Sea-Foam for Lawn Mower

[Guest Oldsalt]

From the various comments on maintaing the fuel systems on our bikes, you guys make Sea-Foam seem like the 'Hadicol' (sp) of the 50s. If it is that great, have you ever used it to clean out your lawn mower (push type, not riding) in the spring time?

[MidlifeVenture]

I have been thinking the same thing but to use it in my outboard on the boat.

[mini-muffin]

I use it in my riding mower and in my car.

 

Margaret

[hipshot]

If you use it in your riding mower, or push mower, BE VERY STINGY with it.

i used it in my john deere rider, and NOW i have to do a complete overhaul.

seems to have cleaned the internals up TOO GOOD!

just jt

[gunboat]

yep i have used seafoam in my honda self-propelled lawn mower. matter of fact i use seafoam & fuel stabilizer in my gas cans. (chain saw,leaf blower,weed wacker) the honda harmoney self propelled lawn mower i bought in medina,ohio in 2000 still has the origanel spark plug in it, still starts on the second pull. seafoam great stuff.

don c.

[Kregerdoodle]

JT, seein how you will have it all apart...might as well drop a HOT Cam in her.... get that lawn cut reel fast!!!

 

 

K

 

 

If you use it in your riding mower, or push mower, BE VERY STINGY with it.

i used it in my john deere rider, and NOW i have to do a complete overhaul.

seems to have cleaned the internals up TOO GOOD!

just jt

[Yammer Dan]

I use it in everything that runs!! Been trying to get the Warden to try it!!

[GeorgeS]

Ran into a guy at our hardware store, who runs a mower repair shop part time.

 

Told me he puts the stuff in every mower he takes in for repair.

 

Swears by the stuff !!

[KiteSquid]

I stopped usesig SeaFoam and have switched over to Camp Fuel.

 

It costs me a lot less.

[dray]

Ran into a guy at our hardware store, who runs a mower repair shop part time.

 

Told me he puts the stuff in every mower he takes in for repair.

 

Swears by the stuff !!

 

and dont forget dump some in your oil just before a change cleans up really good if you have a stuck valve or just some sluge you want to get rid off

 

first time i used it i put it in the oil of a 120 hp I/O and it did wonders in just 11 miles boat ran like new and not even a tic could be heard

 

now i use it in everything from the car to the weedeater

[cecdoo]

yep i have used seafoam in my honda self-propelled lawn mower. matter of fact i use seafoam & fuel stabilizer in my gas cans. (chain saw,leaf blower,weed wacker) the honda harmoney self propelled lawn mower i bought in medina,ohio in 2000 still has the origanel spark plug in it, still starts on the second pull. seafoam great stuff.

don c.

 

 

:goodpost:

[saddlebum]

I have been thinking the same thing but to use it in my outboard on the boat.

It was originally developed for marine use :thumbsup:hence the name sea foam. Hey Freebird guess that means you can use it on underwater lawnmowers:rotfl::rotfl:

[mraf]

I use it in everything that runs!! Been trying to get the Warden to try it!!

 

If she does you'll never be able to catch her!

[pegscraper]

Sounds like it's time to buy some Seafoam stock.

[MidlifeVenture]

[ame=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6187290865726229173&ei=v0ipSfO-LI6cqALRkbQw&q=Seafoam]Sea Foam Usage Video[/ame]

 

Found there video cool stuff

 

Has any one tried there bugs be gone for cleaning there bike??

Edited February 28, 2009 by MidlifeVenture

[a1bummer]

[Guest JGorom]

I use it in my push mower and my tiller...works great! Last year I started buying it by the gallon instead of the 16 oz. cans.

[waterbug]

Were do you find that stuff by the gal?

[KiteSquid]

My local Advance Auto Parts and NAPA both carry it by the gallon, HOWEVER it is IMHO expensive.

 

 

I have shifted over to using products like Coleman Camp Fuel (Naptha) instead.

 

For one gallon it costs about 1/3 the price and it is 2 times more concentrated, so it goes 6 times as far as Seafoam. I wish I could find more bargins like this.

 

It does not have the alcohol to dry your fuel, but 99.9999% of the fuel I buy comes with 10% Ethanol from the pump, so fuel dryer is no longer needed............

 

 

Read the article HERE for more info

Edited March 4, 2009 by KiteSquid

[MidlifeVenture]

The Tractor Supply seems to be the cheapest at 7.99 for the small can and I think 52 for the gal I just ran to Advanced Auto , Auto Zone and Tractor supply Advanced was the only one to carry the bug Be gone product. I might have missed it but I did not see anything about camp fuel in that forum.

[iridedou]

My local Advance Auto Parts and NAPA both carry it by the gallon, HOWEVER it is IMHO expensive.

 

 

I have shifted over to using Camp Fuel instead.

 

For one gallon it costs about 1/3 the price and it is 2 times more concentrated, so it goes 6 times as far as Seafoam. I wish I could find more bargins like this.

 

It does not have the alcohol to dry your fuel, but 99.9999% of the fuel I buy comes with 10% Ethanol from the pump, so fuel dryer is no longer needed............

 

 

Read the article HERE for more info

 

I read your post and the attached link with interest. I recently bought the 16oz can of SeaFoam for $9 as I've done once before to add occassionally to my bikes. But last night I looked for camp fuel at WalMart and found the 1 gallon can for less than $10 compared to $55/gal for SeaFoam. I just wanted to verify that the Coleman camp fuel(with naptha) is what you're referring to? This factors out to even better at 1/5th the cost for the same amount used compared to SeaFoam?

Edited March 4, 2009 by iridedou

[fardnarger]

I put it in my lawn mower, ran so fast I havn't seen it in a year LOL

[KiteSquid]

I read your post and the attached link with interest. I recently bought the 16oz can of SeaFoam for $9 as I've done once before to add occassionally to my bikes. But last night I looked for camp fuel at WalMart and found the 1 gallon can for less than $10 compared to $55/gal for SeaFoam. I just wanted to verify that the Coleman camp fuel(with naptha) is what you're referring to? This factors out to even better at 1/5th the cost for the same amount used compared to SeaFoam?

 

Yes, Coleman Brand Camp fuel works, but you can find other brands that cost less, or at least my local Wal:)Mart carries Ozark Trail brand camp fuel for about 20% less than Coleman brand, but I dont know the chemical diffrences as I cannot find a MSDS for Ozark Trail brand.

 

For a definition, Camp fuel is the liquid fuel that is mostly Naphtha with some stabilizer added to extend it's shelf life as most people will go thur a gallon in more than a year.......

 

Other brands on the market are MSR (they sell a "Super" fuel at an elevated price) Crown, Ozark Trail, Coleman,

 

Side note: if you are on the road and need some fuel system cleaner, just buy a bottle of lighter fluid, but it costs a lot more per Oz than Camp fuel but is probably chemically the same.

 

As for price, I was going off of memory...... and trying to err on the side of caution. Looking at your prices paid, Camp Fuel is about 1/10 the price of SeaFoam for the same cleaning power.

 

Naphtha is also call "White Gas" in some countries.

 

You can buy VM&P Naphtha at most hardware stores, but it usually costs more than Camp Fuel.

 

HERE is the MSDS for Coleman camp fuel but it is dated 1998....

HERE is a more up to date MSDS for Coleman camp fuel, note the changes in the makeup.

HERE is the MSDS for Zippo lighter fluid

Edited March 4, 2009 by KiteSquid

[Kregerdoodle]

So how much do you add per tank compaired to SeaFoam ???

[KiteSquid]

That depends on if you are doing preventative maintenance or corrective maintenance.

 

One pint treats 8-25 gallons of fuel (average 1 ounce per gallon).

 

So for preventive maintenance I would use one half to one Oz to every gallon of gasoline.

 

 

For corrective maintenance I would use one to two Oz to every gallon of gasoline.

 

 

For deep cleaning I would put it in a vacuum port or remove the air cleaners and pour it in just like Seafoam's recommendation:

 

With warm engine running' date=' SLOWLY pour 1/2 pint through carburator, throttle body or direct manifold vacuum line that will feed ALL CYLINDERS. Possible sources are P.C.V. valve or brake booster line. Turn ignition off. Restart engine after 5 minutes. Be sure exhaust is well ventilated. Fumes will be extreme for a short period of time. [/quote']

 

And when they say "Fumes will be extreme for a short period of time." they mean it!!!!! do it OUTSIDE and warn the warden, as it will look like you broke your bike due to the black cloud that will come out of the exhaust!!!!!!

 

I just called Seafoam at (952) 938-4811 and got voice mail. I asked about using Seafoam Motor Treatment in the crankcase of motorcycles.......... until I get an answer back, I would not recommend using Camp fuel in the crankcase of our motorcycles due to the engine, transmission and clutch all sharing the same oil.

 

Update: Jim from Seafoam called me back to say Seafoam Motor Treatment is safe to use in wet clutch applications and to use it at a rate of 1.5 Oz per quart of engine oil.

 

So If I were to put Camp fuel into my crankcase, I would use .75 Oz or less per quart of engine oil but without the drying effect as Camp fuel has not Isopropyl alcohol in it and camp fuel does not contain teh light oil that is in Seafoam, so after thinking about it, I would not recomend using Camp fuel in a crankcase.

Edited March 4, 2009 by KiteSquid