Good question, Olivier. You’ll want to add a strong cleaning concentration to take care of any fuel gum and varnish in that has formed while it’s sitting.

Here’s what I’d recommend:

• Drain any old fuel completely
• Add fresh fuel mixed with a strong cleaning concentration of Sea Foam (up to about a 2:1 ratio of gas to Sea Foam for cleaning. 8 oz of gas and 4 oz of Sea Foam is a good amount for a scooter).
• Start and run the engine as best you can to draw the treated fuel into the carburetor. Let it idle for a few minutes.
• Let it soak overnight (or longer)
• Then start it up and take it for a ride. The Sea Foam will continue to clean as it burns through the treated fuel. Once it’s running and smoothed out, add fresh fuel. You can add 1 oz of Sea Foam per gallon of fuel in every tank if you like. That’ll help prevent gum and varnish from forming and keep it running strong.

Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks for the question.

With 6 year old fuel, I would go ahead and drain it before adding Sea Foam. Here’s an excerpt from our page on starting a car that’s been sitting for a long while:

Gummy varnish and deposits are a common cause of problems like rough idle, loss of power, or poor fuel efficiency in a car that’s been sitting. Adding a high concentration of Sea Foam Motor Treatment or Sea Foam High Mileage to the fuel tank is an easy way to clean fuel residues and deposits from the entire fuel system. If your engine has been sitting for a long time, here are three steps to get it cleaned up and running well again with Sea Foam:

• Start by draining or syphoning the old fuel from the tank.
• Add 2-3 gallons of fresh fuel and a can of Sea Foam High Mileage to the fuel tank. If you can’t drain all the fuel, you’ll still want to add some fresh fuel to bring back fuel volatility.
• Drive until almost empty (at least twenty miles if possible) before refueling with fresh fuel.

You can read the full article here: https://seafoamworks.com/starting-a-car-thats-been-sitting/

Let me know if you have any questions – happy to help!

Thanks for the question, Charles.

What you’re describing is very common with small engines that have been sitting. In most cases, this happens because fuel gum and varnish formed in the carburetor while the fuel sat. That residue restricts fuel flow and causes engine problems.

If fuel varnish is the issue, Sea Foam can help clean it up. The best way to do that is to use a high concentration of Sea Foam Motor Treatment (or High Mileage) so it can clean the gum and varnish quickly and effectively. Here’s what I’d do:

• Drain the fuel

• Add a high concentration of Sea Foam and fresh gas (up to about a 2:1 ratio of gas to Sea Foam)

• Run the engine as long as you can to pull the treated fuel into the carburetor. If it won’t stay running, prime it or pull the starter rope several times to help draw the treated fuel into the system

• Shut it off and let it sit overnight

• Start it up the next day and let it run for a while

Once it’s running normally again, you can switch to adding 2 ounces of Sea Foam per gallon of fuel to keep the fuel system clean and help prevent this from happening again.

Thanks for the question!

Sea Foam can help the performance of your 2-cycle lawn mower in a few important ways. The most common cause of rough running, hard starting, or loss of power in small engines is fuel gum and varnish that builds up over time. Sea Foam works to liquefy and clean those residues anywhere fuel goes, so the engine can get back to running the way it should.

Here’s how it might help if you have fuel gum and varnish:

• Easier starting

• Smoother idle and throttle response

• More consistent power under load

• Fewer fuel-related problems when the mower sits between uses

Sea Foam will also help prevent gum and varnish from forming while it sits, and add lubricity to fuel.

Add at least 2 ounces of Sea Foam per gallon of fuel. If it hasn’t been cleaned before or it’s running poorly, a higher concentration will clean faster and better.

Hi Christopher,

You can use any Sea Foam product on your 2017 Malibu hybrid. Just follow the directions on the can. All the products we make are compatible with that vehicle.

Hope that helps and let me know if there’s anything else!