30 weight oils in ope. Crazy?

[The motor guy]

Am I the only one who thinks it's nuts to run a 10w30 or 30 weight oil in ope? I mean car engines call for a 5w20 or 5w30, but their oil temp doesn't usually get much past 200 degrees, yet on a lawn mower 250 is normal.

 

[old1]

For the past 50 years I have been using nothing but straight 30 in my mowers and other summer equipment, and 5/30 in snow blowers. Just this fall I changed the mowers to 5/30 semi syn. and will see what happens next year. I know multi weight oils are WAY better now than a couple decades ago, so will see. Probably the worst that will happen is they may burn more oil. The 45 year old rider uses some anyway, so will see if it uses considerably more or not.

 

[The motor guy]

I just think they would benefit with a 40 weight oil. Multi weight that is.

 

[GravelRoad]

A long time ago (19yrs?) in Briggs school I was told that their air cooled engines oil temp ran on average 176*F above ambient temp.

So on a 74*f day, the oil temp will be around 250*f.

Also the crank and rod bearings are over sized for the little power output.

 

[Drosselmier]

I was mulching some leaves this morning, temp 2*C. It was hard to start with 30 grade oil. Took several pulls. Usually starts 1st pull. First time using a lawnmower in November for me. It's usually put away by mow. Will winterize it later this week. Probably put 30 grade in again.

 

[4WD]

B&S own synthetic is 5w30 .. (I use it) ...

 

[CT8]

I use what ever is left over. 5W-30 or 15w-40. Years ago when had my boat 20W-50 what was left over.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: GravelRoad
A long time ago (19yrs?) in Briggs school I was told that their air cooled engines oil temp ran on average 176*F above ambient temp.

So on a 74*f day, the oil temp will be around 250*f.

Also the crank and rod bearings are over sized for the little power output.



Yeah I think 250 is the norm. Maybe 280 under heavy load such as high grass when it's 100 degrees out. I just think 30 weight is too thin at that temp.

 

[Red91]

Straight 30 handles heat better than 10W-30. Maybe not by much, but every little bit helps. People (including myself at times) use 15W-40 because it's robust and inexpensive. I prefer SAE 30, closely followed by 20W-50. The latter is a good alternative to 30 in ope's, but still, 30 is my first choice.

 

[Slick17601]

My Dad has a Wheel Horse tractor with a 20hp Onan that has seen nothing but 30 weight oils and at 1,050 hours is still running well. At least 900 of those hours were running a 60" deck. I think it did okay with 30 weight.

 

[TiredTrucker]

I have been using 10w30 in my OPE stuff for years, year round. Nary a problem.

 

[Cujet]

For the most part, any oil will work well in typical outdoor power equipment. Most engines don't accumulate many hours, and don't run all that hard.

However, "IF" your engine is asked to run at full load (full throttle and RPM) in a hot climate, it's always a good idea to consider the viscosity/oil temperature relationship.

I found that both my mower and generator oil temps exceeded 265 deg F during heavy use. A non pressure lubricated engine (splash lube aluminum connecting rod) is at risk with poor performing low viscosity oils. An example of
asking for trouble" would be stationary portable generators, running a house and heating water (4500W heating element) during the summer, on 5W-30 dino oil.

 

[Eddie]

+1 TiredTrucker. I also use 10w30 T5 in all my lawn equipment. ed

 

[Kamele0N]

Sae40 oil of all ranges (5-10-15W) here...without problems

 

[FastLane]

I use Mobil 1 10W30 in all my OPE. Never had an issue.

Honestly, I think most small engines will last forever as long as there is oil in them. Thats why Briggs and Kohler are advertising engines that never need oil changes. Use a quality oil, and keep it topped off. Briggs recommends any synthetic 5W30 in all their engines now.

 

[TiredTrucker]

yeah, my Yamaha portable generator that I have in it's own box on the frame rail of my semi truck gets used at 105F to -20F. It runs right in the box, enclosed except for a side panel on the rear and another on the side removed. It does it all on a 10w30 year round. Over 500 hrs on it and runs as good as the day I got it brand new. It runs an 8000btu AC unit in the summer, along with keeping batteries up via a Xantrex 1500w inverter/charger, and in winter it runs an oil pan heater and keeps batteries up via the Xantrex. Don't need it all the time, but is handy to have on those times I do. The batteries get a workout from the built in fridge and Webasto bunk heater along with lights and other "hotel" loads in the sleeper/cab. The Yamaha keeps them up, fully charged. And it runs for up to 10 hrs at a time. Most times, just 2-3 hrs in winter.







When driving down the road it is nice and secure out of the weather and prying eyes......

 

[Lubener]

Most of my small engines call for SAE30 and that's what goes in.

 

[chefwong]

TT. With you genset box with just those cutouts, and 500 hrs .
Wow. I would think it would not breath well based on those pics but the hr mtr. speaks for itself

 

[steve20]

nice craftsmanship on the box--particularly what looks like a beveled edge on the top cover perimeter.

In the FWIW column, 2 weeks ago I was using a push blower for the leaves--it has a 6.5 Briggs I/C cast iron sleeve and OHV. Has generic 10-30 conv in it. I measured the hottest part of the 'crankcase' and it was 188 degrees on a 70 degree day.
My L-heads run a heck of a lot hotter- the rider mowers either in 8 or 10hp Briggs hottest block part was 270-on a cooler day, probably 55 degrees.
I run 10-30 in OHV and straight 30 in L-heads, except for the Ariens Tecumseh on the snowblower, which gets 5-30 NAPA syn
Steve

 

[TiredTrucker]

Originally Posted By: chefwong
TT. With you genset box with just those cutouts, and 500 hrs .
Wow. I would think it would not breath well based on those pics but the hr mtr. speaks for itself


It actually has good ventilation. The internal circulating fan that draws air thru the generator case gets its air from the side vent, and the air being discharged out of the generator shoots out the rear vent in the box along with exhaust. The outfit I got the box from custom makes boxes like this that are generator specific.