Running oil filter 200hrs on a commercial mower?

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So kawasaki says change the oil every 100hrs and filter every 200. I know oil temps on a commercial mower and air cooler engines in general run pretty hot. I run fram ultras, but the excessive heat has me worried about its lifespan. I heard they just tell you to change the filter every other change to reduce their Maintenance tax the government implements. They may not be the correct term though.
 
My little Sears Briggs and Stratton mower doesn't have a filter or see that kind of service time. I change the oil with Valvoline SynPower Full Synthetic Motor Oil SAE 5W-30 every other month.
 
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Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
My little Sears Briggs and Stratton mower doesn't have a filter or see that kind of service time. I change the oil with Valvoline SynPower Full Synthetic Motor Oil SAE 5W-30 every other month.


That would make you paranoid, unless you use it non-stop for a pro lawn service. My Sears Briggs mower is over 20 years old and has had nothing but standard dino 30wt in it the whole time, changed once every 2 years. If you want to tell me that my mower is magical, I can accept owning a magical mower, lol. Except I've had the same experience with many different engines.

I'm not dismissing the benefits of synthetic oil here, if I were to buy new today I'd contemplate using one but even then, odds are it's going to be wheels, carb, pull cord, deck rust, progressive degeneration of the rest that fails before optimal oil quality made a difference. They just aren't the same beast as modern automobiles.
 
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Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
So kawasaki says change the oil every 100hrs and filter every 200...... the excessive heat has me worried about its lifespan.


200 hours is a CONSERVATIVE lifespan for the oil filter on that engine. No problem at all. It has a very small oil pump, a fraction of the size of one used in a small 4-cyl car.
 
Originally Posted By: Dave9
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
My little Sears Briggs and Stratton mower doesn't have a filter or see that kind of service time. I change the oil with Valvoline SynPower Full Synthetic Motor Oil SAE 5W-30 every other month.


That would make you paranoid, unless you use it non-stop for a pro lawn service. My Sears Briggs mower is over 20 years old and has had nothing but standard dino 30wt in it the whole time, changed once every 2 years. If you want to tell me that my mower is magical, I can accept owning a magical mower, lol. Except I've had the same experience with many different engines.

I'm not dismissing the benefits of synthetic oil here, if I were to buy new today I'd contemplate using one but even then, odds are it's going to be wheels, carb, pull cord, deck rust, progressive degeneration of the rest that fails before optimal oil quality made a difference. They just aren't the same beast as modern automobiles.


No that would give me something to do with my top out oil when I switch to what ever is on sale. My Corolla only uses less than half a pint between OCI's.

Yes and you're correct it won't be the motor that fails it will be some other part on the mower been there done that before.
 
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I did some calculations based on my car and compared it to my zero turn Kohler 7000 mower.

The automotive grade Fram Ultra oil filter is rated for 15,000 mi or @avg speed of 30 mph : 500 hrs.
[From car's readout, my avg is 37mph for highway/city(70/30) driving]

For my Toyota V6, it has a capacity 6.4qts(6.0L) /w filter and an engine displacement of 3500cc.
The oil capacity/displacement ratio is 1.73

The mower has a 2qts(1.893L) (1/3 of car) oil capacity and 725cc engine displacement(1/5 of car).
The oil capacity/displacement ratio is 2.61. Not surprising since it is air-cooled and requires oil for cooling.
 
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I will say I changed mine yesterday at 50 hours due to an oil problem- long story....
Yesterday after a brief 30 minute run I grabbed the Fram TG I put on and it gets super hot-I mean really hot.
After this last year mowing over 50 acres a week or more I find the silicone ADBV a must due to the heat.

But I took off a MC FL910s I was trying and it looked great and easily spun off by hand.
But I would have ran it out to a 100 hrs and that's it as it was under $3.50....
I do think that 200 hrs is doable however
 
Originally Posted By: Patrick0525
I did some calculations based on my car and compared it to my zero turn Kohler 7000 mower.

The automotive grade Fram Ultra oil filter is rated for 15,000 mi or @avg speed of 30 mph : 500 hrs.
[From car's readout, my avg is 37mph for highway/city(70/30) driving]

For my Toyota V6, it has a capacity 6.4qts(6.0L) /w filter and an engine displacement of 3500cc.
The oil capacity/displacement ratio is 1.73

The mower has a 2qts(1.893L) (1/3 of car) oil capacity and 725cc engine displacement(1/5 of car).
The oil capacity/displacement ratio is 2.61. Not surprising since it is air-cooled and requires oil for cooling.


We are about the same as far as experimenting but to me anyway the heat gets extreme on the big zeros and that is the only thing that bothers me about extended filter use. But as I said a cheaper filter looked brand new after 50 hours- I only tossed it because of oil issues. MC FL-910s
Since they are cheap I'd go a 100 hrs
 
Synthetic oil, automotive filter change it every 50hrs. Overkill? Perhaps. However its like $6. The tractor was $3000.

For less expensive small engines I buy that semi synthetic 10W30 from Dollar Tree when it looks dirty I change it. That varies depending on the use of the equipment. The only exceptions are my John Deere Js48 walk behind that has a tiny oil filter, McLane Power reel mower and Craftsman wide cut, they get full synthetic as they're expensive.

I also add a zddp additive to more expensive equipment.

All my equipment is stored inside a garage or shed.

In 40 years when I'm retired maybe you'll run into me displaying the stuff in the antique lawn and garden equipment at the fair.

If you think it doesn't make a difference, I had one of those Kohler Courage engines on a tractor that were known to be problematic, I ran synthetic, zddp additive, a larger automotive oil filter with an oil filter magnet. You couldn't even tell the engine was run several hundred hours when I sold it. I also got nearly what I paid for it.
 
I have a commercial Honda push mower. I change the oil every time I fill up the 5-gallon gas can. I treat the Costco regular gas with several ounces of Techron and then change the oil. I use left over Red Line 0w-30 from my 2 vehicles. I leave the bottles to drain after a vehicle oil change and then add enough to make up enough for the lawn mower. The actual time between changes varies based on how the grass and weeds grow. It's about an acre or so all around the house. Spring time is crazy, late summer is dead. Winter depends on rain. The mower is about 15 years old and runs like new. I like simple schedules.
 
Originally Posted By: man114
Synthetic oil, automotive filter change it every 50hrs. Overkill? Perhaps. However its like $6. The tractor was $3000.

For less expensive small engines I buy that semi synthetic 10W30 from Dollar Tree when it looks dirty I change it. That varies depending on the use of the equipment.



You lost all credibility when you wrote that you use multi-weight semi synthetic except in a cold weather piece of equipment like a snow blower.
 
Keep the air filter clean. The oil filter won't have much to catch if dirt isn't ingested into the engine. Check the oil level before you use the mower each day. If you still are not comfortable with 200 hour changes then buy a bunch of filters from Rock Auto for a few bucks.
 
My father in law runs 10W30 semi synthetic and WIX or AC Delco filters on his three JD commercial mowers. He cuts a lot of grass. He has never had any issues.
 
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