Topic: Clean your carbs!!

[david 750f]

Helping out a fellow forum member with his new 72 CB500. Took a look at the carbs and found this!! Not sure what the green stuff is, hope its not toxic..PO claimed the bike ran last summer and he added fuel stabilizer.. Hahaha

[gifv]/gifv]

[gifv]/gifv]

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[Kenzo1979]

Well it WAS just St. Patty’s Day.

[HondaMan]

Yep, that's what 'gas preserver' looks like when it dries out in the bowls. Plugs the emulsifier holes about 25%, too.

All: don't use that stuff in your carbs! It's not necessary, as the bowls will dry themselves out in about 2-3 weeks on their own in most cases, or if you don't want to 'store dry' you can just open the petcock once each week to keep them wetted and in good condition for that quick ride.

[beemerbum]

Believe it or not, that green stuff is algae.

[PeWe]

Green fuel for saving the planet?
The fuel stabilizer I have seen use very small dose. I have not tested yet. See photo.

Shell V-Power has max 5 % ethanol. Carbs look fine inside.
I have used Redline fuel additive SI-1 without any issues when parked one winter.

I think crappy fuel with 10% ethanol and who knows how much water that has absorbed need additive.

[Kenzo1979]

I was using Sta-bil brand over winters (approximately four months) Until I spoke with the Caswell company and they did not recommend it for my inner tank coating, although I never saw any issues.  Seems like many here like to run seafoam in the tank regularly and that is also a fuel stabilizer according to the bottle.  So now I just use seafoam as my fuel stabilizer over the winter.  It would be interesting to see how it performs over an entire year or more compared to products that are primarily branded as stabilizer.

[Deltarider]

AFAIK V-Power does not contain ethanol. At least not yet. It might have less than 5% in the future. Might. Confusion has arisen since EU law demanded 5% in print on the pistol grip at the gasstation, even when the gas is ethanolfree. This possibly in anticipation. So what the future brings...

[Mooshie]

Love Star-tron.  Put it in every tank and some Marvel Mystery oil for good measure.  Never had a problem with it (and it certainly never turned my carbs green!)

[Alan F.]

Don't make your carbs angry, you won't like them when they're angry....

[Kenzo1979]

[Don R]

 I've seen orange glue in cb400F carbs, they belonged to a boat mechanic so it's probably from a marine fuel product. I was surprised he was reluctant to get it running to sell it. I was thrilled to give him less $$ not running.

[HondaMan]

...Marvel Mystery oil for good measure.

Me. too.

[Deltarider]

AFAIK V-Power does not contain ethanol. At least not yet. It might have less than 5% in the future. Might. Confusion has arisen since EU law demanded either 5% or 10% in print on the pistol grip at the gasstation, so % 5 even when that gasoline is ethanolfree. This possibly in anticipation. So what the future brings...

Just spoke to someone who works at Shell and he confirmed the above. At least that's how it is in The Netherlands right now. So I personally don't see a need for additives. For those that do use them, you may consider a home brew mix of kerosene (lampoil) and Naphtha (2:1). I suppose 10-20ml for 10 liters will do.