Got a new mower with the kaw 15 hp. From everyone with experience on the kaw engine, can I use a synthetic. I believe the standard is a straight 30 weight. I like the idea of a synthetic but want to go the right way! thanks
Kawasaki 15hp oil
- Thread starter guitarrocks
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Mobil 1 10W30, Amsoil 10W30 or GC 0W30 would work well.
Kawi engines are bullet proof. You can easily hit 1500 hours on the engine using dino oil. Keep the air filter clean and change the oil and filter at regular intervals. How many hours do you put on a mower in a season?
guitar, not to seem like a goof, but read the engine manual. i see you live in mississippi, where it gets hot as blazes, so a good 30hd might indeed be a good oil choice. i use amsoil 10w30 in my small honda ohv engine, but 10w30 is the recomended oil in situations for that motor. indeed, you may also be able to use a synthetic as well, but check the kawasaki engine manual first. just make sure what ever oil you choose, to change it within the first 5 to 20 hrs after first usage, and then often, say, every 50 hrs or so of use. clean oil of the right type will lead to a long living motor. oil is cheap considering the small capacities these type of engines hold. a new motor, labor, downtime, pain in the *** factor, etc, isn't. hope i helped! also, you will probably get alot of suggestions to use a fleet type 15-40 as well. these oil are great as well, and much can be found about them on this site using the search feature. i beleive since you probably won't be seeing alot of feezing temp usage with this unit, these might be a viable option.
penzdude, the manual says 30 weight straight in my climate or 10w-30 (with a side note of greater oil consumption). I would normally go with dino 30 wt oil but was interested if there was any great benefit to a synthetic. First oil change at 8 hours and then every 100 hours for oil and 200 hours for the filter. Seems like a long time. This engine is on a new mower and as far as hours who knows! I will not go to 100 hours for a second oil change,guaranteed!. First kaw engine. thanks
seems like a long time to me as well. if i was gonna change it every 100hrs, i would for sure change the filter then as well. i think the main benefit of the syns are extended drains, something you might not want to do in an air cooled, small sump capacity, motor. i'd go with the 30hd. i think gresezerk is the man though. he knows alot about the maintence of these types of equipment. i beleive he owns his own lawn care company. very helpful fella! penz....ps, he might try to get ya to send him some shrimp though!!! lol
Guitar, What kind of mower and how much will you mow with it? The sticker on the engine says change oil every 100 hours on all kawi's. My rule of thumb is change oil every 40 or 50 hours and the oil filter also. Syn is great oil but a good hd 30 weight fits the bill also. If this engine is on a rider mower, the engine will outlast the mower. If the engine is on a commercial walk behind mower then expect 1500 hours of reliable service and a great tan. Send me some shrimp and i can really give you some good pointers about the mowin trade!!!
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I used Amsoil 10/30 in my 15HP Kawi water cooled engine and had noticeable oil consumption and heavy smoke at start-up. I switched back to Rotella 30 weight and it's back to normal.
I'm in Georgia and it gets pretty warm here too and the straight 30 seems to work better for me.
I'm in Georgia and it gets pretty warm here too and the straight 30 seems to work better for me.
I have a Kawi 17... Have used Delo-400 SAE30, but will likely switch to Pennz or Chevron SAE30, since they now have Moly...
hey greasezerk, the engine is on the new Gravely 34Z rider. True about the shrimp, crawfish, hushpuppies and the sweet tea! They dont call us the most unhealthy state for nothing! I just changed the oil at 6 hours and I had to destroy the filter to get it off. I would think a little overtorque.
I have a Husqvarna riding mower with the Kawi 15hp motor. I read the part about the 10w30 and after 10 hours changed the factory fill for M1 10w30. I run 30-35 hours per year so I change again at the end of the season and put M1 10w30 back in it. I have not found it to use any oil or put out any smoke. The level stays dead full for the 30 or so hours the it's in there. The oil actually stays honey brown most of the season before turning slightly black at the end of the season. I'm happy with it so I plan to stick with it for now. Like I said, no detectable oil usage with my motor.
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