Originally Posted By: Eddie
Why go against the manufactures engine recommendations? Do you have some reliable data that suggest 40w is better than 30 in this application? I would run a synthetic 5w30 as recommended. Ed
Did you forget the Florida hurricanes of 2004? My house was without power for about 45 days. In July and August. In Florida. My house was over 110 degrees inside. People were running their free FEMA generators 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to run their refrigerators, cooling fans, and small window air conditioning units.
People that were using 30 weight oil were blowing their engines up within a week. On a heavy duty cycle engine, such as a generator, a 40 weight or 50 weight oil offers superior burn off protection. With a 30 weight you have to add oil to the engine every 10 hours of use, and people just were not doing that, and thus were blowing up their engines. 15W40 and 20W50 offered a large margin of protection for our severe usage pattern.
I am HIGHLY of the opinion that 15W40, 5W40, and 20W50 offer superior performance in generators, in the summer heat. I won't use a 30 weight oil in this application where I live. I dont have to worry about cold starts here.