Magic stuff to clean old gas engine fuel systems...???

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  • DR
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2003
    • 4783

    Magic stuff to clean old gas engine fuel systems...???

    Seems like if you forget and leave gas in the power lawn equipment, chain saw and other gas engines they don't want to run well after a year or so. There must be some magic stuff to add into the gas tank to somehow clean the system, huh?

    I've seen it so many times, the engine is running fine, put it away with gas in the tank and after a length of time it runs like crap. In my neighborhood in the spring you see any number of perfectly good mowers out on the curb because the owner couldn't get them to run again.

    My chain saw just did this. Running fine when I loaned it out in the early spring, needed it the other day and I had to run a bunch of new gas through it to make it start and run worth a damn.
  • macona
    Senior Member
    • Aug 2006
    • 9425

    #2
    Chemtool additive works pretty well.

    Comment

    • Daminer
      Senior Member
      • Aug 2004
      • 207

      #3
      Here in the Peoples Socialistic Republic of Chekoslafornia (CA) our gasoline is a concoction I wouldn't wish on anyone.....A friend told me about using Avgas from the local airdrome for the two cycle gas/oil mix.....It doesn't have ethanol and other nasty stuff thrown in the mix, it's 100 octane low lead and they formulate it to sit on the ramp for months at a time in a puddlejumpers tank.....It stores for years.....
      Cost is about $1.50 more per gallon than regular, but my machines, six of them, start easier and run noticeably better.....

      Jim

      Comment

      • WhatTheFlux!
        Senior Member
        • Mar 2013
        • 347

        #4
        It's the plastic that makes up the majority of these engines these days. The little fuel-pumps, all the tubing, carb internals... all made from plastic. And plastic + gas don't mix. Oh sure there are fuel RESISTANT plastics and rubber but that only delays the inevitable. Dimensions change, membranes degrade. In short order you have a disfunctional piece of equipment. Couple that with the "eh curb and replace" mentality.

        Those of us who know the game can make a killing fixing small engines -- even the patently disposable ones that prevail in the suburbs. A bit of work, a few $ invested in new parts (made in one's home shop) one can make a decent profit reselling curbed lawnmowers.

        That's if you get up early enough and beat the meth-scrappers and coke-robbers to the junk-piles.

        Comment

        • vpt
          Senior Member
          • Dec 2009
          • 8808

          #5
          Sta-bil BEFORE you put it away.
          Andy

          Comment

          • SteveF
            Senior Member
            • Sep 2007
            • 1205

            #6
            When folks bring me motors that don't run because of letting old gas sit I open things up to expose the carburetor and spray in "carburetor cleaner"! Sometimes I need to pull the fuel lines and spray it inside those as well as let it sit. Then fresh gas or gas/oil mix and starts right up.

            The problem isn't plastic parts, it's boneheads who let old fuel sit in a motor that hasn't been run in 6 months.

            Steve

            Comment

            • Jon Heron
              Senior Member
              • Sep 2012
              • 1287

              #7
              Sea Foam!
              Put some in all your engine tanks, stabilizes and cleans.
              Cheers,
              Jon

              Comment

              • Ohio Mike
                Senior Member
                • Jan 2009
                • 1411

                #8
                Originally posted by vpt View Post
                Sta-bil BEFORE you put it away.
                Absolutely! 100% of the gas I use in all of my power equipment gets Stabil in it. I actually put it in the empty cans before I go fill them. It doesn't matter if its going to be using that weekend or 4 months later, everything gets treated.
                Mike
                Central Ohio, USA

                Comment

                • bborr01
                  Senior Member
                  • Jul 2007
                  • 3631

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Jon Heron View Post
                  Sea Foam!
                  Put some in all your engine tanks, stabilizes and cleans.
                  Cheers,
                  Jon
                  I use seafoam too and the stuff is incredible. My 86 elcamino sat for almost a year up until Oct of this year. I started driving it again and it missed something fierce. So I put a half can of seafoam in with a half tank of gas. Drove it about a mile to get it into the fuel system and let it sit for a day. Next day I took it for a drive and the miss was almost completely gone right from startup. After I drove it a dozen miles or so, the miss completely cleared up.

                  No financial interest here as far as the company that makes seafoam. Just a satisfied customer.

                  Brian
                  OPEN EYES, OPEN EARS, OPEN MIND

                  THINK HARDER

                  BETTER TO HAVE TOOLS YOU DON'T NEED THAN TO NEED TOOLS YOU DON'T HAVE

                  MY NAME IS BRIAN AND I AM A TOOLOHOLIC

                  Comment

                  • GEP
                    Senior Member
                    • Jan 2013
                    • 836

                    #10
                    I have a ton of small engines and when i know i wont use the equipment for a while or like seasonal equipment the gas comes out, i drain the tank and run it till it dyes. sea foam is super good, i use it all the time it will dissolve carbon, it is a must on cycle. I always buy mid grad gas and always add marvel mystery oil dooring operating times including my diesel fuel

                    Comment

                    • quadrod
                      Senior Member
                      • Feb 2007
                      • 573

                      #11
                      Another product for after the fact, is, Power Tune, can be found at marine shops. Pull fuel line and spray down fuel line till comes out the over flows, let sit for 20 min. to an hour and drain float bowl. Has worked well for me.

                      Comment

                      • duckman
                        Senior Member
                        • Nov 2009
                        • 1139

                        #12
                        There is an other product called "Start" neighbor bought a chipper/grinder that had sat for 4 years, drained the stuff out of the tank, put half a bottle in the tank and added 1 gal. gas, let set for a while choked carb and pulled over a few times, let set some more, went and gave it a pull and it started, ran rough but slowly started to smooth out runs like a charm now. Told a friend about it and he used it in his tractor that had sat almost a year, coughed and ran, he was impressed.

                        Comment

                        • RWO
                          Senior Member
                          • Mar 2010
                          • 1200

                          #13
                          The small gas engine makers have started marketing their own brand of gasoline. Briggs and Stratton is one I saw at Lowes. Another is Trufuel. They sell straight gasoline( 92 oct. , no alcohol), 40:1 and 50:1 oil /gas mix using synthetic oil. They claim it is specifically designed for small engines used infrequently with long down times. Fairly expensive at $5.96 for 32 oz. I tried some 50;1 in my Echo leaf blower and it definitely stated easier and throttle response is better. I had to readjust the carb needle valves to get the best out of it, but it runs like new and it's 6 years old. Saved a long drive to the nearest AV gas pump. http://www.trufuel50.com/default.aspx
                          RWO
                          Last edited by RWO; 12-01-2013, 02:15 PM.

                          Comment

                          • alanganes
                            Senior Member
                            • Jul 2006
                            • 2894

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Daminer View Post
                            Here in the Peoples Socialistic Republic of Chekoslafornia (CA) our gasoline is a concoction I wouldn't wish on anyone.....A friend told me about using Avgas from the local airdrome for the two cycle gas/oil mix.....It doesn't have ethanol and other nasty stuff thrown in the mix, it's 100 octane low lead and they formulate it to sit on the ramp for months at a time in a puddlejumpers tank.....It stores for years.....
                            Cost is about $1.50 more per gallon than regular, but my machines, six of them, start easier and run noticeably better.....Jim
                            I have heard the avgas theory before and it makes sense to me. Bit is there anyone here that can actually verify any that from first hand experience? Anyone here actually do this? I would not at all minding spending the extra to have 10 gallons or so for my generator and chainsaws. The chainsaws get used frequently enough but I don't do all THAT much cutting. And the generator gets used only a few times per year. I do drain and run out the remaining fuel, treat all my fuel, etc., before storing it. But having some gas that I can be sure will be good for the winter or so without the hassle of rotating would be nice and worth a few extra bucks.

                            Any first hand experience?

                            Also, how exactly do you do this? Do I just drive into my local small airport and ask to fill up some cans?

                            Comment

                            • SteveF
                              Senior Member
                              • Sep 2007
                              • 1205

                              #15
                              If I decided to get gasoline without ethanol, I would search on the Internet for the web sites that list gas stations that sell regular 87/89 octane E0 auto gas and buy from them before I would use 100LL.

                              Personally between making fuel mix 1 quart (sometimes a couple) at a time, using fuel stabilizer, and some painter's tape on my generator where I write down when the gas was filled so I know when to drain and put in my car, I don't see the point. The only problem with E10 I have ever had was with an older loader/backhoe that had fuel lines not able to handle the ethanol and fell apart. New fuel lines and all was well.

                              Steve
                              Last edited by SteveF; 12-01-2013, 03:57 PM.

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