Rusty wheels

[Fluffagrams]

Matthew's wheel seems to have got a large area of rust on the spindle. I've replaced it with one of the spare wheels for now but I'm wondering what could have gone wrong to cause this and how it can be prevented in the future?

He's had this wheel for about nine months and he loves it... he puts his food in there, he puts his bed in there sometimes but he's also typically Chinesey and pees in it meaning it can get pretty disgusting. I never submerge the wheel in water, it's usually wiped out with a damp cloth or swilled around with water.

I've been thinking of buying him a new one but if it's going to have to be replaced frequently because of rust from general cleaning, I'm reluctant to spend too much.

[Pebbles82]

What make of wheel is it? Maybe the paint on the metal wasn't finished properly - rust can develop just with condensation. Haven't heard of that before!

[SimonandSyril]

I had the same problem with Mila. I switched her to a flying saucer wheel and for some reason the angle on it stopped her from peeing on it.

[Fluffagrams]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

What make of wheel is it? Maybe the paint on the metal wasn't finished properly - rust can develop just with condensation. Haven't heard of that before!

He's got a 20cm Trixie Wheel and having looked at my spare wheels, there doesn't appear to be any paint on the spindles (unless it's a clear coating) but Matthew's wheel seems to be the only one affected at the moment.

[souffle]

It's probably the pee spray that has been getting on it and the concentrated pee maybe making it corrode? Chinese are the worse hams we have even had for spraying pee all over the wheels!

[Fluffagrams]

Originally Posted by souffle

It's probably the pee spray that has been getting on it and the concentrated pee maybe making it corrode? Chinese are the worse hams we have even had for spraying pee all over the wheels!

That's what I was wondering.

I love my Chinese but they're pretty gross where wheels are concerned... Joshua's wheel isn't as half as revolting as Matthew's gets.

I'm not really sure what to do as I really don't like the idea of to having to keep throwing out wheels because Matthew has ruined another one.

I did consider buying him a Wodent Wheel at one point but if the spindle is similar to the one on the Trixie wheels and doesn't appear to be coated then I'm not sure it'll be worth the money.

(

[Pebbles82]

The silent runners don't have a spindle. The stand is a solid piece of metal - there is a bolt at the back which is pretty solid metal. I guess it could still go rusty but seems to have enamel type paint on the metal.

[velma]

Comfort wheels are a bit rattley and not quiet but the spindle seems to be mostly covered in plastic so maybe that's an option? Or the p@h silent spinner is fairly encoded so may also work plus it's pretty cheap. Although with that one, you do get a lot of wee in the join. Mmmm, nice chineseys....

[cypher]

The silent runners do seem to be truly pee proof!
All my Chineseys pee in there & Zen's would get a good soaking even a puddle on the stand sometimes but nothing has ever gone rusty or been difficult to clean, as long as you put a drop of oil on the ball bearings about once a month & don't get them wet when cleaning there's no problem with pee at all.

[Fluffagrams]

I decided to buy a Silent Runner for Matthew so we'll have to see how he gets on with it.