Alternative oil other than Brigss and stratton

[Lbutler225]

I have been using B&S sae 30 oil. Is there a better oil I showed be using ? synthetic ?

 

[bertsmobile1]

IF you drive a Ferrari use Ferrai oil
If you use a mower us a mower oil
Not rocket science
Any oil is better than no oil and no oil is any better in your mower than the oil specifically made for use in your mower.
What is important is changing it and the more often the better.
A synthetic or semi synthetic oil will not make the mower run 1 deg cooler, or last 1 second longer .
synthetics were made for modern car engines in order to comply with EPA regulations and in particular at start up which is why they have very now cold viscosties .
But if you want to throw away money and it makes you feel better than the man next door the go ahead.
When mowers run full pressure oil systems with regulation jets to precisely control the volume & pressure of oil then synthetics will probably be good.
But right now most push mowers are splash and most riding mowers are pressure feed to the big end only .

 

[Hammermechanicman]

This ought to be a fun thread.
Any SJ rated oil will work. I buy Rural King and Stens 10w 30 and 30wt by the case.
Synthetic is a waste of money. Many engines, especially L head, lubricate valve stems by beating hot oil into a mist then using crankcase pressure pulses to push that mist to the valves. The new super synthetics will actually not lube the valves as well plus they have little or no zinc additive package.
Like Bert said. Changing often is way more important than what you put in it.
$.02 worth. Flame suit on.

 

[tom3]

No flame here. But be careful to note whether the oil is actually rated SJ or SH or if it reads 'meets or exceeds' that. Any modern oil is supposed to be better than what came before, except when it isn't and with air cooled mower engines that's a problem.

 

[cpurvis]

No flame here. But be careful to note whether the oil is actually rated SJ or SH or if it reads 'meets or exceeds' that. Any modern oil is supposed to be better than what came before, except when it isn't and with air cooled mower engines that's a problem.

That's called 'backward compatibility' and it used to be true. Recently, it became un-true and the API rating, if more recent that the manufacturer's recommended API rating may NOT meet the requirements. This is driven by oil companies having to meet ever more stringent emissions requirements.

Ford issued a bulletin that CK-4 diesel oil does not meet the lubricity requirements of their Powerstroke diesel engines and warned not to use ANY oil in Powerstroke engines, new or old, unless the Ford specification is on the container.

With the EPA's constant meddling in lube oil, the safest bet is to use the oil that bears the engine manufacturer's specification approval.

 

[bertsmobile1]

FWIW Down here only one blender makes mower oils
So I use Stens strait 30 because they regularly have it on special
I use Gripskie & Sons ( another parts wholesalr ) 10W 40 for Kawasaki Honda & 4 stroke hand helds because 10W 30 seems to blow out of them too fast.

 

[Lbutler225]

IF you drive a Ferrari use Ferrai oil
If you use a mower us a mower oil
Not rocket science
Any oil is better than no oil and no oil is any better in your mower than the oil specifically made for use in your mower.
What is important is changing it and the more often the better.
A synthetic or semi synthetic oil will not make the mower run 1 deg cooler, or last 1 second longer .
synthetics were made for modern car engines in order to comply with EPA regulations and in particular at start up which is why they have very now cold viscosties .
But if you want to throw away money and it makes you feel better than the man next door the go ahead.
When mowers run full pressure oil systems with regulation jets to precisely control the volume & pressure of oil then synthetics will probably be good.
But right now most push mowers are splash and most riding mowers are pressure feed to the big end only .

 

[Lbutler225]

You must be a old man like me with a attitude problem ,

 

[bertsmobile1]

You must be a old man like me with a attitude problem ,

Old is relative.
But I did do a 13 week unit on oils , lubricants etc so have enough knowledge to make a reasonable assmenent of oils
And I do fix mowers for a living
And I am on a lot of forums & groups cars, motorcycles & mower .
Like most things in life people argue most passionately about things than have the leas amount of knowledge about and in many cases that is limited to what they see on TV adds.
SO suddenly they can do no maintenance but use a really expensive oil and that will make their car / boat / motorcycle / lawnmower last forever, produce more power and use less fuel.
Mower oils are made for mowers so funny enough they ae then 100% absolute best thing for a mower.
After that air cooled engine oils , which are also died pink.
From then on it makes absolutely no difference which oil you use .
Because f the low volume used there are not many blenders who blend mower oil.
SO branded oil will be made by the same blenders as unbranded oil .
Now it might have a slightly different addative package but I have not seen any difference .

Most car oils now have no zinc which is not as big a problem with a mower wear wise as the cam loadings are quite small but it does make a difference to the anti- corrosion properties .
So Briggs oil , Kohler oil , Stens oil, Rotary oil will not make a tinkers cures of a difference to your mower.
IT is all in your head and if it makes you feel good then that is less destructive than a shot of booze or puff of wacky tobaccie .

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Hey Bert i need some magic stuff to pour in my engine to fix shot rings, burnt valves, double my mileage and tripple the horsepower. I saw it on TV but i can't remember what it is. You must know what it is.??