One oil for B&S and Kohler

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J

Jabbo

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Mar 13, 2016
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Location
Queensland, Australia
Hi all,
We have a few Kohler Commands and Briggs and Stratton OHV's on our riding mowers (5 in total). We currently run Kohler 10w30 in the Kohlers, and the Briggs's get Delo Silver 30W. I want to change them all to oil we normally stock, which is:
- Havoline Premium Plus 10W-30
- Delo 400 Multigrade 15W-40
Which of the two would be better? Our temps vary from -5C in winter to 45C in summer. I want to use 1 oil year-round. Would the 15W40 cause noisy lifters in the Kohlers?
 
Now, now, 45 C is very rare in Queensland. You're not really cutting grass on the hottest day of the year are you?
smile.gif
 
Last edited:
Since the Kohler command REQUIRES 10W30 due to the hydraulic lifters and has less than impressive results when you up the viscosity on these engines, and you only want to stock one oil, looks like 10W30 is what you should stock. But really, you should buy heavy duty engine oil 10W30, which is Kohler, John Deere, Rotella, Delo, Kawasaki, and many others, are considered HDEO oils.

Any reason you cant stock Kohler 10W30 oil? In which case you can use your 15W40 in your Briggs engines.
 
Amsoil ASE 30/10W30 small engine oil run in everything checks all the boxes.
 
I use and have used M1 10-30 in all my OPE for the last 30 years. Never an oil related engine problem.
 
0W-40 covers the seasonal gamut here and its usually relatively cheap and easy to find.



UD
 
I would use the Havoline 10/30 and watch for oil consumption. If oil level holds as before then just stay with this one oil.
 
I run 10w 30 in all my small engines.
Briggs, honda Kohler.
I used to run 5w 30 but switched a year ago.
It seams the 10w 30 does better.
5w was getting lots of metal in oil at drain
Using 10w 30 supertech full synthetic now.
 
10w30 is generally the "multi-climate" standard for most overhead valve small engines not used in very cold winter conditions.
 
I can tell you that certain Kohler Command Pro engines, such as the CV980, call for 20W-50 in operating temperatures over 5C, so the noisy lifter problem might be a little overblown. Those same engines weren't originally speced with any oil grades above 10W-30, but revised the recommendations after issues arose.

Here is a copy of an older manual where 10W-30 is the thickest oil speced - https://www.manualslib.com/manual/288130/Kohler-Ch940.html?page=42#manual
And here is a newer one the recommends 20W-50 for temps over 5C - http://resources.kohler.com/power/kohler/enginesUS/pdf/62_590_15_EN.pdf

The CH980 on my chipper/shredder currently has Kohler 20W-50 in it and runs beautifully. It'll be getting Mobil 1 15W-50 on it's next change. So here's an example of a Kohler engine seemingly designed with 10W-30 in mind, that does just fine on a heavier oil. I also have a Kohler KT 725 (7000 series, based on command pro series) on my zero-turn mower. That engine has only ever had 10W-30 in, but I plan to fill it with Mobil 1 FS 0W-40 on the next change.

This has all been a roundabout way of saying your kohler will probably run fine on 15W-40 in warmer weather. If you are trying to pick a single oil to run year round, even when it's -5C, I would stick with the Halvoline 10W-30 and see if it burns oil in the heat of the summer. If not, you've got a winner. I wouldn't run 15W-40 in the winter in an engine that isn't speced for it though. Just my 2 cents.
 
So Kohler broke into the 50 weight too now. I think its safe to say that 40 and 50 weight is ok on small gas engines.
 
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