Snowblower Oil Recommendation

[XCELERATIONRULES]

I use synthetic in everything now.
I just changed the oil in the lawn mower and snow blower and both looked like syrup.
Most guys I know never change the oil in small engines.
I prefer to spend a few dollars more and run synthetic.

 

[weebl]

Originally Posted By: XCELERATIONRULES
I use synthetic in everything now.

I think there's an application for dino and an application for synthetic. Some engines specifically call for synthetic. Otherwise, I see synthetic well suited for applications that see extreme temperatures or conditions, and dino good for milder climates and less severe use. My lawnmower will likely always see dino, even if I didn't have a leftover stash of it. The snowblower will probably always see a 0w30 synthetic (especially with the extreme cold here), and likely only GC or XD-3 (or another HDEO). For my van, which sees extreme cold in the winter, occasional extreme summer heat and does towing duty, synthetic for that as well. Considering making a move to an HDEO for that application, if I can find a suitable viscosity at a reasonable cost.

When I lived in Vancouver, where the climate was always mild and my vehicle then never did towing, a dino made perfect sense.

 

[dwendt44]

I made my own 'ez' drain. The drain plug on my Tech 8 H.P. is on the side as are many. I put a brick under the off side wheel so a bit more drains out.
The 'ez' part adds a hose that clears the right side tire, so I don't have to hold a funnel for 10 minutes waiting for the last dribble.

 

[XCELERATIONRULES]

I haven't bought oil in quarts for a while now..much cheaper buying 5 qt jugs.
Most dino oil I see is $3 per quart.
I always have some synthetic left after most oil changes ..as not too many vehicles use the whole 5 qts.

 

[gd9704]

Originally Posted By: weebl
Update on the snowblower. I finally got around to doing the oil change today. Actually, it's in the middle of the last stage right now, left the drain plug off while I'm waiting for everything to drip out. I wanted a good flush, since the previous owner admitted to only once changing the oil and spark plug the entire time he had it.

I used my old 5w30 Havoline for the flush procedure. Turns out it was so old, it has an API rating of SG, SH, SJ. Still have a bit left, and it'll likely make it's way into my lawnmower.

First, I drained whatever was in the crankcase, and it was black as ink. Got whatever I could out, though that stuff looked nasty and I'm sure there was residue. Filled to full line on the dipstick with the Havoline. Also changed out the old spark plug (the one in there wasn't a spec'd one), though it wasn't too bad with only a little carbon on it. Went to start, and it was a [censored]. Took about 10 minutes of just giving her. I let it run until hot, then shut it down.

Second, drained the first of the changes. Came out just as black as what was in there except it was a lot thinner (obviously). Refilled again with the Havoline, and ran again until hot.

Third, drained the second change of oil, and it came out close in colour to virgin, so I knew I was nearly done the flush. Refilled one last time with Havoline. This time, I really let her run. Put away a bunch of things I had out from doing other chores while it ran. Probably about 15 minutes of run time.

Last, I drained the oil. Slightly darker than virgin, so I'm sure the longer run really helped to rid of the [censored] in there. It's still draining, though I'm not really waiting for anymore oil, just got sidetracked to other things and haven't come around quite yet to finish off. Once the drain plug goes back on, this fill will be GC, ready for the winter season.




Sounds like you're good to go. My Ariens 7hp Tecumseh was similarly neglected when I got it. I did what you did (multiple oil changes 'till clean), and it's been a happy runner for the last 14 years.

These engines are tough--so long as you keep oil in them!!!

Good luck with this winter!

Greg

 

[Bror Jace]

Guys, not a great idea to run any engine at WOT with no load on it ... and we're not sure if these engines.

I'd fill with your choice of "flush oil" then use the machine for about an hour, one storm, one tankful or so ... then drain. refill and repeat until the oil drains almost clear ... then move to a 8-12 hour use interval.

 

[Bror Jace]

"we're not sure if these engines."

That should read: "we're not sure if these engines are lubricated properly at idle due to the splash lubrication."

 

[boraticus]

8-12 hour OCI? Not this guy.

Whatever happened to the 25 hr. manufacturers recommendation?

Every time a snow thrower is used, it spends time under full throttle with no load. I doubt that people adjust the throttle every time they pull back from a snow bank or move the machine to make another pass. My machines have seen plenty WOT with no load on them. Never an issue. The Techumseh engines actually outlasted the machines they were mounted on.

Put fresh 10W30 or 5W30 in it and go to work. Change it at the end of the season or at the beginning of the next season.

 

[flatlandtacoma]

Originally Posted By: boraticus

Every time a snow thrower is used, it spends time under full throttle with no load. I doubt that people adjust the throttle every time they pull back from a snow bank or move the machine to make another pass. My machines have seen plenty WOT with no load on them. Never an issue.


Unless you have removed the governor from your engine, you haven't run it at WOT with no load. Your throttle is only open far enough to maintain the governed speed, which at no load isn't very far.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: flatlandtacoma

Unless you have removed the governor from your engine, you haven't run it at WOT with no load. Your throttle is only open far enough to maintain the governed speed, which at no load isn't very far.


Thank you. This is a surprisingly (to me) often misunderstood thing about OPE.

The governor controls the throttle (like cruise control) and the "speed control" on the machine allows the operator to control the governor.

When everyone says "full throttle" you should be saying "full speed". Many OPE manufacturers recommend starting at "full speed" so that there's lots of lubrication when it fires up instead of trying to start it at a low idle.

I start all of my OPE at "full speed" and after a few seconds back it down to idle for 30 seconds or so of warm up before giving it work. Perhaps a little more for the snowthrower depending on conditions.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: flatlandtacoma
Originally Posted By: boraticus

Every time a snow thrower is used, it spends time under full throttle with no load. I doubt that people adjust the throttle every time they pull back from a snow bank or move the machine to make another pass. My machines have seen plenty WOT with no load on them. Never an issue.


Unless you have removed the governor from your engine, you haven't run it at WOT with no load. Your throttle is only open far enough to maintain the governed speed, which at no load isn't very far.



I disagree. Maximum engine rpm is 3600 under no load on my OPE. That is achieved at WOT. When the machine is under load, it does not exceed 3600 rpm and under extreme load, it will drop by a few rpm. The governor is to prevent excessive engine speed and to increase fuel supply when the demand is there to maintain engine speed.

The engine's speed will be the governing factor of how much splashing is going on in the crank case. Load will have no bearing on how much oil is being splashed.

Don't know about anyone else, but my machines throttles only go as far as the rabbit. I don't have anything with a cheetah setting.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: boraticus

I disagree. Maximum engine rpm is 3600 under no load on my OPE. That is achieved at WOT. When the machine is under load, it does not exceed 3600 rpm and under extreme load, it will drop by a few rpm. The governor is to prevent excessive engine speed and to increase fuel supply when the demand is there to maintain engine speed.

The engine's speed will be the governing factor of how much splashing is going on in the crank case. Load will have no bearing on how much oil is being splashed.

Don't know about anyone else, but my machines throttles only go as far as the rabbit. I don't have anything with a cheetah setting.


This is the whole point. Your "rabbit" control isn't the throttle, it controls the governor. Take a look, you'll see that it doesn't even connect to the throttle.

Furthermore, if you have it set on "rabbit" and it's running at 3600 with no load and then you press on the rods which connect the governor to the actual throttle plate it will exceed 3600 in a jiffy.

The governor is modulating the actual throttle plate to maintain the governed RPM. If it was already at WOT with no load, what do you think that it is doing to maintain speed when load is added? Do you notice how the exhaust gets noisier when load is added? This is because the throttle is being opened.

Watch the governor in action sometime, and you'll see it modulating the throttle plate based on load.

This is also an important thing to remember when tuning carbs. You cannot set the main needle properly with no load. Sure the engine is running fast, but the throttle isn't open very far. Proper main needle tuning needs to be done under substantial load. Awkward, yes, but necessary.

 

[boraticus]

"Guys, not a great idea to run any engine at WOT with no load on it ... and we're not sure if these engines."



Wide open throttle setting on an unaltered machine is full throttle. No? I'm not aware of anything being sold that has a governor over-ride to allow for exceeding specified engine rpms.

Maybe I missed something but reading the above, I don't recall anything in this thread that mentioned bypassing the governor.

Sounds to me that the suggestion being provided above, is to not run the engine at full throttle with no load. Full throttle to me, implies "wide open" which is where I run my snow thrower engine all the time I'm clearing snow unless I'm letting it idle.

I do agree that running a splash lubricated engine at rpms much higher than specified isn't a good idea. OPE engines aren't built to tolerances that will take a lot of high rpms. Imbalance alone would be an issue.

 

[demarpaint]

Just a few thoughts after reading this thread: I found that if I run my machine at 3/4 throttle I'll get a lot of moisture buildup in the oil filler tube. The stuff that looks like melting vanilla ice cream, even after close to an hours use. If I run it at full throttle, determined by the governor it will burn off all the moisture.

My engine can run at full throttle, no load, rpms determined by the governor, without doing any damage to the engine.

As far as setting the main needle, I set it when the engine is hot at full throttle. I'll run the auger into a big pile of snow and while someone engages the drive and the auger I set the main needle. My machine runs best when set up that way.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Just a few thoughts after reading this thread: I found that if I run my machine at 3/4 throttle I'll get a lot of moisture buildup in the oil filler tube. The stuff that looks like melting vanilla ice cream, even after close to an hours use. If I run it at full throttle, determined by the governor it will burn off all the moisture.


There's no reason to run OPE at 3/4 *SPEED*. Everything is designed to run at the standard, full, governed speed of the engine at full *SPEED*. You may be doing more harm than good making a habit of running it slower than standard.

Quote:

My engine can run at full throttle, no load, rpms determined by the governor, without doing any damage to the engine.


Yes, it can run at full *SPEED*, which will not require full *THROTTLE* when there's no load. Does your car require a lot of throttle to hold 3000rpm with no load? The governor is like tachometer cruise control. The speed control on the machine sets the tachometer cruise control target and the governor does whatever it needs to using the actual throttle butterfly to maintain it. If you slap the speed control from "turtle" to "rabbit" you'll see the governor linkage goose the throttle to WOT briefly until full governed speed is reached and then close it again. Likewise if you add load without changing controls you'll see the governor open the throttle attempting to maintain the target engine speed.

Quote:

As far as setting the main needle, I set it when the engine is hot at full throttle. I'll run the auger into a big pile of snow and while someone engages the drive and the auger I set the main needle. My machine runs best when set up that way.


This is because the main needle should be set at full THROTTLE, not just full SPEED. You've found it works better that way because the governor/throttle works exactly like I've seen describing and you need to put the engine under heavy load to open the actual throttle butterfly.

 

[Johnny]

I have no clue what RPM by little Honda snowblower runs at, it has no throttle. Just pull the rope and away it goes. Since the snowblower is used in "cold" weather, I use Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 in it. If it was a lawn mower I would probably use either straight 30W or 10w30 conventional oil.

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: weebl
Update on the snowblower. I finally got around to doing the oil change today. Actually, it's in the middle of the last stage right now, left the drain plug off while I'm waiting for everything to drip out. I wanted a good flush, since the previous owner admitted to only once changing the oil and spark plug the entire time he had it.

I used my old 5w30 Havoline for the flush procedure. Turns out it was so old, it has an API rating of SG, SH, SJ. Still have a bit left, and it'll likely make it's way into my lawnmower.

First, I drained whatever was in the crankcase, and it was black as ink. Got whatever I could out, though that stuff looked nasty and I'm sure there was residue. Filled to full line on the dipstick with the Havoline. Also changed out the old spark plug (the one in there wasn't a spec'd one), though it wasn't too bad with only a little carbon on it. Went to start, and it was a [censored]. Took about 10 minutes of just giving her. I let it run until hot, then shut it down.

Second, drained the first of the changes. Came out just as black as what was in there except it was a lot thinner (obviously). Refilled again with the Havoline, and ran again until hot.

Third, drained the second change of oil, and it came out close in colour to virgin, so I knew I was nearly done the flush. Refilled one last time with Havoline. This time, I really let her run. Put away a bunch of things I had out from doing other chores while it ran. Probably about 15 minutes of run time.

Last, I drained the oil. Slightly darker than virgin, so I'm sure the longer run really helped to rid of the [censored] in there. It's still draining, though I'm not really waiting for anymore oil, just got sidetracked to other things and haven't come around quite yet to finish off. Once the drain plug goes back on, this fill will be GC, ready for the winter season.


Good thorough job on flushing out the engine - shouldn't have buid-up problems with it now. GC will keep it clean.

A while ago, I had a couple of quarts of SJ-rated Havoline 10w30 I used as top-off oil on my Cavalier. One thing I remember about it is just how dark the oil was, right out of the bottle - it was a dark gold-brown 'coffee' colour. All newer oils I have used are much, much lighter, almost clear, and 'sparkly' - this stuff definetly wasn't!