Full synthetic

[Soundguy]

I have a feeling throw away lawnmower and generator engines are not run like this.

More likely assembled in a open air factory that may have hard flooring, maybee not.

 

[ray66v]

I have it on good authority Ford had stopped hot testing engines at the Cleveland plant.

They came off the line, and were shipped to go right in the cars.

Back when they did hot test them, they started them up, and ran them full throttle, for 5 minutes. I once saw that in person.

Then, they told you to take it easy on it for the first 500 miles. :laughing: I always pictured a guy buying a car, and babying that same engine.

 

[daugen]

I really think we have to put heavy duty diesel engines in one category and consumer gas in the other.
I have to believe Kubota, Kioti, JD etc run their diesels for awhile to check pressure and performance.
But do I think Briggs "runs in" their 300E and 500E tiny disposable gas engines? No. I do wonder, however, if their Vanguard engines get any special attention.

Boy I wish we knew someone who worked in the Briggs US factory. I'm sure Kohler does the same thing. Interesting that the Kawasaki engine on my new CC lawn tractor specs a ten hour oil change and then mentions synthetic as an option, but that's all. I have a jug of Mobil 1 10-30 ready.
For lawn mower use, can't we buy "bargain" synthetic or a synthetic blend? Do the blends offer any advantage, best of both worlds?, or are they just there to save a dollar on the fill?

I've always bought synthetic oil for the small equipment when it went on sale and didn't worry much about the alphabet designators, oil ratings. Figured anything good enough for a car/truck had to work in a small engine. And it's almost always 10-30, not the 15-40 diesel oil. But is that true? Is any name brand synthetic a good synthetic, i.e. overkill to begin with? All I can say is I have never blown an engine in my life, so I guess I haven't done anything too stupid yet.

 

[ray66v]

I don't run synthetic in lawn mowers. For a golf course, it makes sense. But, for most homeowners, I don't think it makes sense.

The two advantages to synthetic oil are, extreme temperatures, and longer drain intervals.

I don't have to operate my mowers in extreme temperatures. And, because they ingest lots of dirt, I don't want longer intervals.

I'd rather put in mineral oil, and change the oil every 25 hours, and the filter every 50.

For me, that's twice a mowing season. Very doable.

 

[mkr7734]

I have a feeling throw away lawnmower and generator engines are not run like this.

More likely assembled in a open air factory that may have hard flooring, maybee not.

I would tend to agree on lawn mower engines. Their processes are so rigorous and volumes so high that they only do a random QA test s.

 

[Soundguy]

I really think we have to put heavy duty diesel engines in one category and consumer gas in the other.
I have to believe Kubota, Kioti, JD etc run their diesels for awhile to check pressure and performance.
But do I think Briggs "runs in" their 300E and 500E tiny disposable gas engines? No. I do wonder, however, if their Vanguard engines get any special attention.

Boy I wish we knew someone who worked in the Briggs US factory. I'm sure Kohler does the same thing. Interesting that the Kawasaki engine on my new CC lawn tractor specs a ten hour oil change and then mentions synthetic as an option, but that's all. I have a jug of Mobil 1 10-30 ready.
For lawn mower use, can't we buy "bargain" synthetic or a synthetic blend? Do the blends offer any advantage, best of both worlds?, or are they just there to save a dollar on the fill?

I've always bought synthetic oil for the small equipment when it went on sale and didn't worry much about the alphabet designators, oil ratings. Figured anything good enough for a car/truck had to work in a small engine. And it's almost always 10-30, not the 15-40 diesel oil. But is that true? Is any name brand synthetic a good synthetic, i.e. overkill to begin with? All I can say is I have never blown an engine in my life, so I guess I haven't done anything too stupid yet.

I'd always check the c/s rating...

 

[Copperhead]

For lawn mower use, can't we buy "bargain" synthetic or a synthetic blend? Do the blends offer any advantage, best of both worlds?, or are they just there to save a dollar on the fill?

I've always bought synthetic oil for the small equipment when it went on sale and didn't worry much about the alphabet designators, oil ratings. Figured anything good enough for a car/truck had to work in a small engine. And it's almost always 10-30, not the 15-40 diesel oil. But is that true? Is any name brand synthetic a good synthetic, i.e. overkill to begin with? All I can say is I have never blown an engine in my life, so I guess I haven't done anything too stupid yet.

Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say a name brand synthetic is overkill, but probably not necessary for most folk's needs. Even the bargain stuff at the Farm and Home type stores can be pretty good and a great value. I use the same bulk HDEO CJ-4 / SM 10w30 syn blend (25% Group IV PAO and 75% Group II+ conventional) that goes in my semi truck and compact for my JD zero turn lawn mower, Yamaha portable generator, JD gator, etc. If I don't need a bunch of different oils for everything, then I see no need to buy different varieties. I long since got over the synthetic vs conventional debates. Modern base oils are light years ahead of where they were just a couple of decades ago. I focus more on a robust additive package. The add pack makes up roughly 25% of any oil you buy, synthetic or conventional, and there are major differences between brands in add pack formulation. Full synthetics are great as well, but it still needs a robust add pack to make it work well. There is a lot more to what an oil has to do than any base oil can provide.

 

[DEWFPO]

I have a Champion 9,200 watt portable generator that spec'd it's first dump at 5 hrs. I have no idea who makes engines for Champion.

DEWFPO

 

[daugen]

If I don't need a bunch of different oils for everything, then I see no need to buy different varieties.

simplicity, good idea
I have so many left over quarts of oil for various past cars, of every conceivable rating. All expensive synthetic, just odd grades like 0-40.
Need to use that expensive oil somewhere...
So for engines other than cars/trucks am trying to stick with one good oil.
which in my case is a 10W/30 synthetic.
At issue is using up some old 5w40, 0w40 in lieu of that 10W/30.

How does one identify what additive packs are in one oil vs another?
The rating is one thing, but all oils are clearly not the same.
And are the oils so good now this is all overkill and overthinking?

If the Champion is powered by a Lifan or similar Chinese engine, it will give long life.
I have friends who have repowered with Chondas and are really impressed with the results.
If you can keep the carb clear, it should do very well by you. The electrical end is not my forte.

 

[Copperhead]

Well, if anyone is actually interested in what the add pack formulation is, get a quart of oil you are curious about, take some of the new oil and submit to oil testing lab that you would use for used oil samples. The report will tell you what components make up the add pack and what the starting TBN is. That can be a little pricy based on some labs, but I get oil sample kits from my oil supplier for about $10 a pop, including postage.