I just bought a Sears rider with a 21 HP Briggs in it. I plan on mowing 3 acres with it so it will get some use. Would it hurt to run Mobil 1 10W-30 in it? I have some old Delo 400 non-synthetic diesel oil as well. Most of the time I run mineral oils in push mowers but this one is a little more expensive so I want it to last. I was worried the 10W-30 was too thin. I have gotten rid of most of my cars and trucks that used 10W-30 so I have several 5 qt jugs of M1 laying around.
Perry
Mobil 1 10W-30 in lawn mower engine
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I use my synthetic left overs up in my mower and I change it out a couple times a season. My plug has almost stop fouling completely.
DELO 15W-40 oils are used in $500,000.00 engines. Mobil 1 oils are great as well use what ever oil you feel like . Do an early oil change to get the sparkles out of the oil keep the air filter and intake sealed, do change the trans oil . change the oil regularly and the mower will lastand last.
4WD
$50 site donor 2023
Been there done that for years ~ 19 HP Sears (Briggs) on 10w30 Synthetic
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With a full synthetic oil, I believe Briggs now spec's 5w30, so the 10w30 should be great. I have always used straight weight 30, but even I have started to use multi weight oils in my OPE now. Mostly semi or full synthetic though.
I've never had a rider, but I think the manual for every mower I've owned recommended SAE30 or maybe 10W30 for the newer ones.
I'd think 10W30 would be absolutely fine for your rider unless maybe you use some accessories that add a big load on the engine...??? Or am I thinking more like garden tractor there?
The spec is 5w30 syn, 10w30, 30w depending on climate temps on all Briggs now. I run my truck, 26 HP Sears 50" tractor, toro lawnmower, craftsman 8hp snowblower on the same oil. M1 5w30. But M1 10w30 should be fine for you in the FL climate. Just like auto engines, modern small engines are better refined with smaller tolerances that allow for thinner oils. And thats good, less power lost to small engines fighting to turn in thick oil. Starts a lot easier too!
I have the 21 HP briggs rider from Craftsman. It's been through 6 mowing seasons now and I use M1 10-30 as I do with all my OPE. Two years ago the head gasket blew, which is common for their engines. When I pulled the head the cyl wall was perfect and the engine was very clean. I change oil every 1 1/2 years and use the MC FL 910 oil filter. I have used M1 10-30 for around 30 years and never had an engine failure.
Mobile 1 10W30 will be fine.
I had a 2002 15 h.p. Kawasaki powered riding mower. I ran whatever I had in the garage from 5W30, 10W30, 10W40, to 15W40 in it and often mixed in any combination to put enough oil together to do an oil change. The machine cut three half acre lots with a 10:1 grade every few days during summer. Going on sixteen years old and still running strong.
A word of advice:
Keep the trans-axle cooling fan clear of debris. If you don't you'll cook the trans-axle. My neighbour and I bought exactly the same brand new Husqvarna 15 h.p. machines at the same time. He didn't blow out the dried grass that collected on and around the trans-axle cooling fan. He cooked the trans-axle in 2010. So far, my machine has lasted twice as long with the original trans-axle. By the way, his engine was still running great and it also didn't receive the same level of maintenance that mine did. Nonetheless, the Kawasaki engine was still running well despite his negligence.
I wouldn't sweat the oil to be used as long as it's decent quality and within the manufacturers specifications.
Lol tig..
Im as anal about oil as the next guy, (the next guy on here), and use Delo syn in my JD 425, but really, for Briggs, Tecumseh, kohler, Onan, kawi etc, i really think you could walk into an auto parts store and throw a dart in the oil section, and use what you hit, and never have a problem. Ive seen old Briggs run on nearly water, never changed, and they just keep pounding.
Now, all i gotta do is convince myself to just do it!!!
I use 10w30 T5 in my B&S 20HP twin. !0W30 works just fine with these engines Ed
Originally Posted By: bchannell
i really think you could walk into an auto parts store and throw a dart in the oil section, and use what you hit, and never have a problem.
If your new 21 HP Briggs is anything like my three year old 22 HP Briggs, then 10w30 is the recommended oil.
I think it is a big single. Lets hope this is not a bad one. It is a platinum series. It is a hydro static and I don't know if the fluid needs changing in that periodically or not. It was made for Sears by Husqvarna.
Perry
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Is the 21hp Briggs a large single?
I change a lot of connecting rods in large single-cyl OHV Briggs engines.
They just break. I hope they fixed their flaws.
Originally Posted By: perryg114
I think it is a big single. Lets hope this is not a bad one. It is a platinum series. It is a hydro static and I don't know if the fluid needs changing in that periodically or not. It was made for Sears by Husqvarna.
Perry
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Is the 21hp Briggs a large single?
I change a lot of connecting rods in large single-cyl OHV Briggs engines.
They just break. I hope they fixed their flaws.
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I've got a single briggs 14.5 on my ariens. I've never been a died in the wool briggs fan but this has been a great engine. It's probably 7 years old now and gets an annual OC with syn. It's very happy with a 10-30 syn, in fact after switching to synthetic the idle crept up a couple hundred rpm, and even more after it broke in (took about 2 years to break in) and I finally dropped the idle down. Oil stays very clean for an OPE, and this is not a filtered engine. Rotella 5-40 ran well in it as well, but I generally just feed it 10-30, same as the cars for the most part. It's also quite easy on fuel.
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