different oil for generator in cold weather?

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edwardh1

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2500 watt honda gas generator
used mostly for hurricane times, but with all the cold, I have used it in cold weather now and seemed sluggish when you pulled the cord.
should I stop using the 30 wt the manual says and try a 5x 30 ?
 
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How cold is cold? A week at 30'F? I'd leave the 30 weight in.

I ran my generator in a power outage where I had to cold start it at 12'F and it was rough but it made it.

Hurricanes aren't cold.
 
IIRC Briggs has an OE blend (for snowthrowers) that is a "semi- hdeo" yard equipment 5w30 synthetic that's well fortified that should work given the low shock loading on a genset, but just as a caution Ive been running valvoline race 10w30 syn in my 6500watt 230V generac with very good results. An Automotive ILSAC 5w30 got very raspy knocky sounding when I ran our gen for 3 hours - so I ditched that stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
2500 watt honda gas generator
used mostly for hurricane times, but with all the cold, I have used it in cold weather now and seemed sluggish when you pulled the cord.
should I stop using the 30 wt the manual says and try a 5x 30 ?


If you're using straight 30 it's usually ok down to 40F. You could put 10W-30 in and it'll make starting easier. But in the hot weather it'll burn off faster above 80F, this according to Briggs & Stratton. What does Honda say about oil choices?

Whimsey
 
I like the Amsoil 4-Stroke small engine oil for all OPE. I would use a HD 5W30. These days not sure I would run straight 30 except in things I was positive would only run in the summer like a lawn mower or boat.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
IIRC Briggs has an OE blend (for snowthrowers) that is a "semi- hdeo" yard equipment 5w30 synthetic that's well fortified that should work given the low shock loading on a genset, but just as a caution Ive been running valvoline race 10w30 syn in my 6500watt 230V generac with very good results. An Automotive ILSAC 5w30 got very raspy knocky sounding when I ran our gen for 3 hours - so I ditched that stuff.


I'm using the B&S synthetic 5W-30 in my 5500W B&S genset. It seems to stay clean looking after many hours and I've not used any detectable amount of oil. It's $5.98 at Lowe's. It makes starting a breeze in the cold temps.

Whimsey
 
My Hf generator says to use 5w30 wt when the temps are below 40, and that seems to work. The generator I use at work feels like it has 70 wt in it after sitting for a week in 20 f temps. But starts and runs 7 hours at a clip with no problems.,,
 
Personally would be a bit hesitant to use a 5W-30 in it - but 10W-30 might fit the bill.

Look for one with high ZDDP. Lots of people use Rotella T5 10W-30 in OPE (myself included) and are very happy with it. I'd expect QS Defy or Valvoline VR1 10W-30 to be equally good. (Honda makes a 10W-30 for OPE too).
 
I have a mix of GTX10W30 and Delo SAE30. She started fine yesterday at 12*F when I tested her before the storm. I think you're OK for 30*F.
 
The manual says a straight-weight 30 and nothing else?

I use 0W-30 in my generator as it specs 5W-30 and 30-weight. On cold days it starts just fine, with no excess consumption in the summer either (temperatures up to 100 degrees). I'm not sure why everyone keeps saying 10W, why saddle yourself with a thicker oil on startup?

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
2500 watt honda gas generator
used mostly for hurricane times, but with all the cold, I have used it in cold weather now and seemed sluggish when you pulled the cord.
should I stop using the 30 wt the manual says and try a 5x 30 ?
 
I run M1 TDT 5W-40 in my Briggs generator. Works fine. The owners manual calls for xW-30.
 
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I've got 15 5.5hp air compressors,and iirc 8 or 9 generators now. This past month I decided to use up some of the jugs of 5w-20 syn I had laying around. All qsud and pp. Everything has been easier to start in the mornings with 5w-20 in them,and with ambient temps of -20 as a high I'm not worried about anything overheating.
Up until now I did use 5w-30 supertech bought in 5 gallon pails from Walmart in the winter,and rotella 15w-40 in the summer. Mos2 added to every second oil change.
I've got compressors with over 10000 hours on them,never had anything but oil changes and pull cord replacements. I change the oil in all our equipment every 100 hours which is roughly 2 weeks.
The only reason I change the oil at 100 hours is fuel dilution,especially now with winter temps and running longer with the choke engaged.
I've got so many compressors and generators now I can't keep up with what's in and what's going out.
I use amsoil air compressor oil in the compressors. And only amsoil. That stuff is amazing. At -40c the stuff is still liquid and makes the compressors much easier to start,and gives me the warm fuzzies knowing the pumps are actually getting lubricated because of the splash lubrication design.
I haven't used anything special in any of our equipments engines other than mos2 every second change. They get the cheapest oil I can find,changed at regular intervals.
 
its a 1991 honda, manual says
30 w from 50 to over 110
10w x 30 0 to 85

guess I should put 10w 30 in it .

or mix some 30 w with 10w 30 oil ---capacity is less than a quart???

we will never have to start it below 25 degrees (I hope)

I guess these temps are the starting temps????
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
The manual says a straight-weight 30 and nothing else?

I use 0W-30 in my generator as it specs 5W-30 and 30-weight. On cold days it starts just fine, with no excess consumption in the summer either (temperatures up to 100 degrees). I'm not sure why everyone keeps saying 10W, why saddle yourself with a thicker oil on startup?

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
2500 watt honda gas generator
used mostly for hurricane times, but with all the cold, I have used it in cold weather now and seemed sluggish when you pulled the cord.
should I stop using the 30 wt the manual says and try a 5x 30 ?
IS that an Automotive 0w30? Your generator likely has NO OIL PUMP, no water cooling and no oil filtration. Multigrade PCMO is not designed to stand up to continuous load operation without shearing out of grade and coking rings. A good ACEA VAG and or MB approval oil might squeak by though
smile.gif
 
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I've had this generator for 13, almost 14 years and it has used PCMO all along. In the beginning it was 5W-30 but now I use 0W-30.

Dang, sheared rings and coked oil you say?

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
IS that an Automotive 0w30? Your generator likely has NO OIL PUMP, no water cooling and no oil filtration. Multigrade PCMO is not designed to stand up to continuous load operation without shearing out of grade and coking rings. A good ACEA VAG and or MB approval oil might squeak by though
smile.gif
 
Why not follow Donald's example and use the AMSOIL ASE. It is a straight 30 which would qualify as a 10W-30, with a pour point of almost -40. Designed for small engines and good for all climates.
 
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