Good advice. I have a 20 year old Kubota 4cyl diesel that's used for snowblowing. I just keep the block heater plugged in and it starts up every time (Damn! I bet I just jinxed myself by saying that).Be very careful about switching from conventional to synthetic on any "not new" engine. Synthetic oils do not have the qualities and additives that keep the gaskets plump and sealed like conventional oils do.I am living proof that trying to take better care of my engines by switching to synthetic did nothing more than start a dripping leak where there was previously no leak.This 1st happened on a 100k mile Jeep which had a privileged babied life .Thought it would be a good idea to switch to synthetic at that time and I immediately discovered that where I may have had some slight seepage ,which is common an gaskets, turned into an immediate leak.I changed the synthetic out immediately within a a few days.The new leak improved with the use of conventional oil however I had slightly leaking gaskets for the next 100k miles.My next Jeep owned from new I used conventional oil except in the cold winter months where my remote start would not crank enough times to start the Jeep with conventional oil so I would schedule a synthetic change just before the cold weather hit so the engine would crank easier with the synthetic and remote start would function.The motor is currently at 150k and I just did the synthetic change ,as I always have ,and noticed that my valve covers started leaking for the 1st time so the synthetic has gotten me again. I think I will add some "stop leak" to the synthetic before changing it to see if any improvement.Stop leak contains concentrated additives that are found in conventional oils so I will give it a try .That being said,I would recommend a synthetic blend over a full synthetic for any engine that is not new.
Now as far as new engines that call for synthetic, they are manufactured with different type of seals and gaskets that are more compatible with synthetic oil use.Charlie
2006 John Deere X300 - 16 HP Kawasaki FH491V V-Twin. Been running Mobile 1 since 2006 approaching 1300 hrs with no engine work. Changed trans to Mobile 1 at 200 hrs, pulled pan at 925 hrs and no visible wear. Tractor does 1.5 grass, spraying chemicals plus misc mtce work in summer and blows snow in winter (Canadian prairie winter). Never plugged in in the winter, just in a garage. Starting to use a little oil between annual changes.My TORO zero turn mower has Kawasaki 23 hp engine. 270 hours on it. 10 Years old. Been using CASTROL 10w30 or 20w50 in it, conventional oil. I've been thinking about maybe running synthetic in it this spring. Heck, everything else seems to be running ir. Got any thoughts on that anyone? I don't think I'd want to go down to 5w30 and don't know if synthetic comes in 10w30 or some such.
Thank you very much for your reply, this is what I wanted to know.Now THIS is an actual or at least potential situation where synthetic oil can be greatly beneficial.
In reality, most people's generators get used very infrequently except for the weekly startup and test that these larger ones have, and when they do actually use them it's only for a few hours until the power comes back on.
But for a whole house generator or any type of generator being used for many hours a day during a long-term power outage, you will quickly exceed the recommended oil change interval!
This is where synthetic can greatly help you and actually give your engine more protection because many people will run a generator 10 to 14 hours a day and some will let one stay on and provide power until it automatically switches back off when the power comes on when it's set up that way.
None of these small engines like this we're designed to go over 100 hours between oil changes and most are under that.
That only gives you a few short days and it's time for an oil change.
Synthetic can certainly increase that interval and not put as much wear and tear on your engine.
Now when you get into diesel engines and such that power some generators, they are designed for much longer use, longer oil change intervals and they go thousands of hours in their lifespan.
How many hours a year do you put on your machine?When I bought my new Kohler engine for my Grasshopper two years ago, I contacted Kohler and told them after spending 2K on a new engine, I wanted to use the BEST possible engine oil. Partially due to hard use and partially because the Grasshopper grass collector box sits right over the engine and holds in heat, I had always suffered from diminishing oil pressure in warm weather. ( I always install oil pressure gauges on any engine possible). Kohler set me up with their 10W50 synthetic, and man what a difference! Now I have ZERO oil pressure degradation, and even though I only run it about 110 hours hours, I have eliminated any in season oil changes, plus now no need to change to a lighter oil for winter snow blowing and then back to heavier oil again for mowing season, so I'm actually SAVING money. If most of you guys actually saw what your hot oil pressure was with conventional oil, you would ALL be changing to synthetic.
My typical year is 110-130 hours, with 90% being grass and leaf pickup and 10% being snow blowing. I was running conventional HD 30 in the summer, and 5W30 in the winter (unit is stored in unheated out building). When I was using conventional oil in hot dry weather, I was often seeing oil pressure drop from 50 PSI cold to 20-25 PSI hot. While you are correct that splash lubrication worked for years, engines with pressure lubrication NEED pressure, and in my opinion, an air cooled engine screaming at 3600 RPM needs more than 25 LBS. I lost my original engine at 1600 hours, proceeded by notable oil consumption and finally a hole in a piston. Since installing the new engine and using the 10W50, the engine runs the same 50 PSI no matter how hot it is or how long I run it, it doesn't use a drop of oil all year long and and it starts just fine in zero degree weather. As I said, I also eliminated any in mowing season oil changes, and the seasonal change to-from heavy oil and light oil, so it makes life a LOT easier, even running the oil 1/3 of it's advertised life. It is costing me around $30 per year in oil (2 Qts) and 1 filter, where as I was was using 4-6 Qts. of conventional per year PLUS a fair amount of add oil and 2-3 filters, so the change to synthetic was a no brainer for me. I also couldn't disagree more that you don't need to see your oil pressure. I want to know what is going on with my engines at ALL times, so I can monitor performance and try to avoid catastrophic failures. I can tell when the fan screen on my Kohler's is covered with debris just by the oil pressure gauge. I also installed a volt gauge on my Grasshopper so I don't get surprised by charging system issues, and I installed oil and volt gauges on my Kubota BX 2230 that came with neither too. Knowledge is power, and I want EVERY BIT of information I can get at my disposal.How many hours a year do you put on your machine?
I have some my suspicions as to what the number probably is so please humor me.
In reality, no one needs to actually see what their oil pressure is because it doesn't really matter.
Remember that for decades these engines lasted for 30 and 40 years and had no pressure lubrication at all so they had zero oil pressure. Lol
As I've stated before, and many times, the average owner is never going to notice a life expectancy difference regardless of what type of oil they use.
Hardly any engine failures or short engine lives are due to the type of oil or even the dirtiness of the oil but rather the lack of enough of it.
You may not be the typical owner though.
You have been spending way too much time on social mediaOne of the things missing in conventional dino oil is zinc. If you want to continue using dino oil adding in a zinc additive will help prolong the life. https://revxoil.com/shop/zinc-oil-additive/ My 13 year old Kohler Courage engine in one of the zero turns supposedly has/had a lifetime of 500 hours but I now have surpassed that and the engine still sounds good and the old oil looks good when changed. I have a few old 80's GM performance cars with flat tappet cams and running synthetic is not recommended due to leaks. I have been adding ZDDP for the past 30 years.
Agree totallyOne place I would not scrimp, would be the mower hydros'... There I add the best oil.