I've never had an opinion of Seafoam one way or the other because despite a few search efforts, all I had been able to find was highly subjective anecdotal evidence. Loads of people use it and love it and say it makes their engines run better. But "better" is never quantified and popularity is hardly an indicator of efficacy or quality.
This guy has a lawnmower, a borescope camera, and a can of Seafoam. So far it's the closest thing to an experiment I have found on the stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdT4DPFXIkM
My only criticism of the method is that the carbon deposits on the piston were fairly light to begin with. Certainly not near enough to affect how the engine runs. Seems like it would take a lot of time (and a lot of cans of Seafoam) to clean up a cylinder with significant carbon build-up.
I also wonder if this procedure would accelerate piston/ring wear if done frequently. We tell people not to use ether when troubleshooting their engines not only because it's rarely helpful, but also because it tends to wash away the oil film protecting the cylinder. Wouldn't dumping a bunch of Seafoam (which is a solvent!) into the cylinder be many times worse?
This guy has a lawnmower, a borescope camera, and a can of Seafoam. So far it's the closest thing to an experiment I have found on the stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdT4DPFXIkM
My only criticism of the method is that the carbon deposits on the piston were fairly light to begin with. Certainly not near enough to affect how the engine runs. Seems like it would take a lot of time (and a lot of cans of Seafoam) to clean up a cylinder with significant carbon build-up.
I also wonder if this procedure would accelerate piston/ring wear if done frequently. We tell people not to use ether when troubleshooting their engines not only because it's rarely helpful, but also because it tends to wash away the oil film protecting the cylinder. Wouldn't dumping a bunch of Seafoam (which is a solvent!) into the cylinder be many times worse?
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