Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > Toro 826OXE first oil change questions
Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions |
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Spartan
Joined: Sep 19, 2010
Points: 14
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Re: Toro 826OXE first oil change questions
Reply #9 Jan 3, 2011 4:48 am |
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I'm really not sure what the image of the nasty looking spark plug is supposed to represent. If you are/were using synthetic oil and your spark plug looks like that, there are clearly other engine/maintenance issues going on. In any event, there are other advantages to using synthetic oil besides extended oil change intervals...even though most synthetic oil manufacturers will tell you to follow the OEM guidelines on when to change the oil. Aside from a few niche brands like Amsoil or Royal Purple, most synthetic oils on the market don't really push the idea of extended oil change intervals. Even though these are only basic/small engines....You're dealing with machines that are really only subjected to extreme conditions, the coldest temps of the year...an advantage synthetic oil has over dino oil. Especially when starting a cold engine. Also, these are engines that typically have no filter, with the additives synthetics have, your engine is better protected. The fact is, a quart of a quality full synthetic oil will cost you some where between ~ $7 - $9. Is that more expensive than dino oil...absolutely? But what's the point of penny pinching on machines that people are spending $1000, $1500, $2000, $2500+ etc on? Sure I'll buy an $1800 snow thrower but I won't waste an extra $3 or $4 dollars on a synthetic oil for it? That's ridiculous... imho I'm not implying you'll see a night and day difference between synthetic and conventional/dino oil...but there really is no advantage sticking with dino oil unless your intent is to save $3-$4 every which way you can. Unless the manual/OEMr explicitly says not to, you can't go wrong with synthetic...and change the oil when manual says to change the oil.
This message was modified Jan 3, 2011 by Spartan
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borat
Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692
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Re: Toro 826OXE first oil change questions
Reply #13 Jan 3, 2011 12:06 pm |
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Spartan:
I do not agree with much of what you've said regarding synthetic oil.
The first point that I'd like to address is your use of the term "penny pinching" when in fact it's the wise use of one's money.
"Ridiculous" is spending 2 to 5 times the amount for a product that will NOT deliver any substantial gains over an equivalent but much less expensive product.
I've been working on small engines for over thirty years and I'm talking complete engine re-build on numerous OPE, motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, outboard motors etc. I own in excess of thirty machines with small engines. Both two and four stroke. Therefore, I have plenty of hands on experience.
Since we're talking about snow blowers, I will give the forum a brief history of my use and ownership of same. I owned and operated two Craftsman snow throwers with 10 h.p. Tecumseh engines for more than twenty years. From day one, each engine was run on nothing but conventional 10W30 oil of what ever decent brand name for the best price. Both engines started and ran flawlessly, never needed any work whatsoever, and never used a drop of oil. Each engine outlasted the machines they were mounted on. So your suggestion that synthetic oil will provide additional protection is a moot point. If an engine can outlast the machine it's on, using conventional oil, why spend unnecessary money for an oil that will offer no rewards? That doesn't make any sense no matter how you look at it.
I've come to the conclusion that most die hard synthetic oil advocates have little or no experience with conventional oil. They've been sucked in by the promises and hype of synthetic oil when, in fact, there's no real need for it, in all but the very harshest of conditions or extended OCIs.
Now, some facts about the B&S Kool Bore engine on my snow thrower:
The engine has approx. 75 hours on it. The engine has 155 lbs. cold compression. The engine starts on the first pull every time and is very strong. I adjusted the valves and only the exhaust valve was very slightly out of spec. The engine is fuel efficient but likes to eat Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic oil at approximately 1 oz. per hour of hard use. It does not emit any smoke of any kind. It presently has Castrol conventional 5W30 high mileage oil in it and so far, I don't see any appreciable consumption although that's only after a tank and a half of fuel being burned under moderate loads.
I've also read accounts of other people having problems using this oil in their OPE. One person stated that his valves coked up so bad that he had to pull the head off of his B&S engine to clean them because the engine stopped running. He switch to conventional oil and all has been well ever since. It was that person's post that caused me to think about my engine using oil and to pull the spark plug to look for possible clues. You have seen what I found.
So, in conclusion, considering the apparent excellent health of the engine, what else could be causing the excessive spark plug fouling?
Once I get to operate the snow blower under some extended period heavy loads, I be able to confirm one way or the other if it was the Mobile 1 5W30 synthetic oil.
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