Sleeveless engine, Synthetic oil better?

[Whimsey]

My Briggs & Stratton generator has a B&S 342cc engine. I got it new in November of 2012, right after hurricane Sandy layed waste to NJ and I was without power for 6 days. I never needed it since for a power outage situation but I run it every 3 months for at least 1 hour with a balanced 3,000 watt load plus some other usages. I changed the factory fill at 1 hour and went with the B&S 5w30 synthetic oil for the next 2 changes. I have maybe 25 hours on the unit. My question is since this is a sleeveless block Aluminum engine will the continued use of a synthetic oil really help with engine longevity say over say using Rotella T 10w30 with 25 up to a 50 hours usage. This is a technical question not a cheapness question.

Whimsey

 

[stephenbrown22]

yes

 

[ironman_gq]

Not necessarily, they aren't really any more slippery than conventional but they can operate in a narrower viscosity (changes less with temp extremes) range and don't break down as quickly. Whether it's better or not is going to depend on how long your going to go between changes and whether the additive package is offering more protection over a given conventional oil.

 

[BigCahuna]

I look at it this way, I use Mobil 1 Extended Performance and it been in my generator for 3 years. It gets run every few months. So at that rate, extended performance oil should late longer then I'll have a use for the generator. I use my mower alot more and it's 20 years old.,,

 

[HerrStig]

T6 reduced the oil consumption of my Briggs L head generator engine to almost zero.

 

[Quest]

If you are referring to those low-end B&S "cool bore" like all aluminium bore engines, fact is, they will only last approx. 4~600hrs tops before they go bad, regardless of what kind of oil you use.

This just goes to show how low it can get with beancounters + competition out there forcing your pricing to go low...no iron sleeves!

honda has a few engines that runs on Alu bore as well (similar to that portable EU1000 engine), so you'd expect them to go max. 600hrs, regardless of what oil you choose to use.

Afterall: these "kool bore" engines once they are worn out of spec, you have to throw them away (or replace the cylinder block with head on it).

Q.

On the other hand: an iron-sleeved OPE engine can typically lasts you up to 4~6K hrs tops. Nikasil bore engines, when maintained properly, OPE engines can also last an upwards of 8k or so, with it being not machinable.

 

[jhellwig]

The rest of the unit will be shot long before you wear out the cylinder.

 

[ksp7498]

Originally Posted By: Quest
If you are referring to those low-end B&S "cool bore" like all aluminium bore engines, fact is, they will only last approx. 4~600hrs tops before they go bad, regardless of what kind of oil you use.

This just goes to show how low it can get with beancounters + competition out there forcing your pricing to go low...no iron sleeves!


I guess the thing to remember is that for your average homeowner will still never wear the engine out. Lets say I mow the grass 1 hour per week for half the year. 26 hours per year put on the mower. That's 23 years to hit 600 hours. Obviously professionals are different and should be springing for professional quality engines.

 

[Chris142]

I would think a good air filter is very important on this.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
I would think a good air filter is very important on this.

And honestly the filters on the small engines are a joke. My 23HP Briggs V-twin has a foam prefilter and panel filter. Garbage. My total mow time is about an hour 15 and I have to tap it out and clean the prefilter before my next mow. Would love it if I could put a radial seal type filter on it like the professional equipment at work.