Chain stretch?

[Master Hack]

Egor has finished up his engine mods on Franken buggy and asked me to take the first test run.
Fortunatly there is no video of the event, as the stupid grin on my face turned to horror as the fence came up faster than expected. Happy the brakes work good! The short version of the report is:
This thing friggen rips! Egor is not willing to disclose power output of this thing but my guestimate is it is easily doubled from the stock 13.
So, onto the real issue. Now we appear to have a chain stretching situation.
is it possible that the newfound power is causing the chain to stretch?
Details:
#420 chain 40 series TC

Its a new chain, so some stretch is expected. It’s also possible that the engine has slipped on the mounting plate. The investigation continues.
Another question is, is there a drive sprocket available for a 40 with # 520 chain?
So bring on the solutions!

 

[Denny]

No, 520 sprockets I know of. And yes chain will stretch a lot, sometimes. Sorry.

 

[TNThomas]

These guys solved alot of my problems looking for chain size/sprocket size/tooth count/mounting. Have a look, good quality and reasonably priced: https://www.nitrochain.com/weld-on-sprockets-and-hubs

 

[JimD]

Move up to #40 chain it is a lot stronger. #41 and #420 chain are the same thing except #420 is pre-stretched #41 chain.

 

[BaconBitRacing]

Move up to #40 chain it is a lot stronger. #41 and #420 chain are the same thing except #420 is pre-stretched #41 chain.

Thank you for explaining this. It seems all explanations of the different #40/#420/#41 chain say nothing of substance or say “it’s all the same.”

 

[Master Hack]

Move up to #40 chain it is a lot stronger. #41 and #420 chain are the same thing except #420 is pre-stretched #41 chain.

Good to know, Thanks!

These guys solved alot of my problems looking for chain size/sprocket size/tooth count/mounting. Have a look, good quality and reasonably priced: https://www.nitrochain.com/weld-on-sprockets-and-hubs

Thanks!

 

[Master Hack]

The difference between #40 and #420 chain is significant! I’ll order a lenght of 40 and that should the end of that problem. Nitro looks like the place, the motorcycle shop only has 420. It appears that the engine may have slipped on the mounting plate a little.
That made the situation worse. Now there is an adjuster bolt that prevents that from occuring again.

 

[JimD]

The two biggest cause of chain stretch is slamming on the brakes. You stop the axle but the engine is still trying to turn the axle and the chain take the punishment. The other thing that will ruin a chain is going as fast as you can and then spin the wheel to do a donut and you end up going in reverse. That is extreme punishment for the chain. When that happens in a race when my driver comes in we toss the chain immediately. The #35 chain get stretched and will try and jump the sprocket on the clutch and it will quickly wear the aluminum rear sprocket. Not worth trying to find the link that is bad because several of the links get ruined when the kart ends up going backwards.

When you put the rear axle up on a block and slowly turn the rear wheel and see the chain wants to climb one of the sprockets rather than go in the valley the chain is bad, toss it before you are replacing chain and sprockets. I mark the bad link with white-out (heck someone has to buy this stuff since no one uses it on typewriters anymore) and it will be always the same link that wants to climb, it is not a bad sprocket. If it was the sprocket then it would always be the same tooth where the problem is but marking the chain you will see clearly it is always at the same chain location and very rarely the same tooth on the sprocket.

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

I have a co-worker who inexplicably uses white-out every day. Runs out of it on a regular basis. She is not forging things, she works at a desk. It is quite remarkable.

 

[BaconBitRacing]

I have a co-worker who inexplicably uses white-out every day. Runs out of it on a regular basis. She is not forging things, she works at a desk. It is quite remarkable.

Man, she must be bad with pens... are you sure she's not forging?

 

[Master Hack]

The two biggest cause of chain stretch is slamming on the brakes. You stop the axle but the engine is still trying to turn the axle and the chain take the punishment. The other thing that will ruin a chain is going as fast as you can and then spin the wheel to do a donut and you end up going in reverse. That is extreme punishment for the chain. When that happens in a race when my driver comes in we toss the chain immediately. The #35 chain get stretched and will try and jump the sprocket on the clutch and it will quickly wear the aluminum rear sprocket. Not worth trying to find the link that is bad because several of the links get ruined when the kart ends up going backwards.

When you put the rear axle up on a block and slowly turn the rear wheel and see the chain wants to climb one of the sprockets rather than go in the valley the chain is bad, toss it before you are replacing chain and sprockets. I mark the bad link with white-out (heck someone has to buy this stuff since no one uses it on typewriters anymore) and it will be always the same link that wants to climb, it is not a bad sprocket. If it was the sprocket then it would always be the same tooth where the problem is but marking the chain you will see clearly it is always at the same chain location and very rarely the same tooth on the sprocket.

Great info! makes perfect sense, but I never thought about it like that,

Found this online. Big difference in strength!

#40-1	0.500"	0.312"	0.312"	0.642"	0.475"	0.058"	0.156"	3,970 LBS	0.42 LBS
#41-1	0.500"	0.250"	0.306"	0.522"	0.390"	0.050"	0.141"	2,760 LBS	0.28 LBS

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

Man, she must be bad with pens... are you sure she's not forging?

I mean forging as in steel in a cannister, making a billet. They often use white-out in that process, but you know that.

 

[BaconBitRacing]

I mean forging as in steel in a cannister, making a billet. They often use white-out in that process, but you know that.

I did not know that, I have learned something new today. So that still leaves the possibility of her forging signatures and such...

 

[Master Hack]

Nitro has a article about the care and feeding of your chain:

https://www.nitrochain.com/assets/images/PDF%20Files/Nitro%20Roller%20Chain%20Care.pdf

 

[TNThomas]

I went with the #50 "heavy duty" chain/ #50 sprocket just to be safe. Probably overkill, but she is big.

 

[Denny]

Another great way to keep a chain lubed and my favorite. Borrow you wife’s electric skillet or crock pot to melt a big candle or 3. Enough to completely cover the chain. Then add a few ounces of your favorite non detergent oil or Slick 50 and stir it up real good. Lay your chain in it and let it soak in the warm mixture for a few hours. Work the chain with a screwdriver every so often so the the mixture penetrates the rollers really well. After a few hours take the chain out and hang it up to dry and cool. Then install. Leave the mixture in the skillet or crock pot and cover (it’s ruined anyways). Go out and buy the wife new stuff before she misses the old stuff and convince her it’s the same stuff she always had. Once the chain has cooled and dried install it. Now the mixture left over can be warmed up and used later to relube the chain after a ride, just dip in an old paint brush to re apply. The nice thing about doing it this way is it won’t sling off when riding. I found chains and sprockets last longer. Caution mixture will be hot!!!

 

[Master Hack]

I found a great way to lube the chain also.
l hold a can of chain lube (available at the motorcycle shop) in my right hand and a beer in my left. I spray the s**t on the chain, then sit down and consume the beer. The whole process takes 10 minutes. No hot stuff to deal with, no appliances to buy and time left over for another beer!

 

[BaconBitRacing]

I found a great way to lube the chain also.
l hold a can of chain lube (available at the motorcycle shop) in my right hand and a beer in my left. I spray the s**t on the chain, then sit down and consumer the beer. The whole process takes 10 minutes. No hot stuff to deal with, no appliances to buy and time left over for another beer!

Got me one of dem. The chain lube, not the beer...

 

[Master Hack]

Got me one of dem. The chain lube, not the beer...

Yer half way there!

 

[Master Hack]

I went with the #50 "heavy duty" chain/ #50 sprocket just to be safe. Probably overkill, but she is big

Yeah, that's overkill. But it ain't done til its overdone!
Only real difference, if it's not in my junk pile, I'm not buying til it all fails. Spectacular failures are best! Only then after spending 3 times as much as I should have, will I break down and buy the right s**t, as I should have to begin with. I'm pretty smart with economics!