Why is HDEO better for OPE, than regular oil?

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Originally Posted By: JTK


IMO, 10w30 or SAE30 continues to be recommended after all these years because it's a simple recognizable engine oil that will offer an acceptable range of protection for the engine. To me, it keeps on keeping on for marketing purposes.

Those who even read the labels of $199 mowers might shy away from a particular model if it recommended "exotic" 15w40, 5w40 or 20w50. Your average homeowner doesn't know those oils exist .


I think that sae30 oil is so popular due to..

A) it sheares less then other oils...especially monograde variant

B) it is common (ex) CAFE grade (5w30...10w30...)

C) most probably.....because many OPE engines have splash lubrication...and plain bearings...and therfore they "need" loeer viscosity oils...
 
I don't understand why people would insist on using passenger car oils in the punishing conditions of air cooled OPE when a high quality HDEO oil like Rotella 30 wt. is so easily available and about that same price.
 
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone

I don't understand why people would insist on using passenger car oils in the punishing conditions of air cooled OPE when a high quality HDEO oil like Rotella 30 wt. is so easily available and about that same price.


Because it doesn't matter.
 
About 20 years ago I bought a cheap mower for my yard. It was a Murray or MTD type and I think it had a Tecumseh engine. Coming from a family of mechanics, I read the manual about maintenance, even tho I am not that good a mechanic. For the next 20 years, I changed the oil yearly with Castrol 30 wt and washed out the foam air filter with gas and reoiled yearly. I used Castrol cuz my elders said it was good oil :) . I ran the mower out of gas and stored it under my deck for the winter, covered by a big rubbermaid container over the engine, no fogging oil or nuthin.. Ethanol was not in common use so I did not use stabilizer until the last years.

20 years later, I got married and the new wife wanted a lighter mower. I gave the old mower away on Freecycle and it still ran fine.

Whats my point? OPE can give great service even with poor maintenance and storage. Now, after BITOG, I run Mobil 1 5w30 EP in all OPE and obsess about buying E0 gas and using fuel stabilizer.
 
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Because the major commercial OPE equipment manufacturers think it is?? Monkey see, monkey do. That's enough for me. Others can, and will, do as they please.

The oils branded by Kohler, Kawasaki, Exmark, etc. are all rated HDEO. No need to pay extra for theirs, when Rotella, Chevron, and others are available at very reasonable prices.

I have seen that too. I had a different thought for that. I thought they had the HDEO specs for their diesel engines.
 
My reason for running HDEO in my lawn tractor is with air cooling. I figure that if a diesel engine can't kill this oil, then an air cooled engine wont' either. The cost difference is minimal over the life of an engine, and I use it for other vehicles too, so why not. When my stash of 15W40 is used up, I'm going to switch everything over to 10W30 dual rated HDE0 and sleep well.
 
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone

I don't understand why people would insist on using passenger car oils in the punishing conditions of air cooled OPE when a high quality HDEO oil like Rotella 30 wt. is so easily available and about that same price.


I don't use HDEO oil in my OPE. I do use M1 10-30, which is a passenger car oil, and have never had an engine with any problems at all.
 
I think JTK hit it on the nail head. Straight 30 wt is etched in the common man's mind for small engines in general. Proof being Walmart and auto parts store's shelves being depleted of HD30 house brand oil in the Spring. I have to get in and buy it a couple boxes at a time when my Walmart insider tips me off that it's available. Walmart did get smart this year it seems by stocking in a lot more and offering the smaller containers for mowers. Does non detergent oil work out well for small engines by the way? I've always used HD. What are the benefits of HD?
 
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Originally Posted By: yeehaw1960
. Does non detergent oil work out well for small engines by the way? I've always used HD. What are the benefits of HD?


What someone once said on this forum, "making sure your small engine has oil over not having oil" is usually the way they fail, not what oil they use. So would non detergent oil work? Yes. Isn't it better? No In fact, small gas engine manufacturers don't recommended. So what benefits does HD have? Detergent to keep the engine cleaner and hold your containments in suspense rather than settling to bottom, more anti-wear additives. HD cost very little more than a non detergent oil, spend the little money more for lot better oil.
 
For me it is simple. Most of the blown engines I have seen come in with low oil or no oil. The customer usually didn't check the oil.

HDEO seems to hold up better and burn off less, so when customers get an oil change on their equipment, I use that. I've had mowers that came in with barely any on the dipstick come back next time still in the safe range. The HDEO isn't very expensive either. There is almost no point in using Mobil 1 in a lawn mower. It seems to burn off quicker, it is expensive, and it seems I can almost watch it leak out of some of the older engines I service.
 
I have settled on using the dual rated Kohler 10W-30 Universal engine oil. Can buy it for $3.99 a quart. It's rated CF,CF-4, CG/SH, SJ, SL. I can use it in the cooler months when I am still bagging leaves in December.
 
I wonder what the "never change oil" mowers come with? Cheapest straight 30 they can find?
I just RT6 5W40 as that's what I have laying around for the tractor and atv. I wouldn't really worry about putting 5W30 in OPE either, it would be fine. Syn 5W20 would probably be fine too, but I always have something else around. The 5.5hp b&s on the rotor tiller does get quite hot after an hour, boiling water on the side of the case vigorously, so I guess it would be 250F+, so better to have something reasonably robust in there I suppose.
 
Originally Posted By: Whimsey


John Deere's 10W-30 is API rated SN so it's not HDEO.

Whimsey


Really? Just took at look at John Deere's website and they claim their Turf Gard 4 cycle oil is SL rated

http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/batteri...f_gard_oil.page

Their Plus 50 HDEO is SM rated.

http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/batteri...lus-50_ii.page?

Had to go to a John Deere dealer site to look it up, but their Plus 4 10w30 is also SL rated.

http://www.greenpartstore.com/John-Deere...rt-TY26811.html
 
I don't care if it's better, but I have it on hand because I use it in my tractors so it also goes into the smaller engines. I like Rotella because I can still get it for $11 or $12/gallon, and for vintage tractors it's a good choice.
 
I’ve gotten great OPE engine life from some engines I run 25 hours or less per year using regular automotive oil. I kept the oil topped off and change it once a year or even once every two years.

Those who run an OPE engine 25+ hours per week may need something more specific to achieve the engine life they expect.

I run whatever 30 "weight" is handy in the push mower and a couple of other OPEs that run only a few hours per year. Seems to be working out fine in those applications.

I SJ or SL synthetic oil in my Kohler equipped Grasshopper even though it averages only about 45 hours per year. It was an expensive mower and I want to make it last as long as possible. It's on it's 12th year of mowing. Still runs great, is quiet, and uses almost no oil.

I also run SJ or SL synthetic in my generator. It's not used often, but when needed it runs wide open at times keeping up with the house demands (such as the water heater). The decades old 8HP pull-start Briggs still runs good. With such hard use, it does occasionally need topping off.
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Originally Posted By: Whimsey


John Deere's 10W-30 is API rated SN so it's not HDEO.

Whimsey


Really? Just took at look at John Deere's website and they claim their Turf Gard 4 cycle oil is SL rated

http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/batteri...f_gard_oil.page

Their Plus 50 HDEO is SM rated.

http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/batteri...lus-50_ii.page?

Had to go to a John Deere dealer site to look it up, but their Plus 4 10w30 is also SL rated.

http://www.greenpartstore.com/John-Deere...rt-TY26811.html



The John Deere oil is actually pretty decent. I just don't use it because of availability. It's not any better than Rotella, so doesn't make sense to order it online in bulk or pay the $10/quart my nearest dealer wants.
crazy.gif
 
I was using amsoil small engine for the last 9 year's in my Honda 160. This year I started using Rotella T5. Should of switched along time ago. Nothing wrong with Amsoil just pricey.
 
I just bout a cub cadet xt1 with the kohler 7000 22hp vtwin.

Owner's manual says that even synthetic 10w30 is ok to use and gives a temp chart showing that 5w30 is ok in cold climates and sae 30 in the hottest but 10w30 covers what's normal for my area.

Now looking at the kohler brand 10w30 and SAE30 on their website is says

Quote:

Kohler 10W-30

This multi-viscosity oil pumps easily to provide instant lubrication to overhead valve components during start-up. Providing the full protection of an SAE-30 oil at operating temperatures, KOHLER 10W-30 universal oil is extremely resistant to viscosity shearing and stays in grade through its normal service life.

An excellent "fleet" oil to use in every piece of equipment.
Exceeds API service rating SJ. Also exceeds MIL-2104E & MIL-46152E, Mack E/O, K/2 Caterpillar TO-2, Cummins NTC 3000 & Allison C-4.
Designed for use in all KOHLER Command, Command PRO, CS, Courage, Aegis and Triad/OHC engines.

Kohler SAE-30

KOHLER SAE-30 universal oil provides instant lubrication while providing full protection at operating temperatures.

Extremely resistant to viscosity shearing.
Ensures maximum performance & extends engine life.
Exceeds API service rating SJ as well as MIL-2104E & MIL-L-46152, Mack E/O, K/X, Caterpillar TO-2, Cummins NTC400 and Allison C-4.
Designed for use in all Kohler engines.


Seems that kohler expects you to use a HD oil and not normal PCMO.
 
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