New push mower

[53' Stude]

Picked up the new push mower this afternoon. Wondering how long I should leave the oil that came with the mower in. I have some Rotella SAE 30 on hand to use.

Thanks in advance

 

[spasm3]

I'd run it till it gets hot then dump it.

 

[53' Stude]

I'm thinking when I'm done cutting grass next week that I'll do that and add Sta-Bil to fuel tank before putting it away for winter

 

[69GTX]

At the end of the season assuming you used for a couple months. I bought a similar mower in August 2015 and changed the oil in late October. I changed the oil early this year (Sept) so I'm not bothering again until next year.

 

[CapitalTruck]

Good luck with that Briggs engine. I have the same one and inadvertently got a CA emissions model. The thing has always ran so lean that it barely runs.

 

[53' Stude]

This one runs great so I'm not complaining. It's for a rental property and for like $140~ I'm not complaining.

 

[JeepWJ19]

I just changed my craftsman 625 factory fill last year. Got it new in 07 give a year or two.

 

[Rand]

5hours or so.. or never.. probably wont notice much difference.

Personally I'd mow 5x or so at least then dump it.

 

[Brybo86]

I would have got a higher quality unit off Craigslist for 1/2 the price....

but that thing is really nice and shiny!

 

[Red91]

My brother bought a Troy Built TB200 earlier in the summer, and we're just going to change it in the spring next year. Probably will have about four hours on it by then. We're going to use Delo 400 SAE 30 in it until I run out, then, who knows? I've never worried too much about mower oil because they do fine on anything.

 

[Red91]

My brother bought a Troy Built TB200 earlier in the summer, and we're just going to change it in the spring next year. Probably will have about four hours on it by then. We're going to use Delo 400 SAE 30 in it until I run out, then, who knows? I've never worried too much about mower oil because they do fine on anything.

 

[Dallas69]

You have posted way too many times to be asking that question my friend.
But if you need advice then I will help you out.
Use it for about 3-4 hours of run time and then change it.
That engine will last the same amount of time whether you change it now or next year.
Enjoy

 

[Rolla07]

Mow your lawn front and back and then change oil.

Offtopic..you might know answer. Your first pic where the cable attaches to handle its a small plastic piece, do you know what thats called? Mine broke today..ugh

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: car51
I'm thinking when I'm done cutting grass next week that I'll do that and add Sta-Bil to fuel tank before putting it away for winter


Sounds like a good plan.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd run it an hour and change it.

 

[justalubetech]

My parents have a cheapo Craftsman push mower with a Briggs that we bought new back in 2006 or so, we've never changed the oil in it just added when needed, it gets the snot used out of it and it still runs great, even with never using Stabil. These small engines will last forever on anything that looks like oil. That being said I would have changed the oil if it were mine but it still happily mows away with pretty much no maintenance lol.

 

[69GTX]

Fwiw, I never thought of changing the original factory fill until the 50-100 hour mowing season was over....until I read about it here on Bitog. And I've gone through 5-6 cheapo mowers over the past 20-25 years or so ($109 to $159). Never has one of these failed on oil or the engine. It's always the carb/air-fuel mixture when things finally fail. Only once did one of the rot a bit on me. Ironically, that engine lasted 5 years and was still running good...but one wheel housing rotted away and I got tired of mowing on 3 misaligned wheels for 3 years....lol.

So I'd concur that the oil change is almost irrelevant on one of these. Just do it no less than annually. Takes about 50c worth of oil. I put in some leftover M1 5w30 this last time. Next time around I'm putting it on a 5w30 QS Defy (SL) diet as I have a couple quarts of that stuff laying around.

 

[daves87rs]

I'd run it for at least a half dozen mows or so....

 

[addyguy]

I think most mowers never get the oil changed, and they run for years.

Problems with the fuel system stop most mowers dead, gummed up carbs from fuel that goes bad.

 

[jeepman3071]

Wow that looks like a Capri-sun juicebox full of oil lol. Never seen that before!