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What do I make of this???


AC_B-1Novice

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I just put synthetic oil in my 6216 this year before the snow came. A friend in Canada asked me about oil for his new snow blower and I told him what I did. He checked with the small engine shop and this is his email to me. What do you make of this??? Just back from speaking to the small engine repair shop I visit. I asked about synthetic oil recommended for the new snowblower. He said absolutely NOT to use it on small engines. He said something that this oil needs a lot of is pressure behind it and it will "cling" to dirt and you'll end up with sludge. On cars it's OK, but he said that from what he has learned, you may get 7500 miles between oil changes since there is enough heat and pressure. But he said, there seems to be no real reason to buy double the price oil and get little more benefit than that. I always went 7000 miles per oil change and never had any engine trouble in my whole life of buying cars. Think I will stick to good quality oil as I have always done
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For one easier startup in the cold is the big one for me. Cooler running in the heat is another. I have synthetic in my log splitter so it starts good in winter. I only run it in fall and winter anyway. I dump the oil frequent enough in the tractor that I use dino oil and multiweight in winter.
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this has come up on this forum and many others. some get into heated discussions & some not, there is guys that stand behind synthetics and some that dont. i could'nt tell ya either way if synthetics are good or bad. my personal experience. i started using a synthetic blend oil in one of my 8hp kohler 1967 wheel horse tractors. the tractor always started fine and never burned oil. after about a 1yr of using the blend i notice the engine burning oil , running worst and leaking oil around the head. i have no idea if this was due to age of the engine or something to do with the synthetic blend i used. since then i have parked the tractor and haven't got around to looking at it yet. i am thinking its just needs a head gasket and probably due to age and not the oil i used. but since then i dont run any synthetics in my small engines. i run rotella 30W in all my tractors. its only about $11 a gallon at wally world and i have herd good reviews on rotella oils.
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I run it in my tractors and the operator manuals state it is ok up to certain temperatures. I personally use it year round and just keeper a closer eye on it. If it wasn`t ok to use up to the temperatures that they posted in the manuals they wouldn`t have published it in them.
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My concern would be to start using it on an old "seasoned" engine. I would worry that it might clean out the sludge and you may end up with leaky gaskets and seals.... I imagine to start on a new engine would be fine
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I would not use it in an old engine. Not sure if fact or fiction but somehow I seem to have come to the conclusion the molecules are smaller and it will leak if all gaskets are not tip top. Also it can work out or spin bearing is what I remember. I am not an engine guy so this is a laymans interpretation. I am sure the pros will chime in. I do know when I change my oil in winter I take it to a shop that uses semi-synthetic and my gas mileage goes up in my ranger. Of course this is a higher mileage motor so it goes against what I said...just saying...
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I owned an automotive repair garage for 25 years. I used it in every thing I owned and recommended it to all my customers. I still use it in all my old tractors (8) and have had no problems with leaking gaskets or oil consumption. If an engine is going to leak or burn oil it will no matter what it has in it. Just my experience. Some people are set in their ways and don't like change and some people like spreading old wives tales.
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im glad to hear there doesnt seem to be any leakage issues, Ive wanted to go synthetic but was afraid it might be like a non-detergent to detergent oil switch... now Ive just gotta get the guts to actually do it...
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All I can say about the small engine shop that was negative on synthetic oil is----------Baaaaa Hummmbug!! I've used Mobil 1 15w-50 in all my small engines over the years without any problems (I've gone to Mobil 1 0w-40 in the one I run in the winter). The applications included 2 Scag commercial lawn mowers---one bought new and one bought with about 800 hours on it. Both with Kohler Magnum engines. You're supposed to pull the heads and clean carbon after 500 hours and change oil every 50 hours. The oil got changed every 100 hours and I finally pulled the heads on the new one at 1000 hours. Hardly any carbon and you could still see the honing hatch pattern in the cylinder. The used one (that I had no idea of what oil was originally used) has also run fine since it got the Mobil 1 oil. The ability to handle high temps is a big reason to use synthetic oils in an air-cooled engine. Another big reason to use synthetic is the ability to use a multi-vis oil without worrying about shear-down like you do with a dino multi-vis oil. The fact that a 10w-30 dino oil becomes a 10w-20 oil after some use is why the air-cooled engine people normally recommend against a multi-vis oil. When you use a multi-vis oil, your start-up lubrication is much better and quicker compared to a straight weight 30 oil.
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UCD, being in the repair business you should be able to answer this...is the molecule smaller or is it a line. Obviously if it is smaller it will have a chance to fit thru a smaller area. Not sure if its a tale or not. Do you know?
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I am not a chemist. You can do the search as well as I can. It provides better cold weather starts, better fuel economy, runs cooler. Good enough for me. Looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, only better.
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Straight 30W all year around. I'll deal with it when I have a problem, but so far it's been okay for me.:O And don't care what anyone has to say bout it.
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You basically just restated what I said. Its a lot of smoke and mirrors and opinion on the net. I did read something interesting. There are people claiming the dino oil swells the gaskets. Then synthetic oil picks up that stuff and pulls it in as it leaches back intofrom the gaskets. That may be where a leak can occur. If that is true then switching back would stop any leaks when the gasket swelled again. This may all be opinion, or fact. I am not sure which. With the lawn tractors a quart or two is not going to break the bank for sure. I may try it next winter in the 17-gthl.
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My two cents, changed my B&S twin about 2+ years ago to wally world synthetic. Always change about every 50 hours or less. Starts better in winter, is outside covered, does not leak, but is starting to use just a bit. However since it's 23+ years old don't think the oil is the problem. Key is to use correct grade for season, and change the oil often. Guess we run what we like, what works, and can afford. Could be a phrase for Simplicity at it's best. 4i Coach John
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My 6216 is a 1985 so I will know I guess by spring. It does start easy and that was a concern because I was a little suspicious when it was hard to start at the first cold snap. That is when I changed the oil and put in the synthetic. Thanks to all, I respect each comment. larry
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quote:
Originally posted by Storm7012
Straight 30W all year around. I'll deal with it when I have a problem, but so far it's been okay for me.:O And don't care what anyone has to say bout it.
Even though you don't care about what others say, you should know that there is no such thing as 30W oil. 30 weight, but not 30W.
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As I showed in a different oils demo years ago here, the flow of the oil in the cold is the big difference. To me, more important then starting easier is the fact that the engine is getting lub'ed quicker. I blew up an 8 horse briggs years ago on a generator that I pulled outside at 65 below zero to plug in the truck, it ran maybe 10 min before the oil stuck to the alm block and it ''ran' out of oil.
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People talk about sludge,if you depend on sludge to seal your eng. you already have a problem. (sludge) I use Philips trop-artic and have never had a starting problem, it also has a high detergent rating. Arguing oil is like arguing politics,no one realy wins.:D
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quote:
Originally posted by 427435
quote:
Originally posted by Storm7012
Straight 30W all year around. I'll deal with it when I have a problem, but so far it's been okay for me.:O And don't care what anyone has to say bout it.
Even though you don't care about what others say, you should know that there is no such thing as 30W oil. 30 weight, but not 30W.
Regardless, guess you got the point.
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quote:
Originally posted by Willy
People talk about sludge,if you depend on sludge to seal your eng. you already have a problem. (sludge) I use Philips trop-artic and have never had a starting problem, it also has a high detergent rating. Arguing oil is like arguing politics,no one realy wins.:D
I Absolutely agree!! the problem is...if you're not leaking how do you know if you have a problem and why would you want to know as a result of your choice of oil... scary... i want to use syn... just too scared... "if its not broke, dont fix it!!" dunno what to do and scared to do more than change oil every season... (probably much less than 50hrs) of course, we've not been much below 0 all winter and my 5-30 has been fine...we just cant seem to get much above 20F...i need some more snow before the spring comes!
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quote:
Originally posted by goatfarmer
I've "heard" that it shouldn't be used in a new or rebuilt engine, because the rings won't seat properly. Any truth to that?
I nhave heard this too but dont know the truth of the matter. So, I have been running my new and rebuilt engines for the first two il changes with 30w, then switch over to synthetic. I have a new M16 Kohler , a rebuilt K321, and a new 8 hp Briggs OHV on a generator that have been done this way. Everything is working OK thus far. I also run synthetic in a 20 year old log splitter 5 HP briggs L head that had always had 30w in it. Its still running well also now 5 years later. Going to put synthetic in a couple of other older tractors this spring as well as my Simplicity Champion that has about 150 hours on it. I really havnt seen any leaking problems out of the ordinary. The only engine I have ever had a problem with was a well used K301 that ran good and didnt smoke. I put sythetic in it for winter one year and used it all winter and part of the summmer. The governor gear broke and it over revved. Probably was going to happen regardless of oil, but who knows? I know you cant beat synthetic for cold weather starting and lubrication. I have been using the cheap Wal-Mart brand Synthetic ( dont know who makes their oil)or the Napa brand which is made by Valvoline as I have been told.
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