35 cc Honda, 4-stroke oil

[Dan916]

I just bought a Honda brush cutter with this engine. I am guessing the best oil strategy is use Honda 10w30 for the first 10 hours, after which I can switch to the Honda HPS4 full synthetic 4-stroke oil for motorcycles (10W-30). I am in Hawaii where temps rarely get >95 F.

I talked to Honda and as usual, they said the Honda engineers recommend their non-synthetic 10w30 oil. They said change oil after 10 hours and every 50 hours thereafter.

Being a brush cutter, I will only be using it for 30' once a month, so it's gonna take me awhile to accrue 10 hours even.

 

[CT8]

I would change the oil sooner. especially the break in oil.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by CT8
I would change the oil sooner. especially the break in oil.

I agree.

 

[Imp4]

Originally Posted by CT8
I would change the oil sooner. especially the break in oil.

Why??
What do you know that the Honda engineers don't?

PLEASE NOTE: I asked what do you know, not what do you think...

 

[ironman_gq]

I've got about a dozen of these small Honda 4-strokes on various construction equipment mostly concrete related (vibrators and screeds). We've had very few problems with them over the years, we run rotella or something similar (10w-30, or 15w40) in them 90% of the time. These little engines run 6-8 hours at WOT for about 75% or it on a given work day, oil gets changed after they come back from their first job and then changed 2-3 times a season after that. Not unusual for us to get 5-6 years out of one before they start burning more oil than gas. They're reasonably tough little motors and not real finicky with the oil you use as long as there is oil in them.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted by Imp4
Originally Posted by CT8
I would change the oil sooner. especially the break in oil.

Why??
What do you know that the Honda engineers don't?

PLEASE NOTE: I asked what do you know, not what do you think...





I'd like to chime in, and oppose the above comment.

I've killed 2 of those things in short order, in other applications. What I know is that they hold very little oil, have no filter and frequent oil changes are the only way to keep healthy oil in them. Sorry but the (by memory) 3 ounces of oil is truly insufficient for anything but easy use.

Tiller use is hard on those engines and kills 'em in a matter of 10's of hours without frequent oil changes. The oil oxidizes and gets contaminated very rapidly in those engines under hard use.

The Honda engineers can't know every application, what climate, what type of load or even what RPM the unit will be operated at. Mine tended to run ungoverned, at exceedingly high RPM due to the way the tiller was configured. Possibly not a fault of the engine, but rather the tiller gearing.

We'd like to think that Honda engineers get it right every time. The real world has a way of uncovering faults. And those little engines have their limitations. It costs you little to keep fresh oil in it.

 

[Imp4]

Originally Posted by Cujet
The Honda engineers can't know every application, what climate, what type of load or even what RPM the unit will be operated at. Mine tended to run ungoverned, at exceedingly high RPM due to the way the tiller was configured. Possibly not a fault of the engine, but rather the tiller gearing.

We'd like to think that Honda engineers get it right every time. The real world has a way of uncovering faults. And those little engines have their limitations. It costs you little to keep fresh oil in it.

You are absolutely correct that the Honda engineers can't know every application, so in this case let's default to the OP's stated duty cycle.

He stated:
Originally Posted by Dan916
Being a brush cutter, I will only be using it for 30' once a month, so it's gonna take me awhile to accrue 10 hours even.

Based on this duty cycle, it is absolutely appropriate to follow the OEM service interval and nothing more.

That being said, if the OP enjoys servicing the equipment more frequently, then there should really be no deterrence from him doing so.

Just note that early service will do nothing to impact the longevity or dependability of the equipment, but is sure can give that 'feel good' feeling and make your wallet unnecessarily lighter.

Looking forward to your response!!!

 

[RF Overlord]

I don't have one of these little motors, so please forgive my ignorance, but I thought changing the FF was a good idea on ANY IC engine to get rid of break-in wear particles and other potential contaminants. I read here frequently of people doing the first OCI and getting glittery oil out. Next change it looks "normal". That sounds like a good reason to do the first change early.

 

[Dan916]

The oil is easy to change, just take off the plug and tilt the engine over a pan so I will change the oil after the first run, then after two more runs. I'll switch to full synthetic after 10 hours. Ran the brushcutter the other day, eats quite a bit of gas. Only got 17' off a tank of gas but I was running mostly full throttle.

This 35.6 cc 4-stroke engine has impressive specs. It's considered a relatively large engine for grass trimmers and brush cutters (doesn't need to be 50+ cc since it's a 4-stroke), yet it will run to 10,000 rpm! Most grass trimmers will run around 8000-9800 rpm max and they are running much lighter heads (plastic trimmer line heads), not a 10" steel blade.

On very first setup, the thing started in two pulls. Will easily start on one pull when warm. I have a Honda 2000EX generator that is 25 years old and it does the same thing. I am in Hawaii though so temps are in the 80s.

 

[Fatboymoe]

I have had one for three years now. I change the oil every 7-10 hours of use. Using only 3.4 ounces of oil, a quart of Honda 10w30 oil that costs $3.59 at the local North 40 Outfitters and the ease of changing the oil makes this an easy decision. I also adjust the valves every year which takes about 20 minutes. I also converted mine to use Stihl Combi attachments which makes it much more versatile and really like the edger attachment and power broom. I also use only VP unleaded 94 octane fuel that I buy at the local Chevron for $4.50 a gallon.

 

[NH73]

An HDEO gas rated 10w30 would be my pick.