I also do it by feel, and have teammates check it for me, but I also look to see if on the low point if the chain looks like it’ll stay well connected to the teeth while the axle is rotating.
Just out of curiousity… if you throw a chain, it’s garbage right? There’s no salvaging a chain that has come off correct?
It depends why or how it came off. If it was thrown because a master broke/fell off, or some other minor reason it could be re-used. Check the stretch and freedom of movement through the links, and if everything seems good.
In general, they’re cheap enough that if i throw one, i’ll just put a new one on.
I figured that there could be micro gravel or something else to small to see in there. Thanks.
It’s really a judgment call that depends why it came off and the amount of damage it sustained. Clean it, Inspect it and make the call.
The amount of give and take you have varies with the application too. A 10HP drivetrain with a 15 tooth driver is a lot less fussy on chains compared to a 28hp engine on a 9 tooth driver.
A chain that’s past it’s prime on a TaG can still have a lot of life left in it on a four cycle.