just bought a new mower with a 19 kawasaki and just wondered what weight and brand would be best to run in it and i have a 5 hp briggs on my tiller a 3.5 on my pressure washer and i think i have a 3 on my edger and what would be a good grease to lube these toys with? my other mower a 1989 cub cadet 1811 with an 18 hp kohler has about 800 hours on it and always ran casteroil in it and it seemed to do fine burning about 1 qt a season i think i have gotten very good service out of this motor and mower hope i have the same or better out of this kaw. engine thanks for any help
what oil for all of my engines?
- Thread starter heavydutyguy
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I think a 15w40 HDEO would suit those engines well IMO.
For synthetic I would try mobil1 truck and suv formula 5w40. Its hard to find. A good dino like havoline/chevron 30W should work out well. I plan on trying out valvoline VR1 30W dino racing oil in my mower for lawn cutting season.
Chevron Delo 400 in 15w40 ... now with moly!
--- Bror Jace
--- Bror Jace
That's nice oil. It is what I run in everything I own (f350 idi diesel, dodge caravan, kubota tractor) EXCEPT my air cooled engines.quote:
Originally posted by Bror Jace:
Chevron Delo 400 in 15w40 ... now with moly!
--- Bror Jace
Briggs and stratton say DON'T use 15w40 so who am I to argue with the people who made the motor. I use a 10w30 syn like they recommend for all temperature coverage. I could use a straight 30w dino oil since it almost never gets below 40f here and I am unlikely to be using any power equipment when it does, but heck, 10w30 syn doesn't cost that much more given the motors take less than a pint.
Agree.
I run Rotella 15w40 in all my mowers and equipment. I have Kawis from 12.5--23hp and love the smoother operation with the rotella. I have some friends at the eXmark factory and I spoke with them about the 15w40. They were in agreement that the 15w40 would be fine and better in the hotter conditions that we run in. My mowing season has temps from 80-110 degrees and the added protection of the 15w40 would possibly extend the life of the motors. During leaf season I keep the 15w40 in all winter. I let the motors warm up good before going full bore. I run the mowers all winter in temps below freezing a good bit. The air cooled motors on mowers are in the harshest conditions possible. Wet, cold, heat, dust, and dirt all give a good reason to use a heavy duty oil. My small engines make my living and I will give them nothing but the best maintenance.
i've had good luck with amsoil atm 10w30. from large walk behinds, to small ohv honda's. commercial briggs, techumsehs too. good oil. i agree that the hdeo 15-40's are fine choices as well. if you are planning to extend the drains a bit, i'd still go syn. if you're gonna do frequent changes, the 15w40's, i think are preferable to the hd-30's and such.
I agree with the 15W40 HDEO reccomendations, for grease anything with moly. That's what I use in my equip anyhow. Rickey.
I have the following air cooled engines on equipment: Kohler Command V-20; Lawn Boy 6.5 2-cycle, Honda Gx-160 on an Ingersoll-Rand air compressor, B & S Intek I/C on Power Washer, and my favorite: a 20+ year old B & S Max, 3.5 alumn. deck mower. Other than the Duraforce (Lawn Boy oil), I use Mobil 1 5W-40 on everything. It's easier to tune them all more precisely, they all run smoother, none use a drop of oil, although I never had a problem with Dino oils. It really doesn't cost that much more to use synthetic oil, and this way, you worry neither about the oil being too thin in 100+F Summer heat or too thick in the sometimes bitter High Plains winters. Although I use the aforementioned oil exclusively, I'm sure the other synthetics would prove to show the same benefits. I see no downside to synthetic usage in air-cooled 4-cycle engines.
Fractal, this has come up before. B&S’s oil recommendations, the way they are written, suggests there is a massive difference between "synthetic" and "conventional" oils ... and that hasn’t been true for several years. Sure, there is a performance gap between Group I and Group IV base oils when it comes to high temperature operation ... but that's not likely to matter much in relation to what people pick off the store shelves today.
Simply put, it seems that B&S feels their motors run best with sorta, about, approximately a 30 weight-ish oil in most conditions. So, they’ve taken a dumbed-down approach at writing recommendations. I think it’s possible for those of us who know a lot more about oil than the average operator of a lawn mower can make a better choice.
And the way even some “synthetic” 10W-30 PCMO oils shear down to a 20 weight ... in modest, liquid-cooled applications, is a bit disturbing. I wouldn’t want to use any of those in an air-cooled motor for long ... even though they’d probably tolerate improper lubrication for some time. With these engines, just about any oil will keep them running a fairly long time.
In this thread:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=000337
It looks like the only person having any sort of issue using a 15w40 HDEO was JT who had a problem running a compressor’s motor during a -10F cold snap. He then switched it over to a 0W-30. So, except for cold weather operation, I’ll stick with a 15w40 HDEO ... Schaeffer Supreme 7000 or Chevron Delo400.
Of course, in our brand new 11.5hp Tecumseh, I’ll be using 10W-30 ... Havoline and then Pennzoil High Mileage Vehicle. Once this thing gets a few years on it and is kept in a heated garage, I’ll switch it over to a 15w40 HDEO.
--- Bror Jace
Simply put, it seems that B&S feels their motors run best with sorta, about, approximately a 30 weight-ish oil in most conditions. So, they’ve taken a dumbed-down approach at writing recommendations. I think it’s possible for those of us who know a lot more about oil than the average operator of a lawn mower can make a better choice.
And the way even some “synthetic” 10W-30 PCMO oils shear down to a 20 weight ... in modest, liquid-cooled applications, is a bit disturbing. I wouldn’t want to use any of those in an air-cooled motor for long ... even though they’d probably tolerate improper lubrication for some time. With these engines, just about any oil will keep them running a fairly long time.
In this thread:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=000337
It looks like the only person having any sort of issue using a 15w40 HDEO was JT who had a problem running a compressor’s motor during a -10F cold snap. He then switched it over to a 0W-30. So, except for cold weather operation, I’ll stick with a 15w40 HDEO ... Schaeffer Supreme 7000 or Chevron Delo400.
Of course, in our brand new 11.5hp Tecumseh, I’ll be using 10W-30 ... Havoline and then Pennzoil High Mileage Vehicle. Once this thing gets a few years on it and is kept in a heated garage, I’ll switch it over to a 15w40 HDEO.
--- Bror Jace
Mobil 0w-40 is what I would use in a OTC or for a treat ...... Kawasaki 10w-40 synthetic for locally available oils .
why is moly in a non-motorcycle engine useless?quote:
Originally posted by resslera:
I hate moly. I used to use Delo in my motorcycle until they dropped moly in it. Completely useless.quote:
Originally posted by Bror Jace:
Chevron Delo 400 in 15w40 ... now with moly!
--- Bror Jace
tom slick, I think resslera believes the moly may interfere with the workings of the clutches in his bike's tranny ... which shares a sump with the motor.
If I were him, I'd look into newer batches of Pennzoil Long Life 15w40.
--- Bror Jace
If I were him, I'd look into newer batches of Pennzoil Long Life 15w40.
--- Bror Jace
Looks like Pennzoil Long Life might be the replacement you're looking for:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=000248#000000
Of course, not all the friction modifiers are as easy to spot as molybdenum. You'll never know how good it works until you try it.
--- Bror Jace
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=000248#000000
Of course, not all the friction modifiers are as easy to spot as molybdenum. You'll never know how good it works until you try it.
--- Bror Jace
Bror Jace - I found the reference I had been looking for. Not sure how credible it is now that I found it. On http://www.jackssmallengines.com/Oil.cfm we see the claim that 10w40 has killed engines in as little as 10 hours.
Maybe I am just being paranoid but I still have 4 bottles of mobil 1 10w30 out of the case to use up, and it is what the manufacturer recommends.
Maybe I am just being paranoid but I still have 4 bottles of mobil 1 10w30 out of the case to use up, and it is what the manufacturer recommends.
fractal, thanks for the follow-up.
"Only use 10W-40 as a last restart. Some engines have failed in as little as 10 hrs. operation under adverse conditions when using 10W-40."
OK, it's 'last resort,' not 'restart' ... but I'm nitpicking.
Seriously, I'd really like to see an engine fail after 10 years because it was running 10W-40. I'd bet every cent I own it was because of some other problem ... like the owner ran the snot out of the engine right out of the box and it ran it out of oil.
I saw this first-hand with a portable pump which was pressed into emergency service to protect a flooding nursing home. It ran a few hours then stalled. It was re-filled with gasoline and re-started then it quit a few minutes later. Re-staring it a third time caused it to seize solid after a few more minutes. No one thought to check the oil and I don't think this machine had "oil alert" you see so often these days.
I'd use 10W-40 in any of my air-cooled engines right now. heck, my '83 ATC 200E specifically calls for the stuff ... but it wouldn't be my first pick.
Yes, the first batches of 10W-40 were trouble-prone ... and that trouble would probably be most pronounced in an air-cooled motor ... but 10 hours? That sounds like an urban myth to me.
Anyway, I'd use that M1 10W-30 if I were you. It'll surely get the job done and you'll have peace of mind as well.
--- Bror Jace
"Only use 10W-40 as a last restart. Some engines have failed in as little as 10 hrs. operation under adverse conditions when using 10W-40."
OK, it's 'last resort,' not 'restart' ... but I'm nitpicking.
Seriously, I'd really like to see an engine fail after 10 years because it was running 10W-40. I'd bet every cent I own it was because of some other problem ... like the owner ran the snot out of the engine right out of the box and it ran it out of oil.
I saw this first-hand with a portable pump which was pressed into emergency service to protect a flooding nursing home. It ran a few hours then stalled. It was re-filled with gasoline and re-started then it quit a few minutes later. Re-staring it a third time caused it to seize solid after a few more minutes. No one thought to check the oil and I don't think this machine had "oil alert" you see so often these days.
I'd use 10W-40 in any of my air-cooled engines right now. heck, my '83 ATC 200E specifically calls for the stuff ... but it wouldn't be my first pick.
Yes, the first batches of 10W-40 were trouble-prone ... and that trouble would probably be most pronounced in an air-cooled motor ... but 10 hours? That sounds like an urban myth to me.
Anyway, I'd use that M1 10W-30 if I were you. It'll surely get the job done and you'll have peace of mind as well.
--- Bror Jace
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