Lazy Man's Carb Cleaning

MikeMac · Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:44 pm Post subject: Lazy Man's Carb Cleaning

Sea Foam-maybe it works.

I'd kept my boat in the back yard for most of the winter and I ran my Honda 75 on muffs for about 20 minutes every three weeks or so to keep the battery charged and to get some fresh gas through it. Last month I hauled the boat down to the marina and put in the water where I discovered I had a very rough transition off the low speed jets at about 2800 RPM, right about where it wanted to get up on a plane. Bummer!!! I thought I was looking at a full carb cleaning by the dealer, which meant I had to get it back on the trailer, drive down to the dealer about 50 miles away, wait for the work to be done, well you know.

So on the way home I stopped at the auto parts store to get some wiper inserts for my car and the clerk suggests I try a can of Sea Foam in my boat as he swears by it. I recalled seeing glowing testimonials on other web sites about the stuff and thought, what the heck, I'll give it a try.

So the next weekend I mixed up a can of Sea Foam in six gallons of fresh gas and ran the boat, back and forth, back and forth, not wanting to get too far from the marina in case the engine quit. After I'd burned about three gallons there was a marked improvement, but I still had a stumble if I played with the throttle just a certain way. After I'd burned the whole tank, the engine ran fine.

Now was it the fresh Chevron gas, or the Sea Foam? I don't know, but it worked. You might want to try it before you head off to the dealer for a cleaning.

Your mileage may vary,
Mike

Papillon · Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:04 pm Post subject:

I use it. I like it. It is good my removing water form your fuel.
Do I swear by it....well I reserve all my swearing for the rental boaters on weekends.

C-WEED · Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:55 pm Post subject: B-12

Here is another product that works well and cost $2 a can.
Berryman B-12 chemtool carburetor cleaner. Recommended for fuel injection, also. Part#0116 (pour can) It can be found at WalMart or Autozone to name a few. I run a can every spring.

http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Default.aspx?tabid=140

http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Portals/0/BPI%20MSDS/0101,%200105,%200116,%200155.pdf

Works in 2 cycle or 4 cycle. You can read the MSDS on the website. This stuff is loaded with solvents with one I am familure with. MEK. The military quit using it do to skin absorbtion to the users. It was used in aviation to wash all kinds of stuff. Anyway it is a very strong solvent. I confirmed with the company as to why it is in a metal can when all other products are in plastic. In it's undiluted form it is to strong for plastic containers.

lloyds · Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:22 pm Post subject:

Never tried the Berryman but have used the SeaFoam. It is good stuff. It will de-carb an engine. I learned about it on the Whaler site. They swear by it for the black engines. Especially the 2-strokes that really like to carbon up.

Sea Wolf · Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:02 pm Post subject:

I use Berryman B-12, SeaFoam, Techron, and Stabil regularly.

All work and have their virtues and place.

Cheap preventive maintainence and insurance.

Joe.

kimshack · Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:19 pm Post subject:

Sea Foam is wonderful stuff Very Happy

after reading about it on another forum which dealt with repair of Outboards, I decided to try it with a used outboard for my runabout. I can't remember exactly the what the ratio was, but if my memory serves me, it was half a can to 1 gallon of gas. So I purchased a small 3 gallon tank and filled it with a gallon of gas and the Sea Foam. I decided to de-carb in my driveway with muffs, well be warned that it creates a ton of smoke. I thought my neighbors were going to call the fire department. You if your intrested in the exact ratios, you can find them on the Iboats.com forum. Lot's of good information on outboards.