Lister LPA3 Air cooled diesel oil reccomendation

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Hey there folks. Thanks for having me!

I recently acquired a Lister LPA3 aircooled diesel engine powered generator. It will be doing stand by duty for my home, and therefor never reach it's hourly OCIs, but instead get timed out and changed yearly. I live near Chicago, so my annual temperature extremes are somewhere from -10 or -20F in the winter, all the way up to 90 or 100F in the summer. I'd like one fill that will handle all of this, and keep my diesel safe and happy no matter when I need it.

I'm looking for the ideal oil to run in this genny, particularly with regards to weight. Please see the attached image, from Lister's workshop manual Re: oil viscosity & temperature correlations. That manual does not even mention 5W40 diesel oil, which I think would be ideal.

I wish I could run 15w40, because it's cheap and available, but will not handle our winter conditions here.
10W40 looks like it should just about cover us here in Chicago, but is not very available. (and expensive!)
10W30 has the note about intermittent running only, which really I would meet, but that tells me that it does not protect as well.

So what say you oil Gurus? Should I spend the coin on good quality 'correct grade' 10W40, Settle for good quality but much less expensive 10W30, or figure the manual states that 5W is OK, and 40 Weight is OK, so seeing as 5W40s are generally regarded as robust oils, they are also easily available, although still expensive. Should I ignore the manual, and use that (which I *think* would be best?)

Also, The generator currently has 2 hours on it, if that effects things. Should I be using some special run-in oil / additives??? How should I deal with that, Lister states that the engine is dispatched with run-in oil, and should be changed at 100 hours. There is no indication of whether the 'run-in fill' is special because it picks up wear & junk form the running in process only, or if it is special in it's add pack, as well as it's shorter service life due to run-in. It's going to take me 4 years or more to get through that break in period!

This oil is OLD and needs to be changed, the generator is basically new old stock that was never broken in, beyond an hour of demo time a decade+ ago.

Thank you for any time & attention you have to devote.

Max

 
Originally Posted By: PrimitiveJunk
That manual does not even mention 5W40 diesel oil, which I think would be ideal.



I couldn't agree more. I would use Rotella 5w40 T6 and not have any concerns about either temperature extremes, low or high, you may encounter.
 
Thanks for the input Marc

Edit for those that might not know, but would like to lend an opinion -

Air cooled 1.1L I3 DI diesel here. Makes 12-13 Hp @ 1800 RPM
 
Originally Posted By: marc1
Originally Posted By: PrimitiveJunk
That manual does not even mention 5W40 diesel oil, which I think would be ideal.



I couldn't agree more. I would use Rotella 5w40 T6 and not have any concerns about either temperature extremes, low or high, you may encounter.


+1
 
Castrol 0W-40 would even give easier starts on extremely cold days. You can get it on sale at some auto parts stores like advance auto on a 5 quart + a filter special about once every three months.
 
I also vote for Rotella T6 5W-40 in your scenario. The oil is more modern that the engine design and will serve you very well. Rest easy
smile.gif
 
Ok, cool. Glad to hear that bitog consensus is inline with my hunch.

I'm gonna run T6 5W40 with Napa gold filter.

Does anybody have any input on break-in oil practices for rarely used engines? CAN I just dump straight T6 in there? SHOULD I add or use something else for the first while break-in period?
 
Filler with T6 and you are good to go.

I worked for a rental company that had hundreds of light towers that would sit for months on end. Not one ever had an oil related failure. Discharged batteries and frozen fuel filters from trying to start one that still had summer diesel in the middle of winter is where we had problems.
 
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