Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Want to say HI to everyone This my first post here. I just came over from W.T.B.L.Mower.com

I just bought a nwe Ariens 926 dle. Does Ariens / Tecumesh use a break in oil ? Is that why the want to have it changed after 2 hr.

Whats your thought on runing Synthetic oil.

Will,

I would not use an oil with a low viscosity figure of above 10W. I think 10W30 would be perfect for you in your climate. Matter of fact, I bet your owners manual say's to use 5W30 or 10W30 depending on climate. Being that Mobil 1 is full synthetic, the protection from breakdown in heat  is very great so a thicker viscosity won't be needed and, it may potentially be damaging. That's my 2 cents for a price of $0. 

Your friend,

Marshall

Thanks to all of you---Your friend Will

I memory of Bobby P..................

Marshall,

            Where is Bobby P ?

                                        Fred

? got me ?

I'm against synthetic oil in power equipment. I would probably use it in a snow thrower if I lived in a really cooold climate for easier starting. I do use synthetic in my wife's chipped turbo Audi (car) for the high temperature characteristics of a synthetic oil. Everything else in my garage gets Castrol GTX and I change it often. I certainly don't see any use in putting synthetic in a machine that only gets a few hours use per year. Money down the drain IMHO.

John

That's one way to look at it. But what is it, another 5 whole bucks to keep you're OPE you spent hundreds or thousands on in good shape? Not too much for protection, IMO.

JohnEDavies wrote:
John,
It is cheap insurance. I ran an engine out of coolant without realizing it. I feel very confident synthetic oil saved the engine. I notice a big differece in ease of starting, rolling and shifting in everything I use it in. By the way, it's in everything I own.
Just don't mix grease without good information from both manufacturers.

Synthetic? ABSOLUTELY for snow blowers. These engines use a "slinger " to distribute the oil within the engine. The synthetic oil flows much better at cold temperatures than does dino. The net result is better lubrication when the engine is cold which equates to less wear. The engine also spins over faster because the crank is not trying to churn through oil that approaches the consistancy of yogurt. This equates to easier starting. 

Marc 

mml4 wrote:
I agree - if the oil is super cold at startup, synthetic is the way to go. My machine is kept in the garage at above freezing temperatures and the "yogurt viscosity" is simply not a factor. 5W30 dino oil flows just fine at that temp. OTH a machine stored in an unheated shed at 0 deg F needs synthetic.

Keep in mind that not everyone lives in arctic conditions.

John