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

For every new engine I ever purchase, whether in a new car or a lawnmower I change the oil after just a few hours of use.  I learned to do this because a new  engine wears in and creates small metal particles that cause excess wear if they are not removed from the engine, and even in new cars with oil filters the filter is limited in how small the particles it can trap.  In the case of my New Honda GX 270 engine that powers my Honda Snowblower, I ran the machine for about 2 hours, then drained and refilled the engine with 100% synthetic oil.  When the oil was visible in the drain pan it was grey in color from the large quantity of metal wear particles suspended in the oil.   I will probably wait another 4 to 6 hours of operation before doing another oil change.   Considering that the expensive new engine only requires a little more than 1 quart of oil, and it has no oil filter, it seems a prudent investment to add these very early oil changes to the maintenance regimen of a new engine.   Incidentally, Honda suggests the first change after 20 hours.  Based on the evidence of the metal in the oil, I would suggest that is far too long to wait for that initial oil change.  

I'm curious how others feel about this.

I concur with New Yorker. He hit the nail on the head. Follow his advice and you won't go wrong. As far as using conventional oil for the first couple of hours before adding synthetic, I can't disagree more. Synthetic oil meets or exceeds all manufacture specifications. That idea is "old school." Synthetic oil has been around since the 60's. Mercedes and Audi come from the factory with synthetic oil in them. They don't suggest a "break in" period with conventional oil. Amsoil 10w-30 Four Stroke Synthetic oil is outstanding and specificlly formulated for small engines. I use it for all my small power equipment. Ask Harley riders. A lot of them have been using Amsoil for years in their bikes. I have been using it in my Ford F-150 since 04. I change my oil and filter once per year or 25,000 miles which ever comes first. Great products and a great U.S. Wisconsin based family company.

This is the spark plug from my B&S Kool Bore 305cc engine which has been run on nothing but Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic oil after breaking the engine in with conventional 5W30 oil:





This is what it looks like after running the same engine with Castrol 5W30 conventional oil:
Don't mind the broken plug.  That had nothing to do with the oil.  Look at the electrodes.


So, from my experience, it would appear that synthetics may not be the best lubricant for OPE engines.....

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Who cares how long anyone has been posting in this forum?  Just because someone has posted a couple hundred posts doesn't mean they can't be wrong about something.  So bringing up the number of of someones posts in a web-forum and implying that gives this person some kind of credibility is a joke.  I'd rather hear the "right" answer from someone who just joined rather than nonsense from someone who has 500 or 1000 + answers on a web forum. .

Also, this idea that ... "There is no evidence to support your claim that synthetic is better in snowblowers but plenty of anecdotal evidence from well respected members of this forum that synthetic is not a good thing to use in a snowblower. There are a lot of articles that detail out that synthetic oil is not better. But you choose to ignore anything that doesn't support your position. Why don't you stop trolling in this forum?"

Who cares about anecdotal evidence and the anecdotal evidence/opinion about synthetic not being good to use in a snowblower? Show us, this forum, a couple of official/current articles published by Briggs & Stratton, Subaru, or Honda that say synthetic oil isn't good for use in a Snowblower/small engine.  People care about what a product's manual says or an official statement from a company regarding their product.  People for the most part don't care about anecdotal evidence and opinions.

Being as though Briggs, Honda and others sell their own "brand" of synthetic oil for use in their products (yes, including snow blower engines), I don't think they'd agree with the anecdotal evidence from random people on a web forum that say synthetic oil in a small engine is a bad thing.

In fact, this is what Briggs says about synthetic oil:
http://www.briggsandstratton.com/engines/shop/parts-and-accessories/part.aspx?id={DA63FF57-9C51-4B28-8FFB-88A1B7B56511}

"SAE 5W30 Using Synthetic oil offers better wear control of your engine, even under severe operating conditions. Since synthetics have better "inherent strength" they have the ability to keep functioning at the highest level for the longest possible time.

Synthetic Oil gives your engine better viscosity temperature response, better low temperature fluidity, better thermal stability better oxidation stability, lower volatility, better deposit control, and better wear control.

This in return reduces risk of equipment failure, promotes trouble free operation, reduces maintenance costs, extends service life, and long term engine durability.

Briggs & Stratton's best engine oil, warranty certified, for all small 4 cycle engines. The use of this high quality detergent oil assures compliance with Briggs & Stratton warranty requirements regarding the use of appropriate oil."

I guess its time for you to tell us that these long time posters in this forum with anecdotal evidence know better than B&S about what kind of oil is better/best to use in a B&S engine.