the best carb cleaner

5030 · Jun 2, 2020

Not all states have non e gas available, we do but in limited places. I try to use non e gas in the small engines if possible. I've had zero luck with the canned stuff. My engines won't run well on it.

newbury · Jun 2, 2020

def38 said:
Check the MSDS for Seafoam;

1- Oil
2- Naphtha
3- IPA

Not much happening with Seafoam. Makes a good hand sanitizer.

Look at Homebrew Sea Foam (SeaFoam) Motor Treatment Recipe
He uses Diesel for the light oil.

rScotty said:
<snip>
3. There isn't anything that you can put into the gas that will help if the carb already has the float valve and jets and passages clogged up with crud.
4. The only sure cure is to take the carb off & apart to physically remove the crud from inside the carb. Be sure to get all the passages clean.

I hate taking apart carbs. But because I run so many 2 cycle small engines and my schedule often gets interrupted SOMETIMES they get gummed up.
So I sort of "soak them in place".

Example 1 - About 2010 I had three chainsaws that I was running and my back went bad resulting in surgery and recovery that took months, the saws sat and gummed up solid. By the time I got to pull them I thought it was a lost cause. Dosed them with good fresh fuel with a proper dash of Sea Foam. I put them where I'd walk by them and I'd yank them about 5 times almost every day or every other day. After about a week one started and after a month they all ran.

Example 2 -
Last year about August we left Mississippi for a quick trip to Va. That quick trip took until January. I had left a Stihl FS55 and an Echo PPT280 I was planning to use in October. When I got back around to using them at the end April they didn't fire up. So I repeated my "fill er up, pull" try again the next day. At the same time I had a Stihl 660 that I had not fired up for years. But I had run the 660 dry before I put it up because I knew that was going to be set up for a while.. That wouldn't start either. Same process. Took about 3 weeks and they all run now.
If it hadn't been for Covid19 I would have taken them to a dealer to fix.

And I run all of them on alcohol free gas, in Mississippi there's a station about a half mile from me

I've got to learn to rebuild carbs.

5030 · Jun 2, 2020

Think I'm gonna try the homebrew solution. I'm cheap.

MESSMAKER · Jun 4, 2020

I am thinking about going to the canned fuel for all of my 2 stroke stuff. It is expensive but may be cheaper in the long run.

ArlyA · Jun 4, 2020

newbury said:
Look at Homebrew Sea Foam (SeaFoam) Motor Treatment Recipe
He uses Diesel for the light oil.
I hate taking apart carbs. But because I run so many 2 cycle small engines and my schedule often gets interrupted SOMETIMES they get gummed up.
So I sort of "soak them in place".
Example 1 - About 2010 I had three chainsaws that I was running and my back went bad resulting in surgery and recovery that took months, the saws sat and gummed up solid. By the time I got to pull them I thought it was a lost cause. Dosed them with good fresh fuel with a proper dash of Sea Foam. I put them where I'd walk by them and I'd yank them about 5 times almost every day or every other day. After about a week one started and after a month they all ran.
Example 2 -
Last year about August we left Mississippi for a quick trip to Va. That quick trip took until January. I had left a Stihl FS55 and an Echo PPT280 I was planning to use in October. When I got back around to using them at the end April they didn't fire up. So I repeated my "fill er up, pull" try again the next day. At the same time I had a Stihl 660 that I had not fired up for years. But I had run the 660 dry before I put it up because I knew that was going to be set up for a while.. That wouldn't start either. Same process. Took about 3 weeks and they all run now.
If it hadn't been for Covid19 I would have taken them to a dealer to fix.
And I run all of them on alcohol free gas, in Mississippi there's a station about a half mile from me
.

We run oils that come with stabilizers in them that they claim is good for one year. By late fall, when I feel we're done with 2 stoke machines I simply dump the remaining fuel into a snow blower can to use it up. Doing this keeps carburetor gum grief to a minimum.

5030 · Jun 8, 2020

MESSMAKER said:
I am thinking about going to the canned fuel for all of my 2 stroke stuff. It is expensive but may be cheaper in the long run.

I tried that stuff about a years ago. My engines didn't like it, especially my Stihl brush trimmer.

MH8675309 · Jun 9, 2020

Gumout (or similar) sprayed into the carburetor while the engine is running will remove lots of junk from the carb and usually helps smooth out engine performance. You will want to throttle up the engine to keep it from flooding out. Spray off the exterior when the engine is cool just to keep dust and residue from building up. Have seen this work wonders.

def38 · Jun 9, 2020

MH8675309 said:
Gumout (or similar) sprayed into the carburetor while the engine is running will remove lots of junk from the carb and usually helps smooth out engine performance. You will want to throttle up the engine to keep it from flooding out. Spray off the exterior when the engine is cool just to keep dust and residue from building up. Have seen this work wonders.

I deliberately flood the running engine to stall with carburetor spray and then leave the residual carb cleaner to soak in the engine. Restart 30 minutes later. It also helps to add some carb cleaner to the fuel tank to clean up carb jets and passages.