Fuel additives

[gregp]

During our week long power outage, I was able to get 3 neglected, poorly running generators running great by simply running a few tankful's of treated fuel through them. I used Chevron Techron this time, but I have used Seafoam as well. Over the years I have become quite a believer in this stuff, and I have been faithfully adding it to all of my power-sport toys regularly. Does this stuff do any damage?
My bikes and other toys seem to start right up and never miss a beat since I have been using it.

[butcher bergs]

Seafoam hasn't damaged anything I've run with it and I've been using that stuff for about 7 years now. I also put it in my 2-stroke premix and have run my saw for hours at a time (such as this past weekend) without issue.

Good for top end cleaner as well on my Ranger. Stopped the pinging.

[typeone]

ive never had an issue with Techron, Seafoam, Stabil or Star Tron. most of them say slight overdosing isn't harmful either which gives you a little piece of mind. Techron and Star Tron have shown HUGE improvements in my truck which is prone to injector issues and pinging. other fuel treatments like STP did nothing.

Stabil (equip + bikes) and Seafoam (vintage car) i've been using forever, not one issue.

Star Tron is my preferred fuel treatment these days. been running it in everything that uses fuel, 4T + 2T, for the past two seasons, year round. great stuff.

[Stromper]

My friend contacted Honda generators.

The engineer said that they have found some E10 as high as E16 and thus some problems relating to plastic attack, water, and growth.


They recommend seafoam as a hedge against problems.


I too have experience with poor running being converted to good

[Stoneman]

Stabil (equip + bikes) and Seafoam (vintage car) i've been using forever, not one issue.

Same here, same recipe...

Star Tron is my preferred fuel treatment these days. been running it in everything that uses fuel, 4T + 2T, for the past two seasons, year round. great stuff.

Never heard of Tron. I'ma gonna look into that...

[ZX11D]

Where can I get it Stoneman?

[typeone]

if you guys are looking for Star Tron, i've only found it at NAPA here in central MA. it's bright blue in a clear bottle.

http://mystarbrite.com/startron/

[RandyO]

Startron is everywhere, napa, autozone, walmart, my local bike dealer

[typeone]

huh, not around me. looked at my local AutoZone, Advance, hardware stores, no dice. haven't stepped into a WalMart in years, I refuse to

either way, give it a try, I'm def a big fan.

[gamorg02]

i've heard really really good things about 'start your engines'. i picked some up but have yet to use it.

[TheIglu]

Isn't most of that stuff just aceton derived?

[Sheppo]

Isn't most of that stuff just aceton derived?

This is from their website...

http://mystarbrite.com/startron//con...12/34/lang,en/

[Dichotomous]

Isn't most of that stuff just aceton derived?

naptha and light oil, mix up the ratios and there is your mix.
I belive colman fuel is naptha, and probably cheeper. but no light oil in there to lube the upper cylinders.

starton is 95% naptha (their MSDS) and 5% organic compounds, which COULD be ethanol, or some enzyme they speak of, which seems to be half BS. its still mostly naptha, which is far less aggressive at burning or cutting through sludge or carbon than gasoline, but evaporates slowly so it stays around longer to soak in deeper.

[TheIglu]

naptha and light oil, mix up the ratios and there is your mix.
I belive colman fuel is naptha, and probably cheeper. but no light oil in there to lube the upper cylinders.

starton is 95% naptha (their MSDS) and 5% organic compounds, which COULD be ethanol, or some enzyme they speak of, which seems to be half BS. its still mostly naptha, which is far less aggressive at burning or cutting through sludge or carbon than gasoline, but evaporates slowly so it stays around longer to soak in deeper.

So white gas + Marvel Mystery oil = cheap high volume alternative to that snake oil.

[Dichotomous]

So white gas + Marvel Mystery oil = cheap high volume alternative to that snake oil.

mmo IS white gas + light oil......

[typeone]

i love how these kind of threads always degrade into 'snake oil' and 'placebo' comments...

gregp, you were just imagining a better running machine

[Dichotomous]

no no, the additives DO work, there is a bit of hype on them, but they do work. essentially, naptha is a solvent that sticks around longer than gasoline so it gets deeper into gunk and crap. the light oil in very low amounts will allow some to stick to the upper cylinder walls and top surface of rings. but stating something like that wont sell millions of bottles, so they invent claims

[Stoneman]

So white gas + Marvel Mystery oil = cheap high volume alternative to that snake oil.

Ha! Every spring when we take the Corvette out of storage I run Seafoam through it. Towards the end of summer I'll run a small can of Mystery Oil with the last full tank of gas before I refill it for storage. I dunno, still runs like a champ, so I'm saying my process works. That and Chinese food...

[gregp]

i love how these kind of threads always degrade into 'snake oil' and 'placebo' comments...

gregp, you were just imagining a better running machine

Yikes! You know, if, say, an actual chemical engineer was here on the board, and he/she told me that the same thing could be accomplished with some concoction of inexpensive/easily accessible bulk ingredients, I would probably try it. Short of that, I will pay for the label. I mean, I'd hate to mix my own, only to find that it removes the paint from my pretty tanks, or melts my dirt bike and ATV tanks from the inside.
I have heard of Startron, and seen it advertised in several of the bike magazines, but I have not tried it yet. IIRC, it was significantly more expensive (per ounce) than any of the others, but, depending on the recommended ratio, it may be very competitive. I will look into it more closely the next time I see it on a shelf somewhere...

[typeone]

exactly. i stabilize/treat all the equipment + toys and they fire, run clean without issue no matter how many months have passed.

my GMC has been the worst vehicle i've owned to experience fuel related issues. Techron and Star Tron are the only two that clear it up. Seafoam doesn't, Stabil doesn't, STP fuel treatment doesn't, GUNK treatment doesn't etc.

with Techron, i needed to run a few tanks to see a change. with Star Tron, i notice a change immediately. i'm not talking horsepower bullshit, i just mean a clean fire, proper idle, no ping, clean acceleration. whatever is in there, sold me for good. hell, even GM got tired of clearing lean codes and cleaning my upper fuel system. they finally just said, 'go buy some Techron and run it every few thousand' ... my issues reappear well before 1K mi.

like Stoneman, i used to use Seafoam in my vintage car that rarely got driven, always ran mint. i've also used Seafoam twice to help dry out my Husky's crank case when it went for a deep swim. multiple fresh oil changes + Seafoam got the latte cleared up in a snap.

not arguing, just stating my experience. i certainly dont mind that they brand this stuff and throw it in one simple to use bottle

[RandyO]

.

starton is 95% naptha (their MSDS) and 5% organic compounds

read the MSDS again

(greater than)> 95% naptha

(less than ) < 0.5% propretary organic compounds

[nhbubba]

Bought some of this Star Tron stuff at my local Napa this AM. $9, says it'll treat something like 120 gal. I'll try (almost) anything once..

[martyk]

$9 for up to 120 gal is pretty damn good, lets hear if you have a noticeable change or anything. I usually use seafoam or techron on my truck, bike, mower etc. Not that i have ever had issues with them but figure with fuel these days you never know, so thats my .02

[Paul_E_D]

I had one problem with it last week. Tyler's RMX 250 wouldn't start. I had treated it with startron. When He cracked open the carb it smelled like turpentine (acetone) The gas in the tank smelled fine though. He missed the ride and because his carb is really hard to access, he didn't empty the bowl til we got back. Then it kicked right over.

I guess that means the stuff separated out and filled the bowl of the carb.

[typeone]

interesting, that's kind of my latest experiment with the Pitster (carb needs attention) but so far so good across the board.