Do I dare put Slick 50 in my Yanmar?

[fgross335_2210]

I switched my 2210 to Rotella Synthetic at the 50 hour change. The engine only holds 2 quarts so cost isn't much of a factor - $6-8 versus $2-4. I'm going to continue to change at the recommended intervals or yearly if I don't put enough hours on it. I view synthetic as cheap insurance and run it in one form or another in pretty much everything at my place.

 

[RalphVa]

All the research tests on additives almost invariably pointed to the use of good quality oil instead of using additives. If the additives are any good, makers will include their qualities in their ad-pak.

Ralph

 

[zuiko]

I wouldn't even put slick 50 in my 25 year old push mower if someone gave me 10 bucks to do it. I do use Mobil 1 in my gas engines. I'll probably do the Rotella synthetic in the tractor.

 

[cp1969]

</font><font color="blueclass=small">( All the research tests on additives almost invariably pointed to the use of good quality oil instead of using additives. If the additives are any good, makers will include their qualities in their ad-pak.

Ralph )</font>

I agree 100% with this statement and I suspect that a majority of people who frequent this board do, too.

OTOH, I wonder why so many people believe that diesel fuel, manufactured by the very same people that make high quality motor oil, is so substandard that they wouldn't consider running without fuel additives.

 

[Bird]

Charles, I think the answer to your question is that when you open a can of motor oil, regardless of climate, time of year, or even how long it's been sitting on the shelf, you get the same product every time. On the other hand, diesel is formulated differently for winter and summer, it's not always sealed up air tight until you use it, it's been pumped from oil company storage tanks to trucks to distributors' tanks to trucks again to service station tanks to your fuel can to your tractor or vehicle. Along the way, some evaporation may have occurred, some moisture may have gotten into it, it may be old enough that it's the formulation for a different season than when you're using it, and a few little things like that. Not everyone uses the fuel additives, and I probably wouldn't either if I could be guaranteed that it's fresh with no moisture in it.

 

[cp1969]

Bulk lube oil, of which I've hauled a bit, is handled in exactly the same fashion as you describe for fuel oil without any of the apparent deletereous effects thought to be associated with the handling of diesel fuel.

All of the things you mention happen; it's just that their effect is not such that the quality of the oil (or fuel) is degraded to the extent that any treatment is necessary.

This is not intended as an insult or slight to anyone, but I will suggest that the less one knows about any given system, be it lubrication, fuel, or whatever, the more inclined he may be to use additives. Many people are simply repeating things they've heard from other people or read on forums when they cite the reasons why they use additives, usually as a 'preventative' measure. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell whether a preventative measure works unless you conduct a statistical experiment in which an equal sized sample runs without the preventative medicine and the end results are compared.

I have used this analogy before, probably to no effect, but here it goes again: A salesman comes around and convinces me that IF a cape buffalo shows up in my yard, he will do considerable damage. But for a mere $9.99, he will sell me a money-back guaranteed capebuffalo repellant rock. If I don't understand the habitat and range of the cape buffalo, and considering the amount of damage a cape buffalo can do compared to a mere $9.99 investment, I am probably going to buy one, never see a cape buffalo, and swear up and down that it works. Did it work? Of course not. But you can't convince me of that, because I bought one and I sure as heck haven't seen any cape buffaloes around my house. Of course, if I had known that the nearest cape buffalo is on a different continent, AND that it would have paid no attention to the rock anyway, then the salesman would have had a much harder time selling me on his novel preventative medicine. Education is the enemy of snake oil sales; witness the diminishing number of Slick 50 adherants.

As I said, this is NOT intended to insult or demean anyone who feels differently. It is meant soley to stimulate thought (and therefore education) on a subject on which there is considerable disagreement.

Sorry for hijacking the thread. I will shut up now.

 

[Bird]

Charles, I don't disagree with anything you've said, and I'm certainly not a chemist, or any other kind of expert in fuel analysis. However, with gasoline, I've had some personal experience that was enough to convince me that "fresh" gasoline runs better than old gasoline, although old gasoline will still run in an engine. Does Stabil help? I don't know, but a lot of people claim it does and it doesn't cost much. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif As for your analogy with the cape buffalo, I agree. But you're talking about one salesman. With diesel fuel, we've heard from people who had it gel in cold weather, I've personally seen algae grown in my own diesel fuel, and even my wholesale fuel distributor, and many others have told me that no additive is needed IF you're going to use it all in a month or so, but that it would be a good idea if you're going to keep it longer than that. So, I'll readily confess to having no technical knowledge, or even any knowledge of a good statistical experiment, but once again, Power Service didn't cost much, all my "real farmer" neighbors used it, so I did, too. Did I waste my money? Maybe so, but as with your cape buffalo repellant rock, I didn't lose a lot of money, and it provided some degree of peace of mind. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Bobvt]

When I was younger and stupider (80's), I added a quart of Duralube to my 60 hp diesel tractor. It was the only time the tractor ever burned oil. Over 250 hours of operation, I had to had 3 quarts of oil (It was down another quart when I changed it.). Normally at 250 hours I might be down 2/3rds of a quart. Never did that again.

 

[thebigc]

Amen to that!! I put some of that miracle type additive in my Accord once and it wouldn't idle right for weeks! Never again.

Anyhow, I use Dino in the summer and Rotella synthetic in the winter in my 4100. Due to the extended drain, I can avoid the cold garage floor in the winter months!! And maybe a little peace of mind on those 10F starts!!

Donny

 

[Slamfire]

In order to repel Cape Buffalo and Elephants I purchased a Ruger #1 in .416 Remington Magnum, I ain't had to use it none here. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Now you tell me I could have saved $800 by buyin' your pet rock. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Where were you when I moved here? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif