Let's Talk About Oil and Lawn Mowers

BMW Dom

BMW Dom

Joined
Oct 6, 2020
Messages
2,412
I'm wondering what the "best" oils would be for a hardworking lawn mower would be. I would like an oil that I can buy at Walmart. I change oil every other month.
I'm not trying to start a war. Just looking to learn some information.

A synthetic 10w30

Rotella T6 15w40

Rotella t6 5w40

Mobil 15w50

Euro 5w40

Euro 0w40
 
For me, it's whatever is next on the shelf or leftover from an oil change.
I changed my wife's oil in her car with PP 10W30 and the extra went into my riding mower.
I believe I used Castrol SAE 30HD in my pressure washer and Trop/Artic 10W30 blend in my push mower.

It's more important to actually have oil in your mower than the grade. I have been known to repair small equipment once in a while and I frequently find that they arrive with virtually no oil in them. My buddy gave me the pressure washer I just mentioned as it wouldn't run. It had no oil and tripped the low oil cut off! He had already bought new one, so he let me keep it.
 
Well, my current lawn mower is mid 1980’s and have used whatever oil I was using in my cars at the time...which I am sure was Dino oil in the early years?
 
I change my Push mower oil each season. A month later it’s low. I top it off and then a month later it’s overfilled. By the end of the season the air filter is soaked with oil. Happens every year........
 
I came across a really good deal on Traveller 15W-40 years ago that I'm still working off of. I run that in the push mower (GXV140), Vanguard (summer fill), 4-stroke string trimmer.
 
JD F620 w/ original Kohler Command 22hp, over 2000 hours (hour meter stopped working a few years ago at 1950ish hours)
Scag STHM w/ original Kohler Command Pro 23hp, ~2200 hours
~650 hours on a generic big box Husqvarna riding mower w/ Kawasaki FR651V

I honestly prefer running 15w-40 in them if it's around when I change the oil but they get Rotella T5 10w-30 about as often. Both the JD and Scag were run on SAE 30HD for many years.

Air filters make a bigger difference than oil I think. My newest mower, a bad boy Zero Turn w/ Kohler 7000, takes a tiny little air filter and as far as I can tell it pulls in warm air from inside the fan shroud. Also has a really strange mounting mechanism that I don't particularly trust. I've ordered a kit that relocates the filter to up above the engine with a big can-style filter like a commercial mower. They put them there for a reason.
 
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Mowers are not high power out put or have high pressure valve trains but they can get hot . For a riding mower a 30 would work a 40 would be better. A push mower the , same but really in a push motor it would matter less. More important would be the regular servicing of the mower. The HDEO type oils are the best oils on the shelves
 
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I use M1 0-40 in my Honda push mower. That poor mower gets the bejesus beat out of it by the kids. I change it every 2 to 3 years. It has a CRAZY small amount of oil....something about half a quart :oops: More importantly, I use the 0-40 in a Generac 16kw propane generator that is air cooled.
 
jrvn said:
whats a tough oil? use whatever weight the manufacturer recommends, I mean WALMART Supertech is considered a tough oil if you do the OCIs,
Click to expand...
Ya but I'm not using my mower for 20 hours a year. And I want it to last a while as I beat on it. I'm looking for an oil with a good Additive package and high HTHS.
 
I run whatever HDEO I have in the stash. Currently all my OPE has M1 TDT 5w40 that was found on clearance last year.
 
mrlawnguy said:
Ya but I'm not using my mower for 20 hours a year. And I want it to last a while as I beat on it. I'm looking for an oil with a good Additive package and high HTHS.
Click to expand...
your way over thinking it, use whatever weight the manufacturer recommends and OCIs what the manufacturer recommends, any certified API oil will work
 
mrlawnguy said:
I'm wondering what the "best" oils would be for a hardworking lawn mower would be. I would like an oil that I can buy at Walmart. I change oil every other month.
I'm not trying to start a war. Just looking to learn some information.

A synthetic 10w30

Rotella T6 15w40

Rotella t6 5w40

Mobil 15w50

Euro 5w40

Euro 0w40
Click to expand...
There's no virtually no difference between an SAE 30, 5w-30, and 10w-30 above freezing. If you have a vehicle that already uses a synthetic 5w-30, I would just use that for the sake of inventory consolidation.

Otherwise, I'd recommend QS Euro 5w-40, since it looks like you want a higher viscosity oil.

Most lawn mowers are designed to live on any API SJ rated oil (or newer), which is a 25-year old cert.
 
tasch72 said:
There's no virtually no difference between an SAE 30, 5w-30, and 10w-30 above freezing. If you have a vehicle that already uses a synthetic 5w-30, I would just use that for the sake of inventory consolidation.

Otherwise, I'd recommend QS Euro 5w-40, since it looks like you want a higher viscosity oil.

Most lawn mowers are designed to live on any API SJ rated oil (or newer), which is a 25-year old cert.
Click to expand...
Doesn't need to be thicker, just wondering what would provide better protection. All of these replies are just what people have been using. I'm looking for an explanation of which oil would be "better".
 
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