# Benefits of using Seafoam



## Ocean Master

I hear about using Seafoam but I have never used it in anything. What are the pros and cons of using Seafoam in new or used outboard engines, car engines and diesels?

I have twin 2009 Etec's on one boat. A 2001 F80 Yamaha on another and a just rebuilt '98 115 Evinrude for another.

I also have a Concourse 1968 Mustang that rarely gets driven. A 2002 Dakota with 27,000 miles that gets driven maybe twice a month. Also a 2007 V-10 Twin Turbo Diesel VW Touareg with 9,800 miles.

Will Seafoam help with all the vehicles?

Thanks


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## Breeze

I swear by seafoam. It has saved me and my customers alot of time and trouble on the motorcycles and atv's I work on. I know of no cons, only pros. It will not get rid of water, and it does not stabilize the fuel, what it does do is clean the system. I dont see a need to run it all the time, but a once a month dose is not a bad thing. It wont hurt anything to run it every tank, I just dont think it is needed that often. If you want to keep the fuel system clean, use seafoam. If you want to counteract the ethanol issues, use startron, if you want to stabilize fuel that is going to be sitting for a period of time, use stabil.... 

Thats my .02 worth on the subject... for what its worth.. LOL

Incidently I am not an engineer or lab tech, only speaking from experience..


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## Ocean Master

Experience is what counts.


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## DragonSlayer

Seafoam in everything! I use it because it works, no gimmics.


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## Capt Joe

I have been using Seafoam for many, many years via several methods including adding it to fuel and spraying the Deep Creep directly into the carbs or throttle bodies. I have found, however, that on outboards a process called De-Carboning has become my go-to method of routine maintenence as well as correcting many causes of rough idle, sluggish performance and dropping RPM's. I keep a one gallon gas can and a short fuel hose with only a fuel connector for my engine and a primer bulb handy just for de-carbing my outboard.....no connector on the piece of hose on the input side of the primer bulb as I just drop it into the one gallon can with the gas/seafoam mixture.

A fellow known as Dunk on quite a few boating forums around the internet has written up a good description of the proceedure that I will paste into my post to give anyone interest a good, detailed guide as to just how to go about it. Seafoam is VERY safe to use in outboards....both 2 and 4 strokes.

If anyone decides to use this method, it would be great if you will report back as to your experience and results.

Here is Capt Bob Dunkelberger's (Dunk) De-Carbon Process?


_"Tip for the Week 
Do-It-Yourself Engine Tip; A Simple and __Cost Effective Way__ to De-Carbon an Outboard 
By Capt. Bob Dunkelberger 
This works for Carbed, EFI, Ficht, HPDI, Opti-max and even 4-strokes... and should be administered after every 50-60 hours of use. 
First you need a separate small fuel tank. One of those 3-gallon red Tempos works well or an empty gallon milk jug in a pinch, but it might be a bit messier. 
I use Seafoam over the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) stuff like OMC Engine Tuner or Mercury Power Tune. Note: in the last few years they changed the formula and you have to let them sit up 12 hours. Who's got time for that? Seafoam does the job in 15 minutes and can be purchased from NAPA__, Car Quest or other auto stores. 
You'll need 3/4 gallon of gasoline and one 16oz can of Seafoam for each engine. Don't forget to add 3oz of oil if you are pre-mixing in a carbed engine. Use a 3 ft piece of fuel hose off the small tank. Connect this tank to your engine by pulling off the main tank fuel hose from the intake side of your water separating fuel filter and plug the hose off the small tank onto that fitting. Or you can separate the fuel line on the tank side primer ball, so you can still use your primer. If your engine has a fuel plug then you will also need a fuel plug on the smaller tank's hose. 
Start the engine, let it warm up and start pulling the mix into the engine. You may have to increase the idle to keep it running once she gets loaded with the Seafoam. Run the engine 15 minutes at the dock or just cruising around under 2500 rpm's. Then shut it down and let it sit for another 15 minutes. 
Restart the engine; the smoke you see is the carbon burning off. Do the whole thing again and let her sit again for 15 more minutes. If she smokes after the second time do it again. 
I've never seen one still smoke after three doses. (I bought a Bronco two years ago that had 95,000 miles on it. When I used Seafoam on it I had the neighbors hanging out of their front doors looking for where the fire was after I started it the first time there so much smoke) 
The gallon mix should be just enough to do this 3 times. You don't need a wide-open throttle and you don't need to change the plugs. The plugs are cleaned at the same time as the combustion chambers. My suggestion is that every 50-60hrs is the optimal time to change plugs in most engines. 
I cleaned an antique Evinrude once that had a 1/4" of solid carbon on the exhaust chamber walls by running a 1/2 gal of the aforementioned mix through it. Seafoam, a great product, has been around since the 1930's and it's what they used when they were burning straight 4 stroke 40SAE oils in outboards. 
For you guys with the 4 stroke outboards? Those engines work 10 times as hard as any auto engine ever will and they too will carbon up. Too many are under the assumption that it's totally the 2 stroke oil that causes the carbon, Wrong... it's also the additives they put in the fuels today. The carbon inhibitors in 2-stroke oil are there for this reason also. Remember when gasoline used to smell like gasoline, today it smells more like bad cologne. 
For those guys that like to work the carbon treatment by spraying it down the carbs, Seafoam also comes in spray can called Deep Creep. It's the same stuff under pressure and notes on the can, "Oxygen Sensor Safe". After that, if your engine manufacturer recommends a daily additive treatment then do so. The tank and hose are a one-time purchase and the Seafoam is only costs $5-6.00 per can. 


I followed this on my 9.9 & 90 horse and smoke it did! I was using a garbage can for a water tank so I killed all mosquitos in the neighborhood! It will SMOKE! If you do this with the water hose muffs, white gunk will be aLL over your drive way! but no carbon left in engine and carbs very clean." _


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## oysterman

Wirelessly posted

Good write up, thanks for sharing. I use seafoam because it was recommended by old salts and folks that made there living from the sea, alot of commercial seafood workers and fisherman swear by it.


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## Hopin4aboat

I used sea foam for years but now that its 8-9 dollars a can I started using B-12 chemtool its the same thing as I understand it for less than 3 dolllars a can. I recently moved from vermont to florida and using chemtool increased my gas milage by 10 mpg in both vehicles we were driving.


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## Capt Joe

Have used B-12 also and my only reservation with it is that it seems to be a bit more caustic than the Seafoam. Sure wouldn't want to get any on a finished service. Mostly have used it on smaller engines, both 2 stroke and 4 stroke, with carbs that were in really bad shape. The B-12 did seem to clean better in those cases but for routine cleaning/maintenance, I prefer a little milder product that, in my mind, might be a bit easier on other more soluble parts....ie plastic floats, seals, hoses, etc. YMMV. :yes:


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## Trucker

Capt. Joe, is Dunk a mechanic? I was just wondering what kind of credentials he has.


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## Trucker

How about our marina mechanic's that are on the pff, what do ya'll think of this procedure and do you agree with every 50-60 hrs.


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## bfish

Mineral spirits is the main ingredient of seafoam


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## Breeze

Trucker said:


> How about our marina mechanic's that are on the pff, what do ya'll think of this procedure and do you agree with every 50-60 hrs.


Not a marine mechanic, just a bike and atv mechanic, but that procedure will work. You are basically just over dosing the engine with seafoam.. which seafoam is a cleaner.. You can do the same thing with a car engine, just most people will use the vacuum line off the brake booster and stick it right into the can of seafoam so it is sucking pure seafoam into the intake.. you will have to rev the engine a bit and it will smoke like the dickens, but it cleans the valves and combustion chambers really well.. Not sure about the 50 to 60 hour bit though... never done much work on marine engines other than my own... 

On the same note, a trick my dad used to use to clean the valves and combustion chambers on cars was a cup of water.. Yeap, a cup of water. He would take off the air cleaner, rev the engine a bit and slowly dump the water down the carb.. said it turned to steam and basically steam cleaned everything.. Not sure how well it worked, but the engines always ran better when he was done and never had any issues with any of them.. As far as my dads credentials, he has been spinning wrenches all his life, and at one time was the top mechanic for International Harvester on the east coast.. so he kinda knew what he was doing I guess.. LOL

And no, I will not be dumping any water in the intakes of any of your motorcycles or atv's... I strictly use sea foam for that kind of stuff..


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## Capt Joe

Trucker,

While I do not personally know Dunk, I have been reading his posts for several years on other forums. Most recently "the hull truth" where he is definitely held in high esteem. He lives on the coast in New Jersey and around 50 years of mechanic, boating and most recently marine survey experience. As I was reading a while back he is certified to survey to USCG, ABYC and some other alphabet agencies. Many, many good responses to his de-carbon process on 'the hull truth' site as well as to help and advice he freely passes along to others. Hope this helps a little.


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## Starlifter

A lot of tuners use water injection to increase horsepower; but the only dangers with water is when it turns to steam, and in doing so will wash away the thin film of oil on the cylinder walls. Without that coat of oil, it is going to put a lot of friction on the sides of your pistons and piston rings; increasing cylinder and piston/piston ring wear.

So, if done; use sparingly.


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## Breeze

Starlifter said:


> A lot of tuners use water injection to increase horsepower; but the only dangers with water is when it turns to steam, and in doing so will wash away the thin film of oil on the cylinder walls. Without that coat of oil, it is going to put a lot of friction on the sides of your pistons and piston rings; increasing cylinder and piston/piston ring wear.
> 
> So, if done; use sparingly.


Exactly right, which is why dad only used it in cars to clean the valves, and he poured it in very slowly. When we were into tractor pulling we ran a 986 international with triple turbos. On that engine we ran a 50-50 water and alcohol mix into the turbos to keep them cool. Didnt want one of those high dollar turbos to fail from heat.. course it was all calibrated with the spray nozzles on that set up. We never had that engine on a dyno but the horsepower was estimated to be around 2000... even with the water/alcohol injection though, still ate a few turbos here and there.. was the nature of the game.. LOL

We used 3.5 gallons of fuel and half a gallon of water/alcohol on every pull, which only lasted about 12 seconds...


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## marmidor

Breeze said:


> Exactly right, which is why dad only used it in cars to clean the valves, and he poured it in very slowly. When we were into tractor pulling we ran a 986 international with triple turbos. On that engine we ran a 50-50 water and alcohol mix into the turbos to keep them cool. Didnt want one of those high dollar turbos to fail from heat.. course it was all calibrated with the spray nozzles on that set up. We never had that engine on a dyno but the horsepower was estimated to be around 2000... even with the water/alcohol injection though, still ate a few turbos here and there.. was the nature of the game.. LOL
> 
> We used 3.5 gallons of fuel and half a gallon of water/alcohol on every pull, which only lasted about 12 seconds...


Dang man that's awesome. Raw horsepower!!


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## baldona523

What's the best way to use it in marine engines? just pour a whole can in the gas tank?


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## Breeze

marmidor said:


> Dang man that's awesome. Raw horsepower!!


Back in the late 70's when we were into pulling hot and heavy, we were #1 in points for Division 1 national in our classes every year. We were also #1 in the Pennsylvania association every year. Got invited to Indy for the super pull every year, but never won that one. Best we did there was 3rd.. With 3 turbos, we were pushing about 200 psi of boost.... ahhhh those were the days.. LOL Yea , raw horsepower.. thats for sure!


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## Breeze

baldona523 said:


> What's the best way to use it in marine engines? just pour a whole can in the gas tank?


If your just using it for preventative measures, go by the directions on the can. It will tell you how many ounces to add per gallon of gas. If your using it to clean up a dirty engine, I would double the recommended dosage..


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## PCfisher66

Yep, as a normal treatment, there are directions on the can for the amount to use per so many gallons.


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## dockmaster

I was reading the Seafoam site. It says to clean injectors in a diesel, just drain the filter, change it if nessacery and fill up with seafoam and run for two minutes, let soak for 15 and run again. Is this considered safe for the newer (05 and up) systems? Alot of the old wives tales of 30-40 years ago don't apply to today's new computer controlled, sensor sensitive technology.
I did look at the MSDs and it sure looks like you can make it a hell of a lot cheaper than 8.50 a can!! Its all petroleum products, 40-60% pale oil, 25-30% Naptha, 10-20% IPA (isopropal Alchol?).. I havent looked up the CAS #'s yet but thats should tell some more.
Billd

Billd


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## shootnstarz

All I know is since I started using it my mower and tiller can sit for 6 months and usually start on the first pull. I'm sold on the stuff.

Just put a can in my F-150's tank.

Rick


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## Trucker

Thanks Capt. Joe, I printed a copy of the procedure to give to my neighbor since he doesn't have a computer and I believe I will be doing this procedure. I just bought this motor, 2003 Evinrude 90hp FICHT Ram Injection with 116 hrs on it, should I go ahead and do the procedure now or wait a year or 60 hrs, right now it runs great.


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## melijack

Thanks for sharing good info and I must say that its really very affordable tips.


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## mekell

*Dunk*



Trucker said:


> Capt. Joe, is Dunk a mechanic? I was just wondering what kind of credentials he has.


Dunk was a boat surveyor and boater. I think I read where he has passed on to bigger and better things. I talked to him several times over the years and he always gave good and sound advice.

Dunk....RIP:thumbsup:


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## aroundthehorn

Capt Joe said:


> Trucker,
> 
> While I do not personally know Dunk, I have been reading his posts for several years on other forums. Most recently "the hull truth" where he is definitely held in high esteem. He lives on the coast in New Jersey and around 50 years of mechanic, boating and most recently marine survey experience. As I was reading a while back he is certified to survey to USCG, ABYC and some other alphabet agencies. Many, many good responses to his de-carbon process on 'the hull truth' site as well as to help and advice he freely passes along to others. Hope this helps a little.


I tried the Dunk method a couple of weeks ago. I won't say it worked perfectly, but my carbs needed to be replaced anyway. It definitely helped, though. Motor had been sitting for more than a year.


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## bfish

*Sea Foam $7 a can for forum members*

I'm off Pine Forest rd.
Bob
941-4003


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