Honda Snowblower Engine Oil

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I have a 12 year old Honda snowblower with the 6.5 HP OHV engine (HS 624 Model). Since new, I have always run Genuine Honda 5w30 oil. On my last visit to the dealership however, a quart of 5w30 "Honda" oil now costs just over $7 including taxes. I don't consider myself cheap when it comes to maintenance on my gear, but I do have a problem with paying $7 a quart for dino oil if a better synthetic is available for much less.

I run Penzoil Platinum 5w30 in my vehicle and have an ample supply on hand. Would there be any negatives to switching my 12 year old Honda engine over to PP?

I noticed that both the Genuine Honda Dino oil and the PP is API rated SM.

Thanks
 
I'm surprised the Genuine Honda is SM. Is it for small engines, or is it just the Honda oil their car dealers sell, which is similar to Exxon SuperFlo (one step below Mobil 5000 on the Mobil ladder).

But yes, I would run PP with no hesitation.
 
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Any quality 5W-30 oil, conventional or synthetic should work fine.
I've use 0W-30 for the last few years, after a few years of convetional 5W-30.
The Pennzoil Platinum should work great.
 
ON a non-smog engine without aftertreatment I would use a small engine oil (SL/SJ) like John Deere or Briggs: they have a much more robust additisation and detergency levels not allowed in a EC PCMO reuired to meet SM GF4. I put RP in my snowblower which is a Techumseh SK 8hp and it leaked. Really! Read the manual re; synthetic use, if allowed the PP should be fine.
 
For some reason when I visit the dealer they always recommend/sell "Honda Marine" 5w30 engine oil with an API SM??

However,I quote from the owners manual:

Use high detergent, premium quality motor oil certified to meet or exceed US automobile manufacturers requirements for API SG, SF/CC, CD.


If PP isn't recommended, that's fine. I just figured I was able to find a more favorably priced and quality alternative.
 
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Fortech, I'm sure the Penz Plat will be fine.

We've seen UOAs of Honda 5W-20 and the additive package is quite potent. However, not sure if 5W-30 is similarly blended.

Do you keep the snowblower in a heated garage? If not, a synthetic would definitely be an advantage over any mineral or blend 5W-30. You want the oil to flow freely at start-up as this is where a lot (most?) wear occurs.

Penz Platinum is also one of the better PCMOs to deal with fuel dilution. It's a pretty good choice.
 
I run it in my Honda snowblower and it works great. I will be putting fresh Platinum 5W-30 in it on Saturday when I get it ready for winter use.
 
Replaced the oil last night with PP 5w30 - engine sounds great.

Is there anything special I should do since Honda technically recommended a high detergent oil?

Also I have a Honda Mower that's due for a change as well that also requires a 10w30 high detergent oil. How would PP work for this situation?

Thanks...
 
Only thing that makes me sleep better is to throw on another blanket while its snowing. Wish we could just skip this winter and go directly in to spring.
 
Look at the double circle donut on the back of the oil bottles. In-between the two circles does it say SL, or SM. SL is the good old oil that still had high enough Zinc level for air cooled engines. SM is the new oil with less Zinc so it will not damage Catalytic Converters. SM oils do not have enough Zinc for air cooled engines.

High performance oils and many mono-grade oils still have the SL in-between the double circle, and still have enough Zinc.

GC is probably the best oil made for a 4 cycle snow blower.

JimPghPa
 
NO OIL is thin enough on cold start up.

Google search for "Motor Oil by AE HAAS" and read all of it.

It points out how ALL oils are too thick when cold.

The best thing you can do to increase the life of your 4 cycle snow-blower engine is to let it warm up before you increase the throttle and load on the engine.

JimPghPa
 
JimPghPa

I'm not jumping on here to pick on you, but I read a long very informative article awhile back ( I can't find it to link)but it pointed out that in engine wear that it was better to put a light load on the engine while warming up, compared to a idle only warm up. This was in automobile engines (maybe in fleet engines I forget) but I as you always baby my engines at start up... that article was very informative to me, and had information about wear etc ( not just a theory ). If I can find it I will post it. So what I do now I just operate a engine normal be it a lawn engine, car whatever. Even my Craftsman operators manual states to operate at full throttle to warm up engine.
 
You are probably right about light load for a cold engine. I just picture in my mind a snow-blower being used to dig into a side-walk or drive-way full of snow, at full throttle right after it is cold started. When you think about cold start, does it get much worse than an engine that is only used under load if it has snowed? Probably stored in an un-heated area to. Any kind of a warm up, idle or light load would probably be preferable compared to putting full load on a cold engine just after start up.
 
With lawnmowers, we have no choice. For the last few years, wide open was and is the only way they'll run.
Snow blowers, so far, are spared that situation.
I use 0W-30 and warm my Tecumseh at a fast idle for a minute or two before attacking the snow.
 
I've seen the contention made that OPE engines don't properly splash lubricate at idle speeds which is why every single manufacturer out there tells you to start it at "full throttle"

It's important to understand that this really isn't full throttle, the throttle is operated by the governor, your speed control is merely telling the governor what speed you want. A lot of people don't seem to understand this.

It's also worth noting that on OPE the difference between idle speed and operating ("full") speed is not really that great, compared to the range of idle to redline on a typical passenger car. Idles are often 1800-2000rpm and operating speed is 3300-3600.

I do think it's key to avoid heavy loads immediately, but at the same time the engine will probably be the last thing to die on any power equipment no matter how you treat it in this regard. I let my 20+ year old snowthrower warm up a few minutes just as much for carb/mixture stability as anything else. I start my summer equipment at full speed for a few seconds (splash oil all over) then slow it down to idle for a little bit (long enough to connect the hose on a pressure washer or get the bags ready for a lawn mower) until the exhaust gases feel nicely warm and then get under way.

My road vehicles are always started and driven immediately (or within 30 seconds if it's below -20*C) but taking it easy until things come up to temperature. It's what the manufacturers recommend, warm up is far faster under load than idle, the engine spends less time "cold", there's less pollution, less fuel dilution and UOAs are great.
 
I lay my snowblower down on its left side once in while where the pulley is because I noticed there was alot of wear there when I took it apart to replace the connecting rod.
 
Johnny: "PP 10W-30 would work well in that application. It is a high detergent oil."

+1
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For sure, German Castrol 0W-40 (aka: "GC") has got to be one of the greatest all around snow-blower oils ... assuming you are starting the beast in the cold.

However, this is probably #2:

https://www.cbest.chevron.com/generated/MSDS/PDS7668754.PDF

I would like to try this in my Civic for winter use ... but can't get it around here. By the time I have it shipped to me, it would probably be $10 per quart.
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So I just use Pennzoil Platinum 5W-20.
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