# Anybody use SEA FOAM ?



## SimplicityFan

My local Simplicity dealer recommended using SEA FOAM mixed in premium fuel in my 8 hp Tecumseh. I was experiencing the usual minor surging and sputtering problems and I have to admit by the the second tank full it was running 100% better. I'm usually skeptical about oil and gas additives but it seemed to have worked pretty good. Anyone else have a similar experience? Thanks fellas


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## GustoGuy

SimplicityFan said:


> My local Simplicity dealer recommended using SEA FOAM mixed in premium fuel in my 8 hp Tecumseh. I was experiencing the usual minor surging and sputtering problems and I have to admit by the the second tank full it was running 100% better. I'm usually skeptical about oil and gas additives but it seemed to have worked pretty good. Anyone else have a similar experience? Thanks fellas


I use it in everything I own right before I store it I add it to the gas and I run the engines for awhile to get it into the carburetors and I have never needed to clean the carburetors to get anything to run after doing this.


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## SlowRider22

I use a fuel treatment in all my gasoline, it definitely helps and gives peace of mind to all my equipment. When I use the Seafoam it slowly cleans the carb and keeps it clean


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## sscotsman

My seafoam experience is documented here:

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/Ariens/Page11.html#question4

I am also a big fan, and I use Seafoam all winter in the Ariens.

Scot


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## JerryD

I use SeaFoam in all my power equipment...It's a mechanic in a can.


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## Smolenski7

Would there be any advantage to using both Seafoam and Sta-bil at the same time? Sta-bil would keep the gas from going bad and Seafoam would keep the carb. clean. Am I wrong?


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## throttlejunkie450

Big fan of it.been using it in all my toys for years.i actually never used stabil before just seafoam an have never had issues .


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## scipper77

Smolenski7 said:


> Would there be any advantage to using both Seafoam and Sta-bil at the same time? Sta-bil would keep the gas from going bad and Seafoam would keep the carb. clean. Am I wrong?


Sea foam will stabilize your gas but does not treat ethanol. I would say sea foam plus sta-bil ethanol treatment would a good combo.

I use sea foam in every tank for my two stroke outboard motors. They run a lot dirtier than a four stroke.

I don't run it in my two stroke lawn/outdoor equipment because I mix up such tiny amounts I am not sure how much sea foam would be appropriate.


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## Ray 1962 10ML60

I've been doing what scipper77 said for a few years. Sea foam and stabil ethanol treatment and my stuff has been running like a top ever since. If I could afford it, I would run it in my car all the time too.


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## sscotsman

scipper77 said:


> I don't run it in my two stroke lawn/outdoor equipment because I mix up such tiny amounts I am not sure how much sea foam would be appropriate.


1 ounce per gallon.
my small glass measuring beaker is marked in ml's, and I use 30ml per gallon..and gas is such poor quality these days, I only buy one gallon at a time..

Scot


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## Blue Hill

I use it in all of my OPE, all the time. Premium, non-ethanol gasoline, with 1 ounce per gallon of Seafoam.


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## HCBPH

*Seafoam*



Blue Hill said:


> I use it in all of my OPE, all the time. Premium, non-ethanol gasoline, with 1 ounce per gallon of Seafoam.


 1+

I also put it into the Vette and TBird and run them for a few minutes before they go into storage for the winter. I also put a can through the truck and van every so often and not had a problem with that.


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## scipper77

I don't get Seafoam crazy with my 4 strokes. My rider tends to use a lot of gas throughout the summer or I would just add it to my gas cans to ensure that all of my equipment gets it all of the time. The problem is that I consider it a waste of money to run seafoam through a 4 stroke that is regularly used. That's like putting Sta-bil in your car. Just not needed because it doesn't sit. For storage it's another story.


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## WestminsterFJR

I started using Seaform in 1995 when a mechanic friend suggested it to me for a sunny-day-only car I had at the time that was notorious for carbon build up. With the engine running, I would siphon the SF directly into the engine via a vacuum line and literally smoked up the entire neighborhood with black smoke and soot! Afterwards, there would be a noticeable improvement in performance. 

I have always kept a can of SF in my garage ever since.


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## Ryan

I only use Seafoam as a fuel stabilizer and it does a great job at that. I always add some to the tank at the end of the season, and run the engine out of fuel with that little bit of foam in there.


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## New_HondaHS35

Ryan said:


> I only use Seafoam as a fuel stabilizer and it does a great job at that. I always add some to the tank at the end of the season, and run the engine out of fuel with that little bit of foam in there.


that's the best way to do it. and in between just use super fresh ethanol free premium


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## Buttchet

I used Sea Foam in everything outdoor power equipment and have never had a problem. has fixed many small issues along the way as well. recently I have switched to Star Tron, as it is supposed to be essentially Sea Foam, stabil, and ethonal treatment in the same can. I have been really pleased with it over the last two years. I do still keep the Sea Foam around as well but don't use it religiously anymore.


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## scipper77

I learned a long time ago that fuel additives are snake oil. Then came ethanol. Now I feel like you need to ensure that your gas doesn't go bad or draw water but I am still cautious not to think that you need additives in at all times.


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## motorhead64

Use it in all equipment, 2 stroke and 4 stroke. Keeps my old outboards going strong year after year and keeps them clean in the carbs and combustion chambers. Good product, for sure. Wish it were a little easier on the wallet, though. MH


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## Kiss4aFrog

When the mechanic recommended "premium" gas I think he was recommending it due to the availability of non oxygenated premium in some places. They don't have the methanol in it. Premium actually is harder to start a car or blower on the colder the ambient temperature is. Higher octane is more resistant to pre ignition and knock but also more resistant to IGNITION !!
If you can't find pure gas to run I'd recommend using *Marine* Sta-bil as it is a methanol fuel stabilizer and it's formulated for a "wet" environment. With the swing in temps during the snow blowing season the can itself can accumulate moisture inside from heating cooling cycles.

I like Sea-foam and I think it's a good cleaner but I also think that anything that does a number of things and can be added to your fuel or your oil might not be the best at either.
I'm in the habit of adding Sta-bil and a cleaner (Lucas injector or Seafoam) to every batch of gas I make so I know what's in there and I can leave something in the off season (mower, rider, blower, chainsaw ....) and not worry about carb issues.


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## Ryan

scipper77 said:


> I learned a long time ago that fuel additives are snake oil. Then came ethanol. Now I feel like you need to ensure that your gas doesn't go bad or draw water but I am still cautious not to think that you need additives in at all times.


Depends on what it is. There are proven and valid additives out there like Chevron Techron fuel injection cleaner as well as BG-44K (which is a licensed verson of Chevron Techron with a few little things added from BG) as well as stuff like Seafoam and Sta-bil. Now. Snake oil could be that slick-50 stuff.. Marvil Mystery Oil, and so on.


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## Ryan

You have a good point there with the octane as well. Up here at 6000ft fuel burns much differently than down at sea level which is why we have 85, 87, and 91 Octane, where as down at sea level, you have 87, 89, and 93. Many folks find their equipment difficult to operate up here using 87 and 91 octane, where as it runs better with 85. Let's remember, these are your basic as can be engines running the lawn and snow equipment, not a computerized system such as what we have in modern vehicles, so while some places may sell premium unleaded without ethanol, there will still be the running issues because you are using premium/high octane fuels on these simple engines. That is why it is super critical then to be using the fuel stabilizers and to not keep fuel in the tanks during the long extended times you are not going to use the machine. The ethanol eats/deteriorates the rubber lines and coats the fuel tanks and gums up the carbs when left to sit for a long time.


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## Cavalier

I recently had my blower fixed and the tech mentioned Sea Foam.

I plan on trying it.

One question I have...if I run the blower pretty much out of gas before storing, do I need a stabilizer?


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## Kiss4aFrog

It would be safer to have it in the last tank so anything sitting in the tank or carb doesn't go bad and leave any varnish.


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## Cavalier

Makes sense. I'll do that. I just added some to my gas can.

Also, I've heard people talk of Marvel Mystery Oil as an additive as well.

Anyone else heard of using this?

Seems like it does similar things.


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## Ryan

MMO does NOT repeat NOT work as a fuel stabilizer or cleaner for the engine. It is 100% genuine snake oil.


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## Kiss4aFrog

Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) is a great product to lube your air tools before use and before storing. As a fuel additive ... way, way, way down the list. There are just too many products that are designed just for cleaning that do an excellent job it's hard to understand someone wanting to use it for that. Same with Seafoam. I like the stuff but it's not my first choice for stabilizing alcohol in fuel. Just my 2 cents.


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## Jay

I use Sea-Foam in all of my small engines. There are way more benefits to using Sea-Foam than say Sta-bil. I add it to all of my gas cans when I fill them up. This way everything that gets fueled up has it in the tank and there is no "winterization" required. I buy it in 1 gallon cans to save $ then refill the small bottles to make it easier to add to things.


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## Kielbasa

I first used Sea Foam around 2008 because my H-70 started to act funny. When I was almost done clearing, it would loose power and seem weak. This is when I first added Sea Foam to my fuel. It seemed to help a little bit, but I still had the problem. This led to a rebuild of an almost 40 year old carburetor that never had any previous work. Now minus the changing of the "O" ring in the jet, it was sort of better for a little while, but still not right. When I got a little bit more daring, I changed the "O" ring in the jet. This is what the almost 40 year old "O" ring looked like.



Cracked and flat as a pancake.

After I replaced the "O" ring, she ran like a champ. So, I'd like to put the blame on the "O" ring. I was glad that I did this in the process of elimination manner. I think it showed the "O" being the problem.

Now I used Sea Foam just about for that whole winter season. I drained the fuel tank, ran her dry and drained the carburetor bowl when I put her away. That October, I took the carburetor bowl off and this is what I saw. 



I like to think that the Sea Foam cleaned out the system while being in the cellar for about 5 months. This fuel in the bowl was a bit on the thicker side.


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## micah68kj

I use Seafoam in all my OPE.


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## Cavalier

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Same with Seafoam. I like the stuff but it's not my first choice for stabilizing alcohol in fuel. Just my 2 cents.


 How do you like it as a fuel additive to keep things "clean"?


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## Kiss4aFrog

I prefer Lucas Fuel Injector cleaner as a cleaner as I've had very good luck with it clearing up some problems with FI systems on cars. Carburetor or FI it's the same for cleaning. Usually if the Lucas doesn't work it's time to pull them and send them out or replace depending on cost of replacements. The runner up is Chevron with Techron. If you go to an auto parts store and ask what's best it will almost always come down to these two. 

For a stabilizer I don't think anything beats Marine Sta-bil as it's designed to specifically work on ethanol fuel in a moist environment. That's all it's designed to do and it does it well. I use it even when I'm running pure gas, it's just a habit and it's cheap insurance. If I forget to drain a summer something over the winter or a winter something over the summer I'm covered. I add some stabilizer and cleaner to every tank of gas for lawn and garden equip. 

That said as an oil additive for cleaning up sludge very good. For fuel additive for cleaning, it would be my third choice. For a product to drizzle into the intake to clean the intake, valves and combustion chamber, first choice.

Also, they already calculate how much will do the best job. After all they want to sell you more. If it's supposed to take one ounce to X gallons please don't put in two or three no matter what product you end up using. It's just going to waste. Trust me, they are already having you put in as much as will do any good.


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## Ryan

Sta-Bil has come out with a new product this year that is going to be right up the alley for you folks worried about Ethanol. 



http://www.goldeagle.com/products/10_oz_ethanol.aspx
STA-BIL 360 Protection


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## jglawson676

Sea Foam...Good stuff...Been using it probably 9-10 years...


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## Kiss4aFrog

Cavalier said:


> How do you like it as a fuel additive to keep things "clean"?


It's good but as I've said before it can be added to the gas and also the oil. It's a good product but it's not IMHO the best at doing anything it does. I have a bottle in the garage and I use it. I'm not trying to "dis" the product I'm only pointing out if it is formulated to do so many things and be a fuel and oil additive it likely is not the best product at doing any of the things it does.

From my personal experience with engines having over 200K when I get them and from customers experiences they've shared I think Lucas FI cleaner is the best and second is Chevron with Techron. If you talk to automotive parts people they will usually mention one of these two as the best (if no promotional sales are going on at the time ).
I buy Lucas by the gallon and I usually recommend to customers to get it by the quart. If you see the one shot bottle it's about $1.20 oz while the quart is $0.40 oz. Even when the single bottles are on sale the quart is usually still cheaper.
I do use it with each lawn and garden fuel refill but I don't in a car. Usually I add it when it's due for an oil change.


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## MnJim

Kiss4aFrog said:


> It's good but as I've said before it can be added to the gas and also the oil. It's a good product but it's not IMHO the best at doing anything it does. I have a bottle in the garage and I use it. I'm not trying to "dis" the product I'm only pointing out if it is formulated to do so many things and be a fuel and oil additive it likely is not the best product at doing any of the things it does.


 Isnt the SF recommended to be added to the oil prior to oil change to clean out the crankcase?


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## Kiss4aFrog

Yes, Seafoam can be added to the oil to help clean deposits, sludge, etc inside the engine and it can be added after an oil change and left to do the job till the next regularly scheduled LOF.
Same Seafoam you would add to the fuel to clean the fuel system.

That's the reason I think of it as more of a generic product.


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## Toro-8-2-4

In my experience I have used SeaFoam in a lawn mover that was running rough and it seemed to smooth it out. Does that mean it is the best? I don't know. Perhaps anyone one of the carb/fuel injector products on the shelf would have done the same.

I do read plenty of good reviews on Seafoam on various boards like this one. Some may be just hype but I am sure most are honest experiences from folks who want to share.

Other than some anecdotal experience how does one judge which is the best?

I try to limit my additives although I do use Stabil per their instructions on all my OPE and run my carbs dry at the end of each running to try to minimize any ethanol damage.


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