My 20 year old Briggs & Stratton snowblower needed an oil change and all I had was a half quart of Dino shell 5w30 and half a quart of Penz Platinum 5w30 so I mixed them. Is this a real bad thing to do on a small air cooled motor? Is it ok to put synthetic in these motors?
Mistake with B&S oil?
- Thread starter Camprunner
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its absolutely fine unless its always been on non-detergent oil, in which case adding detergent oil might clean too thoroughly and dislodge chunks of whatevers in there..
+1
JHZR2
Staff member
Better to run synthetic in those engines.
A quality synthetic is the proper oil choice for snowblowers.
5-30 synthetic is the current B and S recommendation, though over the last 20 years there have probably been quite a few different recommendations. Don't overthink this.
any oil is better than no oil, AMHIK
Synthetic oil of a 0/5w-20 is my preferred snowblower oil.
i run syn in alot of ope's, never a problem.
ken
i run syn in alot of ope's, never a problem.
ken
Do watch out for oil consumption (burning) for all B&S (Tecumseh as well) flatheads will burn oil due to lack of valve stem seals on the valves. (oil will seep past the valve guides and burn).
Q.
Q.
"My 20 year old Briggs & Stratton snowblower needed an oil change and all I had was a half quart of Dino shell 5w30 and half a quart of Penz Platinum 5w30 so I mixed them. Is this a real bad thing to do on a small air cooled motor? Is it ok to put synthetic in these motors?"
Engine will be fine. Your mix is probably not ideal ... but it's fine for a season. All engine oils will mix with each other. It's the PAGs you have to look out for ... found in some compressors and refridgeration equipment. Mixing them can be death to a motor.
"A quality synthetic is the proper oil choice for snowblowers."
Cujet, are you drawing on your extensive experience battling the blizzards you folks get in Florida?
Seriously, it depends on whether the unit is stored in a heated garage or not. Dad had a 1980's vintage John Deere 1032 and when I took over maintenance in the mid 90s, it guzzled oil. I switched it to straight 40 weight for a year or two and then switched again to 15W40. Oil consumption decreased and it ran great for 2 decades until everything other than the engine failed on it and had to be replaced at least once. The big caveat is that it was stored in a heated garage that never got below 40F even during cold snaps.
I now have a 2011 Ariens Deluxe 28" that is similarly garaged and I have been running leftover 10W40 Pennzoil High Mileage until it is thoroughly broken in.
At that time, I will switch to Yeti Blood (Chevron Delo 0W30).
Engine will be fine. Your mix is probably not ideal ... but it's fine for a season. All engine oils will mix with each other. It's the PAGs you have to look out for ... found in some compressors and refridgeration equipment. Mixing them can be death to a motor.
"A quality synthetic is the proper oil choice for snowblowers."
Cujet, are you drawing on your extensive experience battling the blizzards you folks get in Florida?
Seriously, it depends on whether the unit is stored in a heated garage or not. Dad had a 1980's vintage John Deere 1032 and when I took over maintenance in the mid 90s, it guzzled oil. I switched it to straight 40 weight for a year or two and then switched again to 15W40. Oil consumption decreased and it ran great for 2 decades until everything other than the engine failed on it and had to be replaced at least once. The big caveat is that it was stored in a heated garage that never got below 40F even during cold snaps.
I now have a 2011 Ariens Deluxe 28" that is similarly garaged and I have been running leftover 10W40 Pennzoil High Mileage until it is thoroughly broken in.
At that time, I will switch to Yeti Blood (Chevron Delo 0W30).
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