What is sea foam?

Thanks for the welcome friendly feller.

You're right, I don't know squat about the ST. Only owned it for 3 days. I'll learn though. Always do. As for injectors, I'm used to cars and I think my ST is carbed so I shouldn't have to worry about it right?

But, I've never had to deal with varnish as a problem, ever. Actually picked up an old lawn mower about two weeks ago that I haven't a clue how long it's been sitting. She wouldn't start so I took off the carb bowl, wiped out the dust, put her back on and she fired right up. Not that it matters.

I really depends if gas is left in it or not. If it was, then yes, it is a problem whether it is carbed or injected. I dealt with both. If you were able to just run a rag through to dust it out, then there wasn't much if any gas left in.

Like shafts vs chains, I see injectors vs carbs about the same, I don't want either chains nor carbs! And I have had plenty Honda V4s with carbs! 4:

Enjoy your new bike!

SupraSabre said:

Sea Foam is on sale at NAPA for $6.79. :clap2:

Guess I'll have to stop by and buy a few more cans of it!

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WallyWorld carries it also.

Brant said:

WallyWorld carries it also.

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Target has had it on sale for $6.79 (their normal price was $9.99), I've picked up three cans so far. Not sure if they are planning on getting rid of it though.

Check the date that I posted for Napa, it was a while ago! And WallyWorld wants about $8 to $9 a can.

Funny name for such a good product. For the longest time I had no idea what everyone was talking about. Then I googled it and figured out that it was a fuel additive. So much for brand identification from the name alone.

SupraSabre said:

I really depends if gas is left in it or not. If it was, then yes, it is a problem whether it is carbed or injected. I dealt with both. If you were able to just run a rag through to dust it out, then there wasn't much if any gas left in.

Like shafts vs chains, I see injectors vs carbs about the same, I don't want either chains nor carbs! And I have had plenty Honda V4s with carbs! 4:

Enjoy your new bike!

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Oh it was full of gas alright. I know cuz first it started then died and then would not start any more. Plus the tank was about half full. I also know cuz it poured out all over the place when I removed the float bowl. But you know gas, it dries up in about 3 seconds and then you see that powdery earwax looking stuff that's left behind and there's always a tad bit of dirt granules. Can never figure out where those come from. Wiped all that out, put her back together, filled her up with gas, and she fired right up and ran like a champ.

Funny thing is, last night I did recall one time where I had carb jets plug up with varnish. I have this Honda power washer in my garage that I've had for about 10 years. In those 10 years it's been used maybe 3 times. Twice by me. I use it so rarely that I make sure just put a little gas in there and run it til it runs out. I must not have done that the last time I used it and about a year or so ago my neighbor borrowed it. Damn thing wouldn't start due to varnish. So I guess if you're gonna leave your bike sitting there for a coupla years without using it, maybe Seafoam or Stabil can help. Otherwise, don't worry about it. Cuz I can guarantee you that my lawnmower sits for at least 6 months without anything and fires right up come spring time.

I agree qman, in my experience, fuel problems are not as large as some make them to be. I too rarely use SF (or Techron or Stabil or Marvel Mystery Oil or ...) to treat fuel in my common engines (mower, snowblower, power washer), and my engines sit for many months between starts. I am in the habit of running the carbs dry (shutting off fuel petcock) any time they're run, but my lawnmower sits 6+ months with untreated fuel in it (and no shutoff petcock), and has done so for 10+ years. However, one of my new snowblowers succumbed to sticking due to fuel residues only after ONE season of use... I had to rebuild the carb and I added a fuel shutoff petcock.

In contrast... my ST1300 starts much easier after sitting for more than a few weeks IF I blend SeaFoam in the tank of fuel prior to storing it. For example, in late October 2014 I ran SF in the tank for a ride, then filled it with fresh fuel and SF. It sat 105 days and immediately cranked right up when I pressed the starter this past Saturday. When I don't do that SF preparation, a number of valves will stick open and the engine does not develop compression... it won't start easily. So I've found that SF has a place for the ST1300.

I had a chuckle at your comment yesterday "BTW, don't see how a varnish clogged injector would be major. That would be like a 3 minute fix" ... clearly you haven't taken apart an ST. My take: using SF even if you assume you don't need it is better than not using it because your mower engine starts fine.

Don't forget my truck. It sits there and rarely gets used. Mostly when someone needs to move something. Like I said, I've never, ever, ever had a gas/varnish problem.

And I can't see how valves stick open cuz there is no SF in your gas? That's a mind boggler for me. Although that's not saying much.

Was it that obvious I'd never taken apart an ST?

qman said:

Funny thing is, last night I did recall one time where I had carb jets plug up with varnish.

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qman said:

Like I said, I've never, ever, ever had a gas/varnish problem.

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Which is it, you have or have not.

Say what you want, but I have seen the benefits from SF on a 1980 GS850. Would not idle without the choke being partial pulled. Added SF and went for a ride. After that, it idled just fine. I am not willing to find out if I DO NOT add it when I put the cover on in the fall, till I start it up in the spring. Talking 4 months. For 8 years now I have start up right away and she runs fine. System works and I am not changing to find out.

Kevin_56 said:

Which is it, you have or have not.

Say what you want, but I have seen the benefits from SF on a 1980 GS850. Would not idle without the choke being partial pulled. Added SF and went for a ride. After that, it idled just fine. I am not willing to find out if I DO NOT add it when I put the cover on in the fall, till I start it up in the spring. Talking 4 months. For 8 years now I have start up right away and she runs fine. System works and I am not changing to find out.

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Whaddya can't read? I have, after leaving the thing sit for years. Not weeks or months . . . years.

Knock yourself out. I was only sharing my experiences and opinion as you are.

qman said:

Whaddya can't read?

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Yes I can read, Your next to last post #48 is the one that says you NEVER EVER had a varnish problem. You are lucky in that you have not had any major problems. If I were you, then I too would not use anything. But I am not you and have had problems, minor, but problems. Since storing my bike is a thing I have to live with living in Wisconsin, I will continue with what works for me and others that have replied to this thread. Hope the gas gods keep smiling on you and enjoy your ST as I do enjoy mine.

Oh I will. Only put 150 miles on it and it has been a blessing.

FWIW and I know it's not much. My bike sat dormant for about 16 months until yesterday. The battery was dead (but clock still had the correct time) but with a jump the thing fired right up in about 3 tries. So we can chalk up 16 months for a duration that one does not have to worry about.

(I actually think it's been more than 16 months but I thought I'd be conservative.)

Seafoam is a fuel additive that has worked wonders for many people in preventing and treating fuel delivery and combustion chamber build up issues. If it hasn't happened to you , then great. You're lucky so far. You don't have to use it , just remember it when and if you have trouble.

You're probably going to be needing / wanting some help here one day ,so saying "whataya can't read? " probably isn't a good idea.

Have a good day....

This guy came up with a home brew formula, based on the Sea Foam MSDS.

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

I followed his formula using diesel. Here it is :

"Next I tried a 4-2-1 volume ratio using Diesel, which brings the viscosity up to 59 seconds, is still within specified mass ratios, and is easier to mix. I used a single half-cup measuring cup to make the first test batch, but you can use any size container. The viscosity of this ratio is very close to the original Sea Foam and this batch has similar composition."

Kevcules said:

Seafoam is a fuel additive that has worked wonders for many people in preventing and treating fuel delivery and combustion chamber build up issues. If it hasn't happened to you , then great. You're lucky so far. You don't have to use it , just remember it when and if you have trouble.

You're probably going to be needing / wanting some help here one day ,so saying "whataya can't read? " probably isn't a good idea.

Have a good day....

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Thank you fine sir.

Whenever I need ST help I come here cuz it's the best place for it. Always willing to lend a hand too. Saying "whaddya can't read?" is always a good idea when warranted.

I am like QMAN. I don't know that I have ever had problems with varnish/gunk in my carbs.
I have certainly heard lots of talk about how corrosive the ethanol is in the fuel.
But I have not had problems.

I do wonder how much it is effected by the climate where we store the motor?
Places like Saskatchewan, where it just gets very cold until it warms up have to be different than the eastern sea board where the temps fluctuate above and below freezing all winter. (More condensation cycles).
But even here in Mississippi, I have not had problems with the carbs getting gunked up.

I have used Sea Foam in a few vehicles to see if I could tell the difference. But I don't notice much difference.

Mmmmm!, Yes talking of Sea Foam!!, I in my stupidity thought that it was the cure all for carb problems, think again. I Have my ST1100 parked up in a Garage in Pueblo, CO with my Daughter who live there, [i live in France and visit annually]. I come to the USA this year to ride it, drag it out of the Garage, pre start checks done, fit the fully charged Battery, wont start, then it runs on 2 cylinders, then it backfires, oh dear!!, so fault finding starts, thinking it could be ignition problems, take out the plugs, what a mess, clean them up, good sparks, so it's the carbs. I have dreaded their removal many times after hearing many tales of woo but hey ho here we go, to cut a long saga short, the job was not that bad, after removing cables ect, loosen the clamps [i find removal of the top engine mountings helps to get at the clamps and take out the fuel tank another easy job if it is empty!]with a sweeping brush handle to gently prise them off the manifold stubs they popped up. Just lift them off, place on a towel on the bench to catch fuel spillage, then remove bowls, and hey presto, remove the jets, blocked and partially blocked, blow out with compressed air, leave jets in coke cola overnight,[ ever tried a penny in that stuff?overnight?]check diaphragms for splits/holes, and re assemble. Getting the carbs back onto the stubs was "fun", i won't go into how i did it but if i have to do the job again i'm ready. And what is that rubber sheet about?, just makes the job twice as bad.So, new 91 gas, all ready to go, Ignition on, press the starter, and she starts, 2500rpm on the choke, shut that off, re set the tickover, could not believe it,back to how she should be. I bought a Synchrometer from E bay, $45, balanced the carbs [so easy] now running as good as it ever has and with 86,000 on the clock [just run in]i put another few miles on, so be careful with the Seafoam, it's good but over application can be dodgy.Now i just fill the tank with 91 gas and add fuel stabilizer to the instructions on the bottle, see how it goes next year.

Seafoam can be helpful if used in the proper application. An old guy at AutoZone showed me the "suck it up the brake vacuum hose" trick in my older Ford Taurus cars to clean the throttle body and intake valves. You would have someone on the gas pedal to keep the car running [engine up to temperature] while you stuck the vacuum hose in the seafoam can and sucked some up a bit at a time. You would then kill the engine for 5-15 minutes to let it soak, then start it up. The car would smoke like hell. Everyone would stare at your car. Always best to do on a windy day. Want to be close to the interstate to romp on the gas and go fast. After about 5 miles things would calm down, and the car would idle much smoother. With fuel injection, Techron works much better to clean those hard deposits. I think that works best when you go on a trip on the interstate for at least 4 hours at highway speeds. Really have found that to work well, if cruddy injectors is the problem. The new spray seafoam is a less messy way to introduce the product into the intake. I have done it that way too, but it is much less exciting.
I just cleaned the carbs in my ST1100 and used the spray seafoam instead of carb cleaner. It is much less toxic to be around and seemed to clean as well. I was concerned about destroying rubber with the carb cleaner.....I didn't get all those little vacuum diagrams out and did not want to risk damaging the ones I couldn't get to. It was the first time I have used spray Seafoam for cleaning carbs because I didn't know about it before. It seems to be a lot more rubber friendly. Not saying I would leave rubber in it for a week, but it isn't near the threat carb cleaner is.
I will say though I may have caused the carb idle problem to be worse by using Seafoam in the gas tank....I think it caused crud in the tank to come loose, and in conjunction with the old original fuel filter, actually made the carbs clog up worse. Like has been said on the forum here, the idle circuit is the first to clog up because of the small hole size. I think the fix on my bike was dealing with cleaning the gas tank and replacing the fuel filter. I am hoping with cleaned carbs now, they will stay good.
I have always wanted to make a batch....thanks for the recipe information.

qman said:

Saying "whaddya can't read?" is always a good idea when warranted.

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Maybe so. But I'd suggest saying it is rarely warranted and usually just confrontational/rude. Hannibal Lecter and I have little in common, but our viewpoints on rudeness are pretty much in synch.