Rotella 15W-40 for various OPE?

[natenkiki2004]

Hello all. I've been doing some lurking around here as well as some searches and I see some positive remarks about 15W-40 (such as Shell Rotella) in small engines and OPE applications. I have a few questions in this regard.

I own varying equipment with varying age and ideally it would be nice to have a single quality oil that I can use in everything. A few examples of the equipment would be;
2003 commercial-ish Snapper mower w/6.5HP Robin OHV engine, has oil filter
2008 Cub Cadet push mower w/173cc OHV Kohler engine, no oil filter
1994 MTD riding mower w/Briggs & Stratton 18HP opposed twin flat head, no oil filter
2003 MTD wood chipper w/Tecumseh 10HP flat head, no oil filter

I also have other equipment that I use on and off, some that I fix up and use and then sell. But, the above is my primary OPE that I have no intentions of selling and want to maintain them as good as I can.

Now, I don't live in a hot region (North Idaho) and I typically don't run my equipment when it's super hot out. Typically, operating temps might range from 40 to 90F. On one hand I'm a bit hesitant with 15W-40 in a small engine on say, a 70 degree day. But on the other hand, I realize that air cooled engines in OPE can run very hot in the summer under load at full RPM. This brings me to my first question:
Would Rotella 15W-40 be good in my applications or would a XW-30 be more suitable?

Normally what I do is try to mentally count the hours (the numbers always get fudged though) and then change the oil at around 25 hours with the cheapest 10W-30. A problem with this is on the Snapper mentioned above, draining oil is a major ordeal and I would like a longer OCI. My goal for this year is to get tach/hour meters on my frequently used equipment and change the oil out more precisely. My second question is:
If the Rotella 15W-40 is great to use, what would be a good OCI for small engines on OPE?


I ask about Rotella 15W-40 because I know it's available at my local Wal-Mart and is at an affordable price I would pay for all my small engines. However, I'm open to other suggestions that might be better than "cheapest 10W-30 I can find".

Thanks in advance

 

[RiceCake]

Realistically, almost all that equipment calls for SAE30 oil. Getting a quality 10W-30 would likely be a home run, or a detergent SAE30, in all that equipment.

That said, I do know tons of people here who run 40's in their OPE. It (shouldn't) hurt it, even I do. 0W-40 Rotella in my snowblower and my lawnmower has 15W-40 Rotella.

Your primary concerns with running a multigrade oil in OPE is shear issues and burning up viscosity modifiers, but Rotella 15W-40 I can at least vouch, I've yet to have that issue. Plenty of folks run it in their motorcycles too, air cooled bikes, so you really can't go wrong with it.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Originally Posted By: RiceCake
Plenty of folks run it in their motorcycles too, air cooled bikes, so you really can't go wrong with it.


That's what made me aware of it, using it in a motorcycle where the engine, tranny and clutch all use the oil so something besides regular cheap oil was necessary.

Anyway, you mentioned shearing, that's a good point I've seen talked about before. Where with a 15W-40, if it shears, you're still thick enough to protect the engine like a fresh 30 weight should. That's the theory anyway.

Good to hear you've not run into any issues using it. *EDIT* Especially in Canada...

 

[Clevy]

I use rotella conventional in my air compressors(12) and generators(6000 watt) in the spring until fall. 10 hours a day in the blazing summer heat with no oil related troubles at all. I change the ois in the compressors every 2 weekish so roughly every 100 or more hours. The compressors dilute the oil pretty badly which is why I change the oil so often. If not for that I'd change the oil monthly,regardless of hours.
I also use rotella in my 3 shared sump bikes and plan on using it in my Harley this year. The conventional can also be found in a 10w-30 as well.
Rotella has been the best bike oil I've used in my bikes and I've used high dollar syns which don't perform any better than good old rotella. Great oil,great price.

 

[FFeng7]

I have wondered the same question. I currently have rotella 15w40 in my 6.5 Honda clone generator and my Briggs outboard motor. Has been in the generator for two years with not a problem to speak off but this year I may change everything back to a 30 weight. Briggs and Statton currently recommends synthetic 5w30 for everything. It has got me thinking that a 15w40 might be a little thick these small engine. I may settle and try some rotella 10w30 or Defy 10w30 just to see how it runs. I have to admit its fun trying a new grade of oil every once and a while.

 

[punisher]

My neighbor a few houses down owns a landscaping/mowing service. He uses15-40 on every 4 stroke he owns just because it is the same oil he used in his diesel Fords. He has been running either Delo or Rotella in everything he owns for two decades+ and has great life out of his equipment.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Clevy, good to know you use Rotella in pretty demanding applications up north. You mentioned the conventional Rotella is also available in 10W-30. I don't think I've seen that at my local Walmart but I will look again. I think they might have the synthetic 5W-40 which could be nice at the start & end of the seasons.

FFeng7, you reminded me about Brigg's synthetic recommendations. It's funny how manufacturers are changing their recommendations in newer equipment. It used to be straight SAE 30 and nothing else but I see in newer manuals they also talk about 10W-30, 5W-30 and synthetics more. Maybe they'll extend this to include 15W-40 in the near future...

punisher, I've read one or two other commercial long-use Rotella stories and they're making me think that something is being done right. Although, I imagine commercial companies are further south (I don't recall seeing any around where I live) and they also put a lot of hours into their machines, a lot more than an average consumer like me would do.



Something I came across yesterday which helped spark the desire to start this thread:

That is a recommendations chart from a newer OHC Honda engine on a cheapie push mower. It even mentions 20W-50 as being acceptable to use! You can also see that the 10W-30 and straight 30 weights are only recommended up to 85-90F ambient temperature.

From what I understand, a heavier oil should only protect the engine more but too heavy will be a detriment to performance. Is this correct?

 

[2cool]

This is getting close to over-thinking, even for BITOGers. I bought chipper used from a rental yard, and that's what they ran in ALL of their small gas engines. I have been using 15W-40 in my riding mower since I bought it. I operate in summer up to 95F, no problems ever from lubrication or cooling. Fuel economy is good, doesn't guzzle gas even in wet high grass. If having a 10W-30 is important to you, I can recommend Rotella T5. I have used it in my 7.3 PSD again with no problems. When I use up my 15W-40 stash, I may go to 10W-30 for everything (mower, genny, truck).

 

[tomcat27]

15-40! go for it! someone on the board here has posted pictures of their briggs twin lawn tractor with the valve cover removed. they have at least 800 hours on it - maybe even alot more.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Originally Posted By: 2cool
This is getting close to over-thinking, even for BITOGers.


I'm not trying to over-think here. I don't have a lot of money so properly maintaining the equipment I do have is important. Part of that is seeing about using a better quality oil that stands up to OPE conditions instead of the cheapest 10W-30 that could shear down and not provide proper protection. I've heard good things about Rotella and want to see if there's people that use it in small engines with good results. That's all I'm trying to do.

Anyway, thanks for your input. I think I'll definitely go 15W-40 in my riding mower since it's a larger engine that's enclosed and pretty much ran at full load. Rotella should handle that really well.

I'll give Rotella 15W-40 a shot in my equipment but I still have a question; what would be a good OCI with it in terms of hours? Typically, I've seen 50 hours listed in various manuals. How often are you guys changing?

 

[Clevy]

I'm going at least 100 hours on my equipment. 5.5hp Honda engines and the generators are princess auto cheapies but they are also getting the 100 hour treatment.

 

[Doog]

Try Rotella T5 10w30 which is available at WalMart

 

[natenkiki2004]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Try Rotella T5 10w30 which is available at WalMart


I'll give that a go if my Walmart has it but I only remember seeing 15W-40 conventional in a quart and I think 5W-40 synthetic in a gallon. That was months back and my Walmart had a remodel recently so things could have changed.

 

[steve20]

I think the 5-40 syn is overkill-----remember the oil gets dirty faster than it "wears out" in OPE. I've had occasions where I've pulled the dipstick to check the level, and the oil color looks almost new, but it is gritty from mowing in a dusty areas for a while. At that point, it gets drained no matter how few hours it may have on it

 

[natenkiki2004]

I agree. I wouldn't pay more for a synthetic with the same additive package and weight as a conventional to use in OPE. I did go for a synthetic 0W-30 Mobil 1 for my snowblower though but that's a different story.

I'll be getting to Walmart on Friday to see what flavors of Rotella they have in stock.

 

[Bror Jace]

I love 15W-40 for OPE ... but that assumes it is used primarily in warm to very warm weather.

I used it in dad's OPE ... including a Honda riding tractor, wood splitter, roto-tiller, etc ... Most of that was Schaeffer 15W-40 synthetic blend. Looking into the filler cap, the engine appeared as clean as the day it was assembled ... and that was after 10 years and about 700+ hours of hard use.

natenkiki2004, in your case, I'd use a 10W-30 HDEO like Delo, Rotella or other in all your engines. If you have any inkling that this isn't holding up, only then would I go back to 15W-40.

 

[steve20]

If I remember correctly, the recommendations for multigrade oil
increased significantly when OHC engines in OPE became mainstream.
The multigrade recommendation was usually there for L heads, but it wasn't the preferred oil weight as it is in some models today

 

[The motor guy]

What do you consider warm? It doesn't usually go below 40 here any colder and I'm not going to be mowing anyways.

 

[tmus2122]

I got a gold plug #3023 for my new 7k with Honda gx390, picked up a lot even after two oil changes with rotella 10w30

 

[CT8]

!5w-40 is one of the best oils on the market.