Small engine oil?

[dodge man]

Not another oil thread! I did a search and didn’t see it addressed. What do people do for small engine oil? It used to be straight 30 weight was called for but that seems outdated these days. I found some small engine 10w-30 Walmart branded oil and bought a couple of quarts. Is just regular synthetic 10w-30 ok, that seems like what I’ll probably start using.

Edit, the stuff I got at Walmart is straight 30 weight.

 

[mjonesnh]

Not another oil thread! I did a search and didn’t see it addressed. What do people do for small engine oil? It used to be straight 30 weight was called for but that seems outdated these days. I found some small engine 10w-30 Walmart branded oil and bought a couple of quarts. Is just regular synthetic 10w-30 ok, that seems like what I’ll probably start using.

All my air cooled engines spec either 30w or 10w-30 conventional or 5w-30 synthetic with the exception of my Honda Rancher that says 10w-40. With that said I went to 1 oil for all the air cooled engines. Rotella T6 5w-40 years ago. Never a problem with this oil and easier starting in cold weather. In fact, just purchased a new inverter generator 3 weeks ago and after break- in of 5 hours I changed it to the Rotella T6. If I was using a gasoline rated oil I would probably go with 5w-30 or 10-30 synthetic, likely Mobil 1.

 

[kevinj]

Mine all get the same 15w40 that goes in the tractors.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Mine specs 20w-50 synthetic for summer temps

 

[RandyT]

@dodge man Regular oil is fine and doesn't require synthetic. Lawnmower oil is formulated to operate at higher temps than regular auto oil, and also contains a higher zinc content due to the flat tappets.

 

[nyone]

I have a Toyota that specs 0w20 oil, so I put that in. Any diesel gets 15w40. My suburban would be expensive to replace so it gets the 5w30 it wants and so every other engine i own gets 5w30. Generally gas engines especially small ones will be totally fine with 5w30.

For me the $2 synthetic costs its not worth stocking conventional for a few small engines. I typically like to keep about 2+ yrs of oil changes on hand for every vehicle. I own 14 things that have a seat and you can drive.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I run Amsoil 10W-30/30 in all our small engine equipment.

https://www.amsoil.com/p/amsoil-10w-30-100-synthetic-small-engine-oil-ase/

They have a 10W-40 as well

 

[dodge man]

I was running the Amsoil and got off that treadmill after I retired. Good oil but not worth the extra cost and the membership fees.

 

[gstrom99]

@dodge man Regular oil is fine and doesn't require synthetic. Lawnmower oil is formulated to operate at higher temps than regular auto oil, and also contains a higher zinc content due to the flat tappets.

Where do you find "lawnmower" oil? Straight 30w "reduces oil consumption" per my JD zero turn manual. I usually add zink also.

 

[tomplum]

My 2 cents. Don't put additives in your oil for the long run. You don't know how it will effect the additive package of the main oil.

Some air cooled engine oils are high in zinc, others are not. When reviewing JD branded oil data sheets a while back, they had changed their blend away from zinc. Oil tech is constantly evolving.

A general quality of synthetic oil is that it it handles heat better than conventional oils. But back when Kohler had a name you could pronounce, they would point out that air cooled engine oils could be advantageous over automotive synthetic oils.

Straight grade oils are also accepted to handle heat better. As a rule, it is also thought that the narrower the range that the oil is also more thermally stable. IE 15W30 more so than a 5W30. Something to consider for high risk applications.

I use synthetic air cooled engine oil in my shop. All the above thought to be true, it is still rare to see a catastrophic lubrication failure in OPE in equipment that is reasonably maintained.