How long does Sea Foam take to help a generator run? [SOLVED]

Good question, Ray. If the generator isn’t running well because of gum/varnish (one of the most common causes of small engine problems), Sea Foam needs to make it through the fuel system (come into contact and clean whatever’s causing the problem). It’ll clean as it runs, so if you’re able to run it for a few minutes, add a relatively large amount of Sea Foam (at least 8 oz per gallon of fuel) before you start it. From there, it’ll clean while it runs as long as there’s Sea Foam in the fuel. Might take a tank of gas to clean things up.

That said, I’d get a can of Sea Foam High Mileage or Sea Foam Motor treatment and follow the instructions below, especially if the fuel is old or the generator has been sitting for a long time:

1. Remove the old fuel from the tank, then drain the fuel from the carburetor (usually a screw).
2. Add a cleaning dosage of Sea Foam to an empty tank followed by a small amount of fresh fuel. Add one part Sea Foam to 3 or 4 parts fresh gasoline (1/3rd can and a pint of gas would work great).
3. With Sea Foam mixed in the tank fuel, rope pull/crank or press your primer bulb 3 or 4 times to draw the fresh fuel and Sea Foam into the carburetor.
4. Then let the engine sit overnight  to allow the Sea Foam to dissolve any fuel residues from the carburetor (older or excessive gum/varnish may need to soak two to three days).
5. Once the engine starts, the Sea Foam in the fuel will continue to clean and help restore lost engine performance.

Check out the how-to instruction sheet for details…

https://seafoamworks.com/uploads/public/resource-library/2022/07/HOW2_GummedUp-Carb.pdf

That summarizes how to overcome a gummed-up carburetor. Your pressure washer’s carburetor is vented to the atmosphere, so while it goes unused, the lighter layers of fuel in the carburetor circuits evaporates and the heavier layers form sticky gum and varnish that will restrict fuel passageways. Sea Foam works to quickly reliquefy the heavy gum/varnish back into the fuel so everything clears up inside the carburetor! Going forward, always run Sea Foam in your small engine fuel systems to stabilize the fuel (prevent gum and varnish formation). Hope this helps!

Hope that helps!