Oil & Fuel Fuel Treatments Year 'Round?

[/pine]

I am going to have to leave my kubota for the winter (4 months)...I ws in Wal-mart today and was wishing I had checked here first...at any rate I bought some Sea Foam fuel treatment...will this be a good choice?

I plan to top off the fuel tank so it is full...is there anything else I should consider before leaving it to the cold?

 

[Cacinok]

I think all that stuff is a waste of money. All it does is drain your wallet, and does nothing to the gas.

not so oddly, the facts indicate otherwise.

i made the mistake once of not treating fuel. replacing a carb on a mower was enough to teach me to treat the fuel. i treat it now and never had a problem.


/pine, here's info from seafoam's website regarding fuel stabilization:

As a fuel system additive, Sea Foam will clean fuel injectors, clean carbon, gum and varnish deposits, add lubricity to fuel, stabilize fuel for 2 years and control moisture.

i just started using it in our diesel excursion and plan to use it in my tractor and other engines as well. you can also add it to your oil right before you change the oil to help clean out deposits and what not.

 

[LBrown59]

I am going to have to leave my kubota for the winter (4 months)...I ws in Wal-mart today and was wishing I had checked here first...at any rate I bought some Sea Foam fuel treatment...will this be a good choice?

I plan to top off the fuel tank so it is full...is there anything else I should consider before leaving it to the cold?

I don't think I'd use Sea Foam as a diesel fuel treatment.

 

[bp fick]

Funny how real life works.

I have neighbors, 80 years old, who live next to me and I keep an eye for them. They have a terrific, Snapper snow blower that was just sitting in their garage. I asked them why? "It doesn't run". We haven't used it for 2 years. Today, I offered to wheel it over to my shop and take a look at it. Compression check- Good. Spark? yup, got spark. Worked my way down to fuel.

Sure enough, nothing. I pulled the carb and dropped the bowl.

Now, I have seen my share of shellac, gum and varnish in my day, but this was something else. I will ordering a replacement carb for it tomorrow. Thankfully, they are readily available and quite affordable.

But this was was totally avoidable and unnecessary. Waste of money? 50 cents worth of Sta-bil would have prevented this and they would have had that blower available to them. Your experience may vary, but me? I am a believer.

 

[Jstpssng]

About a year ago it became impossible to buy gas without 10% ethanol. Since then it's necessary to treat any gas if it isn't used within a month... from the time it's dumped into the service station's tank. At the beginning of last snowsled season people were blowing up engines on nearly new sleds; apparently after the ethanol absorbs moisture, it tends to separate from the gas and causes problems.
This summer I put about a gallon of gas into my ATV and apparently forgot to treat it. 3 weeks later it started running like crap, then quit altogether. I pulled the carburetor apart and the 3 week old gas looked like kerosene.

Even treated, the gas gets old. I've burned (in a pan) more gas in the past year than you can imagine.

 

[/pine]

I don't think I'd use Sea Foam as a diesel fuel treatment.

can you digress a little on your reasons?...I am totally ignorant on the subject and only have internet resources for information...

I did find this: Diesel Engines - What will Sea Foam do for my diesel engine? - Sea Foam

Adding Sea Foam to your diesel fuel tank provides the following benefits:

Adds lubricity to the fuel, protecting moving parts from excessive friction damage
Controls moisture in diesel fuel
De-gels frozen diesel fuel
Cleans fuel residues from your fuel system components
Sea Foam cleans the fuel pump and lubricates the O-rings
Sea Foam cleans the pintle valve in your injectors and restores the injector痴 spray pattern (this is where all the power and smoothness comes from in a diesel.)
Cleans carbon deposits from the combustion chamber
Stabilizes diesel fuel up to 2 years (at average 1 ounce Sea Foam /gallon diesel)
All fuels leave a residue in the system that collect contaminants and hinder proper operation of that system. Sea Foam helps keep the system operating properly by making those residues dissolve gently back into a liquid state, allowing those contaminants to be filtered out of the fuel system.

 

[Jstpssng]

can you digress a little on your reasons?...I am totally ignorant on the subject and only have internet resources for information...

I did find this: Diesel Engines - What will Sea Foam do for my diesel engine? - Sea Foam

Adding Sea Foam to your diesel fuel tank provides the following benefits:

Adds lubricity to the fuel, protecting moving parts from excessive friction damage
Controls moisture in diesel fuel
De-gels frozen diesel fuel
Cleans fuel residues from your fuel system components
Sea Foam cleans the fuel pump and lubricates the O-rings
Sea Foam cleans the pintle valve in your injectors and restores the injector痴 spray pattern (this is where all the power and smoothness comes from in a diesel.)
Cleans carbon deposits from the combustion chamber
Stabilizes diesel fuel up to 2 years (at average 1 ounce Sea Foam /gallon diesel)
All fuels leave a residue in the system that collect contaminants and hinder proper operation of that system. Sea Foam helps keep the system operating properly by making those residues dissolve gently back into a liquid state, allowing those contaminants to be filtered out of the fuel system.

I'm not sure about all that; but I do know that when I began using it 2 years ago my '84 Kubota started better and emitted a lot less black smoke (soot) through the exhaust.

 

[/pine]

I am mostly concerned about leaving the tractor for the winter...it won't be used for 4 months... I am open to all comments and suggestions

thanks for all the replies so far...

 

[bp fick]

I am mostly concerned about leaving the tractor for the winter...it won't be used for 4 months... I am open to all comments and suggestions

thanks for all the replies so far...

That would probably work fine. I personally like the the white bottle of Diesel Fuel treatment found at TSC, Walmart and just about everywhere.

Whatever you use, make sure the product is well circulated in your tank, fuel lines and fuel pump and your tractor will be just fine.

Diesel Fuel Supplement + Cetane Boost 32 oz - 0830968 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[Ken45101]

I don't know if it's Stabil or not.

I used to have frequent carb problems with my chainsaw. Seemed it ended up at the Stihl dealer once or twice a year Since I started using Stabil, I haven't had any more problems. I don't know if the dealer was using poor quality parts, or if Stabil has made the difference.

I put it in the 5 gal cans when I refill them. It gets used for everything: chainsaws, weedeater, generators, 4wheelers, etc.

I probably ought to start using something in the diesel fuel, however.