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In article ,
says...

On Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:19:15 -0400, iBoaterer
wrote:

In article ,
says...

They have seafoam just about anywhere that handles oil, auto parts or
boat stuff around here.
It is supposed to be some kind of miracle potion.
I have never had it fix anything.

It's purpose isn't to fix mechanical failures, so that's probably why
you haven't had it fix any.

This was hyped as some magic elixir that "Safely helps quiet noisy
lifters, helps remove fuel deposits and oil residue, helps smooth
rough idle". They say it cleans injectors, removes varnish and gum

I have not noticed it doing anything.

It is basically just light machine oil, naphtha and isopropanol that
they sell for $65 a gallon or more

I've used oil additives to clear sticky lifters on maybe 3-4 cars.
Seafoam on the last one. There's no doubt additives can work for that.
Dissolves varnish probably. Maybe kerosene would do the same, but it's
easier just buying a can of Seafoam or equivalent.
Except for that particular use, I consider them all snake oil.
And you should dump your oil and change your filter as soon as lifters
clear up. No telling what the stuff will do to gaskets and seals.
It's last resort stuff, usually on older or poorly maintained cars, but
I did free a noisy lifter with Seafoam on a fairly new car with about
80k miles on it. No idea why that lifter stuck, since the car was
regularly maintained.
The only gas additive I might use on a regular basis is Chevron Techron.
But I don't, and haven't suffered for it.
As you've said, drain and discard old gas. Or keep the tank topped off
when idle for long periods.

Boating All Out

In article ,
says...

On Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:02:52 -0500, Boating All Out
wrote:

Or keep the tank topped off
when idle for long periods.

Why topped off? Ethanol will phase separate no matter how full the
tank is. You just start the season with a whole tank of bad gas.

Phase separation can only occur when the ethanol reaches its water
saturation point. So you've basically got water in your gas.
With no ethanol the water still separates, sinking to low spots.
But quicker and probably worse in terms of corrosion.
Ethanol will keep water in suspension until saturation.
Even when phase separated the water is held in suspension by the
ethanol. I don't know the corrosion effects of that mix, but it easy to
guess it depends on the materials, and might be less than pure water.
The key is to keep water out of the gas. Assuming you didn't buy
watered gas, it gets in the vented gas tank by condensation out of air
onto the tanks sides, and maybe the gas surface itself.
No air in tank, no condensation. I wouldn't even worry about keeping a
non-vented gas storage jug topped off, unless I lived in a highly humid
area. In fact, I don't worry about gas in vented tanks until it's about
a full 2 years old. Not because of water or "phase separation" either.
The volatiles are lost and it's poor starting/running gas.
The only knock I have with ethanol's use as an oxygenator is the real
possibility of it hiding wet gas, because it can suspend water in the
gas. If not too much the water just gets vaporized in the combustion
chamber.
It used to be cars would stall when there was water in the gas, and
service station tanks were carefully monitored for ANY water.
Now, more of that 4 bucks a gallon you're paying for gas might be for
water.

amdx[_2_]

On 4/27/2013 9:23 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:

I was back at the lawn equipment parts store this morning, and the
counter guy also suggested a product called "Sea Foam," as something
that preserves gasoline and also does some clean out. Looked it up on
line. I'm going to buy a can at the local auto parts store.

Mower starts fine after I hooked the choke cable up to the right carb
control rod hole.

Yes, I put it in the wrong hole. A girl told me that
once about 50 years ago, and then she slapped me...real hard. Nothing
bad happened this time, except the choke wasn't working. No slaps.

Wrong girl!

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