bambi season from hunters. And the beginning of Modern Rifle. Soon to follow Bow. We stay home, mostly. Stupefied people from the night before with big rifles before daybreak come out in Orange and not knowing there they are, if they could wake up and see straight, they might get something. If they were on the land of their permission. And so it happens, year after year.

Oh. This is about chains and straps. Sorry.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Bad hunters could be a whole other thread, maybe even a sticky.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

GTX63 said:


> Bad hunters could be a whole other thread, maybe even a sticky.


When I was a kid, we never hunted deer during season. Dad said it was too dangerous.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

Yup. When you were a kid did you pull them out with chains? They probably weren't pink.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

JRHill02 said:


> Yup. When you were a kid did you pull them out with chains? They probably weren't pink.


When we got a deer we pulled them out of the woods with bailing twine. We never got stuck when we went hunting. We walked out behind the barn.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

muleskinner2 said:


> When we got a deer we pulled them out of the woods with bailing twine. We never got stuck when we went hunting. We walked out behind the barn.


Bwahh hah, I was talking about the trespassers and poachers. Of course you tried not to do a deer where it would be a problem. But we probably both have stories on retrieval.

I don't do hay anymore but I'm never without a roll of that wonderful orange stuff.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

OK, back to fuels: How do you inject hydrogen into a diesel engine? Yup,90% hydrogen and I suppose only 10% planet killing stuff:








Scientists retrofit diesel engines to use hydrogen as fuel, increasing efficiency 26%


While increasing efficiency of the diesel engine, the team also fixed a problem associated with hydrogen fuel engines, that of nitrogen oxide emissions.




interestingengineering.com





"Up to 90% hydrogen energy fraction was achieved in a hydrogen diesel dual-fuel direct injection (H2DDI) light-duty single-cylinder compression ignition engine ".

My gosh that sounds a bit dangerous. Matb anti-knock lead is safer?


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## PalmettoBoy (Apr 1, 2016)

We keep several bicycles at the beach. The bike shop owner there said we need to either get the new galvanized chains (not usable on bikes with a derailleur) or just spray the chain with a Boeng product called "Boeshield T-9". It's an anti-corrosive that doesn't leave an oily residue (which would attract sand and dirt) but protects very effectively against rust. They developed it for use on the few, but important, ferrous parts of their aircraft or for where anti-corrosive coatings aren't appropriate. Of course, if it's from Boeing it must be expensive. Amazon has the size you would want in an aerosol can for $18.99. Think of it as a more effective WD-40 that hangs around a lot longer.

Of course, when I was a kid we would just dip it in used motor oil, let most of it drip off then wipe with rags until it wouldn't make too big a mess in the tool box and then wrap up it in a big rag.


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## 67drake (May 6, 2020)

I haven’t bought WD40 in years. It’s good as a temporary lubricant, but fumes away. I use this 90% of the time. No comparison on how long it lasts. It does wash away eventually, but especially in dry areas it stays on indefinitely. I’ve mentioned before, I also buy it by the gallon and coat the underside of my truck with it.









FLUID FILM | Powerful Corrosion Protection & Lubrication


FLUID FILM® is Eureka’s own unique lanolin-based brand of corrosion preventive and lubricant, used worldwide in a multitude of industries and applications.




www.fluid-film.com


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

a rusty chain can be boiled in black wallnut hulls and water then dipped in wax just like your traps and stay nice and black just like your traps do

dry lube is another option Hornady gun cleaner and dry lube as well as WD-40 specialist Drylube have better corrosion resistance than motor oil , atf , wd-40 , balistol, breakfreeclp 

I have one I painted red to be able to see easier it helps but I will be painting it blaze orange because red still gets lost in the leaves and grass

I keep a can of the wd-40 dry lube in my truck it is very good on locks , when I have to open a gait lock I spray it when I lock it back up , it really helps keep them free and working summer and winter.


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