Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: irv
Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: irv
I'm surprised there is no mention of Sea Foam in this thread? I hate to sound like a nut job talking about this all the time, but the stuff does wonders keeping things clean and enhancing the fuels.
With today's fuels, imo, getting worse due to Ethanol, I find it even more important to use all the time.
https://seafoamsales.com/sea-foam-motor-treatment/
Keep telling yourself that. One day it might come true.
I drank the elixir Koolaid for a while, Seafoam included. Then I did some actual experiments using Seafoam by soaking carb parts in it. The end results were that it did nothing to remove varnish or clear galleries and jets. Even if left for days. An old toothbrush, a piece of thin wire, Varsol/solvent
and compressed air are far more effective.
Experience with the stuff already has.
A few years ago I had my lawnmower about to die on me as I was cutting the grass at our trailer. It is an old neglected one that I figured was on its last legs years ago. Anyways, without wanting to stop and tear the carb apart, I decided to add an ample amount of SeaFoam to it hoping it would bring it around enough so I could at least finish the lawn.
When I fired the mower back up, it still acted like it was acting for a few seconds then all of a sudden it began to spit and sputter then a big white, grayish cloud spewed out of it, stumbled some more, then began to run good again.
I finished the lawn and did nothing else until the following week-end when I had to cut the grass again. To this day, I have never torn the carb apart nor did anything else to it other than to add a splash of Seafoam to it occasionally and it is still running great. Maybe because it was already hot, that helped, I don't know, but I am a believer and nobody will tell me any different.
Like I said in another post, I use to have to clean my carbs on my XLT Sp snowmobile annually but since I have been using/adding Seafoam to the tank, just a splash, before every ride, I haven't had to clean my carbs in years.
And to the other poster, there are more than one type of alcohol. Ethanol is not isopropyl, they are 2 different things. Many in the boating community use Seafoam over other stabilizers/cleaners as anyone who knows, knows that boats usually sit long periods of time occasionally giving gas extra time to go bad.
I have used Seafoam in my boat, as have others I know, for years without an issue, and my boat only gets used on weekends and sits in the water during that time so I would assume the moisture my gas tank picks up is far greater than a car that sits on land, obviously.
http://knowhow.napaonline.com/sea-foam-what-is-it-and-why-should-you-use-it/
Not to be rude, but you're coming across as a Seafoam salesman.
As I said, I drank the Koolaid and swallowed the hype. From experimentation and practical experience, I've concluded that it and most other magic elixirs are next to useless. Take a dirty carb apart and soak it in Seafoam for a week. Put it back together and see how it goes.
Seafoam might work as a fuel stabilizer but certainly will not physically remove contaminants and obstructions from carb jets & galleries. Nor will any other concoctions claiming to do so.
I've cleaned probably 100 carbs and on the most part, each one had to be disassembled and physically cleaned to get it to operate properly. I tried the easy method on quite a few of those carbs with little success. The odd carb that did run better using an elixir was more than likely the result of gasoline removing a thin barrier of varnish rather than from the effects of the elixir.
This discussion has gone on for years. If anyone wants to know the truth about the effectiveness of these additives, simply conduct some experiments. Real experiments.
I thought you might think that, so no worries, I understand where you are coming from. Truth be known, I am only a user, I don't have a cent invested in it nor do I sell it.
I have also cleaned carbs and have had some success but I believe you are right, to a certain extent, as I believe it helps more with the preventative side of things than it does actually cleaning things, but those are also dependant on what those cleaning things are.
My lawnmower and my snowmobiles are proof enough for me that it actually works. I did not use to clean my carbs on my sled, I only used it after the fact and they have stayed clean to date. With my dirt bike carb, I had some success with it as did I with 2 old neglected carbs from an Indy Lite.
Like you, the varnish/grime did not dissolve like I also thought it would but it definitely made it softer/easier to clean. I believe, since there is no movement with just soaking things, if it is agitated or has a constant flow going over the crud while running, that is where it works the best. Heat may also help?
Regardless of its cleaning properties, I also believe it helps keep gas fresher, de-ices/dewaters things and does most other things it claims.
Like you, I also don't fall for gimmicks. Lord knows there is enough of them out there all designed to fool the general public, but unlike those, I actually believe Seafoam works as claimed based on my first hand experience with it.
And also, just so you don't think I don't know what a torque wrench is, and for what it's worth, I do quite a bit of mechanical work on the side and as much of my own stuff as possible. I am 53 and have had an interest in cars, trucks, sleds, boats and pretty much anything mechanical since I can remember?
I have built my own Hot Rod, rode and worked on snowmobiles and dirt bikes, atvs, etc, for years, or as long as I can remember.