Toro Walk Behind Mower - No Oil Changes Required ?

I would still do a tip over drain or a regular drain and fill if possible. I would have to guess the engine would last a lot longer with fresh oil once in a while. These companies are in business to sell not make a product that lasts a lifetime. We are in somewhat of a throw away world and I would rather have things last a lot longer. John Deere has the quick change oil filter that has the oil added in the filter and you change that once per year. I guess I am just old school and change the oil and filter on my 22 hp JD riding tractor once per year. I like engines to last a long time.
 
I was surprised to see a feature of Toro mower engines is to just top off with oil and never change the oil . Unless the engine is expected to have a short life span - that seems odd and something I would not do . I tend to change out mower oil one to two times per season .
Had a Toro personal pace and in the manual it specified after how many hours of use the oil had to be changed.
There is a "philosophy" out there, not advocated by any manufacturer that I know of, which tells people not change
the oil, but to add when needed. How long will the mower last following this is anybody's guess.
I now have the same mower, but Battery powered.
 
The Briggs engines w no drain plug are fine to tip over but its less messy to run them out of gas first.Saves the air filter from becoming fuel soaked. Best bet is to let cool a little and remove air filter before inverting.
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As accurately noted by @factorytuned2012 Briggs has been using the 'no change just add oil' push mower engine for at least ~10 years now. Oil can still be changed either by either tipping mower over or using an inexpensive extractor or suction pump/gun. Been several bitog threads on it, just read one I commented on one in 2016.
 
To be fair, most people never need to change the oil in their lawn mower :sneaky:

Before I switched to electric, I had only changed the oil once on an old B&S flathead, and the mower had been at least 10 years old at the time. I gave it a bottle of Dollar Tree oil back when they had that half quart for $1.

But really, most people with lawns where those cheap mowers are sufficient are better off with electric anyway. They don't require oil changes either, and they are much quieter :D
My neighbor bought a fancy electric mower and sold his Honda - to a guy that mows laws for a living.

Now regrets it - the electric mower is too slow and has a tendency to flatten the grass so in a day or two it straightens back up and looks uneven. You can drive through the neighborhood on Tuesday and know who mowed with gas and who with electric.

Its all centipede grass here, so possibly other varieties are different.
 
I have the cheapest Toro push mower Lowes sold in 2014 with a Briggs engine. There is no drain plug and no provision for oil changes suggested. I change it every year by tipping it out the fill tube. Just got done season 11 - doesn't smoke at all yet. Our seasons here are at least 9 months, so likely 30 mows a year, maybe more.
Me too!! Tip it, tip it good.
 
Those engines have very few steel on steel wear surfaces, so the majority of wear particles in the oil will be aluminum, which is less damaging. The biggest issue I see, though, is dirt that gets past the air filter. Dirty oil is likely not going to significantly shorten engine life.
And for what it's worth, I'd change the oil regardless.
 
Most people buy a mower, use it one season, leave it outside or beside the shed full of gas. Sits all winter in the elements, and then doesn’t start in spring. So they just buy another. Repeat in case for some stroke of luck it fires off after the first winter.
 
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Most people buy a mower, use it one season, leave it outside or beside the shed full of gas. Sits all winter in the elements, and then doesn’t start in spring. So they just buy another. Repeat in case for some stroke of luck it fires off after the first winter.
going on 4 years of maintenance free mowing. battery mower technology is truly magical
 
I was surprised to see a feature of Toro mower engines is to just top off with oil and never change the oil . Unless the engine is expected to have a short life span - that seems odd and something I would not do . I tend to change out mower oil one to two times per season .
Don't change what you are doing . I dont know what your mowing season is but usually once a season is enough . Older B&S motors used to be pretty robust but I'm not sure they build them as good as they used to . If you want it to last change it once a season . The lifetime garbage is pure marketing BS to just sell units .
 
I do around 10 mows a year so maybe 10 hours in total.

I got a ton of free 20W-50 synthetic during COVID and use that to top it off. Since I bought it used for $100 well over a decade ago, I just top off when needed which is every two to three mows.

My neighbor did a fantastic solid for me and reconditioned the lawnmower a few years ago. I got him a dozen oil filters and we have a lot of great conversations. He's also helped me mow my lawn when my mower has been a bit difficult.
 
Toro wants it to have a short life span. Change that oil.
If it dies after a few years, you going to go buy another Toro because it was so reliable ? Most people won't and they'll consider Toro "junk" (not knowing it's the B&S engine that died, not the mower). Guarantee you, Toro or B&S have data showing that there's no harm in doing this. Outside of this forum, people don't change the oil in their mowers and they can last a decade.... Or they get replaced in the spring because they didn't drain the old gas and can't get it to start.
 
I was surprised to see a feature of Toro mower engines is to just top off with oil and never change the oil . Unless the engine is expected to have a short life span - that seems odd and something I would not do . I tend to change out mower oil one to two times per season .
Its not a feature. Its just them saving a dollar not installing an oil drain and trying to sell another mower sooner.
 
The Sensation mower my dad bought 50 years ago is still going strong.
It has rotating valves. I believe this is accomplished by grinding an angle on the cam lobes.
I change its oil....no magic. *oil story, see below

A motorized thing against the ground is going to suck up dirt.
How dopey can people be....wait a minute, I know.

It makes me feel good to see black oil exiting a machine.
I've been tipping over lawn mowers to pour the oil out for ever.

* OK, the oil story:
There was a particularly competent auto parts shop near a friend's home.
They had darn near everything including affordable bottles of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 W oil.
They were so nice, they swapped my viable collection of automotive bulbs for ones I needed.

I asked the guys for 40 as the Sensation had turned 40 that year.
One counterman laughed, the other said I was nuts.
The average of those two is....BITOG.
 
Son bought me a Dewalt that is quiet and cuts evenly and can outlast me when temps are above 80. If the grass gets ahead of me the old Craftsman push mower gets the duty. Also have a 24 horse Craftsman rider for when I`m in a hurry. The future is electric though.
 
Some mowers can go a long time between changes without any real damage. Case in point is my old 2007 John Deere L100-series that I used until 2020 and changed the oil in exactly once, circa 2017. Horrifying, I know, but my priorities were elsewhere during those years. I mowed 1 acre/week with it from Spring-Fall. That mower ran fine with the old oil in it, and it wasn't even that dark on the dipstick. I gave it to my father in law in 2020 and I don't know if he's ever changed the oil in it; I doubt it. It still runs fine.
 
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