The BEEF on sm engine oil.....TRUE COMMERCIAL

[kcfx4]

i read all the time of blah blah oil etc in a sm engine.... i ran a sm engine dealer for 30+ yrs.....heres my experience...
I have a buddy/good friend that runs a TRUE commercial lawn service, equipment runs 9 hrs a day balls to the wall minus travel time & winter. He runs mostly scag turf tigers powered by kawasaki, with retarded hrs on them, he has a few powered by kohler commands and their mia (engines wouldnt hold up), ive seen numerous hr meters w 2k + hrs on kaws, still going strong......what oil does he run? Napa blue bottle sae30 (valvoline w less add pack) monthly he dumps the oil, filter, and blades...again, thats sae30, and ive seen 4k hrs on them, proof enough?

 

[D_Ville_TX]

We have a welder/generator at work with a Chonda (Lifan) 13hp engine. This engine has almost 900 hours on the meter and works as good as it did new. It comes with a 1000 hour warranty.
It has been run on Rotella 15W40 from day one. They change oil every 75-100 hours, and it is not using any detectable amount of oil between changes.
Considering how well it runs, I expect that it will live for a LONG time on 15W40. Also mostly used in VERY hot climate.

Checking valve clearance once a year (about 300 hours) and only needed to increase the exhaust valve clearance one time.

I believe that compensating the viscosity for a HOT climate is a good thing.

 

[kcfx4]

im in NO way saying 15w40 hdeo wont work, nor am i saying full syn 5w30/etc wont work, but he doesnt ck oil, he spends over a $100 daily in fuel, get the employees in, get them on the job, he doesnt worry about syn consumption, and as to youre post... im glad to see it! speaks highly of chonda

 

[kcfx4]

granted a multi grade will do wonders in a kohler command as it cant oil to the valves fast enough!! but as to all others, id say sae30 works great! unless a snow blower, then 5/10 w 30, all else purposes a waste, unless our water pump poster proves anything

 

[Steve S]

I will agree that a straight visc motor can protect better than a multi visc oil .

 

[willix]

Any HEDO is suitable for air cooled. I have been using Rotella 10w30 with no problems in the machines.

 

[01rangerxl]

Well yeah, a Kawasaki is going to run fine forever on anything. A Kohler is going to put a hole in the block regardless of what oil you put in it.

Just my experience.

I've never replaced a Kawasaki engine. None of the techs I work with have replaced a Kawasaki engine. We work on hundreds of Kawasaki engine mowers every year, and the engine is very rarely the problem.

Kohler is a whole different story. Oil has little/nothing to do with it.

 

[kcfx4]

finally, someone gets it

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
finally, someone gets it


I'll have to send you a picture of my Kohler warranty replacement engine section sometime...it's quite impressive. I think at least 90% of our Oil-Dri is used on Kohler engines that puked on the floor.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
.....what oil does he run? Napa blue bottle sae30 (valvoline w less add pack) monthly he dumps the oil, filter, and blades...again, thats sae30, and ive seen 4k hrs on them, proof enough?


This is the BEEF

What exactly is this proving? We all know SAE30 is a fine oil for OPE and have beaten it literally to death. Has your "true commercial" buddy run something like 15w40 and had premature engine failures?

Joel

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
proof enough?


Yes! Those Kawi engines are good. So is his choice of oil.

 

[660mag]

The command engine also has a hydro lifter setup, so it needs a multi grade at all times. Sae30 will tick like crazy for the first five min. If it has mac valves, and it's air cooled sae30 all the way. Hydro setup multi.

 

[kcfx4]

True, but kohler orginaaly specd the command as sae30 then changed it to 10w30

 

[660mag]

Did not know that. But the switch to a multi sounds like it was the right thing to do in this app. Some of those engines tick like crazy. I've never been a big fan of that engine. Always thought the job they ask of it was allot for a single cylinder.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
True, but kohler orginaaly specd the command as sae30 then changed it to 10w30


And last year, they "kind of" changed their recommendations again, as they now say that 30w is acceptable to use above 50f and that it might improve oil use symptoms. Go figure.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-12/1118523/koh112.jpg

 

[flatlandtacoma]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
granted a multi grade will do wonders in a kohler command as it cant oil to the valves fast enough!!

As this site's foremost "sm engine" expert, why would you pretend not to know Kohler's latest oil recommendation for the Command?

 

[HM12460]

kcfx4, i'd have to say he did that to you because he enjoyed it.

 

[Bror Jace]

Um, I'm confused. If Kohler "originally" spec'd the Command to use SAE-30 then changed it to SAE 10W-30, then why does the manual doitmyself's link say the following:

"It has been standard practice and was recommended forever to use 10W-30 in all Command hydraulic lifter applications. Testing has recently shown benefits such as improved emissions and reduced oil consumption when SAE-30 oil is used in warm weather."

Is there an older version of the Command with solid lifters?

 

[kcfx4]

some ppl cant read their manuals/same recs yr after yr, theyre the same ppl who think an "LT" series is a "real" JD, not the knock-off garbage that they really are....what should i expect?

 

[kcfx4]

Originally Posted By: Bror Jace
Um, I'm confused. If Kohler "originally" spec'd the Command to use SAE-30 then changed it to SAE 10W-30, then why does the manual doitmyself's link say the following:

"It has been standard practice and was recommended forever to use 10W-30 in all Command hydraulic lifter applications. Testing has recently shown benefits such as improved emissions and reduced oil consumption when SAE-30 oil is used in warm weather."

Is there an older version of the Command with solid lifters?
read up 3 posts, i said multi in command