Jer_H Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 Hi all, Just curious how many people regularily use a fuel additive. Is it more of a precautionary measure, or do you consider it necessary? Is it just for older, or 2-strokes? This will be my 3rd season with my boat and I have never added anything to the fuel aside from adding stabilizer when it's winterized. It's a 2010 4-stroke Merc. Thanks in advance, Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrystrs Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 I'm sure you will get lots of different opinions here, with a 4 stroke I would just continue as you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 I put Seafoam to my tank all time, exception is winter time. I have 2 stroke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodsman Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 2 or 4 stroke SeaFoam is great. It has stabilizer built in plus cleans the carb. I use it in all my motors 2 or 4 stroke including vehicles. In vehicles a couple times a year but small engines all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rufus Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 Itis my understanding that 4 strokes need to burn premium gas because premium does not contain ethanol and ethanol is said to be bad for 4 strokes. Marinas that don't sell premium recommend Seafoam be used with regular gas. I am guessing it is supposed to counteract the ethanol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 I used a can at the end of last season because the plugs in my 100hp 1978 Merc had gotten pretty bad and caused the cylinders and pistons to get pretty carboned up. Seemed to clean em out pretty well, I'll probably put another can through when I get it on the water this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskieman Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 SEAFOAM!!!! Mechanic in a can..Awesome stuff , I've been using it for about 20 years , nothing negative to say about it .... If it did to me like it does to my engines , I'd drink the stuff. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer_H Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Thanks guys. The motor has always run great, but it might be worth a shot just to prevent any future problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I used a can at the end of last season because the plugs in my 100hp 1978 Merc had gotten pretty bad and caused the cylinders and pistons to get pretty carboned up. Seemed to clean em out pretty well, I'll probably put another can through when I get it on the water this season. how did you know the cylinders and pistons were carboned-up? did you take the engine apart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainsley Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Pulled the plugs and shined a light inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris.brock Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) Pulled the plugs and shined a light inside. that's cool that seafoam cleaned it up, I had never heard of the stuff before reading about it on OFC Edited April 16, 2012 by chris.brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 it cleans everything from the gas tank to the exaust system. Its good stuff! I've never used it in a 4 stroke, but all my two strokes get a regular treatment with it! S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krixxer Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Who sells the stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Who sells the stuff? Canadian Tire, Napa. You want the motor treatment if you're adding to your fuel. Deep creep is for spraying directly into the carb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer_H Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I seems that mainly 2-stroke owners are using. Just to confirm, it's ok for use on 4-strokes, specifically a 2010 115 hp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 you can use it on any engine, even diesel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krixxer Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Canadian Tire??? I'll take a closer look. thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIFTER_016 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Canadian Tire??? I'll take a closer look. thanx Yep, Canadian Tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirk Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I run it in every tank with my 2 stroke, its great for keeping interals and fuel system clean.check the classified if you want some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Is King Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I used it in my 4 stroke Honda and all my small engines. I treat my gas as soon as I put it in the jerry can. It stabilizes the fuel, controls moisture, and cleans at the same time! It completely turned my engine around last year. I've heard the the ethanol in gas ages quickly and will gum up engines (especially smaller engines). My engine is only a 7.5 hp so I don't go through a lot of gas and always use high octane. Make sure you check the ethanol content as some companies put ethanol in their high octane gas as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer_H Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I'm gonna go grab some now. Can't wait to get my boat in the water! Just not looking foward to having to fill the gas tank Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 It's good stuff. For a 4 stroke, run it at the beginning of the year to clean out the fuel system and engine. I wouldn't use it as a stabilizer, there's been tons of discussion on that in iboats. Use Stabil or the like at the end of the year. Ethanol isn't as bad as it's made out to be, it does act as a solvent and actually cleans out the fuel system in engines, the problem being with older boats and engines built pre 1999 or so is that the fuel lines are not ethanol resistant and it eats the fuel lines. All the new lines are ethanol resistant so with older motors, you may need to replace your lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 It's good stuff. For a 4 stroke, run it at the beginning of the year to clean out the fuel system and engine. I wouldn't use it as a stabilizer, there's been tons of discussion on that in iboats. Use Stabil or the like at the end of the year. Ethanol isn't as bad as it's made out to be, it does act as a solvent and actually cleans out the fuel system in engines, the problem being with older boats and engines built pre 1999 or so is that the fuel lines are not ethanol resistant and it eats the fuel lines. All the new lines are ethanol resistant so with older motors, you may need to replace your lines. Ethanol has many, many more bad qualities than good when it comes to boats and water. It will pull humidity out of the air, and into your gas tank. Many, many problems with boat engines are due to ethanol fuels, and water in the gas. It also leads to phase separation in 2 strokes gas/oil mix. Seafoam is a great stabilizer. What have you read to think otherwise?? Just curious. I've been using it for about 5 years now. I give my engine a good dose of it in the fall, then add about an ounce per gallon all season long as preventative maintenance. I swear by it. I've seen it fix all sorts of fuel related problems. It cleans everything from the gas tank, right thru to the exaust. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnsled Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I put it in everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atvaholic Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 The only thing I can say is that on advice from a friend I treated my snowblower with it. It idled very rough (had a surge, then slow down, then surge). its had the problem for years, but it was getting worse. After treating once, that surge went away. I think I will keep a can around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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