synthetic in snowblower

[dagmando]

1985 Craftman tractor 16HP B&S eingine, 4 hours a week cutting 2 acres during the summer then used a bunch of times during the winter for snow blowing. Every year change the Pennzoil 30WT, new air filter, fuel filter and spark plugs, that's it. It sits out in the shed all year and it runs like a top, smooth, no smoke, starts EVERYTIME. Running a synthetic motor oil a lawn mower and then changing more that once a year really is a waste and not enviromentally friendly.

 

[Quick_lude]

What about the GC 0w30? Would the 0w be too light for a snowblower engine?

 

[JohnnyO]

I have Mobil 1 10w-30 in my snowblower now, mostly because I just had some left over in a 5 qt jug.

 

[JohnnyO]

quote:

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Originally posted by Quick_lude:
What about the GC 0w30? Would the 0w be too light for a snowblower engine?

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I don't think so but I'm not sure how tight clearances are in those engines. See if the engine burns any oil if you use it. Syn will smoke very little if at all so you have to keep checking the level, you can't just eyeball the exhaust for blue smoke.

 

[JonS]

Just an update on the Mobil 1 5w-30. This is the first winter i have not had to add oil. Usually i will add oil every few hours of operation. I maybe have 4 hours on this oil and it is still to the full mark.

 

[Bror Jace]

"This is the first winter I have not had to add oil."

I am not that surprised. I found the same thing to be true with our B&S powered John Deere 1032 snowblower. It was guzzling "whatever" oil and then I began topping it off with used synthetic (probably Mobil 1 at the time) and consumption eventually zero'd out.

I'm running Pennzoil straight 40 in it right now but when that stuff is used up, I'll switch it over to 15W40 like all the rest of my lawn & garden equipment.

That is, assuming we still have it. It's ~20 years old and them have been some tuf' years.

--- Bror Jace

 

[S2000driver]

For the first two uses of my Tecumseh snowblower I used normal oil.

Then I switched to M1 5W30, and the first thing I noticed was no more smoke.

I've been using this snowblower for over 10 years, changing oil every 2 or 3 years and very little if any make-up oil.

Most recently switching to M1 0W30 when it became avaialable.