Carbonated fuel??

[Alan]

It’s gotta be a reaction to crud, on the bottom of the steel tank. But still.
I opened a (very) well sealed OMC tank, which I’d rebuilt w/ new orings and seals, and it spewed forth about 8 – 10 ounces of fuel, (!!) It continued to bubble up and spill repeatedly, but gradually lessened. It still burped for several minutes but eventually quieted. Hmm. Went to open it later, and now it’s bubbling like soda. The bubbles were / are forming at the bottom, and there was a lot of gaseous product produced.
I mixed it w/ good gas, penzoil synthetic blend 2-stroke oil to about 45:1, and about 6 ounces of Seafoam. Let it sit in the garage for about 9 months, in a climate which regularly exceeds 100 F in the summers, and I seem to have secondary fermentation. Spent 10 years as a bartender; learned to watch for spoilage. First sign the bloody mary mix is too old; it gets "sparkly".
Maybe cause it’s CA gas, and, "oxygenated", or some other bizare stuff added?
I don’t dare risk a trip out on the lake with this, do I? No. Bummer; it’s very full.
Anyone ever seen this before?
Suggestions? Can’t use it on air-cooled machines even if it was not spoiled, right?
I guess it’s toxic waste and I’ll have to deal w/ it all legal-like. My favorite. Sigh.
All responses appreciated!
Happy motoring;
Alan

[billw]

Pure guess but I bet it’s the sea foam that did it. I have never used the stuff and have never seen such a reaction in about 50 years of mixing two stroke fuel. And they do call it sea FOAM, so……?

Long live American manufacturing!

[jerry-ahrens]

quote BillW:

Pure guess but I bet it’s the sea foam that did it. I have never used the stuff and have never seen such a reaction in about 50 years of mixing two stroke fuel. And they do call it sea FOAM, so……?

My guess as well. Since the 2 line pressure tanks are sealed anyway, a good gas stabilizer is all you need. Or preferably, store it with just a little fuel to prevent rust. Personally I don’t like Sea Foam or most other additives…. Mercury Powertune or Quick Kleen will run circles around all the other stuff anyway. Just my humble opinion…

[The Boat House]

Where are you located?
What time of year did you buy it?
Winter blend?

[Alan]

All replies appreciated!
I’m in central CA. Hot and dry, in general.
I think I got the gas last fall. Probably not winter blend, I’d guess. I think the additives increase in summer around here, but not so sure about that.
"Funny" thing is that I got and restored three steel tanks at this time. Cleaned them all in the same way, w/ lacquer thinner and a handful of nuts. Shake, rinse, repeat. Filled all three in the same manner, at the same time, with the same gas, oil, and 6 oz of additive. The other two are fine, and I’ve never seen fuel bubble like this. The reaction was a bit dramatic, lots of big bubbles produced at first. Almost volcanic.
I’ll drain it, clean it some more, and keep an eye on that one. I have no reliable history on it. Who knows what it’s seen?
Many thanks;
Alan

[outbdnut2]

I never use additives or stabilizers. I make sure I have ethanol-free gas and either store the tanks 3/4 or more full, or completely empty, and I’ve never had a storage problem in over 50 years of Minnesota winters.
Dave

[Steve A W]

I use Sea Foam in every thing but the cars,
I’ve never had any problems with anything.

Steve A W

Member of the MOB chapter.
I live in Northwest Indiana

[outbdnut2]

I do have a couple of non-gasoline uses for Seafoam.

I dump half a can of Seafoam slowly down the carb at a fast idle on my Mercruiser I/O for winter storage. An old friend that has had several inboard cruisers recommended that years ago to coat upper cylinder and valves. My I/O is Mercury’s build of a 4.3 Chevy V6. Then I make sure the tank is near full of ethanol-free.

Last fall, I bought a can of Seafoam spray and shot it in the sparkplug holes of a 1953 Buick straight 8 engine I had just purchased that I will be installing in my 51 Buick soon. Then I turned the engine over by hand a couple of times. It was a very aggressive spray pattern, so I’m sure it protected the cylinders well.
Dave

[kerry]

quote Steve A W:

I use Sea Foam in every thing but the cars,
I’ve never had any problems with anything.

Steve A W

Ditto.

If you have too many, AND not enough, you're a collector.

[reivertom]

Sea foam has saved me more than one "tear down" in lawn equipment and I mean 2 strokes also.

[Author]

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