First riding mower; Husqvarna with Kawasaki

[fantastic]

Using a 30 grade isn't going to cause instant catastrophe but it may not protect for the long haul either. Problem is "It all depends" since different quality machines may experience transaxle failure before the engine seizes. In that case a 10w-30 wouldn't have hurt a thing b/c the machine reached EOL.

IMO air cooled engines should be using a 40 grade oil. You'll most likely burn less oil as a result & providing a slight increase in MOFT. Why not? Using a 40 or 50 grade to help protect the engine for longevity is a good gamble, especially when the there isn't much of a price difference. It's not like we need absolute fuel savings. Commercial machines say 50 grade so even a 50 grade would be just fine. That twin cylinder engine seems to be sort of the standard that a lot of lawn equipment companies use.

 

[vwalburn]

I would go heavier than 30wt. I think Kawasaki later came out recommending heavier oil.
I use 15w-40 synthetic in mine and a 3614 filter. If you have room you can use a 3600 longer filter.
My zero turn has the FR651V.

I have the same engine.

 

[jake wells]

10w40 or 20w50

 

[Opelman]

Straight from Kawasaki.

 

[martinq]

Straight from Kawasaki.
View attachment 332638

Date?

 

[Opelman]

Date?

January this year, from Kawasaki tech update school.

 

[scrllock]

Straight from Kawasaki.
View attachment 332638

For which engine?

 

[martinq]

For which engine?

I don't think it would matter. Regardless, the specs are a vague recommendation as we know at a 5w30 can easily keep up with a 10w30 in high temperature applications, but it gets you in the ballpark. What's much more important is the quality of the product and what specs it needs to meet (API, ILSAC, etc). I would go with any modern, quality 5w-15w40 depending on your ambient conditions and winter use.

 

[scrllock]

I don't think it would matter. Regardless, the specs are a vague recommendation as we know at a 5w30 can easily keep up with a 10w30 in high temperature applications, but it gets you in the ballpark. What's much more important is the quality of the product and what specs it needs to meet (API, ILSAC, etc). I would go with any modern, quality 5w-15w40 depending on your ambient conditions and winter use.

i think it would, especially for warranty concerns (though if Kawasaki is that particular about dealer work, then I suppose it's moot).

We're discussing riding mower engines, so I don't think winter use is relevant.

 

[Opelman]

For which engine?

Most likely all of the four stroke lawn and garden machines.

 

[97prizm]

Just bought my first riding lawn mower, a Husqvarna Z248F with the Kawasaki FR651V engine. It was a 3 year old model still sitting at the local Atwoods marked down to < $2K. It has 1.6 hours on it from being moved around. Do you folks use just lawn mower branded oil and filters? I want to use 10W-30 oil and I'm not sure if there is a difference between automotive and lawn mower oils. Is there more ZINC in lawn mower oils? I see the zinc additive on their bottles.

Personally in my yard machines push mower I run nothing but synthetic 10w-40. The two times I had it tuned up the old guy put straight 30wt in it and it fogged the neighbors. My mower always burns less with synthetic.

 

[facility1]

admittedly the Mobil 1 0w-40 works quite well in my Toro personal pace with a 163cc Briggs engine.

 

[Hohn]

I use and recommend VR-1 synthetic 20w-50 in any splash lube small engine in OPE.

 

[martinq]

I use and recommend VR-1 synthetic 20w-50 in any splash lube small engine in OPE.

Not HPL SAE 40?

 

[Hohn]

Not HPL SAE 40?

Nah, small engines don’t merit the good stuff

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Been running 10w40 conventional in all my rider / push mowers / and my almost 30 yr old snow blower. The push mowers & snow blower are flatheads,,,,the rider is a 4yr old Briggs & Scrapem OHV. 3/4 acres of grass with some weeds.. Need the push mowers in areas that the rider won't fit into. No problems with the engines. Change the oil in them 2X a season. The only machine that gets synthetic is the 20KV standby generator. It gets 5W20 and a new oil filter 1X a year. Has a Kohler engine in it that specs synthetic 5W20.

 

[robbobster]

Side note: if it’s your first ZTM, consider watching a vid or two on best practices.

Turning on a dime is great, until you wear holes in your lawn…

 

[Hohn]

Side note: if it’s your first ZTM, consider watching a vid or two on best practices.

Turning on a dime is great, until you wear holes in your lawn…

That’s why it’s important to pull the inside stick backwards as you turn.

 

[UNC031]

The not so secret way to make OPE engines last is clean oil and air filters. I have a 30 year old JD GT275 with the Kawasaki 17 HP single cylinder engine (don't know the model # off the top of my head) that I'd estimate has at least 2,500 hrs. on it and still runs like a champ. Uses no oil between changes and does not smoke while running. I used 5W30 in the winter (snow clearing duties) and 10W40 in the summer, most often Citgo full synthetic oil as that's what I could get cheapest. Oil and filter (Fram orange can and Supertech) are changed 3 times a year at estimated 30-35 hrs. Now days it's getting Quacker State 5W40 year round because I got a bunch of it on clearance from Walmart for cheap.

 

[facility1]

Proper Maintenance is key to the machines. Citgo is a fine sleeper oil also.