Opinions Please

[diyer2]

My snow blower calls for 5W30 synthetic, been using Castrol. I have 5W20 Amsoil OE for our Hyundai. 

Will the Amsoil OE work in it?

 

[Grumpy Bear]

I would not run *W20 in an air-cooled motor. Especially one that works as hard as a snowblower. YMMV.

[customboss]

4 hours ago, diyer2 said:

My snow blower calls for 5W30 synthetic, been using Castrol. I have 5W20 Amsoil OE for our Hyundai. 

Will the Amsoil OE work in it?

 

Yes the Amsoil OE 5w30 will work fine in the snow blower. I have repaired a Husquvarna with Tecumseh 10 HP for a neighbor and ran RLI BIOSYN 5w20 for cleaning up then changed to Mobil synthetic 5w30 that is DEXOS 3 and a lot like the Amsoil OE 5w30 and its working fine. 

 

I agree with Grumpy to be careful with using automotive oils in air cooled engines.  My favorite SAE30W or 10w30 for air cooled engines is the  

[Black02Silverado]

I would not use the 5w-20. Now AMSOIL’s ASE 10w-30 would work great. It’s designed for small engines. 
 

 

[richard wysong]

What engine is on it? The Amsoil should be fine, it's not likely to be out in warm temps that would require the 10w30. Some air cooled engines use a splash oiling system and require non detergent to keep the foaming down but where the recommended is a synthetic the viscosity shouldn't be a problem

[CamGTP]

It's not going to give a crap if you use 5W20 instead of 5W30. I'll pay for a new snowblower if it blows up.

 

I run whatever is in my cabinet in my lawn mowers and snow blowers, if for some reason they need to be topped off with oil. Never had one blow up on me.

 

I've got an old 1997 MTD snow blower, calls for 10W30, the Toro mower calls for 5W30, both get whatever is laying around.

[diyer2]

Thanks for the opinions guys. I was trying to avoid another oil on the shelf and ordering another Amsoil product, but this Toro snowblower was $1700 new. This last storm it got worked really hard so was thinking of using Amsoil. 

 

 

[diyer2]

I had $15 in rewards from Amsoil so I ordered 5W30 small engine oil. 

 

[Black02Silverado]

9 minutes ago, diyer2 said:

I had $15 in rewards from Amsoil so I ordered 5W30 small engine oil. 

 

I have been using this in my ExMark Laser Z HP since new.  Currently 650hrs on it and I never have to add oil. Works well. I did move up to the 10w-40 since Kawasaki came out with a bulletin stating to do so.  Not that I feel I needed to but down here the weather doesn't get that cold in the winter and most of my mower use to clean up leaves in the late fall. Summer on the other hand can get toasty.

[KARNUT]

I only use my riding mower for 10 years. I usually only mow when wet or damp. I don’t do dust. 3 acres of mowing. I’m on my 3rd. My brother has the last 2. They still run. He likes to tinker and has replaced pulleys rebuilt decks. I use Amsoil when I change the oil. Right now I’m 6 years on this oil it’s still clean. At the same time I had a snapper self propelled walk behind. I had it 20 years before I gave it to my daughter. I bought it for walking exercise. I used it steady for the first 10 years. Less so the second. It had an oil filter. One oil change with Amsoil. Near the end of my usage it would smoke a bit then clear up. Probably from lack of use. I’m not suggesting not changing oil or suggesting a particular brand. Just experience. 

[asilverblazer]

35 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

Right now I’m 6 years on this oil it’s still clean.

 

a snapper self propelled walk behind. I had it 20 years. I used it steady for the first 10 years. Less so the second. It had an oil filter. One oil change with Amsoil.

Am I reading this right that you are changing the oil in these once every decade (give or take)?

 

I guess I feel better about my (bad) habits. 

 

Not being critical, just never heard someone go that long before.

[KARNUT]

13 minutes ago, asilverblazer said:

Am I reading this right that you are changing the oil in these once every decade (give or take)?

 

I guess I feel better about my (bad) habits. 

 

Not being critical, just never heard someone go that long before.

The riding mowers once after 5 years. At 10 years I give it to my brother. The snapper I had about 20 years, changed it once. It gets really hot where I’m at I’m not working on service equipment. I don’t worry with longevity at 10 years it’s time for a new one. I used to be that way with daily drivers. 100K max. A couple of oil changes on Amsoil. Now I’m going for 200K miles. Until one fails. 

[Grumpy Bear]

7 hours ago, diyer2 said:

 

 

Interesting graphic. Mineral 5W30 upper limit is 41F/5C?