How often should you use Sea Foam for maintenance? [SOLVED]
Can you use Sea Foam too often? The video suggests using a can of Sea Foam Spray every 7,000 driven miles in cars. But what about in other 2 & 4 stroke small engines like weed trimmers, blowers, lawnmowers, blowers, or snowblowers, etc – How often? Every _?_ hours? Every season? Is putting Sea Foam Motor Treatment (liquid Sea Foam) in the gas tank (2 oz. per gallon) the same as basic prevention? Whereas using the spray is for periodic cleaning of intake valve & chamber area deposits?
Thanks.
This is a great question, Ben. In terms of safety, you can use Sea Foam as frequently as you’d like.
Of course, most people use Sea Foam (both Spray and the liquid Motor Treatment) to clean their engine and prevent bigger problems down the road. The best way to accomplish this is different for vehicles and small engines.
For cars and trucks, every 7,000 miles is a great benchmark for using Sea Foam Spray. As you noted, it will keep intake valves and chamber areas clean. The benefit of Sea Foam Spray in modern GDI engines is that it will clean intake areas where fuel additives can’t reach (since the fuel doesn’t wash over the intake valves).
In carbureted small engines, you can use Sea Foam Spray to clean intake areas, though most people just use Sea Foam Motor Treatment in the fuel, which cleans the carburetor and everywhere else the fuel goes. If you want to be extra thorough and use Sea Foam Spray in your small engines (both 2&4 stroke), once a season would be fine. Check out this video from the archive for how to do this in a lawnmower:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZreiTnd6TI4
You’re right on track about using Sea Foam Motor Treatment in fuel as basic preventative maintenance. Because small engines often sit for weeks or months between use, we recommend adding Sea Foam to every tank of fuel. That will keep fuel passageways and carburetors clean, and prevent fuel from degrading. Gum and varnish is a major cause of small engine trouble, and Sea Foam cleans and prevents it from forming. 2 oz of Sea Foam per gallon is the correct dosage for small engines.
In cars and trucks, adding a full can of Sea Foam Motor Treatment to fuel every 3-5,000 miles is a good rule of thumb for preventative maintenance.
Thanks for the question and hope that helps!
Jim D.TECH
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