Terraclean. Anyone done it?
Discussion
Id of thought it snake oil, but this makes interesting viewing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiViPKIoG68
You do need to ask- what am I cleaning though that will make a difference and how can it be measured?
Injector tips for a better spray pattern?
Possible reduction of carbon in the combustion chamber?
Remove contaminants from the catalyst.?
One thing of note though is carbon and a fouled catalyst can be cleaned using decent fuel and a good hard run to get things hot (Good old "Italian tune") and injectors just need a squirt of injector cleaner into the fuel tank next fill up. I should imagine the Jag showed such good results having been pottered around town for many years and fouled up accordingly, and Morgans dont go above 50 mph at any point do they?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiViPKIoG68
You do need to ask- what am I cleaning though that will make a difference and how can it be measured?
Injector tips for a better spray pattern?
Possible reduction of carbon in the combustion chamber?
Remove contaminants from the catalyst.?
One thing of note though is carbon and a fouled catalyst can be cleaned using decent fuel and a good hard run to get things hot (Good old "Italian tune") and injectors just need a squirt of injector cleaner into the fuel tank next fill up. I should imagine the Jag showed such good results having been pottered around town for many years and fouled up accordingly, and Morgans dont go above 50 mph at any point do they?
Yes Ive had it done, first on my 2001 jeep Grand Cherokee oil burner then on my 4.0LT Chim… I cant say I noticed a vast improvement in performance but the jeeps computer did register a few MPG increase following the clean.
Although both were within MOT requirements before the clean, what I did see was a vast improvement in the emissions on both vehicles post clean.....
Although both were within MOT requirements before the clean, what I did see was a vast improvement in the emissions on both vehicles post clean.....
Firstly you need to accept these type of treatments will only yield benefits if you have issues relating to waxy fuel deposits or carbon build up, also keep in mind some carbon in an older engine is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed the complete removal of carbon on an older engine can and often will result in raised oil consumption, this increase in oil consumption is because the carbon you've just removed was to some extent providing a ring to bore seal. Ironically the extra oil being consumed by your engine is now creating carbon in your combustion chambers at an accelerated rate, this process will slow over time as the new carbon builds to once again act as a seal.
Secondly you need to separate fuel system cleaning from combustion chamber cleaning, liquid cleaning agents are very effective at cleaning pre-combustion chamber fuel system components, ie the saturated components such as fuel lines, fuel pump, injectors and fuel pressure regulator. However while liquid cleaning agents do offer an element of combustion chamber cleaning it's very limited because all liquid fuel system cleaners are hydrocarbon based themselves. As the name suggests hydrocarbons are molecules consisting of both hydrogen and carbon, most fuel system cleaning agents are 90-95% techron which is a naptha built around 3 kinds of benenzeare, and make no mistake techron is most definitely a hydrocarbon!
In fact all liquid fuels that can be readily burnt in a spark ignition engine (petrol, tulon, techron, naptha, ethanol ect ect ect) are hydrocarbons that contain between 7-10 carbon atoms. So because the liquid stuff Terraclean is pumping through your engine will be a hydrocarbon it will in itself leave behind carbon deposits as part of the combustion process, this is unavoidable scientific fact supported by well understood basic chemistry so don't let Terraclean try to convince you their cleaning agent doesn't make carbon because by virtue of the fact it's a hydrocarbon.... it must!
During combustion the hydrogen in a hydrocarbon oxidises to water and most of the carbon oxidises to carbon dioxide, but some solid carbon will always be left behind. A cleaner burning hydrocarbon fuel that contains just three carbon molecules is propane, a mix of propane and a small amount of butane is known commonly as LPG, this fuel is still a hydrocarbon but it's far lower carbon content is why it burns so cleanly. Like propane, methane or compressed natural gas to give it it's other name is also a low carbon content clean burning fuel, which is why we use it for cooking food in our kitchens at home, trust me... you wouldn't want a petrol hob in your kitchen
Ultimately the Terraclean system is about delivering a hydrocarbon fuel system cleaner as a liquid into your engine, liquid fuel system cleaners do work which is why they are an additive pressent in all British Standard petrol sold in the UK, but their greatest effect can only be on the saturated components as already covered above. Terraclean claim they solve the negligible combustion chamber cleaning performance of liquid hydrocarbon cleaning agent by atomizing their liquid (probably just tulon) to such an extent it becomes a gas. This is of course total bull because you can't turn a liquid into a gas by atomizing it, atomisation is just the reduction of a liquid into small droplets small enough that they can be suspended in a gas, no matter how small the droplets the liquid is still a liquid and can only become a true gas if you heat it (think water to steam).
Actually pure water can make a very effective engine decarboniser in itself, if you use a plant sprayer on fine mist to introduce water into your inlet tract you'll be amazed by what comes out the exhaust. Whats happening here is the water is truly turning into a super heated gas inside your combustion chamber, we know this gas as steam which is a fantastic cleaning agent used extensively in industry and the medical world to clean an steralise. Steam cleaning your combustion chambers is free and mechanics have used this method of decarbonising combustion chambers since the 1920's, it works brilliantly but caution should be used to avoid hydraulically locking your engine during the process... less is definitely more when trying this method.
I have no idea if the Terraclean heats their cleaning agent sufficiently to turn it into a gas before they introduce it, but I very much doubt it, indeed given they think atomisation can miraculously turn a liquid into a gas I would be inclined to treat their whole proposition with some suspicion. This is a little unfair of me as it's clear what their machine is doing in the first phase of their two phase process is merely running a cleaning agent through the saturated fuel system which is well proven to work, the second phase of their process being just a very fine atomisation of their cleaning agent in an attempt to clean the combustion chamber which I will be a far less effective process.
I conclude the Terraclean system is just another liquid hydocarbon cleaning agent that will effectively clean the saturated fuel system but like all liquid hydrocarbon cleaning agents you can just tip in your tank it will only have a negligible effect on cleaning your combustion chambers, because by virtue of the fact it's a hydrocarbon it must leave some carbon behind itself. A much more effective way to remove carbon from your combustion chambers would be to run your engine on three carbon LPG for a period, or better still run your it on pure hydrogen.
Pure hydrogen it is not a hydrocarbon it's a hydrocarbon less the carbon, but your engine will still run perfectly happily on pure hydrogen, the only difference is the only byproduct of combustion is H2O (pure water), pure hydrogen is therefore a true zero carbon fuel. Pure hydrogen engine cleaning is the new way to properly clean your combustion chambers and it works brilliantly because it's supported by scientific fact, pure hydrogen engine cleaning is actually the opposite of systems like Terraclean that use a liquid based hydrocarbon cleaning agents because hydrogen can't and won't clean your saturated fuel system but it will do an amazing job of cleaning your valves and combustion chambers.
As such if you really want to clean both your saturated fuel system and your combustion chambers you need to combine a liquid cleaning agent for your fuel system with hydrogen for cleaning the combustion chambers/valves, this would be the ultimate engine cleaning process but as already stated it will only deliver benefits if there are indeed carbon or fuel deposit related issues in the first place. The truth is modern fuels already contain all the liquid cleaning agents you need to maintain fuel system cleanliness, if you really want to clean everything just dump a can of BG44k fuel system cleaner in your tank and go find your local pure hydrogen engine cleaning centre who will help you achieve spotless valves and combustion chambers way beyond anything the Terraclean system could hope to achieve.
Secondly you need to separate fuel system cleaning from combustion chamber cleaning, liquid cleaning agents are very effective at cleaning pre-combustion chamber fuel system components, ie the saturated components such as fuel lines, fuel pump, injectors and fuel pressure regulator. However while liquid cleaning agents do offer an element of combustion chamber cleaning it's very limited because all liquid fuel system cleaners are hydrocarbon based themselves. As the name suggests hydrocarbons are molecules consisting of both hydrogen and carbon, most fuel system cleaning agents are 90-95% techron which is a naptha built around 3 kinds of benenzeare, and make no mistake techron is most definitely a hydrocarbon!
In fact all liquid fuels that can be readily burnt in a spark ignition engine (petrol, tulon, techron, naptha, ethanol ect ect ect) are hydrocarbons that contain between 7-10 carbon atoms. So because the liquid stuff Terraclean is pumping through your engine will be a hydrocarbon it will in itself leave behind carbon deposits as part of the combustion process, this is unavoidable scientific fact supported by well understood basic chemistry so don't let Terraclean try to convince you their cleaning agent doesn't make carbon because by virtue of the fact it's a hydrocarbon.... it must!
During combustion the hydrogen in a hydrocarbon oxidises to water and most of the carbon oxidises to carbon dioxide, but some solid carbon will always be left behind. A cleaner burning hydrocarbon fuel that contains just three carbon molecules is propane, a mix of propane and a small amount of butane is known commonly as LPG, this fuel is still a hydrocarbon but it's far lower carbon content is why it burns so cleanly. Like propane, methane or compressed natural gas to give it it's other name is also a low carbon content clean burning fuel, which is why we use it for cooking food in our kitchens at home, trust me... you wouldn't want a petrol hob in your kitchen
Ultimately the Terraclean system is about delivering a hydrocarbon fuel system cleaner as a liquid into your engine, liquid fuel system cleaners do work which is why they are an additive pressent in all British Standard petrol sold in the UK, but their greatest effect can only be on the saturated components as already covered above. Terraclean claim they solve the negligible combustion chamber cleaning performance of liquid hydrocarbon cleaning agent by atomizing their liquid (probably just tulon) to such an extent it becomes a gas. This is of course total bull because you can't turn a liquid into a gas by atomizing it, atomisation is just the reduction of a liquid into small droplets small enough that they can be suspended in a gas, no matter how small the droplets the liquid is still a liquid and can only become a true gas if you heat it (think water to steam).
Actually pure water can make a very effective engine decarboniser in itself, if you use a plant sprayer on fine mist to introduce water into your inlet tract you'll be amazed by what comes out the exhaust. Whats happening here is the water is truly turning into a super heated gas inside your combustion chamber, we know this gas as steam which is a fantastic cleaning agent used extensively in industry and the medical world to clean an steralise. Steam cleaning your combustion chambers is free and mechanics have used this method of decarbonising combustion chambers since the 1920's, it works brilliantly but caution should be used to avoid hydraulically locking your engine during the process... less is definitely more when trying this method.
I have no idea if the Terraclean heats their cleaning agent sufficiently to turn it into a gas before they introduce it, but I very much doubt it, indeed given they think atomisation can miraculously turn a liquid into a gas I would be inclined to treat their whole proposition with some suspicion. This is a little unfair of me as it's clear what their machine is doing in the first phase of their two phase process is merely running a cleaning agent through the saturated fuel system which is well proven to work, the second phase of their process being just a very fine atomisation of their cleaning agent in an attempt to clean the combustion chamber which I will be a far less effective process.
I conclude the Terraclean system is just another liquid hydocarbon cleaning agent that will effectively clean the saturated fuel system but like all liquid hydrocarbon cleaning agents you can just tip in your tank it will only have a negligible effect on cleaning your combustion chambers, because by virtue of the fact it's a hydrocarbon it must leave some carbon behind itself. A much more effective way to remove carbon from your combustion chambers would be to run your engine on three carbon LPG for a period, or better still run your it on pure hydrogen.
Pure hydrogen it is not a hydrocarbon it's a hydrocarbon less the carbon, but your engine will still run perfectly happily on pure hydrogen, the only difference is the only byproduct of combustion is H2O (pure water), pure hydrogen is therefore a true zero carbon fuel. Pure hydrogen engine cleaning is the new way to properly clean your combustion chambers and it works brilliantly because it's supported by scientific fact, pure hydrogen engine cleaning is actually the opposite of systems like Terraclean that use a liquid based hydrocarbon cleaning agents because hydrogen can't and won't clean your saturated fuel system but it will do an amazing job of cleaning your valves and combustion chambers.
As such if you really want to clean both your saturated fuel system and your combustion chambers you need to combine a liquid cleaning agent for your fuel system with hydrogen for cleaning the combustion chambers/valves, this would be the ultimate engine cleaning process but as already stated it will only deliver benefits if there are indeed carbon or fuel deposit related issues in the first place. The truth is modern fuels already contain all the liquid cleaning agents you need to maintain fuel system cleanliness, if you really want to clean everything just dump a can of BG44k fuel system cleaner in your tank and go find your local pure hydrogen engine cleaning centre who will help you achieve spotless valves and combustion chambers way beyond anything the Terraclean system could hope to achieve.
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