One Synthetic Oil for all OPE

Joined
Jul 30, 2015
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Location
Pennsylvania
I've been struggling with this question for several years now, having no fewer than four different oils in use with my OPE. My local conditions here in SE Pennsylvania might range from 0 degrees in winter to 100 degrees in summer. Only one machine in the fleet, that being the generator, would ever be called upon to operate across that entire range. I've decided to leave the snow blower out of this, as that is a really special purpose application very different from the others. Other than the generator, that limits the operating conditions to about 25 F to 90 F. Above 90 F I will happily wait for cooler weather.

Given my circumstances, I could just go with a synthetic 5w30 but favor something in an Xw40. There is both 5w40 and 15w40 in the fleet now. Aside from the lawn tractor, it is all pull start. The only machine running 15w40 is the leaf vacuum, mainly because it uses a lot of oil. It started a lot easier in the cooler late fall temperatures with 5w40 than the current 15w40 fill. I am never going back to the straight SAE 30 it calls for as it is very difficult to pull start it in cool fall temperatures when it is needed most.

So with that as the background, here are some of the contenders and my thoughts were needed:

1. Mobil 1 0w40. 3.6 HTHS; 12.9 KV100. This one is on the list because I have about 6 quarts on hand.

2. Mobil 1 5w40 Turbo Diesel Truck. 3.8 HTHS; 14.5 KV100. Seems to be be a happy place on that specification.

3. Rotella T6 5w40. Unknown HTHS; but 14.2 KV100 slightly less than M1 TDT. HTHS might be similar.

4. Delo 4000 XSP 5w40. 4.2 HTHS and 15.4 KV100. This one worries me for the Honds GCV160 powered equipment, particularly the push mower that is used for trimming what the lawn tractor cannot reach. That machine sees 5-10 minutes of run time per week, some of that in short start stop cycles.

Okay, so there you have it. Your thoughts: stick with a 5w30 or chose one of these or another 5w40?
 
Mobil 1 0-40 is what use in all my OPE. Easy winter starts and takes on the summer heat. My generator has run for days with this fill winter or summer and my snowblower is easier to pull start when its really cold, old or new engines all seem to do excellent with Mobil 1 0-40.
 
I didn’t read your question properly the first time. Stick with 10w30. Looking at Pittsburgh Weatherspark you basically hit 90 degrees a few days a year. However, for the high viscosity fans out there, go ahead and use a xw40. Won’t make a difference. Fifteen years later the equipment will be in equally good shape if you change the oil once per year. Still, fun discussing it.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. My current stash OPE compatible stash looks like this:

1. 4 qts. 5w30 Mobil 1 high mileage.
2. 6 qts. 0w40 Mobil 1 FS. Enough to change the Volvo one more time.
3. 1 qt. 15w40 Rotella T5, used exclusively in the leaf vaccum that goes thru a lot of oil.
4. 2 qts. of drip oil, consisting of Mobil 1 5w20, 5w30, and 0w40. This will go in the Honda push mower with GCV160.

At present there is 5w40 Rotella T6 in the generator (Champion 3500 watt continuous / 4000 watt starting) and the trusty Troy-Bilt rototiller with 5 HP B&S flathead. The John Deere D140 has 10w30 Mobil 1 EP. Everything else has 5w30 Mobil 1 high mileage. I can see where 10w30 Mobil 1 high mileage with its 3.5 HTHS might do the job across the board. On the other hand, I sure wish I knew the HTHS value for 5w40 Rotella T6. And on yet another hand, the 3.8 HTHS of 5w40 Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck does look appealing. The lack of enthusiasm towards the Delo 4000 XSP does have me sort of cooling towards that option.
 
I’m currently running the M1 HM 10w-30 in all the OPE I maintain. I haven’t decided if I’ll change grades next year or not. It’s a stout oil that meets ACEA A3/B3. The HTHS of 3.5 is right where a regular SAE 30 monograde would be, and has the cold starting benefits. 12.1 KV100
 
Originally Posted By: Slick17601
Mobil 1 high mileage 10W-30 work for all of my equipment in PA.

Yes, thanks to Slick17601 and others for pointing this out. Mobil 1 10w30 HM with its 3.5 HTHS does seem like a contender. I wouldn't feel uncomfortable running that in the generator, and it's heavier than what I run in most of my OPE.
 
I use left over 5w30 synthetic from the changes on my TB for the snowblower. Everything else is switching to conventional 5w30 from what I get on sale. Have yet to see any difference in life or performance.
 
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