Walker mower Oil

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I have walker mowers and been running 5/30 Mobil 1. I'm hearing that a 15/40 may be better for a small engine? I live in Maine so temp varies from 50-95 degrees outside when I use the mowers. Any help and advice on engine oil would be greatly appreciated, Thank you.
 
Howdy … you will hear that some here … but B&S Synthetic is 5w30 … conventional is 10w30
Same with Yamalube for my boat
You could change twice a year if you want to try a 40 …
 
It's going to be hard to find anything "better" than Mobil1 for any gas engine application. 15W40 will reduce oil consumption if the engine consumes oil between changes, and may make it run quieter if it has some piston slap noise. The trade off will be that a really strong tug will be required to get the engine started at lower end of your temp range.

My experience is that just keeping the air filter clean and changing the oil twice a year will make the engine last way longer than the frame. The Briggs engine on my 10 year old Toro Personal Pace runs like new and has never seen anything but whatever conventional oil was on sale. The rest of the mower, however .......
 
Depends on the engine. My 2 year old Ferris stand on mower has a Kawasaki engine and specs 10W40 or 20W50 .
Look at the tune up kit for it.

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by Joey737
I have walker mowers and been running 5/30 Mobil 1. I'm hearing that a 15/40 may be better for a small engine? I live in Maine so temp varies from 50-95 degrees outside when I use the mowers. Any help and advice on engine oil would be greatly appreciated, Thank you.


Mobil 1 5w30 is ILSAC passenger car oil NOT outdoor power equipment oil.

But as you know its hard to find a HD 10W30 for a reasonable price and most "lawnmower oils" in those under a quart bottles at the big box store are just rebranded ILSAC motor oil now. The "go-to" 10w30 rotella triple protect dino used to everywhere and I don't see it anywhere now. Its supposed to be available.

look here:

https://rotella.shell.com/en_us/pro...c37c30ccd59eff9f869a06e1df/t4-10w-30.pdf

Low power walk behind mowers do well on most anything, but if you want the engine to outlast the deck x2, then a 4T motorcycle oil or ATV oil May do the trick if you wanted something "more" than an oil for water cooled motorcars.

Actually walk behind mowers are easy to lube, it's the splash lubed Snowthrowers that can be a challenge as the oil must be thin enough to splash lube in sub-zero starts but viscous enough at high temps to maintain a "cushion"

I had found Yardman/ MTD 5w30 synthetic snowthrower oil blended in louisianna at Lowe's years ago but haven't seen it lately.
This is a API SH high-ash additised Winter multigrade oil made with premium basestocks.

A VERY rare bird.
 
Thank you for all the help! Like I said I have been running 5/30 Mobil 1. I think I may switch to Rotella. I run Mobil 1 synthetic in all my vehicles and change oil every 5,000 miles. I change my oil in my mowers every 50hrs.
These are my first walkers I have had so I was unsure. Side I saw some running 15/50, 15/40, 10/30, 5/30, 20/50 and I was like wow I wonder if I'm doing it right.
Thanks for all the advice!!
 
Sounds like Rotella or Mobil 1 are good choices. I been using 5/30. Engine is new and has used no oil on either one and sound fine. Is the 5/30 good weight oil in a commercial mower for 50-95 degrees outside?
 
Originally Posted by Joey737
Sounds like Rotella or Mobil 1 are good choices. I been using 5/30. Engine is new and has used no oil on either one and sound fine. Is the 5/30 good weight oil in a commercial mower for 50-95 degrees outside?

What does your owner's manual say?
 
I use Supertech SAE 30 in all my machines, I can't justify a synthetic oil for my small engines..
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Lubener
I use Supertech SAE 30 in all my machines, I can't justify a synthetic oil for my small engines..


How many do you have and how much money have you calculated that it would cost? For my lawnmower it's $1.83 a year extra for synthetic.
 
I love synthetic in most car/truck engines because of the many advantages it has in those applications, but I never saw a benefit in splash lubricated small engines. Even for snowblowers stored outside, a regular 5w30 conventional is so good that it will pull over fine, and the extra cost of a synthetic 5w30 or 0w30 isn't worth it. Since there are no oil filters on these, changing the oil every season to get the contaminants out will be far more beneficial than using a synthetic vs. conventional.

I've never really believed that synthetic "causes" leaks, but I have experienced increased leaking (note: on engines that are already weeping oil) when using a synthetic in older small engines. This is due to many of them having aged rubber crank seals, and poor sealing paper crankcase gaskets.

I have an older pressure washer with a 5hp Briggs flat head. When using a synthetic 5w30, I have to add a bit of oil every few hours. With a HDEO 15w40 I never have to add any, so any minuscule amount of fuel saved by using a synthetic is outweighed by the need to add oil every so often. Every engine is different, and this one is also several years old with high hours. I tell all my customers that the most important thing with small engines is the oil level, and the change interval, not necessarily the brand/type used.
 
Walker mowers are very expensive commercial mowers. You never said what engine you have? Kohler, Kawasaki, something else?

Kohler Command gets Kohler, Deere, or Rotella 10W30.

Kawasaki gets 5W40, 10W40, or 15W40.

(Recommendations based on your climate and use)
 
Originally Posted by Joey737
I have walker mowers and been running 5/30 Mobil 1. I'm hearing that a 15/40 may be better for a small engine? I live in Maine so temp varies from 50-95 degrees outside when I use the mowers. Any help and advice on engine oil would be greatly appreciated, Thank you.
You didn't mention if you use this mower as a homeowner or a contractor. A homeowner in your climate could probably use Mobil1 5w-30 and just forget it. OTOH, if you run this thing several hours at a time, then something with a higher HTHS viscosity may be in order. Personally I live where the temperatures hit higher extremes in mowing season, and I like Mobil1 10w-30 High Mileage for it's 3.5 HTHS. I always ran Mobil1 5w-30 (basic or high mileage) in the Honda push mower before getting a rider, and would sometimes run that mower 3 hours in a single day. The only things in my present herd of OPE to see Xw-40 oils are the rototiller and generators. I cannot see how a 15w-40 would be right for you with that coastal climate, unless you are a commercial user.
 
1 - Go to Walmart.
2 - Buy the [Insert your favorite brand of oil] of the recommended approval and viscosity.
3 - Mow the lawn.
4 - Repeat at the recommended OCI.
 
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