Seafoam use

[Sam Mac]

Originally Posted by ol'George

If all this snake oil was so good,
I think the manufacturers of engines would recommend it.
But what do I know.

BMW recommends using Chevron Techron. I use 1 ounce per gal a couple times per season in non ethanol gas. My stuff always starts and run good. Your results may vary.

[moingonaman]

Two cents worth from Iowa

I had a 1450 that was running rough. It is my main grass mowing tractor and my first Cub, meaning it has been getting consistent summer long use for many years.

Poured a few ounces of Seafoam in the gas tank and almost immediately the engine smoothed out.

I am a believer.

[johncub7172]

I never tried the Sea Foam. But, I do use Marvel Mystery Oil in my gasoline once in a while. I never "dump", or begin using snake oils UNLESS I had first already pulled the engine head, cleaning carbon from both the head and block. This way, I don't concern myself with the question: "Where does all that Crap go?". You are also starting out with a clean slate. I have done this for years, and never had any issues with MMO.

Though I have to wonder, gasoline had lead in it back in the day. So, I think it's fair to say something is missing that is good for valves in these older, Kohler engines. This could have been known long before that huge Kohler Service manual was written, so don't bother slamming me with the book. What need for a MMO recommendation with leaded gasoline to be found in the operator's manual? Furthermore, for what it's worth, I even have used chain saw mix gasoline in my cubs with no problems at all, that don't do anymore to the Kohler as it does for a good running chain saw!

Just got a 125 in, and the exhaust valve was stuck, leading the former owner to believe the k301 was "blown-up". Nope, crappy gas, and a miserable carbon'ed-up head, valves, and piston.

edit: 10:02am, 7/28/16:

Mark, Though I never preformed your experiment, I did/do however, use the MMO to clean and remove carbon, sludge, and rust with decent results.

[Tom4981]

I used some in the chainsaw, it idles really nice now.

[Doug Doty]

I think the seafoam is good for dissolving varnish in carbs and the bottom of small fuel tanks. I have seen it improve running quality many times. Non alcohol farm or boat gas is our best friend on these old carbonated engines. I go out and get 100 octane LL ( low Lead ) as it still has some lead to protect the decades of airplane engines that were designed to use it as a lubrication for the valves mostly. I mix it with farm gas to make what I think is a perfect blend since the small engines do not need that much lead and the aviation gas can sit in a fuel tank for years and still seem to perform well if woken up from a very !! long sleep. Must be loaded with some type of preservatives. Straight AV gas is a bit too lead heavy for our little kohler engines as it can lead foul the spark plugs on weaker ignitions.

The real issue with all this alcohol gas these days is what is left behind when the gas portion evaporates out of vented carbs. The remaining cocktail seems to be very corrosive and I have seen it literally eat holes through small engine and boat carbs. Good old gas did not do that.

[Merk]

Originally Posted by Doug Doty

Non alcohol farm or boat gas is our best friend on these old carbonated engines. I go out and get 100 octane LL ( low Lead ) as it still has some lead to protect the decades of airplane engines that were designed to use it as a lubrication for the valves mostly. I mix it with farm gas to make what I think is a perfect blend since the small engines do not need that much lead and the aviation gas can sit in a fuel tank for years and still seem to perform well if woken up from a very !! long sleep. Must be loaded with some type of preservatives. Straight AV gas is a bit too lead heavy for our little kohler engines as it can lead foul the spark plugs on weaker ignitions.

The real issue with all this alcohol gas these days is what is left behind when the gas portion evaporates out of vented carbs. The remaining cocktail seems to be very corrosive and I have seen it literally eat holes through small engine and boat carbs. Good old gas did not do that.

Good old gas did evaporate....it just took longer to evaporate.

Biggest problem is some small engine owners have poor fuel storage habits. Bulk tank farm gas is a problem waiting to happen in small engines unless it is replaced every 30 days. Your small engine owners manual says to replace your fuel in your small engine every 30 days.

Been running gas with alcohol since it was called bio gas. I had some minor issues at first......none in the last 15 years.

[mjsoldcub]

thats it...gas is crap now days... i buy and only run 91 octane because it has no ethanol where i live, plus i own and repair alot of stihl chainsaws and trimmers, but i add stabil to every can i fill, no matter if im gonna use it right away or not... i was never into additives, but when i saw an air filter element, (pre-filter) totally full of water/ moisture one time on a k241, say mid fall, i said screw it and quit using them, and with no oil in prefilter started adding mmo to the gas...never had a problem..i dont drain my fuel systems either, just because i always think things that are wet 99% of the time and then spend 6mo dry might have the perpensity to crack..although i do agree fresh gas is SUPER important...hence the stabil, or whatever your favorite is....

[Mike McKown]

Originally Posted by Merk

Good old gas did evaporate....it just took longer to evaporate.

Biggest problem is some small engine owners have poor fuel storage habits. Bulk tank farm gas is a problem waiting to happen in small engines unless it is replaced every 30 days. Your small engine owners manual says to replace your fuel in your small engine every 30 days.

Been running gas with alcohol since it was called bio gas. I had some minor issues at first......none in the last 15 years.

Ditto!

I've been running gasoline with alcohol added since some time in the mid 80's. I had a few problems early until I fixed my personal storage problem habits.

The days of finding water in my straight gasoline are long past when using the E 10. The ethanol keeps it absorbed and blows it through the engine.

I had a couple of carburetors totally eaten up with corrosion before E 10 was invented. Unfortunately, water had been invented and that's what caused the corrosion.

Today's E 10 has a lot of light additives that will evaporate quickly if left in an unsealed container. Then, you lose power and octane on what's left in the container. Keep your storage cans sealed.

FWIW, Chevrolet put out a service bulletin in 1955 about the chrome rings in new V8 engines not seating. The bulletin advised slowly pouring a mixture of water and Bon Ami down the carb. Bon Ami seated the rings.

In 1964 another service bulletin advised to heavily mist water into the carb throat of a fast running engine to blow carbon off the piston tops and stop and engine knock problem.

OEM's don't recommend products like Sea Foam and Marvel Mystery Oil and other products by name designed to lubricate and clean but if you check, you'll find out they have a product line of their own brand that makes the same performance claims.

[Sam Mac]

I'm not going to get into the Seafoam or the Ethanol discussion, BTDT. As far as the Bon Ami thing goes when I was a kid my dad had a Cummins NH220 that after a fresh rebuild the rings did not seat, the Cummins mechanic pulled the air intake connection off sett the engine to full throttle and slowly poured Bon Ami into the intake. Fixed it. It ran another 15,000 hours before we sold the truck and was still running good.

[HydroCub149]

Think about this ethanol bit for a sec guys. Ethanol is alcohol at about 90 - 100 proof what did we all do to our engines back before ethanol, put gas line antifreeze into our tanks which is ethanol to add to gas!