by GaryG » Sat Nov 10, 2018 4:43 pm
It's looking like I might have dodged a bullet, thanks to your advice. I did the 50%/50% treatment, and it behaved just like you said--it produced lots of smoke and needed about 2/3 choke to run smoothly. I ran it until that mix was consumed, re-fueled with fresh gas and Sea Foam, and we'll see how things go. I ran it for about 5 minutes today, and it was able to run on only the first choke setting. That's already a distinct improvement, and I'm hoping that now having the treatment in the gas per instructions will improve it further.
This whole experience made me smile a little nostalgically. Back in the 1970's a friend of my father owned the auto parts store where I did most of my business. Dad was, by profession, an auto mechanic and sometime service manager at a local dealership. John, the parts guy, used to rib me because I was always falling for the next carburetor cleaner or fuel injector product, rather than diagnosing and repairing the problem. I used to rib him right back, asking why he sold such snake oil if they didn't work. I guess Sea Foam IS more miracle cure than snake oil, and I wish John was still with us so I could tease him about it!
I have been using Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer for several years, and have never had gas for any of my small engines go bad on me. But this Ariens seems really prone to gunk up even with higher octane gas and stabilizer. Thanks again for the tip about Sea Foam!