So... Guess I should have stuck with SAE 30?

[glum]

In prior seasons, this engine hardly used any oil at all. I'd change the oil at the beginning of the season, and not have to top it off even once.

Guess I'll never know if this was a coincidence or not. If I need a new mower, oh well. It had a good run, especially considering I did almost zero maintenance for the first 9 years! (seriously)

 

[Cujet]

After losing 2 engines in the Florida heat on thin multigrade. I switched to mobil 1 15W- 50 in most of my small engines. Certainly in small generator use, it's ideal in the heat

 

[deeter16317]

And 15w50 isn't a multigrade?

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: deeter16317
And 15w50 isn't a multigrade?
Originally Posted By: Cujet
After losing 2 engines in the Florida heat on thin multigrade. I switched to mobil 1 15W- 50 in most of my small engines. Certainly in small generator use, it's ideal in the heat

 

[2cool]

The syn probably did clean out a lot of gunk that the engine was designed to work with. I have a 3 yr. old Craftsman riding mower w/19.5 (it was a settlement engine decaled @20hp). I ran HD 30 in it for the first hour and changed it per the owners' manual. Since then I run any 15W-40 I have laying around. Runs like a top, doesn't use, and I'll go a full season without adding more than 3-4 oz.(and I check the dipstick before each mow). As many have pointed out, it's really hard to kill an engine running a properly made HDEO.

 

[glum]

Originally Posted By: 2cool
The syn probably did clean out a lot of gunk that the engine was designed to work with.

If that's true, then after running SAE 30 for awhile, I should be gunked up again and back in business!

Then again, if it was designed to work that way, wouldn't it burn oil badly when brand new?

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: glum
I'm wondering if the breather got loaded with oil when the mower was tipped. Seems like it would have worked its way out by now though.


If it has one of the foam air filters or even paper, oil from tilting it too much from the wrong side can saturate and clog the filter, causing the engine to pull oil from the crankcase into the intake... The one I had that blew up would push oil into intake due to blowby and eventually clog the filter compounding the problem, I had to clean it every half dozen cuttings or so...

I don't think you have to worry about today's oils sludging, that 1981 B&S that blew was perfectly clean inside(of course it was self changing)... Only issue it had was deposits on the crown and down one side of the piston, no doubt due to oil burning & blowby from bad rings...

You know, now that's it's gone, I don't miss it a little bit...

 

[1999nick]

The number one oil recommendation on the Briggs & Stratton web site has been synthetic 5W30 for several years. 30W is said to be OK if the temperatures are above 40 degrees. They say more oil usage can be expected when using multigrade conventional (not synthetic) oils. They recommend the 5W30 synthetic for all temperatures between -20 degrees and +120 degrees.

 

[steve20]

I've used straight weight 30 (lawn equipment) for over 40 years-not going to change now

 

[Donald]

I use the Amsoil synthetic 4 stroke oil made for small air cooled power equipment.

 

[car54]

I have always gone thicker with my summertime aircooled equipment. Ive never used a multigrade unless it was an xw-40. What good does a thin oil do? these are wide tolerance aircooled engines. we're not looking for better fuel economy or more power, so a thicker oil won't matter.

 

[1999nick]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
After losing 2 engines in the Florida heat on thin multigrade. I switched to mobil 1 15W- 50 in most of my small engines. Certainly in small generator use, it's ideal in the heat


I've heard that M1 15W50 works almost like magic in extending the life of these Florida generators that are in use continually for days after a hurricane, compared to a lighter oil.

 

[meep]

mowing with a ~2003 honda push mower, here in 100f temps, mobil 1 10-30 was NO GOOD. little metal sparkles at every change and startup smoke. Moved to rotella 5-40 and never touched mobil 1 in my OPE again. I don't think it handles air cooled engine temps well at all, though there are many here that swear by it, or the 5-40 TDT or SUV formulations. for me, even if the other M1 formulations work, once bitten twice shy (actually it was twice bitten, I gave the benefit of the doubt over 2 OCIs...)

 

[1999nick]

I have been using M1 in my mower with the Honda 160 engine for 11 years. I have an hour meter on it, and the oil has been changed only yearly, at 55 to 65 hours. I have always used either 5W30 or 10W30, and the oil has never been more than a sixteenth of an inch below the full mark at the end of a one year OCI. Never in 11 years has it ever required additional oil to be added between changes. About 6 years ago, I used some M1 0W30, and got the same result. Absolutely no oil burned off. The engine now has 600+ hours on it, and it still, usually, starts on the first pull. I'm now 74 years old, soon to be 75, so my arm is not what it used to be, but it is still easy for me to start this old Honda.

 

[glum]

My next mower will probably be a Honda. I've been looking at the ones they have on their site and they seem pretty nice. They do say something about synthetic oil though:

Q: Can I use synthetic oil in my Honda equipment?

A: Honda engines are developed, tested and certified with petroleum based motor oils as a lubricant. Any motor oil used in our engines must meet or exceed all oil requirements as stated in the owners manual to include the recommended oil change intervals.

Which, I guess, means synthetic is OK! The one product manual I looked at recommends 10W-30 "for general use" (-5F+)

Now I almost hope this B&S dies...

 

[troyb43]

Originally Posted By: Donald
I use the Amsoil synthetic 4 stroke oil made for small air cooled power equipment.

Great oil, I use it as well

 

[yeehaw1960]

Saw a guy at O'Reillys Auto a couple years ago. After 7,000 or so miles on his street bike, he changed over to Synthetic oil. A few miles later the clutch was slipping like mad. He was about to cry as he scolded the guy behind the counter for selling it to him. The bike was already in the shop getting the clutch redone by the way. Beware.

 

[1999nick]

Originally Posted By: yeehaw1960
Saw a guy at O'Reillys Auto a couple years ago. After 7,000 or so miles on his street bike, he changed over to Synthetic oil. A few miles later the clutch was slipping like mad. He was about to cry as he scolded the guy behind the counter for selling it to him. The bike was already in the shop getting the clutch redone by the way. Beware.


Synthetic oil was not to blame. He probably allowed the clerk to sell him passenger car oil. As a motorcycle owner, he should have been aware that his engine and transmission shared a common oil supply and required an oil with a different additive package to suit the friction characteristics of the friction clutch. The friction additives in the passenger car oil made the clutch slip and wear out. This is on the bike owner to be aware of the special needs of his own machine.

 

[WMSmotorhead]

I never got experiment happy with lawnmower oil. The general consensus from both Briggs and Kohler is that FLAT HEAD motors get SAE30 and OHV motors get 10w-30. Following this guideline and using budget brand conventional oils like WPP and WolfsHead, there have been no lubrication related issues. Some of the engines are going on 15 years of service. There's very little oil consumption.. they get a fresh change at season's start, and they ride it out til the season is over.

The Snowblower has been running 5w-30 WPP... it's been happy.

 

[glum]

Mine's an OHV B&S; as mentioned above, they primarily recommend SAE 30 in it. This engine is from 1999 however...