SuperTec 10w-40 Blend is working great in my OPE.
Straight 30 or 15W40 for hard use air cooled small engine?
- Thread starter z71bill
- Start date
My Air cooled VW Beetle gets straight 30 wt. It runs great on non synthetic oil and the seals are designed for it. My Air cooled 75 Westfalia gets 20-50wt cause it never is exposed to winter and in the heat of summer its motor works hard to push it around and again it is non-synthetic oil. That stuff is getting harder to find so it may soon get 15-40 instead. Clearances decrease as the motors warm up on the air cooled VW's.
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- May 28, 2014
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- 2,515
I've been using 5w30 mostly Royal Purple HPS in our Craftsman 17 hp lawn tractor for years now with no issues
Oil is drained before storage and filled up and ready to go in the Spring.
Many mowers spec a 5w30 for year round temps too.I've been using 5w30 mostly Royal Purple HPS in our Craftsman 17 hp lawn tractor for years now with no issues
Oil is drained before storage and filled up and ready to go in the Spring.
To select the right oil you have to know your oil run temperature.
Which is a product of your environments temperature and how hard you run the engine.
For example I run my gx390 powered pressure washer wide open at 4,000rpm for extended periods of time in 100f temperatures. I have measured the oil at 280F so I definitely want to run an oil that ends in 50.
When your engine hits operating temperature you want the viscosity of the oil to be around 11cst.
If your engine hits like 90c 30 weight oil is good.
If your oil tops out at 100c then oil that ends in 30 is perfect.
If you get a little over 100c then maybe use an oil that ends in 40.
My pressure washer hits 125c confirmed and could reach 150c so I'm definitely in 50 weight oil territory.
Generators, pressure washers, mud motors, saw mills run hard and riding mowers depending on how hard you run them. You probably want to use something that ends in at least 40 running in those.
My riding mower manual says to cut yo grass when it's about 1 inch over desired cutting height. Yeah I wait till it's 3 to 5 inches over cut height and I mow it almost fast enough to bog the engine.
Because I beat it like I rented it I put 20w-50 in it.
Which is a product of your environments temperature and how hard you run the engine.
For example I run my gx390 powered pressure washer wide open at 4,000rpm for extended periods of time in 100f temperatures. I have measured the oil at 280F so I definitely want to run an oil that ends in 50.
When your engine hits operating temperature you want the viscosity of the oil to be around 11cst.
If your engine hits like 90c 30 weight oil is good.
If your oil tops out at 100c then oil that ends in 30 is perfect.
If you get a little over 100c then maybe use an oil that ends in 40.
My pressure washer hits 125c confirmed and could reach 150c so I'm definitely in 50 weight oil territory.
Generators, pressure washers, mud motors, saw mills run hard and riding mowers depending on how hard you run them. You probably want to use something that ends in at least 40 running in those.
My riding mower manual says to cut yo grass when it's about 1 inch over desired cutting height. Yeah I wait till it's 3 to 5 inches over cut height and I mow it almost fast enough to bog the engine.
Because I beat it like I rented it I put 20w-50 in it.
I use 15W-50 or SAE 40 in my vanguard.
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2022
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- 189
i ran rotella t4 15W-40 for 18 days on my Honda powered Winco generator for 10 hours a night in hot 90+ degree weather after hurricane fiona, without any issues. the gennie was running full load, 3 inverter air conditioners, a fridge, and lights, all night long. i would have to get up once during the night to refuel. i was changing the oil out early, every 50 hours because i had plenty of oil on hand. members here pointed out i could go for 100 hours safely with the rotella.
in my inverter EU2000i, i was running straight rotella t1 SAE 30 at times without any issues, also used t4. this gennie ran 14 hours a day, powering fridge, lights and small fans, for 18 days as well.
rotella in straight 30 or the 15W-40 are really stout oils and should serve you well, whichever you choose.
i bought Mobil 15W-50 for my next outage because it was on special in my local advanced auto.
in my inverter EU2000i, i was running straight rotella t1 SAE 30 at times without any issues, also used t4. this gennie ran 14 hours a day, powering fridge, lights and small fans, for 18 days as well.
rotella in straight 30 or the 15W-40 are really stout oils and should serve you well, whichever you choose.
i bought Mobil 15W-50 for my next outage because it was on special in my local advanced auto.
I use the Lucas 10-w-40 ATV oil in my Honda powered water cooled engine for the clutch to be safe and use it in all the small engines I maintain for friends and family which is a lot and it works has worked well. When I worked a gas pipe company all the small engines got 20w-50 back then because the crews would run them full blast all day and they held up much better than the lighter weight oils that had been used in them in the past before I got there.
I use mobil 0W40 in my Honda lawn mower year-round. Getting ready to go out this cold morning to suck up some leaves. It's very easy to pull start on cold days compared to when I used to use 15W-40 and my previous mower. Some days I couldn't crank that old mower fast enough for it to start.
I thinks it's because it provides good protection in a wide range of temps . Whereas a thicker oil is better in hot temps and a thinner oil is better in cold temps
I saw this as a mistype/fat fingers.
I put Motul 20w50 last time in my 23hp Kohler twin, but usually use m1 0w40 fs in everything.
Depends on how hot the oil gets.
You want the oil to hit about 11cSt at whatever the max operating temperature is.
I have a pressure washer that has no problem hitting 260F, so it gets 20w-50.
I have a wood chipper that only hits about 180F so 10w-30 is fine for it, I could almost run 5w-20 in it, next time I change the oil I'll probably put 5w-30 in it.
You want the oil to hit about 11cSt at whatever the max operating temperature is.
I have a pressure washer that has no problem hitting 260F, so it gets 20w-50.
I have a wood chipper that only hits about 180F so 10w-30 is fine for it, I could almost run 5w-20 in it, next time I change the oil I'll probably put 5w-30 in it.
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- Sep 24, 2023
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- 1,458
Briggs and Stratton been calling for synthetic 5w30 in mowers for quite sometime
Yes ...... but if you look in the manual it says you can use other oil based on temperature
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- Sep 24, 2023
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- 1,458
Yes they do. 5w30 synthetic covers a wide temperature range takes the guesswork out for the average bob
splash lube engines do benefit from 10W in cooler weather. I keep 5W30 for my generator if I need to use it in the winter. Usually have 15W40 in it. The garage never gets below 40 so if it is a short failure no problem. If it is a ice storm for days of outage I use 5W30.
engines with a pump and filter can use 10W or 20W since there is no splash. Now if you are in the norther tier, a 5W30 would be good.
engines with a pump and filter can use 10W or 20W since there is no splash. Now if you are in the norther tier, a 5W30 would be good.
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