Homemade Seafoam....

[cousincletus]

I use Seafoam to decarbon my boat engine and like it a lot. Also works as a gas stabilizer. When I was in the service, I learned about two different types of Naptha. Aeromatic and Alphatic. Don't know if I spelled these correctly but one evaporates faster than the other. Hope this helps.

 

[Techniker]

I want to raise this thread from the dead. And you think something would be gone after 7 years...

What came of this? Was it ever added to fuel?

 

[sunfire]

I dumped about 6 oz of homemade seafoam into my mom's 98 Civic right down the TB. Let it sit for about an hour. When I started it blew out the tailpipe what I saw was white smoke from inside the car. But my mom said it was a trail of black smoke. Car smoked for < 30 seconds.

She did say the car was a bit more responsive.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: sunfire
I dumped about 6 oz of homemade seafoam into my mom's 98 Civic right down the TB. Let it sit for about an hour. When I started it blew out the tailpipe what I saw was white smoke from inside the car. But my mom said it was a trail of black smoke. Car smoked for < 30 seconds.

She did say the car was a bit more responsive.


If you didn't have the spark plugs out, you are lucky you didn't hydrolock the engine and wipe out a connecting rod.

2 ounces in one cylinder that was was sitting on the intake or compression stroke would have damaged the engine if the plugs were still in.

 

[sunfire]

Originally Posted By: Techniker
I want to raise this thread from the dead. And you think something would be gone after 7 years...

What came of this? Was it ever added to fuel?


IMO MMO is better than Seafoam in the fuel/oil. Seafoam is better for decarb the UC. I have nothing to really back this up. Entirely based on research I've done on the ingredients of each product.

 

[sunfire]

Originally Posted By: XS650
If you didn't have the spark plugs out, you are lucky you didn't hydrolock the engine and wipe out a connecting rod.

2 ounces in one cylinder that was was sitting on the intake or compression stroke would have damaged the engine if the plugs were still in.


The oil would have been pushed out through the outtake valves. It's not going to sit on top the the cylinder... or at least thats what I think would happen. My homemade juice is 100% combustible. I stalled it once by pouring too fast. But started right backup with a little extra gas. A measly 6oz distributed across 4 cylinders in a hot engine, at least 50% of my homemade juice would have been burned in the chamber... I wasn't too worried.

But the car ran fine after a 20 mile trip. I was really proud of the "black smoke". Because what I poured in wasn't black at all.

 

[951Indy]

There are people out there that believe you can hydrolock on engine that is RUNNING with a can of seafoam. It sounds like your engine wasn't running, but I'll bet there wasn't any left on top the piston(s) after an hour. If so, at least your rings are good!

FWIW, you can run a small block chev at 3000 RPM with a garden hose running into the carb. I was 16 once, and won a bet doing it..

 

[rslifkin]

I've decarboned the 360 in the Jeep by running it at 2500 with the hose nozzle misting down the TB. It hardly notices, as long as you hold the revs up for a good 15 seconds after you stop spraying. Otherwise, it chokes a bit when you idle it down.

Hydrolocking a running engine, particularly at higher rpms, takes a surprisingly large amount of liquid. With flammable stuff that can start to evaporate, and then burn off, it's even a little harder.

When I seafoamed my Mom's Jeep with a 4.0 in it, I tried to stall it at the end by shoving the end of the 3/8" brake booster vacuum hose in the can. It choked a bit, but kept sucking, and kept running. And, it was only turning about 900 rpm. I ended up having to shut it down with the key. It ran for a good 5 seconds after I killed it too, running on just seafoam and compression ignition at what sounded like about 300 rpm.

 

[Vikas]

Let us do some calculations. Assume 4.0 liter engine with 10:1 compression ratio. Lowest volume would be 0.4 liter or about 13 oz. This assumes all cylinders are at TDC at the same time which is obviously not true. You will need to pump at least 13 oz through the engine at very fast rate i.e. you want to get all the 13 oz to all the cylinders at the same instant to cause the engine to hydro lock.

Thinking along the same line, for that 8 cylinder engine, as long as your are not putting more than 2 oz in a fraction of a second, it would be very difficult to hydro lock it.

Are my calculations all wet ?

- Vikas

 

[mechtech2]

We can't assume even distribution when pouring/spraying down an intake manifold.
This is why port fuel injection replaced carburetors and TB injection - to eliminate poor distribution.
Pooling and/or cumulative or sudden ingestion of fluids can certainly occur.

For another instance, Nitro fueled dragsters can hydrolock with their massive fuel amounts being dumped in the cylinders. All it takes is a misfire.

 

[rslifkin]

The key to even distribution for stuff like this is higher rpms. At idle, distribution is an issue. However, rev it up to 2500 or more, and the air is getting pulled through much faster, leading to much more even distribution.

 

[SteveSRT8]

please, that is over simplified to death!

In any port fuel injected or DI motor the intake manifold is dry and optimized for AIR flow and distribution.

It is simply not made to propagate the flow of any liquid!

In old carb'ed and TBI cars te manifolds were heated and very carefully designed so fuel would not puddle in them.

The difference is not subtle. Introducing any liquid into the intake of a modern vehicle should be done very cautiously, and you cannot expect even distribution.

 

[rslifkin]

That is a good point that they're not tuned for it. However, if you pull the stuff through fast enough, and introduce it at a central point, it will spread reasonably evenly, as it won't get a chance to puddle anywhere. It's certainly still not as good a distribution as a carb manifold, however.

 

[ahoier]

Sounds like a good experiment

BUT, do keep in mind, most "isopropyl alcohol" on the shelves at Walmart, CVS, etc.....only contain maybe 70% isopropyl alcohol, the REST is water......

You definitely want the "pharmacy grade" stuff - CVS/Walgreens/RiteAid probably has it - though it may be locked behind the counter

As for the pale oil, I've heard TCW-3 can be used......I wouldn't suggest SAE30 motor oil, since I've heard motor oil won't actually burn, then you'd have a mess in your gas tank lol....

 

[jmac]

I have a bottle of CVS alcohol that says on the lable, "99% Isopropyl Alcohol" that I used just last night. Got it right off the shelf at the store.

 

[sunfire]

Target has 99 or 95% Isopropyl Alcohol... I forget... as well as 70% both on the shelf. You can buy as much as you like.

 

[Craftsman]

You can typically get 99% Isopropyl Alcohol right off the shelves at most drug stores. The 70% stuff is labelled rubbing alcohol and it does contain 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% something else.

 

[Blokey]

"something else" = water

 

[hcainesjr]

http://hildstrom.com/projects/seafoam/