Seafoam for preservation?

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Have a Yamaha outboard which sees intermittent use through out the summer months and storage for over half the year during fall/winter/spring. We try to only fill with as much fuel as we will be using with jerry cans but it does inevitably end up sitting with old fuel for times.

Past few years we have been using Seafoam to both preserve the fuel as well as help clean up the carbs a little. Can't say it hasn't worked but I wonder if Seafoam is the best choice here or would Stabil work better? Typically just fill up the 5ga jugs with 87 from the gas station as this is hardly a HO motor.
 
Originally Posted By: 147_Grain
Stabil would be better for keeping the fuel fresh. Seafoam for cleaning.


X2
 
Originally Posted By: JDW
Originally Posted By: 147_Grain
Stabil would be better for keeping the fuel fresh. Seafoam for cleaning.


X2


Not sure how much cleaning sea foam really does vs Berryman b-12. Sea foam has a lot of pale oil in it. When I've run seafoam at cleaning doses, all I observed was poor MPGs.
 
Marvel Mystery Oil is suppose to have some minor stabilization properties at the normal dosage level.IIRC about 3-4 months and double that at heavier dosages.And when you run the motor you get some cleaning...yippeee.
 
I run FP+ in my Yamaha 200 hp 2 cycle . it acts as a fuel preserve ( according to LC) and a fuel cleaner. 1oz per 5 gallons of fuel. if you want to remove the old fuel I use a simple siphon and it removes almost all of the gas out of my 2, 25 gallon tanks. with the older gas I will run it in my suv after it was drained from the tanks in my boat. never had an issue even with the ethanol in the gas the last few years. for the yamaha motor they really like clean fuel so I have a water separator on mine and change it out once a year. used to run seafoam but was not sure how long it would keep fuel fresh and how much cleaning it really did.
 
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I have never had luck with Sta-bil, but I am not one of these guys who expects it to preserve the gas for a month either. I use Sea Foam for gas stabilizer and I can say since I started using it, at their recommended dosage for stabilization. I have had zero problems and I have let carb engines sit for over a year, with 0 problems. Before that with Stabil it was a carb jet clean out with corrosion issues. Sea Foam is the best hands down. Its not just a clean out juice.
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
I have never had luck with Sta-bil, but I am not one of these guys who expects it to preserve the gas for a month either. I use Sea Foam for gas stabilizer and I can say since I started using it, at their recommended dosage for stabilization. I have had zero problems and I have let carb engines sit for over a year, with 0 problems. Before that with Stabil it was a carb jet clean out with corrosion issues. Sea Foam is the best hands down. Its not just a clean out juice.


I 2nd this, I have had the same experience
 
Thanks guys with the info on seafoam for stability
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Picky1
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
I have never had luck with Sta-bil, but I am not one of these guys who expects it to preserve the gas for a month either. I use Sea Foam for gas stabilizer and I can say since I started using it, at their recommended dosage for stabilization. I have had zero problems and I have let carb engines sit for over a year, with 0 problems. Before that with Stabil it was a carb jet clean out with corrosion issues. Sea Foam is the best hands down. Its not just a clean out juice.


I 2nd this, I have had the same experience


I 3rd but for long term storage, I am liking Star Tron. Seafoam is a great general purpose additive though, it cleans, lubes and helps preserve. MMO is good too but seems to be a better lube rather than a cleaner. In small carburated engines, I am mostly concerned about keeping the fuel system and especially the carb jets clean.
 
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Seafoam doesn't have a stabilizer in the formulation. The MSDS shows alcohol, naptha and pale oil. There has to be a anti-oxidant to keep fuel stabilized. I know Seafoam says it stabilizes up to 2 years, but that's [censored]. Stabil is a better option.
 
Originally Posted By: huskador
Seafoam doesn't have a stabilizer in the formulation. The MSDS shows alcohol, naptha and pale oil. There has to be a anti-oxidant to keep fuel stabilized. I know Seafoam says it stabilizes up to 2 years, but that's [censored]. Stabil is a better option.


That is why I said seafoam HELPS preserve. YMMV on Stabil, all Stabil has ever done for me is make my engines hard to start and clog up my carb jets over time....
 
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