Author Topic: Motor oils  (Read 1734 times)

ajaffa1

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Motor oils
« on: January 02, 2019, 06:50:04 AM »
Hi Guys, with it being so hot here at this time of year I have decided to stay undercover and do a little maintenance work on some of my lawn mowing and other small engine equipment (oil change, filters etc). I have a range of engines from Honda, Briggs and Stratton, Husqvarna and the inevitable Chinese Honda clones, all four stroke.

Not too surprisingly I can`t find most of the service manuals so I did a very quick search on engine oils on the internet. Every single manufacturer recommends their own brand of 10W-30 detergent oil for all of their air cooled engines, regardless of whether these engines have oil filters or not. All at a vastly inflated price over regularly available 10W-30 engine oils.

The one manual I did find was for my GX-165 Honda clone pressure washer. This engine has no oil filter and the recommendation is for a non detergent SAE 30 oil.

This makes perfect sense to me as I don`t want a detergent oil keeping any detritus in the sump in suspension. Can anyone explain to me why all the western manufacturers are advocating their own branded detergent oil for engines without oil filters? It`s almost certainly made by one of the big petrochemical companies and just bottled with a different label.

Yes I know this is a diesel engine forum, so stop throwing things.  :laugh:

Bob

 

dax021

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Re: Motor oils
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2019, 07:19:04 AM »
I think you already know the answer to your question :)

ajaffa1

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Re: Motor oils
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2019, 07:28:44 AM »
Hi Dax021, would it have anything to do with stupidity, accountants overruling engineers, shortening engine life expectancy and corporate greed?

Bob

ajaffa1

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Re: Motor oils
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2019, 12:42:13 PM »
I tend to run 2 stroke engines at about 30 to 1 ratio, much less than Glort,  but I have found that the spark eliminator on the exhaust tends to get blocked with unburned fuel/oil if I run richer than that. I guess it depends on usage.

With lawn mower engines I have always found that the engine outlasts the rest of the machine by a considerable margin, regardless of which oil you put in it, provided you do the necessary maintenance. That said I have found them to be the most irritating and unreliable pieces of junk on gods earth, the engines may be fine but the cheap carburetors and air filters let them down every time.

Bob

sirpedrosa

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Re: Motor oils
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2019, 03:38:15 PM »
Hello bob

You started the year with all the gas ... Dax021 already had a bruise!

You know that the machine manufacturers have to give a guarantee, and that goes for putting cheap parts to the limit.

Of course the limit is the cylinder and the piston, and this has to last longer than the machine - or not - but that's where you can claim the guarantee. That is, within the warranty period it has to work.

In the knowledge that I acquired here, I already noticed something clear. If lubrication is by splashing the oil can not be detergent. The problem is that there is no such oil on the market anymore ...

The solution - I think - is to put a viscous oil above the normal temperature, so that the particles do not move much, but keep the oil vapor at an acceptable level, for the lubrication of the small end.

All the best for everyone for this new year.
Cheers
VP
By order of firing up:
Bernard 18A - 1968 (mama's water pump - year of my birth)
Petter PAZ1 - Jun 1967, 3HP, sn 416xxxx
Petter PAZ1 - Nov 1979, 3HP, sn 425xxxx
Lister 12/2 - 12651227, the pearl!
Deutz MAH 914, 1952 - Zündfix in chamber and go (7Mai2023).

dax021

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Re: Motor oils
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2019, 05:02:16 PM »
Hi Dax021, would it have anything to do with stupidity, accountants overruling engineers, shortening engine life expectancy and corporate greed?

Bob

Nailed it Bob, at least as far as I know.  Your last 3 answers all boil down to more $$$$$, and your first answer is how they accomplish this-by relying on the stupidity of most consumers.  A mate of mine worked in a refinery and he used to tell me how the first few thousand cans on the conveyer were one brand, the next thousand another brand and so on.  All out of the same vat.  Same as petrol.  All comes from the closest refinery, regardless of brand.  Each brand is supposed to add their own additives once in the tanker, but very often this part just gets neglected.