Oil Type and Visicosity - Air Cooled OHV Kawasaki 6.5 HP Single and 23 HP V Twin

[Slick]

Help pick the best type oil and viscosity for my two air cooled vertical shaft OHV Kawasaki engines. Both engines use full pressure lubrication with an oil filter (AC Delco 1233 or Kawasaki 49065-2078). The first is a 6.5HP 179cc single on a 21 inch Toro commercial mower. The second is a 23HP 680cc v-twin on a 52 inch Wright Stander. The Engine Manual permits both 30 weight and 10w-30/40 API SF,SG,SH,SJ service classification oil in the temperature range I will use them(40 to 95 degrees F). I currently use Mobil 1 10w-30 in the single and change oil each 25 hours and filter each 50 hours. Looks clean when I change it. Notice a slight oil consumption of 8 ounces between 25 hour changes which manual indicates to expect some consumption with multi-vis oils. Dealer says to to Valvoline 30 wt in both as he does think 10w-30 M1 is as good for these engines. I not convinced dealer has high knowledge of engine oil though. Any thoughts. My direction is to use the best oil that will keep engine alive for long life and keep internals clean. The only 30 weight synthetic I know of is Amsoil 30 and not to offend am not sold on the brand. Would consider HD Diesel oil I use in my Duramax (Delo 400 15w-40) but that visicosity is not given as a grade choice for either engine.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Slick

 

[416Rigby]

15w-40 and 5w-40 oils work great in air-cooled gas engines. Try Mobil's Truck & SUV 5w-40 oil, it should work fine. Also, you can use Amsoil 15w-40, or Redline 15w-40 which is what I'm using in a 14hp Onan on a riding mower.

 

[Steve S]

Heavy duty oils work great . Syns. are a waste of money unless it is freezing.

 

[Gurkha]

Delo 400 or Delvac Super should work out really well and cost effective, runs fine on my Honda Kerosene genset, on 45C summers, it has run without hitch for 6 hours.

 

[marco246]

Slick,

I wouldn't discount an old-fashioned dino 30 weight like Chevron Supreme, especially since you're doing frequent OCIs. I use it in my 25-HP riding mower (B&S), 14-HP gasoline genset (B&S), and in my 5-HP power washer (Honda). I do 50-hour OCIs on the B&S engines as per the owner's manuals.

Of course, the weather is temperate here year-round. Don't know where you live in the mid-west. If it gets hot as Hades (like Gurkhas's location), then an xW-40 might indeed be the way to go.

Good luck in your deliberations.

Cheers, Mark

 

[Bror Jace]

marco246, Chevron Supreme straight 30? I've never seen it. Do you mean their Delo400 in straight 30?

--- Bror Jace

 

[TCLL]

quote:

---

Originally posted by marco246:
Slick,

I wouldn't discount an old-fashioned dino 30 weight like Chevron Supreme, especially since you're doing frequent OCIs. I use it in my 25-HP riding mower (B&S), 14-HP gasoline genset (B&S), and in my 5-HP power washer (Honda). I do 50-hour OCIs on the B&S engines as per the owner's manuals.

Of course, the weather is temperate here year-round. Don't know where you live in the mid-west. If it gets hot as Hades (like Gurkhas's location), then an xW-40 might indeed be the way to go.

Good luck in your deliberations.

Cheers, Mark

---

I ran that same oil in both my kohler and briggs engines, and they ran fine, but when I switched to mobil 1, what a differance. weird thing, is the briggs makes more noise now.... but so much more power.

I have also found the syn 2 cycle oils work better than dino 2 cycle oils. echo oil has given me a nice power jump over the shindaiwa oil I had been using. part of it, is the echo has a lower flash point than the shindaiwa. I am not sure if amsoil has a lower flash point than the echo, if it does, that stuff is dynamite.