Gas additives - cleaning fuel system, Comments on

[bcassedy]

Our Big M '88 Marquis has Crusader 454 cu in engines. I doubt seriously that the carbs have ever been "cleaned". In looking online I've run across a product, BG 44K, which purports to clean fuel systems with, potentially, 1 treatment (1 can / 20 gallons of gas). Not wanting to repeat an earlier mistake, I wanted to see if anyone here may have used the product and their results.

In order to effectively use the product, I'd have to put in a "T" in the fuel lines with a standard 6 gallon portable gas tank that would allow switching from the main 175 gal tank(s) to the treated 6 gal tank. It would be inconvenient to run through 5 gal, stop engine, transfer another 5 gal to the 6 gal portable tank, restart engine, run and repeat 2 more times (20 gal total), then repeat with the other engine. Having 2 portable setups would probably make more sense and not that much more money. To attain the correct the product's fuel/treatment ration using the main tanks would be unnecessarily expensive, hence the use of portable tanks.

Comments? Suggestions?

Bill

[jralbert]

why do you think the carbs need cleaning? and wouldn't some less cumbersome product added to fuel do the same job? (I've gotten skeptical about fuel additive cleaning/polishing/preservation claims)

[bcassedy]

Joel,

It's more a matter of not having accurate information on the maintenance of the engines. We've had the boat since 2023. it was owned by someone who assured us "all the boat's systems are working!" They were not! He really had no business owning a boat. I spent many hours fixing, repairing and replacing items and systems he didn't know how to fix, didn't feel inclined to fix or just turned a blind eye towards items and systems that needed attention. The fuel system isn't something I can afford to ignore, But, like you, I've dealt with too many "snake oil" products promising amazing results. And since an engine tear down would be costly and possibly not as necessary as it could be, using a bona fide product that has data to back its claims may be a way to see what performance improvisamente can be attained.

Bill

[jralbert]

WOndering whether this might be an approach. Do a teardown (or close inspection) of one carb to check its condition and assume it applies to the other as well. Clean it/them if required, then use a market-leading cleaner on a regular basis. If they are in good shape, just use the cleaners on a periodic basis. I suspect the cleaners do have some merit in preventing/removing "varnish" - but which is best is a so-far unanswered question. There is, aw we agree, lots of hype in the additive industry and frankly, I don't know who to trust for an objective review.

My main source of objective product review is Consumer Reports. I did a search for fuel additives and found only this:

"...TOP TIER gasoline was developed in 2004 to go beyond the minimum standard for detergent additives to better protect increasingly sophisticated engines from carbon buildup and deposits on the intake valves, which can result in a rough idle, acceleration hesitation, knocking/pinging, and reduced fuel economy. AAA ... found that Top Tier gasoline can have a cleansing effect, reducing intake valve deposits by 45 to 72 percent when used over a 5,000-mile interval. Variation in the results is attributed to the detergents used by different brands...."

I don;t know whether Top Tier gasoline is available in your area, but it seems worth giving a try (By the way, various gasoline brands use Top Tier detergents).

[bcassedy]

Thanks, Joel!

The 1 bright spot came today!
We're getting a Wawa gas station 2 blocks from our house. I noticed their, as yet (station not ready to open) unlit, gas prices sign show a section for "non-ethanol" gas! It'll be less than marina prices.

May do the single carb teardown during the winter.

Bill

[javalin390]

Let me tell ya'll a story about my experiences with carburetors. I took auto mechanics in high school in the mid 80's. this is when computerized fuel injection started to be implemented. Alot of us youngsters were angered by the fact that our instructors would not teach any of this new technology and forced us to learn how a carb worked. Fast approaching my 60th birthday, I'm glad we were "forced" to learn carbs. Working in car dealerships and service garages, we were dealing with carbs well into the late 90's. Now since getting into the boating world, it's 2025 and still dealing with them !
With that said, I've rebuilt dozens of carbs. The old Carters/new Edlebrocks are stupid simple to rebuild (found on the pre-80's Chrysler Marine). Every-other winter I pull them off, take them home and rebuild them. Later model Chry's, Mercruiser Chevy's or Crusaders with Q-jets are a bit more complicated. You have to first understand, running fuel cleaner through gas tank, weather it's through 5 gallons or 175 gallons, will not clean your carb. There are nearly a dozen tiny pin sized ports in a carburetor that flow air, gas or both. Once they're plugged up, the carb needs to be dis-assembled and properly cleaned. Only after a good clean & rebuild, will using fuel system "cleaners" work, helping maintain the fuel, such as through winter storage.
Unfortunately here is the down side. If you're familiar with Mr. "Dirty Job" Mike Rowe, he has been warning there are fewer and fewer young'uns learning the trades which helped build our great nation, so fewer people know how to, I mean, really know how to rebuild a carb (let alone rebuild anything else). Try networking with others to see if there are any good shops around you that can work on carbs. Some good carb guys are in the auto/racing sector, that can not only rebuild them but modify them for better performance.
Personally I wouldn't recommend modifying the fuel system on a boat for the sake of cleaning the carbs, that sounds like a bilge bomb waiting to explode.