Mobil 1 in Home Snow Blower

Joined
Aug 26, 2020
Messages
9
Location
Prince Edward Island, Canada
I keep my home snowblower in an unheated shed and during winter the electric start/er freezes so I usually have to start it manually. I’ve been finding it stiff to turn over when the temperature is around 1F or colder. Today, I installed a new spark plug and changed the oil from Mobil 1 5w30 to Mobil 1 0W30 thinking that the different weight might make it easier to crank with the pull cord.

Has anybody on here changed a small motor from 5w30 to 0w30 oil and found that made any difference in the ease of manual cold cranking?
 
I ran conventional and synthetic 5w30 in my snowblowers for years. All stored in an unheated shed. Never could tell the difference in pull starting. Down to -35C, no difference at all. Just put 0w30 in and at -20C it was the same.
 
i always ran 5w30 synthetic in my snow thrower, but i dont think you will notice any difference between 5w and a 0w. my garage was detached unheated and non insulated i was able to pull start no prob
 
That is a very common change for cold weather engines. One can search the data on pour points and find certain adequate oils that have pour points as low as -60°F. But it is good to remember that the engine will be harder to pull through when cold, no matter what.
 
Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

In the past, I was always able to start it manually in the cold weather. Maybe my trouble this time is because both the snowblower and I are getting older! Maybe, the new spark plug will help as well. I will just have to wait until the next time when the temperature drops and see how it goes. I thought about a heater but the shed doesn’t have electricity and sometimes I would have to climb snowbanks to get to my home’s outdoor electrical receptacle in order to run a long extension cord to the shed.
 
You should be able to adapt one of the oil pan heater pads to fit the crankcase on that engine, assuming you have power where you store it. Plug it in 30 minutes before you use it and it may be easier to start.
 
You did not mention the make of the engine… If it is splash lubricated, there will be no difference in the start pull difficulty. But if it has an oil pump, then there will be some additional drag with the 5W versus the 0W....Probably a negligible amount though.
 
I really like my snowblower , I won't subject it to a Mobil product. . Doesn't matter what machine I put Mobil in it sounds rough . Car , truck , snowblower , lawn tractor , zero turn , push mower etc .
My zero turn has a Kawasaki engine runs smoothly on any oil and weight 10w30 to 15w50 .I tried Mobil 15w50 and took it out after 2 cut
 
I really like my snowblower , I won't subject it to a Mobil product. . Doesn't matter what machine I put Mobil in it sounds rough . Car , truck , snowblower , lawn tractor , zero turn , push mower etc .
My zero turn has a Kawasaki engine runs smoothly on any oil and weight 10w30 to 15w50 .I tried Mobil 15w50 and took it out after 2 cut
I'd like to add , I have had a issue with vertigo for last 3 years , comes and goes . Have had every test imaginable on ears and everything else . I had a ear test and they did a sound check of coarse and they were in disbelief of the hearing sensitivity I had . Like the bionic man I guess . So fir the people that oooo you can't hear the difference in oil your nuts . Well I may be nuts but I can hear like a bat.
 
How far off is your shed? You can run a single underground-rated romex line out there buried a foot deep, as long as its fed by a GFI. It's so nice having power in out-buildings.

My blowers crank hard near zero, but thankfully I don't get snow in a weather pattern that brings that kind of cold. Usually. I run whatever junk leftover synthetic in them, 5- or 10w30.
 
I'd like to add , I have had a issue with vertigo for last 3 years , comes and goes . Have had every test imaginable on ears and everything else . I had a ear test and they did a sound check of coarse and they were in disbelief of the hearing sensitivity I had . Like the bionic man I guess . So fir the people that oooo you can't hear the difference in oil your nuts . Well I may be nuts but I can hear like a bat.

I only think you're nuts because you quoted yourself.
 
Something you might try that has worked for me to get it to start easier with just the pull rope. I pretty much press the primer bulb till the point of flooding the engine. Typically cranks with one nice yank of the rope. Sounds crazy, but works. It does have a newer China carb on the 8.5HP sno-king. This doesn't solve the rod knock, but hey it starts... :LOL:
 
5w30 to 0w30 won't make a noticeable difference for starting a snowblower. I'd be figuring out what is wrong with the starter that causes it to freeze up. Is the gear not aligned correctly? I've used electric starters on snowblowers that were left outside and covered with ice and snow and they still worked great.
 
5w30 to 0w30 won't make a noticeable difference for starting a snowblower. I'd be figuring out what is wrong with the starter that causes it to freeze up. Is the gear not aligned correctly? I've used electric starters on snowblowers that were left outside and covered with ice and snow and they still worked great.
Agreed. And unless they've changed the formulations, the 0w30 is actually thicker until much colder if I remember correctly.
 
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