Got a case of Chevron Pro-Gard

[y_p_w]

Wouldn't normally buy it, but the price was pretty good. $10.99+tax special at Costco for a 6-pack of 18 oz bottles.

The directions read almost like Techron Concentrate, but I'm sure it's not the same concentration. I'm not using it for any kind of quick clean up as I use high detergent gas more often than not, but I was wondering if anyone has a suggested maintenance dose for this stuff when I need to add extra detergents to lower detergent gas. I suppose part of the appeal of this is that maybe I can achieve something close to a maintenance dose by just dumping the entire bottle. Trying to measure out a small amount of Techron Concentrate (or Red Line SI-1) is a PITA.

 

[mclasser]

Techron Concentrate states it'll clean the entire fuel system unlike Pro Guard, which only works on the fuel injectors. The Concentrate is a well-regarded product and I used it for the first time in my Accord and I35 earlier this month before their oil changes. Don't really notice any changes in the Accord but the idle seems a little smoother in the I35. The bottle says an additional treatment might be needed so I'll do that before the next OCI and note any changes.

Walmart sells bottles that treat up to 15 gallon gas tanks while AAP and Autozone have bottles for up to 20 gallon tanks. It is added to the last gas fill up before an oil change and when the tank is near empty. I'd return the Pro Guard and pick up some Concentrate to try out

.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The last time I used Pro-Gard was more than 15-20 years ago, at that time either Techron Concentrate was too expensive or hard to find.

I use Techron Concentrate once every year or two, so the price is not that much more than Pro-Gard every quarter, especially if you buy it at auto parts chains when they have BOGO.

 

[pbm]

I have been tempted to stock up on Techron concentrate at the AZ BOGO but I'm wondering if it loses effectiveness over time? In other words what's the shelf life?

 

[Kira]

Hello,
Techron Concentrate: Strong
Pro-Gard: Dilute
What is either supposed to do?
Why the provision for using it just before an oil change?

THanks Kira

 

[bepperb]

Looking at the MSDS for pro-gard it's definitely not the same as techron and doesn't seem to contain much (any?) PEA:

http://www.stuwalk.com/sites/default/files/97-Chevron Pro-Gard Fuel Injector Cleaner.pdf

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
Walmart sells bottles that treat up to 15 gallon gas tanks while AAP and Autozone have bottles for up to 20 gallon tanks. It is added to the last gas fill up before an oil change and when the tank is near empty. I'd return the Pro Guard and pick up some Concentrate to try out

.

I've got a bottle of Techron Concentrate Plus in my garage along with Red Line SI-1. It's not really anything I intend on using for a quick clean up. However, it is a convenient bottle. I've tried using a small amount of Red Line SI-1 in an old bottle, but that bottle shape is weird and I've had it leak past the seal a little bit. I'm really just saving this for times I want to use an off-brand gas station where I'm not sure of their additive levels. This is for places like a Costco without the Clean Power signs or supermarket gas stations. I'm not worried about the base gas, but I'm not sure they have an incentive to up the additive level if they don't have to.

Originally Posted By: bepperb
Looking at the MSDS for pro-gard it's definitely not the same as techron and doesn't seem to contain much (any?) PEA:

http://www.stuwalk.com/sites/default/files/97-Chevron Pro-Gard Fuel Injector Cleaner.pdf

They rarely put in anything they're not required to do. For example, here's the MSDS for Techron Concentrate Plus:

https://cglapps.chevron.com/msdspds/MSDSDetailPage.aspx?docDataId=283264&docFormat=PDF

And the bulk additive says 6% "01154100-5007P", with no CAS number because it's a "trade secret":.

https://cglapps.chevron.com/msdspds/MSDSDetailPage.aspx?docDataId=290471&docFormat=PDF

I know some people have read online MSDS and concluded that they could probably just buy a can of paint thinner and get the same result. The other thing I noticed is that the consumer additive MSDS is that they give a range of possible concentrations. The bulk additive sheet was very specific and even then it only added up to about 65%.

 

[NMBurb02]

I believe it is posted in another thread from a year ago or so that Chevron stated that Pro Guard has only 50% of the amount of PEA as the Concentrate, so you could double up the Pro Guard dose to get close to one dose of Concentrate.

And I believe the concentration of PEA in the Concentrate is something like 20-50x that of the normal Chevron gas, so maybe 1/2 bottle per full tank fill up as a maintenance dose? Or if you primarily use Top Tier or other high detergent gas, then dump in a whole bottle each time a "lesser" gas is used.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
I believe it is posted in another thread from a year ago or so that Chevron stated that Pro Guard has only 50% of the amount of PEA as the Concentrate, so you could double up the Pro Guard dose to get close to one dose of Concentrate.

And I believe the concentration of PEA in the Concentrate is something like 20-50x that of the normal Chevron gas, so maybe 1/2 bottle per full tank fill up as a maintenance dose? Or if you primarily use Top Tier or other high detergent gas, then dump in a whole bottle each time a "lesser" gas is used.

Chevron used to say at least 10 times that of their pump fuel if used as directed, but then again they've probably adjusted the amounts over the years. Isn't their gas at the pump something like 3x the EPA mandated amount?

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
I believe it is posted in another thread from a year ago or so that Chevron stated that Pro Guard has only 50% of the amount of PEA as the Concentrate, so you could double up the Pro Guard dose to get close to one dose of Concentrate.

And I believe the concentration of PEA in the Concentrate is something like 20-50x that of the normal Chevron gas, so maybe 1/2 bottle per full tank fill up as a maintenance dose? Or if you primarily use Top Tier or other high detergent gas, then dump in a whole bottle each time a "lesser" gas is used.

Chevron used to say at least 10 times that of their pump fuel if used as directed, but then again they've probably adjusted the amounts over the years. Isn't their gas at the pump something like 3x the EPA mandated amount?

You're probably right, 10x concentration sounds more realistic. Then the Pro Guard would have 5x, so maintenance dosing would be 1/5 the directed dose. So if one bottle is for a 15 gallon tank, you would spread it out over 75 gallons, or something like 1 oz per 5 gallons of gas (I'm assuming the normal treat rate is 1 oz:1 gallon).