Seafoam vs Stabil

[Rost]

I just added a can of Seafoam to my tank to clean things up and I noticed that it claims to stabilize the fuel also. Besides cleaning engine components, will Seafoam stabilize the gas like Stabil will?

My fishing slows way down during this time of the year. With 34 gallons of gas in the tank, I figure it would be wise to stabilize it.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Seaoam will act as a stabilizer. However, not as good as Stabil does.

If it were me, and I knew I wouldn't be using this gas for a long time, I'd add Stabil to it. Then run the motor until the exhaust smells different. That way you know the Stabil is actually in the carb/injectors and not just the tank.

[BIG DS]

No matter what fuel you use or what stabilizer you use with it, the fuel will break down. The stabilizers do slow down the process but they will not stop it. Fuel in large amounts, such as in your tank, break down slower than in small amounts, such as your float bowl on your carburator. The best thing you can do if your boat is sitting for a while, such as over several weeks, it would be best to disconnect the gas line from the motor and run the motor until it dies. This will get most of the gas out of the float bowls. If the gas is allowed to break down in the carbs, it will start to leave deposits and eventually plug the pilot jets. If you have a fuel injected motor the previously mentioned method will work fine.

[Crusty old Swede]

Seafoam was developed before WWII to deal with gummy buildup in outboard motor cards. It will clean out dirty carbs in about a half hour. And as you noticed it also claims to stabilize gas too, my experiance is that Seafoam stabilizes gas as well as Stabil and you get cleaning for free. Before switching from Stabil to Seafoam full time, I would add Seafoam to the first batch of gas every spring to clean the carbs and then thought "why bother with the stabil?" The only problem with Seafoam is it does not come in gallon cans.

[fox8moose]

I have been using seafoam (farm & fleet) for several years. I keep putting a can of seafoam in my 32 gallon tank at each fill-up. The fuel left over at seasons end hasnt caused any spring time starting or running problems. I use stabil on my lawn mower and gas for it and I never have any early spring start up or run problems with it either. Seems to me they are both good products. But the seafoam is also a cleaner and is an added benefit.