How many of you use a straight 30wt oil for you walk behind? When I first bought my Lawnboy Platinum 10765 (Briggs 6.75 quantum engine) I ran the oil it came with for the first 5 hrs or so with no problems. I then used amsoil synthitic 5w30 / 30wt small engine oil. It didnt take long and every time I started it I would get lots of smoke upon start up. I verified correct oil level. After a month of that I returned to Briggs and stratton 30wt oil. It took alittle time but the smoking went away. A couple seasons later (now) I decided to do a mid season oil change and used synthitic Pennzoil Ultra 10w30 (used in my cars) with no problems. The engine manual and the mower manual says you can use a 5w30, 10w30 or 30wt (regular or synthetic). I figured since moving from WI to GA the added protection would be a bonus with the summer heat and thick bermuda grass. Plus the Pennzoil Ultra is actually cheaper per ounce than the Briggs oil. So what gives with the smoking before? Who else here uses multi weight "automobile" oil?
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Oil burner at one time...
- Thread starter stygz
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Export threadUse nothing but 30W oil in all our lawn mowers. The only exeption is Kohler OHV, where we use 10W30. You can use the cheapest one you find, as long as you see SAE and API on the container. This means that these oils have been tested and approved by the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute. Don't know why your having that problem, maybe you need to move back to Wisconsin?
Your problem was likely the rings had not set in on the cylinder bore... 5 hours is not necessarily enough time to 'break in an engine" ... the synthetic 5w30 flows better at start up, that is before things heat up and start to fit better...
Now that you have the engine cylinder well honed in... you could likely use a 0w30 without much oil creep at start up.
More manufactures are recognizing the added value of multi-viscosity oils And better yet, synthetics. There was a time neither were considered for any engine... but the value of both has been shown for decades...
On some engines you need to allow a bit more time for break in. Synthetic will not allow enough friction to quickly break in parts. :smile:KennyV
Now that you have the engine cylinder well honed in... you could likely use a 0w30 without much oil creep at start up.
More manufactures are recognizing the added value of multi-viscosity oils And better yet, synthetics. There was a time neither were considered for any engine... but the value of both has been shown for decades...
On some engines you need to allow a bit more time for break in. Synthetic will not allow enough friction to quickly break in parts. :smile:KennyV
Might be too light for the southern weather?
Actually this was happening when I lived in WI.