lee101,
I've had very good results for the last 20 years using Briggs & Stratton 4-Cycle SAE 30W oil(available at Wal-Mart, Lowes, etc. and relatively inexpensive). My first lawn tractor(a 1993 True Value Lawn Chief with a 16hp B & S Vanguard) was finally retired last year and still didn't use/burn a drop of oil between the seasonal oil changes(I changed the oil each spring and the oil & filter every other year). Same goes for the 2006 Craftsman lawn tractor with a 24hp B & S Intek(not the quality engine of the Vanguard, but my son is still using it and no oil consumption). I just performed the first oil change following the 10 hour break-in period on my new 2012 Gravely ZTR that has a Kawasaki FX691V Commercial engine. Guess what oil I decided to use in it.....you have 3 guesses and the first two don't count:0)