Originally Posted By: kyledallas
Quest I am looking mostly for help after the fact..in other words.. after the lawn equimpent or motorcycle has seen Improper storage.. Not that I do this.. I have become a notorious used equipment shopper on Craigslist and wondered if some had found some additives to be effective at cleaning gummed up carbs.
Originally Posted By: Quest
gasoline sold on Continental NA has EPA/Govt specified sulphur content, as well as minimum cleaning additive mandates on them, regardless of E0, E10 or so.
If you are talking about OPE engines such as flathead lawnmowers, etc. all you ever need is fresh gas always, and it will do fine.
Stale/rancid gasoline will lead to carboning of combustion chamber, deposits on the back side of intake valves, etc.
There's no such need for highly doped gasoline (doped in cleaners of all sorts), IMO. Just use fresh gasoline always.
For extended storage, I add a bit of fuel stabiliser such as this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Briggs-Stratton-10...E89SMJWHZY2FT0B
or Stabil marine/red.
Drain the fuel if it looks doubtful to you.
Q.
Don't get me wrong, bud, for I'm not trying to be terse.
What I'm trying to say is that granted that you have good fresh gasoline in OPE engine (and the engine motorcycle, etc. runs well), then there's nothing more you need for them to operate properly.
Those (devices) that have experienced gas-related runinng issue are, in general, dicey situation.
You don't want too high of solvency in your doped gasoline mix in fear of damaging any O-rings or seals in your carb.
If the jets/orifice and such are clogged with large debris, nothing in your gasoline can help to dissolve them (except varnish or gum)
Your best bet (when shopping used) is still to pull the carb and inspect/clean/rebuild. That's the only sure-fire way to ensure that it is running properly. Adding additives or solvents into the gasoline mix can only solve a few problems with very limited scope (i.e. gumming).
Good luck.
Q.
BTW: I have zero luck when it comes to dealing with used OPE engines of all sorts: over 90% of the side-draft B&S flathead engines requires carb cleaning/rebuild; Honda mowers 2/3 of the time may require carb rebuild/replacement, etc. Most of the neglected units are beyond simple repair...