On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 12:49:12 -0400, "jtaylor"
wrote:


"Ecnerwal" wrote in message
...

Motorcycle chains should be up to the power requirements. Motorcycles
with considerably more power use chain or belt drives. If you're not in
possesion of the sprockets, I'd suggest considering the motorcycle belt
drives as being less maintenence headache over time - they do need to be
well-aligned to begin with, but they stretch less (thus require
adjusting less) and attract a lot less dirt & grime to themselves.

Far and away the major cause of cycle chain "stretch" is wear due to road
dust/grit.

Enclosing the chain fully in a case with an oilbath will remove this.



Of course, if the chain is run in an oil bath it must be sealed very
well, otherwise along with oil leaking out you will get water and dirt
leaking in. Since the chain can be lubed safely with chain lube and
left to run that way maybe just having a good dust cover would do. The
belting mentioned earlier is indeed toothed belting. It won't stretch
and won't wear at the pins like chain and appear to stretch. It's
expensive. You can get a toothed pulley made from aluminum which would
be cheaper than a steel one. Several years ago I needed to buy some
chain but did not know how to specify it. I called a local supplier,
Washington Chain (I think), and the fellow I spoke to asked about my
application, what speed, HP or torque of the motor, and environment
the chain would be running in. With all that info he was able to give
me a couple options and I was able to order the chain. The whole phone
call lasted about ten minutes as I had all the data in front of me
before the call was placed. I'm usually not that organised. If the
chain is very long an idler may be needed. These can be made from
plastic. UHMW works well if the idler as just a block that the chain
rubs against. If the idler rotates then nylon, Delrin, or Acetron will
work well. Delrin and Acetron don't absorb water, nylon does. I have
seen power transmission parts pretty cheap on ebay. Another source is
to google for "surplus _____". You fill in the blank. BTW, did you
know that the ring gear in the VW transaxle can be switched to the
other side? Then you can have 4 speeds reverse, and one forward.
ERS