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SeaFoam question.


chrisz

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Hi,

 

I'm thinking of using SeaFoam as a fuel stabilizer over winter storage, but have a question about its use in the crankcase. If I put it in with the oil (~1/2 pint fo SeaFoam), how long will it stay there? Will it evenutally evaporate? Can I just ride the bike with it in for the season?

I did ask these question of SeaFoam, but have not received a reply, yet.

 

Chris...

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Chris, I do not know one thing about Seafoam, I plead ignorance, but in over 35 years of riding motorcycles and using snow blowers and lawn mowers, I have never used a gas or oil stabilizer. I will run the tank low or empty the fuel tank, and as far as the oil is concerned, change it before the season starts. Most engines have a breather on it, so if moisture accumulates in the pan, when the oil heats up, the moisture vapor vents and the oil works just as it was designed to. I am sure that you will hear others give other opinions and back it up with statistics, but if your garage is above freezing and does not have large temperature fluctuations, you should not have problems with moisture in the oil. If you take the bike out during the winter, you will be using the gas in the tank, maybe even adding to the fuel some where along the way. I would not worry about it. You can also use FI cleaner in the spring when you fill it up if you think that you have gum build up, which would not hurt to do once a year just for kicks.

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Chris, Sea Foam would probably be OK as a fuel stabilizer but why not use a product made specifically for that job... I haven't used any fuel stabilizer in my own winter stored bikes for years.. Just put in fresh fuel in late fall & that’s all I do.. Lot less start-up problems in the spring since I have been doing it that way.. Most non alcohol laden fuel will easily store for 3 months with 4 months usually not a problem.. Anything longer than that probably should have a fuel stabilizer added..

 

As far as adding it to the oil.. You will be hard pressed to find ANY auto company, motorcycle company, or oil company, that suggests, requires, endorses, or other wise recommends any type of oil additive anymore.. With all the oil’s available & all the synthetic additives, dispersants, anti-scuff additives, etc in modern motor oil nobody has tested all available oil’s & their additive packages for long term reaction against a good many of the possible aftermarket additives for sale out there.. You really don’t know what the additive reaction will be, especially over a long storage period.. You don’t even know what effect the Sea Foam will have on engine oil seal swelling or internal engine oxidization when mixed with the oil additives that are in there now then stored..

 

In fact Sea Foam kind of contradicts themselves in their directions: one hand they say you can add it to your oil,, but on the other hand they say if you add 2 oz per gallon of your gasoline that it could wash by your piston rings & dilute your engine oil so you should change your oil after using 2 or more oz per gallon of gasoline..

 

It’s hard to beat a good quality compression rated (diesel rated) motor oil for long term storage.. Great long storage anti scuff additive package, lots of acid neutralizer, & lots of Zinc for start-up protection..

 

If you really want the best winter engine protection for your motorcycle (well short of a heated environmentally stabilized storage area) just get it real hot (like long hot ride) just before the last oil change of the year.. Then drain the oil & filter cavity for about a day or so.. Then fill it with fresh motor oil & a new filter (your choice of oil & filter) .. Then crank the engine until you have oil pressure (don’t start it).. Then don’t start it again until you pull it out of storage.. If you start that bike, especially in cool or cold weather all you are doing is adding moisture & acid to that nice new motor oil..

 

Twisty

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Sta-bil is the fuel stabilizer that you can find anyplace.

Has a red color to it. I would use it in any vehicle or device (generators, etc.) that is going to set more than a couple of months.

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Sta-bil is the fuel stabilizer that you can find anyplace.

Has a red color to it. I would use it in any vehicle or device (generators, etc.) that is going to set more than a couple of months.

 

2nd this!

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Seafoam is a decarboning chemical, and a good one at that. We use it often in fuel systems to clean combustion chambers, wake up oxygen sensors & catalytic converters. Likewise, when added to oil, its function is to remove varnish (hence the "frees lifters - rings" claim). It's fine as a stabilizer but I see no reason to add it to your oil for storage.

I used to use Stabil in everything until I noticed a red coating from the stuff on my plugs even after a tank or two of fresh fuel the next season. For the last several years I've just topped up my tanks to eliminate any excessive air/moisture and have had no trouble at all. I generally stop riding regularly in late November and only take each bike out two or three times from then until early March. Never so much as a hiccup.

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