Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: chad8
You do NOT run 0 weight oil in a snowblower. Splash lube and thin oil is not a good combination.
Plus the setting time and dilution adds to the problem.
90% of the snow blowers call for either straight 30wt , 10w30 , or at most 5w30 .
These old tecumseh and briggs engines like a thicker oil.
Honda is a different story. tighter tolerances and lighter oils.
Dino oils are fine .
You do know that a normal operating temperature, 0W30 is the same weight as 10W30.
While that seems logical, the reality is otherwise. It really depends on the oil and the temperature. In air cooled engines, oil temps regularly exceed 260 degrees F. Well above the oil's "30" kinematic viscosity rating of 9.3-12.5 @ 100C.
The temps achieved in air cooled engines can be quite high. This is where HTHS comes in. And where a high quality straight 30 will far outperform lesser 5w-30 oils. Especially when the low quality dino 5W-30 oil starts to shear.
For winter operations, pick a high quality synthetic, of appropriate viscosity. Don't be concerned about engine wear due to thin oil. As oil temp is unregulated in these engines and will remain safe.