As many automobile enthusiasts know, BG Products, Inc. is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of fuel and oil maintenance service products, equipment and tools. One of their most popular fluid maintenance products, the BG 44 Fuel System Cleaner, promises to easily and quickly improve car and truck performance and gas mileage – but does it really?
We’ve researched the ingredients of the product and put it to the test so we could outline the pros and cons of this and similar fuel system cleaners. Check out our review if you’re interested in how we rate the BG 44K.
Description
Let’s start with the basics: what is the BG 44K and what is its purpose?
The BG 44K is a fuel injector or system cleaner consisting of 11 ounces of good-quality solvents and additives that are supposed to go into the gas tank of the vehicle to restore car’s performance and gas mileage. Although it contains quite a few harsh chemicals, this fuel additive is non-corrosive and completely safe for the car engine. Perhaps the most interesting and important thing about this particular fuel injector cleaner is that it doesn’t use any alcohols but mostly simple, effective ingredients. This means that (at least in theory) the formula is more efficient at removing harmful buildup that occurs in the engine than alcohol-based fuel system cleaners.
Thanks to its unique blend of ingredients, the BG 44K can clean up harmful carbon deposits, ethanol and moisture from the fuel system, thereby restoring and replenishing the vehicle’s functionality. Not only that, but this product is marketed as able of increasing power output on one side and reducing exhaust emissions on the other.
But how can a tiny product like this be able to do such extraordinary things? To put it simply – because it cleans the entire fuel system if used regularly. To sum it up, according to the manufacturer, the BG 44K can:
- Replenish vehicle performance
- Restore fuel efficiency
- Boost power output
- Decrease exhaust emissions
Excellent in theory, but what about the practice? Let’s see how this fuel injector cleaner actually cleans the mess.
Key Features
It’s no secret that fuel is chemically less stable today than it was a few decades ago. Not to mention that many pumps simply have poor-quality gas no matter its price. If you use this type of gasoline regularly (and if you’re an average consumer you most certainly do), it will inevitably cause deposit buildup in fuel injectors, pistons, carburetors and throughout the combustion chamber. Once this happens, you’ll notice a loss of engine performance, harder starts, reduced fuel economy, as well as increased emissions.
So what is an average consumer who uses regular gasoline supposed to do? Just go along with their car’s gradual loss of performance and economy? Absolutely not – because fuel system cleaners such as the BG 44K can greatly help.
Thanks to the unique blend of chemicals, this fuel injector cleaner actually does what it’s supposed to – it eliminates dangerous carbon deposits in combustion chambers and buildup in intake manifolds, ports and valves. Basically, it cleans up the entire fuel system if used regularly. And the best part? It’s affordable and really easy to use. All you have to do is pour some of the fluid directly into the gas chamber and you’re done – the formula will restore your vehicle’s performance and improve fuel efficiency by getting rid of the harmful deposits. As for the affordability, this 11-ounce product treats 20 gallons of gasoline – considering how greatly improves the car’s performance, it’s a steal if you ask us.
If you’re interested in some bullet points, here is how we would describe the key features of the BG 44K:
- It cleans the entire fuel system (if used regularly)
- Restores vehicle performance
- Improves fuel economy
- Reduces emissions
- Super-easy to use
- Affordable
How Does It Work
Like all fuel system cleaners, the BG 44K contains ingredients that allow it to remove, or rather flush out harmful deposits and buildup from the fuel system. But how do these deposits even develop? Because ‘modern’ gasoline uses ethanol (an alcohol) as an octane-boosting ingredient, over time, this ingredient oxidizes and emulsifies, forming non-combustible by-products. And as the name suggests, these deposits cannot be burned through normal combustion. Furthermore, moisture that accumulates due to ethanol in gas, contributes to corrosion and gunk accumulation in metal and rubber parts of the gas tank, leading to poor performance.
The good news is that the harmful deposits and gunk can be removed with the help of fuel injector cleaners.
BG 44K has solvents and additives that bond with harmful buildup, deteriorate it and finally flush it out from the fuel system. For instance, High Flash Naphtha, an ingredient used in the BG 44K, binds to harmful deposits and slowly and safely evaporates them from the fuel system.
You can think of the car’s engine as an oven. If you bake one meal in the oven, it’s highly likely everything will stay clean and shiny. But if you make meal after meal after meal throughout the years in that same oven and never clean it, you can bet there will be dirt and baked-on grime everywhere. If you try to clean the gunk with just water and soap, you’ll probably just end up spreading that dirt everywhere. But if you buy a use a good, abrasive oven cleaner, you’ll remove that dirt and grime in no time. The situation is really similar when it comes to car engines full of harmful deposits. The longer you wait to get rid of them, the harder it is to actually do it. But with a good fuel system cleaner such as the BG 44K, the process is much, much easier.
Pros & Cons
Like all products, the BG 44K fuel injector cleaner has its pros and cons. To help you decide whether or not this formula should be in your shopping cart, we’ve outlined the most important advantages and disadvantages.
Pros
- Efficiently cleans the entire fuel system
Thanks to a unique combination of ingredients (outlined below), the BG 44K efficiently cleans pistons, carburetors, fuel injectors and pretty much the entire fuel system. It’s of particular importance that this fuel system cleaner thoroughly cleans and restores the performance of the pistons, which not something that every fuel system cleaner can do. This is reflected in better car performance and decreased emissions.
- Conditions the fuel system
You know how most garages smell kind of… well, awful? You can say goodbye to that with the BG 44K. This product has a dual purpose – besides thoroughly cleaning the fuel system, it does a very good job at conditioning it too. What this means is that, unlike most fuel injector cleaners, the BG 44K actually has a pleasant scent which leaves your engine smelling good.
- Increases fuel economy
By removing harmful deposits, the BG 44K will actually increase your vehicle’s fuel economy. Of course, in order to experience this benefit, you need to use the product regularly and frequently – every few thousands of miles.
Cons
- Not a hardcore cleaner
Although the BG 44K is highly efficient at cleaning up the buildup in the engine, it’s not a miracle worker. If you’ve left your car sitting for too long and haven’t performed regular maintenance, this fuel system cleaner may not be powerful enough to remove all the buildup carbons. Sometimes, if the vehicle is not properly cared for, an entire change-up is necessary, meaning an entire fuel tank, pistons, injectors, etc.
- May need multiple uses for conditioning to work
If you’re after that pleasant engine smell, know that it make take several applications the of BG 44K to experience it. If your vehicle has been sitting for too long and has lots of carbon deposits, it’s likely you’ll need to use the formula multiple times. In some cases, depending on how bad the situation is, the pleasant conditioning smell may not even be achievable.
Composition / Ingredients
Finally, let’s take a look at the composition of the BG 44K fuel system cleaner. As per Material Safety Data Sheet, the ingredients are:
- Naphtha (petroleum), hydrotreated heavy, 15 – 40% (CAS number 64742-48-9)
- Stoddard solvent, 10 – 30% (CAS number 8052-41-3)
- Solvent naphtha (petroleum), light arom., 1 – 5% (CAS number 64742-95-6)
- 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 0.5 – 1.5 % (CAS number 95-63-6)
- Ethylbenzene, 0.1 – 1 % (CAS number 100-41-4)
As you can see, there are solvents present but no alcohol. The ingredient called High Flash Naphtha is slow-evaporating aromatic that is used as retarder. If you’re alarmed by the name, don’t be – this just means that this ingredient, being a retarder, improves the flow of other compatible chemicals, which in this case are fuel, oil and moisture. Also, as mentioned earlier in the article, High Flash Naphtha bonds and deteriorates harmful carbon deposits, so it’s purpose is double. By binding to the buildup, it allows easy expulsion of the deposits from the engine.
A word of advice: if you have a Diesel vehicle and you’re in need of some fuel system cleaner, go for BG 244 Diesel Fuel System Cleaner, which is considered more effective and of course safe for Diesel cars and trucks.
Sources
- BG 44K® Fuel System Cleaner, BG Products, Inc.
- BG 44K, MsdsDigital
