Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

[SANDERDS]

While it would probably be the best to disassmble and clean my carb. over the winter, if I couldn't get to that, wouldn't it be better to make sure the last gas through it had stabilizer or seafoam in it? I was running seafoam the last time I was out. Does that serve the same purpose as stabilizer or should I add some stabilizer and run it a bit more?

 

[psteurer]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

You are treading in an area that is very debatable and I am sure that there will be a lot of opinions here. First Sea Foam or a gas stabilizer will do little for you if your carburetor needs to be rebuilt. Both of these products will keep a carburetor clean but not really clean gunk already in there. Sea Foam might help a little by dissolving some varnish or dislodging tiny pieces of crude.

As far as leaving fuel in the carburetor over winter, that is debatable. If you look in the old OMC manuals on winter storage, they would say to make a winter storage fuel mix by putting in some type of stabilizer and then leave that fuel in the carburetor. With today's ethanol fuel, I never do that now. I drain the fuel from any carburetor that I have and store it that way.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

You should add stabilizer at the time the fuel is fresh for best results, especially with pre-mix. Any fuel left in the system during storage should have stabilizer added.

Draining the float bowls after fogging is not a bad idea, especially when the duration of storage is unknown; this is best done by temporarily removing the drain plug, not by running the engine dry.

SeaFoam is not specifically a fuel stabilizer but is rather a multi-purpose additive. Your dealer can recommend products designed specifically for stabilizing the fuel.

 

[frwhlr38]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

Not trying to gets things started here,but ive been an atv mech for yrs now, and ive seen stabilizer sour big time it gets little red balls in it and they can really raise cain in a carb, what i do is drain float bowls then spray inside of carb down with wd-40 and then put bowl back on ive never had a problum with that it also lets one look in the bowl and see if any gunk is in it and if it needs to be tore apart over winter and cleaned just my 2 cents

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

Quote from frwhir38: "Not trying to gets things started here,but ive been an atv mech for yrs now, and ive seen stabilizer sour big time it gets little red balls in it and they can really raise cain in a carb, what i do is drain float bowls then spray inside of carb down with wd-40 and then put bowl back on ive never had a problum with that it also lets one look in the bowl and see if any gunk is in it and if it needs to be tore apart over winter and cleaned just my 2 cents."
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Would really appreciate it sir if you could supply some details/circumstances/age of fuel sort of things in the instance(s) where you found problems with stabilizers (the red balls). Also what brand? Ethanol has just recently made it's debut down here and as a result I have started using Sta-bil which I never used before.

On cleaning carbs, We all probably know that Sta-bil makes the stabilizer, but I recently noticed advertisements where they now market a product designed to recover bad fuel and in doing that possibly carbs too. Might be worth investigating.

I use Sta-bil in everything now but my boat, and I keep a goodly supply of Sea Foam in the fuel with no problems, but my fuel never gets over 6 months old.

My 2c.

Mark

 

[kbait]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

It there's a pump near you that has recreation/NON-ethanol/non-oxygenated fuel, USE IT!! I'm lucky to have one nearby. Ethanol is alcohol. Attracts water. Then fuel evap=just water & residue left. Can't answer if stabil or seafoam, but removing ethanol, and removing fuel from carb bowl upon storage saves me from additives. I just decarb once every couple years (seafoam). my 2c

 

[frwhlr38]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

Hey texas, from what ive seen has been in atvs that were parked in the fall nd then fired up in the sring yes its been sta-bil and them little balles gets in those fine little holes and poof there plugged the stabil that ive seen do it kinda turns rubberry and i have to use high pressure air and acid to gets them out i wont say all of it does it, i use and recommend sea foam yes its not a stabilzer but it will hold fuel like over winter and i run it in everything i own from chain saws to cars to atvs even boat, we havnt seen alot of the ethonol here in wyoming or my area yet i used to race sprint cars that ran on nothing but acohol and yes that is nasty stuff drys everything out and raises cain

 

[asdasc]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

I have used Sta-bil regularily for 15+years and never had a problem. In fact, with most of my motors, I don't run them much, so I always keep stabil in my gas can. I always leave them with gas in the carb. If the carb gets gunked, I tear it apart and clean it. My only cases of gunked carbs have been because I was too cheap or in too big a hurry and didn't replace the cork floats. Now I won't rebuild a carb without putting in a plastic float.

Ethonal fuels are EVERYWHERE here in Michigan. I just found a gas station that sells Marine formulated fuels without ethonal, and with fuel conditioners and stabilizers.

 

[bonzoscott]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

I have always thought that the Oil Mix stabilizes the fuel. '73 9.9, never a problem, including lawn care 2 strokes. Ohio, a good 6 month rest. However the 4 strokes, lawn mower/s and the stern drive, Sta-bil is a must.

 

[SANDERDS]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

Wow, what a variety of responses. Thanks to all. It sounds like I should add some Stabil, run the motors a bit, then drain the bowls if I really want to do it right. Then any fuel not in the bowl would have stabilizer in it too. I kind of liked the approach of put some stabilizer in and see if you need to clean next year too. I'll start with the intentions of draining the bowls, but if I get side-tracked, I may default to the other option.

 

[scamoot]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

You should add stabilizer at the time the fuel is fresh for best results, especially with pre-mix. Any fuel left in the system during storage should have stabilizer added.

Draining the float bowls after fogging is not a bad idea, especially when the duration of storage is unknown; this is best done by temporarily removing the drain plug, not by running the engine dry.

SeaFoam is not specifically a fuel stabilizer but is rather a multi-purpose additive. Your dealer can recommend products designed specifically for stabilizing the fuel.

Just wondering why running the engine dry is not recommended?

 

[Elbo]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

I just let the engine run until its out of fuel,if I know it's the last run I'll make.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

Always used stabilizer, never drained the bowls or run dry due to the none lubrication of the cylinder that dries up first.

 

[ezeke]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

Running the [edit] two cycle outboard engine until it runs out of gas leaves the cylinders with less protective oil than if the engine is shut down and the float bowls drained.

 

[psteurer]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

Running the carburetors dry is another debatable thing to do and again lots of opinions. ezeke says it right in that there will be no lubrication from the 2 stroke oil in the cylinders so you could have damage. But there are a few exceptions. It is safe to run 4-stroke motors dry because they always have oil in the cylinders. It is also safe to run 2 stroke motors dry if they have one carburetor. It is the 2 stroke motors with more than one carburetor that could have a problem. The reason is that all of the carburetors don't run out of fuel at the same time. So at least one of the carbs is still sending fuel to some cylinders and are firing while the other cylinders no longer have fuel. So the ones without fuel are moving for a period of time without any lubricant. If you have every run a multi cylinder motor dry you know what happens at the very end before the engine conks out. It flops back and forth like a fish out of water.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Seafoam vs. Stabilizer

Just wondering why running the engine dry is not recommended?

Most of my boating life I did that and never experienced a problem. Guess I was lucky. As I got older and more informed I started thinking about it and when I got an engine with oil injection ('89 Merc new), I decided to quit the practice. Still no reaction from the equipment one way or the other. But I agree the last carb with gas keeps the last cylinder alive while the others are starved and obviously lacking proper lubrication. Obviously not good, but you are usually idling while doing the process and there is some residual oil to protect you for the minute you are allowing the last one to die. Course the proof in the pudding could be at startup where you are relying on the oil coating from the last operation to coat the cylinder walls till fresh fuel makes it in the chamber.

The other thing that I realized was that every time I go to use my boat(s) I would have to pump and pump and pump the bulb to get it tight. Well, if I had to do that, it seems obvious to me that gravity sucks the fuel out of the carb bowls while the engine sits between outings (leave mine vertical on the transom) which gets the fuel out of the bowl and also allows the float valve to come off it's seat allowing for longer life.

Buttttttt what do I know.

Mark