Honda GC160 Engine...5-hour oil change intervals?

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I just bought a Karcher G2401OH 2400psi pressure washer and the unit was supplied with both its own (horrible and useless) manual and a nice Honda engine manual for the GC160 160cc 5hp engine it came with.

Anyways, that manual says to change the oil ever FIVE hours of use. This seemed to me to be a bit odd as my B&S 3.5hp lawnmower engine can go an entire year on a single oil change and it is also 4-stroke & air-cooled and has no filter just like this Honda engine.

Does anyone else have this engine? Do pressure washer engines need special treatment or something? Mine is just mounted to a yellow frame & runs at a constant RPM to drive the pump, i don't see how strenuous it could really be
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Anyways, I already used it for about 5 hours, I'm probably going to run some M1 tri-synth 10w30. I figure i can probably run longer intervals if I use a quality synthetic in my new engine.
 
I have a 6.5 HP Honda on my pressure washer. I
think you mis-read the owners manual. It wants
you to change the oil after the first 5 hrs of
break-in run time. Also B&S specifies straight
30W oil where honda says either straight 30W for
warm weather or 10W-30 is acceptable. You will notice on the first couple of oil changes that the oil will come out grey. This is the assembly lube and break in metals draining out with the oil. After break in the interval is 25 hrs as it is with small B&S engines also.
 
Actually the crappy Karcher owners manual says to change it every 50 hours.

The honda manual has a chart detailing maintenance schedules (like when to change plug, air filter, clean the filter etc).

This honda chart says to change oil every 5 hours of running
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misprint maybe?... it is every 25 hours, kinda crazy to do it every 5 hours. sure 5 hours on the break in oil..... maybe a little earlier till the oil clears up from more breaking in.
 
Cool, thanks for the replies. I figured something was off when they wrote that chart.

I got some M1 syntehtic that i am going to shove in it later today. Should last me the rest of the year since I don't have much left to pressure wash around the yard.
 
I have a pressure wave pwr washer with the GC Honda 4.5 hp (or maybe 5.5) engine.

It's manual said dump after the 1st 5hrs, then once yearly or every 50hrs.

If used for commercial purposes, then every 25 hrs.

I dumped after 4-5, then refilled with the OEM Honda oil it came with.

I am about to dump again at the end of the month (after 6-7 hours on the new oil) and refill with Valvoline Maxlife Syn from my stash.

Gro harlem, I would do another 5hr OCI to make sure its broken in real nice, then go 1yr or 50hr OCI after that.

Good Luck.
 
Mine said change it after the first 5 hours, 25 for continuous use, or 50 or once a year there after.
Break in is important. You don't want to change it to soon. The metal particals in the break in oil help break it in. I would actually go a speck longer, not sooner. Really.

Then it is 30 weight dino. Don't use multi-vis, it makes them burn oil right off the bat and just carbons them up.

I have the same one you do, and it is one speed. Spray. Works good though.
One day I decided to spray some cobwebs off from my entryway with the beehive black rotator head nozzle ! Yea, and took about 1/4 inch of wood with it and what ever paint got touched.
Did a nice job on the driveway though, and I used detergent as well.
 
"Break in is important. You don't want to change it to soon. The metal particles in the break in oil help break it in."

Well, since break-in is a measure of wear, I suppose leaving metal particles in the oil would increase the wear sooner and the engine would act as though it were older, sooner.

However, it will also wear out quicker, all things being equal.

Me? I'd change the oil fairly soon and quite often in any new engine. Let that delay the "break in" some ... and also delay the day the engine starts to smoke and finally wears out.

--- Bror Jace
 
i think how the engine is treated when new and more vulnerable is probably more important than how it's treated after well broken in. agreeing w/ most here, 2~5 hrs first change, maybe w/ another around the 10~15 mark, and then a good oil, whether it be a straight 30hd, a 15w40hdeo, a 10w30syn or what have you. middle and end of seasons seem logical minimums. penz...ps, don't forget air cleaner maint!
 
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