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.

iLikeOrange wrote:
I used synthetic oil in my snow blower for the first three years.  Consumption was at a rate of about 1 oz. per hour of hard use.  Not sure if it was the engine or the oil.  I changed back to 5W30 conventional oil to see if it's the oil or the engine causing consumption.  Still need more time to get the results of that experiment. 

 As far as easy starting, no difference between synthetic and dino of the same viscosity.  None. 

You're right.  We're only talking a quart of oil here and there.  Nonetheless, why pay two or three times the price when you're not utilizing the expensive oil's properties? 

once an hour seem super high doesn't it?  I run Amzoil in the blower, have since day one, and don't see near that rate but maybe I haven't looked that close either . Gonna keep a closer eye though cause of your read.

O

iLikeOrange wrote:
I'm only guessing that it's an ounce.  Could be more.  What I know is that after an hour or two of relatively hard work, the oil level on the dipstick would be visibly down by maybe a millimeter or a bit less.  So, the actual quantity of oil consumed is unknown.  What I do know, is that it definitely uses synthetic 5W30 oil.   

Borat,

How come your engine consumes so much oil i.e., 1 oz of motor oil every hour?  Is this normal? This can't be normal and a good reason to change your spark plug every year.  My old MTD did not consume any oil.  Sound a little like my 07 4-cylinder Camry as it consumes about a half quart every 2000 miles or a quart between oil changes.

I have no idea why it was using so much oil.  I'm working on figuring that out.  After initial break in with dino oil, I've run nothing but Mobil 1 5W30 in it since new.  The engine has three seasons (approx. 75 to 80 hours) on it.  Synthetic oil changed every year with approx. 25 hours on it, plus topping off with fresh oil as necessary.  Maybe half a quart of topping over the winter.  Spark plug was fouled pretty good to but that was with three seasons of use on it. 

I've since changed the oil to Castrol 5W30 High Mileage conventional.  I've got around five hours on the new oil.  Pulled the plug it looked good and I've yet to see a significant drop in oil level.  However, the machine hasn't seen enough hard use to give me any assurance that the engine will not use this oil too.  Once I've put the machine through an hour or two of hard labour, I'll have a much better idea.  Just have to wait for enough snow to put it through it's paces. 

carlb wrote:
And yet for the decades the synthetic oil ahs been in use there has never once been any evidence offerred by anyone that that is in any way true.  GM puts synthetic in its high perfornace Corvette engines as do other manufacturers.  Breaking in an engine has never required petroleum based oils over synthetic oils, and no manufacturer of engines has ever suggested that be done.   Ergo, you stand alone in your opinion.

who r u to suggest??ur just another yahoo from suffolk county.Guys dont listen to him .follow the manual..............sounds familiar????

Knee_Biter wrote:
Exceeding a maintenance schedule is far from using grease where None is required.  Putting grease on an auger that never needs grease is as useful as adding tomato soup to the tires.  The engine always requires oil I'm simply saying I exceed the oil change regimen suggested by the manufacturer.  The tires do not require tomato soup any more than the auger requires grease.

gotoguy wrote:

Snowblowers are used in the coldest places during the coldesy time of the year.  Petroleum oils thicken and do not lubricate as well in cold climates because they contain parrafin wax.  In severe arctic cold engines must often be kept running all the time to prevent the oil from becoming so thick it won't flow.  100% Synthetic Oil has NO parrafin wax in it, and does Not thicken in the cold.  I'd say a snowblower is a very appropriate application for 100% synthetic motor oil.

either the manual is always right or its always wrong.Maybe its correct  sometimes........