Briggs and Stratton Lubrication

[Jabbo]

I am tossing up between 2 HDEO oils for a Briggs and Stratton L-Head (Side Valve) engine. I am looking for an all year suitable oil. I have access to Delo Silver 30W and Delo 400 15W-40. Our temperatures vary from 0°C to +40°C throughout the year. I am leaning towards the 15W-40 for cold lubricity and easier starting in winter. It is also 40W when warm, which would help on those +40°C days. It is a HDEO Oil, so it should keep the engine clean.

 

[Gebo]

I'm down with your leaning.

 

[edwardh1]

what does the briggs manual say?

 

[Jabbo]

Briggs and Stratton recommend 30W for temps above 4°C. Under that use 10W-30, but expect more oil burning at over 38°C.

 

[oldhp]

I have a old, 2000-2001?, Briggs push mower. It's had everything from Harley Davidson 20W50 to 0W20 in it. 10W40 is the quietest, easiest pull start of all oils that I've dumped in it yet. The only oil that stuck out being noisy was the 0W20.

 

[RooflessVW]

M1 15W-50 in my Briggs.

 

[Eddie]

T5 10w30 is one of B&S approved viscosity. No mention is made of any 40 WT or 1540 oil.

 

[boraticus]

15W40. Works fine in highly stressed diesels. Pretty sure it will handle the demands of a lawnmower.

 

[IndyIan]

I run T6 5W40 in my ancient briggs because that's the thickest oil I regularly buy. I'd go for 15W40 as they seem to get quite hot even in 30C. Mine will sizzle water on the crank case after half an hour of tilling, so the oil temp is up there.

 

[Panzerman]

I think a Briggs Stratton will be happy with anything you dump in there. I like the monograde 30HD but 15w40 would be fine to. Nothing lighter than 10w30 would I even consider.

 

[Insertcoolname]

We've had good luck just using super tech conventional 10w30 or straight 30 for the past 14 years we've had our Briggs and Stratton push mower. Haha It's generally only 10-42 degrees C all year here though..

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

My riders and my generator get 5W-40, T-6 or M1 TDT. The push mowers get whatever is in the drain can, (I drain all my empties), including ATF.

 

[Dyusik]

Had 15w40 DELO 400LE in my B-S for a couple of years. It's still a lawnmower...

 

[CT8]

15w-40 hdeo is a great oil. 15w-50 syn oils work as well if you want to spend more money.

 

[Eddie]

I never thought of spitting on a running lawn mower engine to help me decide on the oil viscosity to use. What a delightful, scientific idea. I just checked with the B&S site and the commendation for all engines is 5w30 synthetic refereed,or 10w30 or 30. Ed

 

[Zaedock]

15W40 is fine. My snow blowers get 5W30 for winter, but my garden and Ford tractor currently have 15W40 in them. My log splitter has some old Delo SAE30.

 

[JLawrence08648]

It's a sump, it doesn't care. I use synthetic in snow blowers and dino in mowers.

 

[FastLane]

I use M1 10W30 in a 11 hp Briggs turning a 5500 watt generator. Doesn’t use a drop of oil.

 

[AMC]

Most briggs engines call for 10w-30 or SAE 30 and for good reason. The smaller briggs engines are splash lubricated and any xx-40 or higher oil may be too thick for the dipper(s) to throw and splash the oil around well enough. If the oil isn't being splashed around enough, you may get hot spots or higher engine temps in general. That would mean your heavier oil is making the engine run hotter, not cooler. Thicker oils have increased film strength, not necessarily better heat dissipation.

 

[spasm3]

I like the amsoil HDD for small aircooled ope. For the larger zero turn I am running 15w 40 rotella or delo . I'm thinking about trying amsoil AME 15w40 in the kawasaki 21hp zero turn.