imported post

Several of the fuel system and oil additives have mineral oil and naptha as main ingredients. I used to have an ingredientlist of the more popular ones including MMO which also has naptha. I've used Sea Foam in my 1500 as a preventive, pretty much in the amounts recommended on the can. It hasn't hurt anything so far after three years use of about three cans per year.

When I first heard of Sea Foam about three years ago,Isoakedsome parts from an old 1100 carburetor, the accelerator pump diaphragm, a couple cutoff valves, one set of floats with needle and one of the plastic filters from the needle seat in the stuff. After four days in 100% Sea Foam there didn't seem to be any damage or softening of the parts.

I can't say that the stuff won't hurt the carbs but I think it would take a strong concentration and long exposure to do much detrimental to the components. Since I had the test parts in 100% Sea Foam I can't vouch for what a mixture of it and various gasolines with their additives might do.

 

imported post

Exavid,

When you used it, what if any differences were there in performance. Have you ever had a problem that the sea ofam seemed to help. I have a fluctuating low idle and some people said before tearing into vaccum lines and carb syncs try the sea foam because some claim it helped. Have you any experienced any real benefits that were noticable is basically what i'm asking. Or, do you use it just as a preventitive measure.

Wisker, Thanks for all those great links on the subject.

 

imported post

I'm staying out of this one. It's all been said in the archives.

 

imported post

Rudy, I've hit search on several occassions and came up mediocre, but man the 'sea foam' is an encyclopedia of reading. Whiskerfishes post was still enough of a push for me to dump half of a can in my tank right befor ethe rain started pouring and now I don't want to go out and get drenched, I can just feel the o-ring being gnawed away by my cecision....:shock:. Nothing comes easy for me.....

Al....:coollep:

 

imported post

I think what folks don't understand is the very solvent properties they are seeking come with consequences....when that stuff breaks up, where do you think it's going? And the whole "If a little bit is good...." thing gets alot of folks, too.

If removal of crud is required, so is removal of part. It's the only safe way, otherwise it's a gamble which may be acceptable on the roadside.

Between old VW's and old bikes, I've seen enough Seafoam use to have formed my own opinion about it and products like it.

 

imported post

Predator wrote:

Exavid,

When you used it, what if any differences were there in performance. Have you ever had a problem that the sea ofam seemed to help. I have a fluctuating low idle and some people said before tearing into vaccum lines and carb syncs try the sea foam because some claim it helped. Have you any experienced any real benefits that were noticable is basically what i'm asking. Or, do you use it just as a preventitive measure.

Wisker, Thanks for all those great links on the subject.

I'm not exavid but I'll drop my 2 cents here.

Whether real or perceived, my father-in-law claims he experienced immediate improvement when he added a little to his fuel. Mind you, that's still hearsay.

I myself have used seafoam as a preventative maintenance procedure and have not had any problems with it, unlike the troubles I've had with stabil (seafoam can be used as a fuel stabilizer, too). I don't have a before and after to compare performance enhancements gained by using sea foam.

Seafoam also says it can dry water out of gas but I've only used Heat for that purpose, once in mass quantities.

So, if you use no more than the recommended dosage of seafoam, it shouldn't hurt anything, might even help a little.

 

imported post

It's interesting that this topic is on here today because I just posted the following on our Canadian Motorcycle Cruisers forum.

ok, so I'm a skeptic when it comes to fuel or oil additives. I read a lot on forums and stumbled across a product called SEAFOAM that motorcycle owners raved about.
Just prior to getting rid of my Valkyrie it was running rough and idling really rough. I decided to buy a can of Seafoam and give it a try. I desregarded the instructions of the can (because of what others had said) and poured a whole can into a full tank of gas. PRESTO.......within 50 kms the bike was running the way it used to.
When I bought my Goldwing it had a slight hesitation when taking off from a stop. I added a full can of Seafoam to a full tank of gas and again within 50 kms the hesitation was gone. So now I'm a believer. From now on I'll add 1/2 can every spring and the remaining 1/2 can in the fall.

Seafoam is available at NAPA stores in Canada is costs around $11 per can.

I'll include an article below about Seafoam.

CAUTION: DO NOT PUT SEAFOAM INTO THE CRANK CASE OF A MOTORCYCLE. Gunk in you crank case protects your seals which helps to avoid leaks. Remove the gunk and you may not like the results!!!

Here's the article
Seafoam won't hurt your engine. You could run the engine on it instead of gasoline if you wanted. Rather costly fuel though.
Seafoam is mostly Naptha, which is a slow evaporating solvent that will dissolve tars, gums, and varnishes that are left behind by old and evaporated gasoline, and then burn it all in combustion.
The paraffin oil is in small percentage and its function is to provide some lubrication for any moving parts as the naptha scrubs things squeeky clean. It also helps suspend the disolved guk so it will flow with the gasoline into the combustion chamber.
The isopropyl alchohol has the function of absorbing water that has accumulated in the fuel tank or carburetor, and then it will burn in the combustion chamber. The water comes comes from condensation of atmospheric moisture that is in our air. This condensate is what is responsible for the rusting of gas tanks from the inside.
Using Seafaom as directed will keep the fuel system working properly for years to come. I use it in all my motorcycles, cars, and other gasoline powered equipment.

SOOOOOOOOOOO.......I've been lucky with Seafoam I guess.

Greg

 

imported post

Joker.....your post explains totally where i'm at with any additives that make seafoam claims. That is so well said it should be Archivedas the additive explanation. I worked for a company that used to have massive amounts of fuel delivered to our pumps. He was theQC man of the company andsaid this. Unleaded gas does notgum up a carb no matter how long its left in. Older leaded gas used to have petroleum based additives that would cause this to happen. But then you have a multi million dollar company like Stabil that says it does.....who do you believe. I've neverdrained a lawnmower,car or bike or added a fuel stabilizer for something that sits for a few monthsof non use, this is general storage for weather like we have in the US. And I've never had avehicle not start in the spring. But then again the vehiclesare running well when I shut them down and I top of the tank to prevent moisture. Big brother want to sell useverthing they can scare us into buying. I've stored many a vehicle and in the spring threw a triclkle charger on it and the battery worked great all year. Now i know there are situations where a battery freezes and cracks but i'm not talking about that. Common sense has seemed to have gone out the window and more money/more pampering makes everything right.....Where the guy that just stores his bikebecause its snowing seems to be wrong.

Al

 

imported post

Whiskerfish stated: Quote, "I sent a Email to the Sea Foam Customer Serviceasking aboutwhat I experienced and am waiting for their reply. I will post it when I receive it." Unquote.


I am in agreement with Whiskerfish, we do need correct information. I suggest that everyone wait for his reply from Sea Foam Customer Service.

The letter from Sea Foam by Matt Hanson posted on Randakk's Cycle Shackk website pretty well convinced me. MyStyrofoam cup here has had Sea Foam in it for two days now and the only thing I see is it is slowly evaporating, no damage to the cup. I do not use any fuel addative all the time. I do add sea Foam, 1 oz per gallon of fuel, as directed on the can, to my vehicles every now and them.

 

imported post

Hi Guys,

I'll add my 2 cents here also. I've had rough running carbs ever since I stored my gl1100 for about 8 months.I tried everything short of pulling the carbs,the reason I didn't pull them was because it was running great before I stored it.After trying MMO and it doing nothing for me I just put some seafoam in about 2 weeks ago and have seen a great improvement. The problem I was having was at idle and when I would stop at a light.The idle was rough and at the light it would rev to about 3000rpm's. Since the first can of seafoam my idle is better and it doesn't revwhen I stop. Like I said only my 2 cents.

Jerry

 

imported post

jermar wrote:

Hi Guys,

I'll add my 2 cents here also. I've had rough running carbs ever since I stored my gl1100 for about 8 months.I tried everything short of pulling the carbs,the reason I didn't pull them was because it was running great before I stored it.After trying MMO and it doing nothing for me I just put some seafoam in about 2 weeks ago and have seen a great improvement. The problem I was having was at idle and when I would stop at a light.The idle was rough and at the light it would rev to about 3000rpm's. Since the first can of seafoam my idle is better and it doesn't revwhen I stop. Like I said only my 2 cents.

Jerry

:coollep:Will have to say DITTO on the improvement, did the same this summer and in just a 20 round trip to work and back I had a big improvement on idle and also throttle response at the mid-range. Have also used it in my mowers and snowmobiles with the same results.

:11brown:

 

imported post

Ok Here is the response from Sea Foam, First is my email to them then their response:

Good Morning


I have a question regarding the use of Sea Foam and plastic pieces inside carburetors. Inside the Carbs of a 70's model Goldwing there is a small plastic frame that supports a fine mesh screen. This is basically a last chance filter just abovethe float valve seats. I experienced what I can only describe as a melt down of that frame after use of Sea Foam.Admittedly I was not measuring it and my dosage may have been as much as twice the recommendation on the can. I am not looking for any compensation or claiming any liability from the Company. I am just curious as to the testing of the product. With a Naphtha as a significant component of Sea Foam has any deterioration of plastics been noted before? AmI correct in assuming that the overdose of Sea Foam is what caused my problem or do I need to look elsewhere??

Thank you

Steve Seamans



Their Response:


Rest assured Sea Foam DID NOT have an affect on any PLASTICS.

Our component "residue reliquifier" is derived from the NAPHTHA FAMILY of oil byproducts, but is not the same as is used in industrial solvents, so Sea Foam has NO AFFECT on plastics, rubber, gaskets, o-rings and the like.

Most commonly used cleaners similar to "Chevron Techron" are of this type, (more refined than naphtha alone is, and are refined for specific purposes)and are safe and commonly used in some of your every day fuels. Our cleaner is referred to as Naphtha based, but NOT NAPHTHA!

Commonly available carb cleaners (spray and liquid) some penetrating oils, and "cure All" fuel system products contain CHEMICALS that will damage and melt plastics of all types.
Toluene, zylene, acetone, ketone and benzene and others are examples of these chemicals. Sea Foam contains NO CHEMICALS!!!!!!!

Look Elsewhere for the culprit! I have plastics, gaskets, 0-rings, seals and other carb componentssitting in gasoline, Gas/ oil mixes and diesel fuels both straight and with Sea Foam that are undamaged after several YEARS of testing!




I stand Corrected!!! :bowing::bowing::bowing::bowing::bowing::bowing::bowing:

 

imported post

For what it's worth, try the same styrofoam cup experiement with plain old gasoline. Better yet use two cups, put seafoam in one and gas in the other. The results may surprise you.

 

imported post

One thing I noticed after using SeaFoam in a higher than recommended does, probably 1oz in 1 qt. of gas was a greenish film on by floats. It wiped off easily with a dry rag but a film none the less a dry greenish power..the same color of seafoam. I ran the engine with the heavy mixture for a few minutes then shut her down for the night the next morning no improvement..so I pulled the carbs and that's what I found.

Maybe if I had run gas after it would have washed it away..don't know.

 

imported post

I can't say how much improvement Sea Foam will give or if it will result in any benefit. All Iam sure of is that it wouldn't hurt the carbs. I use it as a palliative. (I'm gonna teach you mugs English one way or another) Subjectively I felt it smoothed the idle of my 1500 shortly after I purchased the bike but that's anecdotal, not empirical.

As for modern gasolines not leaving crud in carburetors, hogwash. I've seen varnish in carbs that was left by modern, or at least gasoline that was only about five years old. The old brown stuff. A thin layer to be sure but it was there.

The subject of old gasoline is interesting. I once fueled up one tank of my Super Cub on old WWII gasoline that had been left on a beach about 75 miles South of Point Barrow, AK. That drum had been sealed and left over from some military operation on the coast. The fuel had to have been in the barrel 20-25 years, this was in 1966. It had been subjected to changes in temperatures of over 100F, from -50F to +50F. Anyway I pumped 18 gallons in the right tank and took off on the left tank to see if the old fuel would burn. Once at a reasonably high altitude (500', we didn't waste fuel climbing any more than necessary in those days) I switched to the right tank and lo and behold the stuff burned. I got an rpm drop of about 75rpm but that was all. EGT, CHT and oil temperatures remained the same. It might have been different with a high performance engine, that old Lycoming 320has a pretty low compression ratio. I flew all the way back home to Kotzebue on that tank with no problem. The whole point being that gas doesn't get all that bad in a year or two.

 

imported post

I pretty much agree with you there Exavid. I have a '72 Impala that sits a lot more than is healthy for a mechanical beast of burden.

Just yesterday, I needed to move it to gain access to the back yard. It has not been started since July and I was concerned about the battery being any good.

Not only was the battery up to snuff (it took three attempts before it popped off), but it did start and run.

I think most of the problems with gasoline is the evaporation which does leave deposits behind. With the Impala, I usually try to top off the tank twice a year.

 

imported post

My 85I had sat for two years with the P/O, maybe even more. It had not even been titled in Florida, still had the Maine registration, no title like down here. As far as modern gas, my nose tells me that it eventually goes bad. If I smell gas, good, if I smell that laquer smell, watch out. After draining the tank and putting good gas in it, I did get it running, but it had it's quirks, rough idling, backfiring, you know the story. Shortly after finding this site, I tried Seafoam. I'm very cautious about something I don't know about, so I followed the directions. I'm a firm believer in it. Now I give it a regular dose every five or six tanks.

 

imported post

Hi All,

I've used SeaFoam on my 99 SE 1500. When I got the bike it had been sitting for 3 years with 3/4 tank of gas and you could smell that the gas was bad. I could not get the bike to start without starting fluid. And it run like a piece of crap. Would not stay running even with fresh hi-test gas. One tank of SeaFoam (extra strong) and it was a different bike. I believe in SeaFoam and use it in all my bikes and trucks.

Hickey:banana:

 

imported post

Something Worth Noting

My experience with sea foam has been very good-increased performance-better idle.

However Sea Foam will break loose Rust in a metal fuel tank

A friend of mine has a '89 wing with a rusty tank--when he used the foam it broke down the rust enough to go thru the filter and clogged both carbs.

So check tank for rust before using foam or any other similar product

 

imported post

When it comes to Sea Foam I'm in the firm believer camp. I have worked on my own vehicles for many years and once introduced to Sea Foam it got used regularly. I even spent a few years doing marine mechanical work on various and sundry houseboats and cruisers and used it regularly in those applications as well. When it comes to my Goldwing I do not hesitate using it in the proportions suggested on the can and have experienced no problems from it. On my most recent extended cruise I even mixed it half a can to a full tank a couple times because my fuel consumption had slowly increased over the summer and it seemed to make an impressive difference.

That by no means says I believe it's a cure all for the fuel system. Even though it seemed to help in my circumstance doesn't mean I don't intend to do a rebuild of the carburetors over the winter. There really is no "magical fluid" that will rebuild the carbs for you. Ya gotta do some wrenching for that.

 

imported post

"...Sea Foam Formula: Proprietary Blend Date Prepared: 4-1-2002
Emergency #: (800)535-5053 MFG. Code ID: 34066
=============================================================================
SECTION II-A HAZARDOUS COMPONENTS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NO. COMPONENT EPC# % BY WT.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 PALE OIL 4229 40-60%
2 NAPHTHA 20 25-35%
3 IPA 125 10-20% ...."


So checked to see what that's all about:

..Pale oil:
is (according to chevon texaco) just - A base or process oil
refined until its color, by transmitted light, is straw to pale
yellow.

..Naptha:
Naphtha is obtained from petroleum refineries as a small percentage (around 4%) of the distillation of crude oil. It is an intermediate between the lighter gasoline and the heavier benzine.
Other applications / descriptions

Naphthas are also used in other applications such as

* (as an unprocessed component - in contrast to reforming above) in the production of petrol/motor gasoline.
* as industrial solvents and cleaning fluids
* as an oil painting medium
* as the sole ingredient in the home cleaning fluid Energine Spot Remover
* as an ingredient in shoe polish
* as an ingredient in some lighter fluids for wick type lighters such as Zippo lighters.



..IPA = Isopropyl alcohol:
Sterilizing pads typically contain a 60-70% solution of isopropanol in water. Isopropyl alcohol is also commonly used as a cleaner and solvent in industry. It is also used as a gasoline additive for dissolving water or ice in fuel lines. Isopropanol is the main ingredient in rubbing alcohol. It is used as a disinfectant, and is a common solvent.



So:
mix thin oil, home cleaning fluid 'Energine Spot Remover' and some rubbing alcohol
and you have a homebrew Seafoam.
...more or less .-)








Both Seafoam Motor Treatment and Trans Tune are made of the above,
it's just mixed in different percentages for each product.

You can check it here:
(click)
Sea Foam Material Safety Data Information

 

imported post

Around the turn of the previous century (ca 1900) there were a lot of smaller boats that ran on naptha. Puget sound had a lot of smaller vessels running between towns that were powered by naptha engines. Eventually gasoline and diesel came into use and pretty well put the naptha engines and small steam plants out of business. The naptha engines went into eclipse mainly because of fuel costs and steam of course due to it's higher maintenance and operational costs.

 

imported post

Never userubbing alcohol in gasoline. It's almost allwater!:shock:

 

imported post

I imagine it is like all things in life that have to do with excess. Iuse the product with great success to maintain but not as an attempted cure for an obvious gross problem. In the S.Texas climate if something won't start the first thing you do is drain the unleaded fuel. I add the stabilizer to my scooter when Ifill it every time (unless I know I am not going to park it). I add it to a 5 gallon can of super unleaded and then use it to fill my mowers or mix it again for chain saws and weed eaters. I don't expect it to fix a serious carb. issue by exceeding the recommended dose. I am sure ina certain circumstance thata large amount and/or continuing heavy doses "could"be effective in clearing a passageway. That doesn't mean the problem is absolutely solved. dj

 

imported post

steve604 wrote:

Never userubbing alcohol in gasoline. It's almost allwater!:shock:

Agreed!! But I am now trying to figure out how to make the Wing run on Hydrogen Peroxide!!:cheeky1: