The author is speaking of doing this at the lake, pond, bayou, or where ever so you can effectively run the motor. Seafoam does a great job of decarbing.
Good luck!!
The reason the author suggested doing this out at the lake is for a couple of reasons.
- Main reason, is allowing you motor to run at WOT (wide open throttle) is not option in a barrel or ear muffs unless want to ruin your engine from over revving. (Not everyone has a professional test tank for outboards)
- The smoke that is produces by the Seafoam dissolving and burning off carbon could get you fined in most urban neighborhoods.
The
carbon/coke deposits that are remained in the cylinders, cylinder heads, rings and exhaust area are remains of burned up fuel/oil. Both are hydrocarbons. The petroleum part has used/burned away. So, all that remains is harden carbon(not harmful to the enviroment). Carbon is found in all living things! Very similar if you were to take a bunch of logs and burn them down to ash (carbon, phosphorus, calcium, nitrogen, and etc) all of which are found in the soil naturally and bottom of lakes.
The Seafoam's blends of oils mix with the harden carbon/coke to dissolve it and remove it out and return proper functioning of the rings, unclog exhaust ports and allow to engine to run more efficiently and cooler.
If you perform your decarboning at home and perform the initial
"blow out" at home or in the barrel. Where does that contaminated water go to? (Ditch, sewer system, or down the road) The ditches drain back into the reservoirs or other bodies of water. The sewer systems drain hopefully into a proper sewer management system and is treated and water is later returned to reservoirs and drinking supply. The sewers systems treatment does not include removal of hydrocarbons/fuels. It is intended to significantly reduce harmful bacteria from entering the water system used for drinking.
So, unless your filtering and cleaning the water you use in the barrel or by using the ear muffs and disposing the slug mixture properly at a bio-hazard site, then you have done no more that the individual at the lake.
(And if you are doing that then I highly commend you on your efforts for keeping the environment cleaner!!)
The author (not me) that originally wrote that suggestion about the Seafoam and guidance how to effectively decarb at motor is an advocate of a clean environment. He often encourages use of synthetic blends of outboard 2 cycle oils because they are biodegradable.
The real contributors of pollution to our water systems is under regulated or non regulated industry dumping their waste products in the water system, so they do not have to absorb the cost of properly treating the contaminated water. Also the poorly supervised and poorly regulated use of some types of herbicides and pesticides that drain into the water systems from fields and irrigation systems.
The use of the 2 cycle outboard motors by boaters and contaminates are extremely minor impact to the envirnoment. It is the lobbyist of large corporations that spread that seed of deceit to get the public off their backs!!!
My comments were not intended to offended anyone personally, but I thought I would a offer a different perspective.
Happy Boating!!!!