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The Best Carb Cleaner

thebubba

Regular Contributor
There are a lot of problems with dirty carbs, probably because of the new fuel and old lines as well as poor engine maintenance. I was wondering what everyone thought was the best carb cleaner. Do you prefer disassembling and soaking the carbs overnight in a particular cleaner or just disassembling the carb and cleaning as you go? Are there any brands that a better, or less expensive or more expensive and worth it? Discuss
 
Some carbs only need a spray cleaning followed w/compressed air blowout while others need an overnight soaking. I like spray Seafoam about $10/can. I use it on every gas powered toy/tool I own because it disolves carbon and grime nearly instantly while leaving an oily film. Also use it on my weapons. On a real dirty carb w/hardened varnish deposits I like to use lacquer thinner for a good soak. CAUTION! It is a dangerous substance to use because of the fumes that will kill you...use it outdoors in the shade.
 
I love seafoam as well, mainly for regular maintenance. I work on all kinds of small engines and such and it seems the most common thing I see is a gummed up carb. What brand of soaking fluid is your favorite and where do you get it? Does Oreilly or Autozone carry this?
 
If you "always" run fresh stablized gas and winterize your motor when not in use, you will never have need of carb cleaner.

Since NONE of us do that :) the market has produced numerous "solvents" to try and clean up our gummy messes.

As noted, Seafoam (which I also occassionally run) is an excellent product used primarily as a "gas additive".

Merc produces a product call "PowerTune" which is sprayed directly into the throat of the carb. Used as directed it is excellent for keeping the carb cleaned out (if it hasn't got totally gummed up yet) and I also use it to void the motors of fogging oil etc when "bringing them back to life" after winter storage - it does a great job of cleaning out the cylinders and exhaust as well.

If you disassemble and soak your carb you have to be careful what you use. All "METAL" parts can be soaked out in (regular) automotive carb cleaner. Plastic and rubber parts (or Marelon - a type of plastic more often seen in OMC carb bodies) will get destroyed if they contact normal carb cleaner.

A safer solution for delecate parts is the cleaners containing isopropal (probably spelled that one wrong) alcohol. If you don't want to spend the big bucks on these "specialty" cleaners, you can grab a 1 dollar bottle of gas line antifreeze, which is exactly the same thing (plus a little benzene). I use this to soak out the jets as well - simply put it all in a jar with a lid on and leave it overnight - takes care of all the cooties.
 
The Walmart carb cleaner is an excellent solvent. It does dissolve rubber and plastic parts so caution is needed. It is also cheap!
 
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