I was out picking up an oil change for my 40HP 4-stroke EFI Mercury today and ended up at West Marine to save some time and travel distance( my marina is an hour away and WM is 15 minutes ). I wasn't sure if they would have any oil as this store seldom has much of anything but they had a few options.
My last OC was some Amsoil 4-stroke oil from Pablo but I needed it before I could get it from him. West Marine had some Pennzoil conventional marine oil and then they had the store line. In the store line they had regular conventional, a blend, and then a full synthetic. I really wanted some synthetic as my main use of this motor is during waterfowl season( Oct - Feb )and a synthetic is easier on things when starting up.
I stood there for 15 minutes like an oil dork staring at the oil, picking it up and checking it over for more info, putting it back and taking the Pennzoil, then going back to it. And so on. I finally went with the Pennzoil and will change the oil again to Amsoil synthetic from Pablo this fall.
What kept me from going with the WM store oil was no info on it as to the refiner/bottler so I had no clue what was in there. It also was interesting to note that this oil was not FC-W rated. Just mention on the bottle it met/exceeded API SM( not certified though ). Just too much of an unknown for me at the time. I absolutely can not afford to replace this engine so I don't want to run cheap( quality )junk oil. The regular and blend oils were FC-W rated I noticed but again not the full synthetic which seems odd?
Anyway, I asked the guy when checking out if he knew who made the oil for WM. He checked on the computer and it told him Starbrite makes it. I know about them through their ethanol fuel treatments for marine use( Startron ). Never knew they did oils. I have verified through boating forums and comments from the VP of Starbrite on those forums that they do in fact make the West Marine house oils.
Anyway, seeing as my use is 100% in a saltwater environment I wanted to be 100% sure the oil I use had the appropriate additives for a marine environment. The full synthetic WM oil is new so perhaps it just has not had a chance to be certified/rated FC-W? Until I see that on the bottle though I will not use it.
Has anyone used this oil who can tell me I am just a typical paranoid BITOG member and that it is ok to use? Kind of expensive at $10.99 but in a pinch like today it is nice to know I have options and where they are.
My last OC was some Amsoil 4-stroke oil from Pablo but I needed it before I could get it from him. West Marine had some Pennzoil conventional marine oil and then they had the store line. In the store line they had regular conventional, a blend, and then a full synthetic. I really wanted some synthetic as my main use of this motor is during waterfowl season( Oct - Feb )and a synthetic is easier on things when starting up.
I stood there for 15 minutes like an oil dork staring at the oil, picking it up and checking it over for more info, putting it back and taking the Pennzoil, then going back to it. And so on. I finally went with the Pennzoil and will change the oil again to Amsoil synthetic from Pablo this fall.
What kept me from going with the WM store oil was no info on it as to the refiner/bottler so I had no clue what was in there. It also was interesting to note that this oil was not FC-W rated. Just mention on the bottle it met/exceeded API SM( not certified though ). Just too much of an unknown for me at the time. I absolutely can not afford to replace this engine so I don't want to run cheap( quality )junk oil. The regular and blend oils were FC-W rated I noticed but again not the full synthetic which seems odd?
Anyway, I asked the guy when checking out if he knew who made the oil for WM. He checked on the computer and it told him Starbrite makes it. I know about them through their ethanol fuel treatments for marine use( Startron ). Never knew they did oils. I have verified through boating forums and comments from the VP of Starbrite on those forums that they do in fact make the West Marine house oils.
Anyway, seeing as my use is 100% in a saltwater environment I wanted to be 100% sure the oil I use had the appropriate additives for a marine environment. The full synthetic WM oil is new so perhaps it just has not had a chance to be certified/rated FC-W? Until I see that on the bottle though I will not use it.
Has anyone used this oil who can tell me I am just a typical paranoid BITOG member and that it is ok to use? Kind of expensive at $10.99 but in a pinch like today it is nice to know I have options and where they are.
