Husky generator oil recommendation.

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dakota99

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Well finally today i bought my first generator. It's a husky from home depot, with a briggs and stratton 1150 series ohv engine. 3600 RPM producing 3750 watts. Like briggs recommends, the manual says to use 5w30 synthetic. The generator will be used as an emergency generator only, so i may use it at any time. 0F to 100F.

So im wondering, will PP 5w30 or 10w30 work well? Or should i choose something more heavy duty like rotella 5w40?

Thanks!
 
I brought home a Generac GP5500 in the spring...After many yrs of being without power during snow & ice storms. Talked to many generator owners...Esp those in the NE part of the UsA... I was told by many too run the generator with no load for 1 hour--Drain the oil and pour in a good 5W-30, then run for 4 more hours with no load...Then drain again-and then chose your oil of choice...It seemed the owners who really used thier generators more and for long hours at a time, with a decent load chose to use a HDD 5W-40 synthetic...This type of oil is more then capable of protecting and keeping the motor clean...But I'm sure a good 5W-30 or 10W-30 would do a great job...Even a 0W-30 or 10W-40 would have no ill effects...3/4 of these engines are almost bullet proof... I just want the added protection in case my Generac has to hold a heavy load for 24hrs or more...

Like stated above use Stabil... I have 4 5gal Plastic gas cans ready to go. Each has 5oz of MMO added...Now the key is to get them filled before these storms arrive...

Congrats on your new Generator... It will give U peace of mind for many yrs.
 
A friend is a Generac repair tech and he uses M1 5-30 in all his PMs. I also that in my Coleman Powermate.
 
I was under the impression that you want a heavier oil like a 15-40 if there is the possibility of being run close to 24/7 at heavy load, like in disaster areas.
 
This time of year, it probably wouldn't matter. When summer temperatures get here, then a 40 (5w40 or 15w40) would be a lot safer. With stationary engines heat is always a concern and i'm not trusting of 30-weights enough to go that route in the dead heat of summer-with near-continuous operation.
 
If I was to use a 30wt in my new Generac, {After Break In}! It would probably be GC 0-30... This oil has proven to be one of the top performers. But this oil is getting very hard to find.
 
I have seen a lot of broken generators, but not a single one that had an oil related failure with the oil filled to the correct level. Keeping it changed and at the right level is more important than the brand or weight.
 
Originally Posted By: helix_rider
When summer temperatures get here, then a 40 (5w40 or 15w40) would be a lot safer. With stationary engines heat is always a concern and i'm not trusting of 30-weights enough to go that route in the dead heat of summer-with near-continuous operation.

Thats why with small OPE a good synthetic is a must.

no issues here with my gen,I've ran it up to three days in a row, the ACD 30w protected just fine.
 
Thanks for all the good replies here, ill probably go with the 10w30 synthetic for winter. I can't imagine ill use it that much in the summer as we don't see severe weather that much. Ice storms and winter events are what i worry about the most. I can remember a couple years back we had a monster ice storm that left us without power for days. Not fun lol.
 
Originally Posted By: dakota99
Thanks for all the good replies here, ill probably go with the 10w30 synthetic for winter. I can't imagine ill use it that much in the summer as we don't see severe weather that much. Ice storms and winter events are what i worry about the most. I can remember a couple years back we had a monster ice storm that left us without power for days. Not fun lol.

Pulling my 11 hp over with 15w40 wile cool/cold out you may as well forget it!!!

a 10w30/30w will get 'er done!
 
I agree with the break-in procedure, especially if the engine does not have a spin-on filter. One minor adjustment, however, I would vary the load on the engine and use a top oil like MMO or Lucas UCL at least every other tankful.

dakota99, my only fear with an XW-30 PCMO is that under continuous use in OPE (especially a generator that may run for days at a time), they are prone to shearing ... then rapid consumption and if the engine is run out of oil, seizure.

I've seen this happen ... but with portable pumps in flooding situations, not actually generators.

If you check the oil and top off with each tankful of fuel, you should be OK ... but I am still leery of these oils in seriously heavy-duty applications.

If you choose Mobil 1 for an OPE application, get the high-mileage or EP formulations for their stouter add-packs.
 
What about mobil 1 0w40? Or am i just splitting hairs now? Lol. I found a UOA someone did who had like 300+ hours on a generator with 0w40 and it looked pretty good. All of my gas gets stabil and mmo when i fill the cans up.

I don't know i'm probably obsessing over this more than i should.
 
I use Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40. It's a very stout oil, with plenty of ZDDP and excellent HTHS specs. It's very likely the best air cooled engine oil available.

Or, the HM oils as suggested above. They have a better additive package than the standard M1 auto oil in 5-30.

In my hard working water pumps, I had to switch to M1 15-50, due to repeated failures on Penz. Those little Honda engines ran too hot for conventional oil.
 
Asking the "what oil brand / what viscosity range should I run" question is going to yield LOTS of opinions as you've probably read already. At the end of the day, as long as that engine sump is filled to and maintained at it's spec'd capacity, with any off the shelf 20,30,40,50wt range engine oil, the machine is going to chug along happily.

That said, I always recommend HDEO's in the 40wt range because of their low cost, ease of availability and the high level of protection they offer small air-cooled engines.

Any HD 5w40 that I'm aware of, will allow you to pull start easier in cold temps than a 5w30 will. If 0w-X weights or GC is basically non-existent like it is in my area, 5w40 for the winter and 15w40 in the summer would be my choices.

Joel
 
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