PEA and Amine-based Fuel System Additives

Originally Posted by MolaKule

It depends on which Regane product label you're looking at. When I went to get my serpentine belt idler for the '99 S-10 at the parts store, there were like 4 different Regane products; three had PEA in big gold? letters and one had no PEA designation.


The Gumout cleaner without the mention of PEA is probably the "fuel injector cleaner" product and I believe does not have ANY PEA additive at all.

I also recall hearing that once any product with PEA reaches 50% that is the maximum effectiveness you can get, anything over that and it isn't any more effective at cleaning.
 
Originally Posted by AC1DD


The Gumout cleaner without the mention of PEA is probably the "fuel injector cleaner" product and I believe does not have ANY PEA additive at all.


The Gumout product is a "wetting" solvent where the wet solvent(s) come into contact with surfaces and due to their solvency wash off deposits as they flow through the system.

PEA is a polar, combustion activated chemical that attaches to the hydrocarbon deposit and via thermodynamic activation, softens the carbon. The turbulent flow across the valves, inside the combustion chamber, and across the tops of piston crowns then blow the hydrocarbon deposits to the exhaust stream.

Two different chemical species for two different actions.

Originally Posted by AC1DD
I also recall hearing that once any product with PEA reaches 50% that is the maximum effectiveness you can get, anything over that and it isn't any more effective at cleaning.


About 400 PPM is the max level of effectiveness and anything more and you get to the point of decreased returns.
 
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Originally Posted by MolaKule

Two different chemical species for two different actions.


So would the use of one behind the other have any merit - the non PEA product is pretty cheap.
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
Originally Posted by MolaKule

Two different chemical species for two different actions.


So would the use of one behind the other have any merit - the non PEA product is pretty cheap.



Most of the PEA products have the PEA in a solution of the wetting solvents and light oils. For example, the Regane, Redline PI, etc., products are not pure PEA.
 
There's a paper from the SAE/Chevron dated Sept. 15, 2020: https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2020-01-2100/

There's apparently at least 2 types of PEA out there. From the abstract:
Three different commercially-available CFSC products were tested, containing two different classes of PEA chemistry - propylene oxide-based PEA (“PO-PEA”) and butylene oxide-based PEA (“BO-PEA”). Two of the three products contained the same PO-PEA chemistry, but at different concentrations, to show the effect of additive dosage. Using the Sequence VG sludge and varnish test rating criteria, it has been shown that PO-PEA can lead to a borderline failing result for varnish formation at the lower treat rate, and an extreme failing result at the higher treat rate. BO-PEA chemistry did not lead to noticeable varnish formation. All three of the tested additives yielded passing sludge formation results, though a slight degradation in sludge control was observed with PO-PEA at the higher concentration. Analysis of the used test oil demonstrated that the BO-PEA chemistry led to a 73% improvement in oxidative stability, when compared to used oil from PO-PEA testing. It is hypothesized that the lower solubility of PO-PEA can contribute to the formation of sludge and varnish precursors that have the potential to cause significant engine harm.

Much of the paper is available if you hit the "preview document" in the above link. The photos of the varnish levels are pretty staggering... I think, use PEA only as needed, not on a regular basis.
 
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