Will Any Oil Work as Engine Oil?

[@Mariano.Bernacki]

Notes for V2: 1) You need a control engine with regular oil to be sure the chips are due to break-in. It is a reasonable assumption, but you do not know if the engines were producing the same, less, or more metal than expected. 2) Measure the quantity of oil you pour in and out of the engine to see if any oil was burning. Again, use a control engine with regular oil. 3) Consider extended testing, an engine that would be done in 50 hours and one that would last 500 hours might look about the same in the first hour of operation. Maybe the vegetable oil works great for 2 hours and then it breaks down catastrophically. Maybe the gear oil lasts longer than regular motor oil (doubtful, but you have not tested and so you do not know) 4) EGT/CHT probes and an Arduino for data logging.

[@Paul-FrancisB]

Looking forward to when you do your video 😂

[@1d1hamby]

Didn't "Project Farm" channel do something very similar?

[@Cholton222]

@@Mariano.Bernacki it's not that serious mate. Lol. But it would definitely show data. He did this for fun.

[@brucemitchell5637]

​@@Paul-FrancisB😂😂😂😂😂

[@r0tax7]

/agree on the control engine with rec. oil. So you know if these results are better/worse than the baseline.

[@FINNIUSORION]

When i was a teenager a bunch of us went camping in my buddies 78 dodge van and ended up putting a hole in the oil pan, hit a rock on it or something. But we were hours away from anything even with a running car. And this was before cell phones. Luckily my buddy had an odds and ends assortment of tools and random stuff. He ended up patching the hole with bondo and he mixed in some smashed up rocks to try to make it go farther and give it some structural integrity. We got that fixed when he realized we didn't have any oil lol. We had 2 quarts of atf and water and some booze. So it was either try our luck with the atf or run it dry. He took it easy and stopped loads of times to check on it but that van made it all the way to the closest gas station '2.5' hrs away where we got some oil and drained out the atf. He drove that van for years after that with no problems.

[@iamjames8403]

My dad told me a story from the 80s when he was living with his aunt, his uncle had a full size Chevy van that he mistakenly put diesel into when he realized the mistake he put the petal to the metal and the van ran fine after all the Diesel was gone.

[@verlinswarey507]

Awesome story!

[@maxx-er3fj]

​@@iamjames8403Diesel will not ruin petrol engine, tho you must add petrol to diesel you put in, so the spark plug can fire the fuel. Petrol will destroy diesel injection system tho

[@maxx-er3fj]

My grandad did oil change on his yugo, drove it 70km to another city and back, and when he got home he was surprised to see he forgot to add the oil😅Car ran fine

[@FINNIUSORION]

@@maxx-er3fj my experience with those cars are either very good or complete lemon. there's no middle ground.

[@BadgerBishop]

I'm a heavy equipment mechanic, and I've heard a second-hand story of a generator that was filled with hydraulic oil and when it was brought in for the next service all of the fluid had turned into a thick jello consistancy.

[@geneturner3190]

Wouldn't be surprised considering the different conditions it was exposed to. Although I've seen in certain regular engine oil cases from lack of management turning into a jello like substance. Though that was probably the end of the engine at that point lol

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Are Dot 3 and 4 Brake fluid same as hydraulic oil?

[@geneturner3190]

@fidelcatsro6948 brake fluid is a hydraulic fluid, though it's vastly different than the hydraulic fluid used in industrial applications. It's quite a nasty chemical

[@fidelcatsro6948]

@@geneturner3190 noted and thank you!

[@richardturner8630]

Hydraulic oil additives aren't made for temp above 180f , it literally cooks when overheated

[@leifhietala8074]

Who is here because the font and title colors made you think it was Project Farm?

[@Argumedies]

Although Project Farm has performed these tests several times over, it's good to see other opinions.

[@simplexicated]

Yep. Swore this was a project farm video when I saw the thumbnail. 😅

[@dogs-and-destruction-channel]

Yep, same. But to be fair at least he preformed a proper test (as advertised on the thumbnail) and not just another fake youtube click bait knock off.

[@redneckgames9357]

Yup

[@charliemartin-k7m]

With him the old beat up push mower motor would also be in the thumbnail

[@Paul-FrancisB]

To be honest I'm more curious about the £50 engines than the oil test. Like many people I've bought a few tools over the year from Chinese origin and often with a little fettling, deburring they have been quite serviceable for amateur use. It would be interesting to see a tear down of one of the engines and maybe a tune up to see how perfoms once fettled compared to as shipped.

[@SuperBC10]

Yes me too and tbh I want to know where I can get one 😊

[@stitchfinger7678]

Honestly, especially from places like Harbor Freight, there's LOTS of tools that will do perfectly fine with a couple hours of love Yes, "made in China" is still made in China, and the costs still get cut, but it really feels like the average quality is coming up all the time.

[@tylerfrankel5374]

Where tf you seeing these for 50 they’re all at least 100 wherever I’ve seen them.

[@Paul-FrancisB]

​@@tylerfrankel5374the nearest I have seen is £60 delivered on the usual Chinese import sites beginning TE .. or Ali...... .

[@Paul-FrancisB]

@@tylerfrankel5374 the best price I could find was £57 with free shipping, I guess he has a discount code

[@backyardsounds]

I sell castor seed for castor oil. Castor oil was used before petroleum in very early motor cars. The issue was a varnish over time, but the oil doesn't thin like other seed oils. British biplanes of WW1 used castor oil if I remember correctly. I'd love to see a test with castor oil!!

[@videodistro]

Castor oil is still used in 2 strike model engine fuel. You can get synthetic, but many people still.put in some castor for rust prevention properties. The castor, though, does create unwanted build up.

[@GGigabiteM]

Castor oil was only used in rotary engines in WWI. Rotary engines had a total loss oil system, where the castor oil, fuel and air was injected directly into the crank case and the centripetal force of the engine rotating would send it up induction tubes into the tops of the cylinders to be let in and burned. The exhaust was directly into the slipstream, no headers. An exception to those was the Gnome Monosoupape, which had ports in the bottom of the cylinder liner and used a complex push-pull rod to a valve at the top of the cylinder. It was used for both exhaust and air intake, while the fuel and castor oil came from inside the crank case through the ports. All mass production rotary engines were four stroke, even the Monosoupape. The reason castor oil was used is because it mixes well with gasoline, and maintained its lubricating properties inside the engine. Near the end of the war, Germany being on the brink of total economic collapse, they started to use a type of mineral oil called Votol. It was vastly inferior to castor oil and caused engines to seize up after just a few hours

[@gabet945]

​@@GGigabiteMThanks for the knowledge and history lesson quite interesting.

[@ManualM3]

Sometimes I’ll put Castor oil in my 2 stroke dirt bike and when I do that sweet smell coming from the exhaust brings back good memories from my youth. Such a distinctive smell. Good times.

[@GGigabiteM]

@@ManualM3 Don't inhale too much of the exhaust, or you'll have the same problem as WWI pilots, diarrhea. Since the rotary engines flung castor oil everywhere in a fine mist, pilots would inhale large amounts of castor oil and eventually it made it into their stomach. Castor oil being a great laxative would give them the runs.

[@giovannifoulmouth7205]

This was fascinating but it sucks that you didn't do a control run with engine oil so we could get an idea whether the difference in temps was due to the engine or the oil.

[@videodistro]

This. Without a control, it's not telling you anything.

[@michaelskinner896]

Yes, a control engine would've been helpful.

[@happys104092243]

Um look at a mower on oil That's your control.

[@The-Saus]

Different engine, not all mowers use the same engine

[@lynnefloyd4096]

So project farm needs to remake this. Got it.

[@patrick.hallyburton]

need to test under load, an engine can run for a surprisingly long time with no oil under no load

[@averyalexander2303]

Great point! I remember seeing ads for oils and snake oil additives where the oil and/or coolant was drained and the engine continued to run for hours, sometimes at high RPMs. I never saw one of those tests under an actual load though.

[@randyab9go188]

Slick 50 used to demo their snake oil in person with a little two horsepower Briggs & Stratton horizontal shaft engine. The end plate was removed and replaced with thick plexiglass I believe the British call it perspex. A ball bearing was installed in the plexiglass and that little engine was run over and over and over with regular motor oil, then drained, motor oil with slick 50 added, ran for 5 minutes and then they would run it for a half hour with no motor oil in it at all. Just like in this test there was no load on that little engine. That little engine survived through hundreds if not thousands of demonstrations. Sometime back I had a chance to buy one of those little engines used for the demo but the seller wanted way too much for it. It's a cool display piece but useless in its current state and if you put a new end piece on it it's like any other two horsepower Briggs. I passed.

[@kevinlawes591]

We ran a scrap vw polo 1.4 petrol 110k miles with no oil to see how long before it would go bang! 2.5k revs 2hours later got bored and drove it to the scrap yard!

[@karlbeckmann8865]

Hey, i don't want to critisize too much. But... You should have broken in every single engine with regular oil, for 60 minutes at least. Then, you should have put in the other oil, and most likely you wouldn't see results for 6 hours. If you do it again, maybe try to put something together to put a load on the engine. Power some generators, which are connected to a heating fan. Nice insight tho, very cool to see you go from farming simulator to actual real life engines and such. Always loving the restorer videos :) Edit: Putting load on the engine gradually increases the wear of the engine. Which makes your needed testing time come down. (1-2h instead of 6h)

[@hiscifi2986]

Castrol make a vegetable oil called Castrol R. It was used a lot for racing up until the 1980s, when most turned to the modern better oils. I think all you have done is use these oils as a running-in oil, and maybe if you now used a multigrade, they will give much better results, with less contamination.

[@iwb316]

The name Castrol comes from the type of oil they used, which was vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean, it provided superior properties to that of the mineral based oils available at the time. When using castor based oils you should ensure the engine is thoroughly cleaned to be devoid of any mineral based oil, reaction between the two can lead to a loss of lubrication.

[@Herbybandit]

It also has a distinctive smell.

[@Slane583]

Klotz still offers a castor based 2-stroke oil called BeNOL. A lot of old-school dirt bike riders still use it religiously.

[@peterc2248]

Oh the smell of Castrol R coming from a gaggle of 2 stroke crossers back in the days before climate change :-)

[@hiscifi2986]

I used to use Castrol R in my grass track Villiers 225cc methanol burner, back in the 1960s. I have a JAP powered 1930 Husqvarna now, that uses Millers CB40. This is slightly less pungent than Castrol R, but still good for the nostalgia.

[@georgecarousos6735]

We had a old Dodge van with a 318 V8 that we hated and decided to run used ATF as engine oil so we could watch it blow up. We never changed the used ATF and just kept adding more as needed....8,000 miles later we gave up!

[@Cletrac305]

The biggest problem with a 1970s 318 in a truck is that you CAN'T kill them, they just keep plodding along at 7.5 mpg. At least if it died I could've justified putting in a mildly built 440 and getting 13 mpg! ALWAYS got better mpg, starting, and heat with a built big block than any non magnum smallblock other than an old Poly 318.

[@1soupasaurus]

Quick reminder, while the vegetable oil worked in this case, that's because these engines don't have oil pumps. Had it been pumped it may have aerated and turned into a slimy mess.

[@Bannimann2]

I ran a VW Beetle on veg oil as a bet with a friend. He said it couldn't run 150 km (approx. 94 miles) on veg oil, and I said it could. It survived, although it was smoking a bit more after the trip, and it smelled like a deep fryer. It was an old 1100cc 25 hp engine, but I'm pretty sure that at least 10 of those ponies had left the stable even before the test. lol

[@terryquarton2523]

ConocoPhillips make a vegetables based oil for their gas turbines. We used it at their gas plants here in Australia

[@Mattlawton-ft6ew]

caster oil was used as engine oil in the past thats what castrol is named after

[@tahajudmalam1579]

i use 350ml fresh left over oul, 1.5 ltrs used oil, filtered 5 times with face tissue, turned up side down nmineral water bottle, then 2 ltrs of PALMOIL, ut runs 1l:,10.5 KMS/liter. for 10 t0 11kms, new oil filter , very abusive, 1300 mini van toyota

[@eldoradoboy]

the oil temperature stays low in all these cases because they arent under a load... these all shouldve had some sort of a load on them.. incorrect lubricants tend to fail when they get hot as they lose their viscosity or break down altogether... not to mention super cold.. regular engine oil must be able to still flow at very cold temperatures. -15,-20 C in some areas.. think of vegetable oil in a snow thrower that gets started when its -15C.. it will be nearly a solid, so the dipper couldnt toss any oil on the bearing.. it has to melt all of the il in the sump befor the big end would get any lube.. these tests were done in ideal conditions when many fluids would lubricate just fine.. but real world is that engine oil has to sustain a wide range of temperatures.. heavy loads.. and still maintain good lubricating properties and a specific viscosity range..

[@robertmailhos8159]

Nice looking of the Christmas tree colors of those teat engine's

[@odincauzza2509]

I was thinking traffic light

[@robertmailhos8159]

@odincauzza2509 👍

[@johnfreeman2956]

Super fun! I would love this expanded! Maybe do a video where you run new engines on engine oil, then try the three in this video again. Basically I want to see the difference between the engines with the break-in getting in the way. Maybe testing them under a load might give us different results as well. Also, it could be fun to see the effect of all different cooking oils lol. Finally, It would be fun to see if you could mitigate break-in by getting a new engine, taking it apart, polishing it up, and then testing the oil after an hour. Basically, try to fix issues like "they probably didn't de-burr the engine from the factory" and then do a break in.

[@adampyro834]

i dont think there was much cross-hatching on any of the cylinders and its surprising how badly scratched they were for a new engine. its true what they say, you get what you pay for. i bet the veg oil one if left running long enough would seize or blow, it would get too hot and not be as able to cope. interesting test though

[@Joetime90]

The mechanic in me was very interested in this video. Great job. Appreciate ya from the States! I think we need a follow up after the engine-break in. Maybe an hour and a half, two hours? I wanna see these cheap engines tested to their limits. But as disclaimed, ALWAYS use the correct oil.

[@HobbyMotorDK]

Great experiment. If possible it would be interesting to see the the temperatures when running on recommended 10w-30 oil - on all 3 engines

[@videodistro]

Yes, without a control run, it doesn't tell you anything.

[@HobbyMotorDK]

@@videodistro Well is does tell you that in a pinch all three of the oils will run the engine - by comparing with 10w-30 oil is should be possible to determine which of the 3 alternative oils are best at dissipating heat

[@averyalexander2303]

@@HobbyMotorDK The oil temperature under a given load, RPM, ambient temp, etc is more of a function of the oil's viscosity than anything else. Since thicker oils create more viscous drag, they tend to run hotter. Of course there are exceptions and some oils will run hotter or cooler than others due to varying degrees of sliding friction, but for a valid comparison, the viscosity must be considered and the same engine must be used or the oil temperature being the same on all engines must be verified with a reference oil. Also, keep in mind that lower oil temps don't necessarily mean less wear or better protection. Viscous drag generally isn't harmful to the engine. And as Lake Speed Jr showed, friction and wear are two separate things and often aren't related.

[@HobbyMotorDK]

@@averyalexander2303 😃

[@dali366]

Your channel is great all round because you are in effect, a Dr/Surgeon... although your 'patients' are garden machinery! )

[@glentucker4250]

Very interesting study. I for one, really thought that the engine running the vegetable oil would’ve failed. Good to know 😉 Thank you!

[@Bannimann2]

These are very crude engines, very simple and cheap build. I quite sure a more advanced and expensive engine wouldn't make it an hour before it failed.

[@Chris_Garman]

Vegetable oil made for lubrication can be good if the heat isn't too high and the change interval is very short. It has very good lubrication properties. Bio diesel is better than regular diesel in every way so long as it doesn't get cold or sit long enough to spoil.

[@atari7001]

@@Bannimann2in our metallurgy lab, we evaluated the lubricity of various oils. Surprisingly, veg oil was at the top!

[@triplestangman]

that one was the only one that smoked on start up i don't think it was good from the beginning

[@wubbledub]

Vegetable oil was used as engine lubricant in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

[@joelboutier1736]

Thank you for putting your time and money into this test and making this video. I thought surely that the vegetable oil would have caused the engine to overheat and seize up. The results surprised me. None of those oils were the correct viscosity or had any additives for the application. The only thing I would have like to have seen would have been a control using the proper engine oil for comparison.

[@teesquare7531]

Cool test 👍 would have been interesting to run a baseline test with the recommended oil just for a comparison. Maybe you could somehow put them under load and run the test again to see how it changes to the original findings. Excellent job mate 👍

[@guyhulscher6857]

It would be nice to see what happens under load. Robot Cantina has some ideas this type of experiment would benefit from. I enjoy your videos.

[@tylerwightman2315]

Fascinating video. I thought for sure the green engine was going to grenade in the first 15 minutes. Very surprising results! Cheers from across the pond in Brandon Misssissippi USA!

[@trey2563]

Brilliant experiment mate. Love this sort of stuff. Will deffo keep eye out for more from you.

[@shaun8256]

Two things to learn from this, can possibly use gear oil for summer running and vegetable oil for winter and hydrolic oil maybe to break a motor in or out! From the last motor seeing the oil in the cylinder show it had problems from the start but as simple four strokes are they can run with almost no compression! Or the guy at the factory said we get em good with a bit of oil on top of the cylinder!

[@eric_seguin]

I was given a Mercedes diesel that had run on recycled vegetable oil but the engine oil was Rotella 15w40. Loved that car. 40,000 miles before letting it go. The Astro van didn't go 25,000 before it croaked.

[@codyrea8198]

I would love to see you do this experiment again with a control. Run a fourth engine with the recommended oil, break all engines in with the recommended oil. Also, it would be a much better test if you could find a way to run the engines under load. Maybe buy a water pump to hook up to them, or some other device. Great video bud.

[@noahcunnings8169]

This was a very interesting video. As a precision agricultural equipment technician, this is a very informative and thought-provoking video. It would have been nice to have a control engine that ran purely normal recommended engine oil. It would also be cool to see you run these engines longer and under load to really test the shear points of the different oils as well as their ability to retain lubricity under load and higher heat. Now, these engines being of lower quality also have looser tolerances allowing them to function with lower quality oils I.e oils with different sized quote "liquid ball bearings." I was surprised that the vegetable oil performed somewhat well. The gear oil and hydraulic oil. I was not surprised. Gear oil is used in differentials and axles on pretty much any form of transportation. So it is revolving at an astounding rate with lots and lots of load. EP. Your extreme pressure gear oil, especially 80w90 and 80w140 is especially common in over the road semis and Off-Road agricultural equipment. Your hydraulic oil is used in extremely high pressure situations. Sometimes upwards of 60,000 to PSI, and is ran through gear or piston style pumps and motors . The Piston style pumps and motors are basically miniature engines with a series of Pistons on a swashplate that revolve anywhere from 500 RPM up to 2500 RPM depending on its application. Not surprised that hydraulic oil performed well. But still engine oil is the best for engines hence the name

[@jeffreyandreas7514]

Very interesting results, thanks for taking the time to do this and sharing the results. I wonder how much metal would still have been present with the proper oil and what those temperatures would have been.

[@sage_the_husky649]

This is a really awesome video let me say. I do really like the idea and I love the idea of running something like a predator 212 simply off of vegetable oil. I think if I were to perform the test however I would run each engine with its recommended oil and follow the proper break in procedure for the engine if there is one, and then examine/perform the test with the different oils. While also adding an additional engine that runs under the same conditions except it is run only on the recommended oil for the test itself to act as a control group. Love the idea!

[@landykid]

somebody's been watching project Farm LOL

[@fidelcatsro6948]

😂

[@ChiefBroady]

I was just thinking, I like the comparison, but I wish project farm did it because I feel like there’s much detail missing, like using not properly broken in engines.

[@Cletrac305]

Neat, and I agree, I cant bring myself to run a Briggs, Kohler, or Honda since the Harbor Freight Predator series came out. Here in the U.S. the 212cc Predators are making over 40 hp, supercharged on Nitromethane for racing. You can get any go fast parts you want there's even a hemi version. Most parts interchange with Honda. next time break them in first, run them under load for a few hours, and check TOP rod bearing, it's taking the load. ALWAYS use the recommended oil (especially on Detroit Diesel 2 strokes) Having said that, we had a guy at the state highway shop F up and put the central engine oil dispensing pump into a 55 gallon drum of AW 32 hydraulic oil. 1 international DT466 and 2 Cat 3126 engines went about a week on it before we noticed it. No issues. In my decades of working on farms etc I have seen several OLD tired knocking, smoking engines go a few more years by using 90w or even 85w-140 gear oil in them if you had nothing to lose, just let them warm up . "I have seen more engines screwed up by not having enough oil than by the wrong kind." Said some internet poster once, and RTFM "Read The Furnished Manual" or some other F word. 😂

[@kaboooom2000uk]

Thank you so much! i was looking high and low for someone to do an engine run with hydraulic and gear oil, thanks!

[@nordlicht1881]

I was hoping for a control engine with the recommended oil. Nice to watch either way!

[@lucaseq77]

You are much better/nicer/calmer to watch than Project Farm. Well done!

[@LMF5000]

Very interesting video. The vegetable oil is particularly interesting - imagine a scenario (maybe a hurricane) where someone needs to get their generator running in an emergency and doesn't have access to real engine oil, but they have a bottle of vegetable oil in their kitchen. But like other posters have said, we need a control using normal engine oil so we can compare the temperatures and the amount of metal glitter to see what's normal and what's due to the oil. Also you should run the engines at full load for the hour, that would make any differences much more pronounced.

[@robdavison3828]

Castor oil is the vegetable oil of choice and was used for racing cars until the 1970s. Very distinctive smell at trackside still found today at vintage events.

[@azmoz1321]

Interesting video , nothing blew up , so in an emergency any oil would be better than no oil. Hydraulic oil come in various different grades ISO 32 is used in piston compressors , which move in a similar way to a ICE without the heat from combustion and is equivalent to SAE 10W. There are companies that can test oils to see what contaminants are in the oil and diagnose failures etc It would have been nice to have had a control engine run to manufacturers specs and to have done a much longer test . Please don’t take this comment as negative but constructive suggestions I really enjoyed the video , hence the like , I will look over your other content and you may have won another subscribe

[@trooperkent]

That was a really cool video however what do you think you should’ve repeated the test with the correct oil to compare the results?

[@bigal-ox9jw]

Back in early 90's I changed my engine oil in my 1978 Olds omega with a 231 v6. It was a hot summer day and I saw some oil in the shed that my brother had, turned out to be 80 w90 gear oil. I noticed right away later that night picking up my girlfriend about 40 kms away the valves were rattling a bit but put on about 100 kms. The next day, we went to a wedding about 150 kms away, the car engine shut off. mussed a bit and some black smoke as the oil heated it got thinner. I drained it the next day, but after about a month later the oil pump went out, it had low millage on it (40,000 kms) as I bought it from my Aunt. East coast Canada 🇨🇦 NB province here.

[@Aaron-be2pt]

Reeaally wish there had been a control engine using the proper lubrication. Even if you release it as a "Part 2," it'll still be relevant. Edit: I'd also curious to see one running on ATF or Diesel fuel. Thanks!

[@phforNZ]

Never thought I'd be watching a video about using vege oil in a mower. Yet here I am enjoying it. Bet that gave mixed feelings on wanting and definitely not wanting fish and chips after

[@ozyrob1]

Just a big shame you didn't run a motor on the recommended oil for a base line. Great test. I really enjoyed watching this. Thanks for doing it.

[@rickylowry3213]

Thank you for the video, some suggestions would be to have a control engine as well as have all the engines be broken in properly first. It would be interesting to run the engines longer then an hour. Maybe 10 hours

[@NowInAus]

Great fun! Would be interesting to see an experiment with air filters. Maybe one no filter, one oiled and one clean. Run for a while as you mow then strip the carbs? Or change the fuel mix and check temps? Loved it anyway and 50 quid is a bargain even with rough ass bores.

[@johnnodge4327]

Interesting concept. For information, the first oil change I did on a new Lifan (same is yours) engine came out looking like the yellow engine oil. The next change was much better, as the engine had broken in. So it would have been best to "run in" the engine on normal SAE 30, before switching to the test oil. Nice video though, thanks.

[@kcato8459]

I used to use Castrol R, a Castor based oil in race engines, you could always tell who was using it by the smell.

[@johnrgm3047]

EGT differences could be down to variations in mixture strength. to eliminate that factor you really need to run all three types of oil in all three engines, then you will be able to see if the temperature variations can be attributed to the way the engine has been set up or the type of oil used.

[@Herbybandit]

I keep getting asked what oil should I use for this or that, my Standard reply is whatever the manufacturer recommends but any oil is better than no oil if your in a pinch. I can see the vegetable oil turning into a tough glaze on every sirface over time as it does in deep fryers, Castor oil does the same and its virtually impossible to get off!

[@Chris_Garman]

It turns to plastic when it gets really hot. Regular oil can do this too, just at a higher temperature.

[@s.a.m_e.v.a.n.s]

Used to rebuild real honda GX engines for tool hire machines. Even the real deal used to have metallic oil after the first run

[@SockyNoob]

Reminds me of old school Project Farm videos.

[@HA05GER]

Spray black on stuff you are measuring the temp on. The shiny surface messes with the readings.

[@colinstickland3130]

Bought them engines in the past. After half hour they burn more oil than petrol. . but a honda ?? Still using it on my cultivator. 4 yrs on. Regular oil change . Brilliant engine

[@johnbradford9235]

Loved that little test Mr. Machinery Restorer 👍👍👍!!! Not that I wish for drama, but I waaaaas kinda waiting for one of 'em to go pop 😂. Guess I'll stock up on the Crisp 'n' Dry ay 😉😁. 😎

[@jasonmansfieldsr8645]

I recall witnessing a military truck engine being serviced with gear oil instead of engine oil. Well, I was on the convoy when it was discovered. Dunno what the disposition was when it was sent back to the shop but it did drive at least 350 miles…

[@Transit_Biker]

Control engine with recommended oil would have been a good addition.

[@Akotski-ys9rr]

Daggerwin? I wasn’t expecting your voice. Pleasant surprise

[@Azureecosse]

During the 2nd world war my father had a Norton motorbike he could not get engine oil it was hard to get, he was in the army so he ran his bike on Gun oil, he said it ran OK but it did need a decoke once in a while, he had that bike up to the 60s and it never gave him any trouble mechanically.

[@boisebadboy93]

These little engines, especially the Predator series, are almost bulletproof. I've been running them hard for years on go-karts and minibikes. There are videos on here of guys TRYING to break them, and they hold up very well. And the best part is, they're super cheap!

[@PopsHowTo]

I think the biggest thing you going to see with hyd oil is scoring under load due to being too thin. But this depends on the hyd oil. It also won’t have the proper detergents to handle contamination that move past the rings.

[@penseursauvage]

The higher exhaust temperature for the vegetable oil makes sense to me : less viscosity means more oil finding its way into the cylinders, therefore more oil residue in the exhaust, therefore more thermal transfer.

[@Paul-FrancisB]

When he said it smelled like a chippy I just assumed it was dieseling with whatever veg oil was getting past the rings, which would be consistent with higher EGT

[@kellywilson8440]

This is what youtube was meant for , Great video and subd !

[@nickthekidfarmall1622]

I always wondered this, thank you Daggerwin for making this video.

[@NICOLAI_VET]

The temperatures are dependant on the carburetor. Lean runs warm. The automatic throttle also has an impact on the temperature. Excessive rolling will give a higher temperature.

[@jebova2301]

Can't say for sure on these engines, but on my duromax generator with a chonda motor, it had A LOT of glitter on the first oil change(only ran for 20 minutes to clean out any machining shavings), then had a slight bit of glitter after another 40 minutes with fresh oil, and then the glitter was essentially gone after another hour long run with fresh oil. From there, I did a 3 hour run and a 6 hour run with fresh oil each time, and noticed no glitter at all on those changes. Currently working on a 15 hour run with fresh oil, but I don't expect to see any glitter in there when I drain it(just haven't had enough power outages to make it run for that long, and only do 1 hour "exercise" runs every 60-90 days to keep things from sitting for too long. It would have been really neat to see what it did running proper oil for the first hour or so to clean out any leftovers from the machining process before starting the tests.

[@TechOne7671]

That was a good watch, cheers. You want to get a load on the subject engine like a fan or water pump circulating into a barrel. Running an engine for hours at no load won’t break it in, there’s more chance of the harmonics killing it than failure from the oil. Load test will sort the ken from the boys 😂. All the best to you.

[@ofp8574]

It would have been nice to have one motor run with 30W motor oil just as a control. Also, it isn't particularly surprising to me that all three survived. Before rapeseed oil was deemed suitable for human consumption, it was used for industrial lubrication. As for gear oil and hydraulic oil, both are petroleum based. I know when doing a comparison of the hydraulic oil I use for my tractor, and some 30w motor oil, the viscosity was extremely similar, and both were similarly slippery, although the hydraulic oil in this video is likely more modern, low viscosity stuff. Gear oil is also not nearly as thick as one would think, if I am not mistaken, 80w gear oil is of similar viscosity to 50w motor oil. Bear in mind, I am not fact checking any of this information, and may be misremembering certain things, but as far as small engines go, if non detergent oil will work, oils of other additive packages like gear oil, transmission fluid, or otherwise, should function passably. As for rapeseed oil, while it is a lubricant, I would imagine that it would gum up pretty severely as it is exposed to the residue from burning gasoline, along with being a bit too thin to well lubricate wear surfaces. I know when lubricating old firearms, the old organic based lubricant that was used in the black powder days will get sticky if you add petroleum based lubricant without first removing the old lubricant.

[@ATruckCampbell]

Castor oil was used in 2 stroke bike racing in the 70s, so there is something to it.

[@5argetech56]

I use Castrol 5 W 30 full synthetic in both my car, and my small engines!

[@specter6633]

Missed an opportunity to include the recommended oil. Also next one try with engine already preran with recommend so maybe the filings could be gone. Or maybe see how many cycles till the shaving are all gone. Cool upload non the less.

[@Akotski-ys9rr]

One time I put oil that was slighter lighter than what it called for in my lawnmower assuming it would be fine, and it started smoking a little bit and running rough which really surprised me. I then got the correct oil and replaced it and it ran perfectly again.

[@aku2dimensional]

It would be interesting to know how an alternative oil mixed with regular engine oil would perform, 10W-30 mixed with Canola oil, for example. Canola oil is sometimes used as a lubricant for things such as machinery that processes food, and it would also be interesting to see if straight or mixed avocado oil would be any better than canola. Avocado oil has a high flash point at 520°F/271°C, and perhaps an oil thickener could change the viscosity so it's not as thin.

[@chrisbeswick791]

i think a secondary burn fro them thin veg oil passing the rings makes for a hotter exhaust readout

[@OhmSteader]

A neighbor had an old subaru and decided to try water in instead of oil but wanted to put it in with the water hose in front of the state boys working on the road. They looked horrified. It was quite funny as he told them "water is a lubricant!" He taught hydraulics at the local collage as well. He only used it for an off road farm vehicleI but it ran for several months before he got rid of the car.

[@MrZorbatron]

A lot of hydraulic oils have a high detergent level, which can scrub the surfaces. It's kind of like running an engine with automatic trans fluid in it instead. This will especially be noticeable with a new cheap engine that may never have been run at all (lots of manufacturing debris and dust).

[@benmcknight6865]

Great vid but May I suggest also having a control test with the normal recommended oil

[@SwervingLemon]

Awesime opportunity to test an old trick! Replace the oil with the recommended oil in the most heavily damaged engine but add a teaspoon of Bon Ami cleansing powder and run it for an hour. Supposedly, it will de-burr rings and polish out scratches in the cylinder wall, resulting in increased compression and lower cylinder temps.

[@aprules2]

That sounds like it would just kill the motor

[@SwervingLemon]

@@aprules2 That's the question. Supposedly Bon Ami is such a mild abrasive that it just polishes without scratching. It used to be the go-to method of getting fresh rings to seat.

[@mtozzy11]

Fun facts hydraulic oil is actually quite comparable to mineral engine oil, its grade normally either ISO46 or ISO68 are SAE 10w-30 and 15w-40 they don't have the wear additive packages that engine oil does. But there flashpoints are identical. Unlike veg oil which differ between the various types of oil but are actually quiet low, which is why they make a great fuel. Also where was the control

[@vetteman7856]

If you had to run a small engine on atf maybe add a zinc additive.

[@yateshall7210]

Such an interesting test, I love that he couldn’t bring himself to use good engines! I would do the same thing I’d feel too bad wasting good motors!

[@gamingfuchs9331]

realy interesting. why does the cooking oil work so good? is there any way cou can put a load on that thing? i think then its gonna blow. or just some long term test with the cooking oil

[@mihkus]

Maybe because it was meant to be machine lubricant in the first place? I wouldnt even let stuff like that on my fingers. Nasty stuff By the way those engines need to be flushed. They're full of metal particles from factory...

[@Ultra4115_]

Whats would the graph look like for normal engine oil then? Just interested

[@steamsoldier]

Very cool test, thank you for sharing! 👍💪👍

[@karlschwab6437]

At least the plastic timing gear held up.

[@michaelszczys8316]

Okay my turn, ....once as a teen i spent a couple weeks in a rather lonely area with not much to do except to diddle with a few machines and fewer tools. I had a lawn tractor that i took the blades off so i could drive it around the fields. However i had no motor oil, just a big can of 140wt gear oil, so i used it in the engine and it worked just fine for a long time. Another time i used some cooking oil in a mower and that worked fine until i let it cool down overnight and it solidified. I had to start a fire under it the melt it out. Then another time a friend had somebody elses motor that he really wanted to break, so he drained the oil and filled the crankcase with WATER. After running for an hour with no apparent ill effects ( it wasnt working, he wanted to wreck it ) he drained the water out and ran it dry. THEN it finally started sounding stiff and before it seized he put oil back in it.

[@MoldyStir-Fry]

This is a really interesting experiment... Maybe there are more fluids that can work as engine oil for a sequel episode?

[@alancadieux2984]

Project farm and the sling shot channel ain't alone.

[@heliarche]

As other guys are saying, control engine with the recommended oil and all of them running under load. Just sitting there running isn't much of a test and I'd like to see if it dumps so much glitter with the recommended oil.

[@Newkthecow]

Really interesting and informative video Dagg. Have you thought about testing different grades of fuel?

[@kolsen6330]

Years ago, in the dark ages, (1972) a friend had a 55 Chev BelAir with a 265 and 3 speed that used a gallon or more oil a day. We were driving around one day and the oil light came on. He said the heck with it, there is a 396 ready in the garage. Pulled into gas station and filled it to the full line with water. Freaked the gas station guy out. He drove that car for another 6 or 7 months on water before he got around to the engine swap. When torn down, there was nothing really wrong with the 265.

[@TheSlasher667]

I do believe a manufacturer spec oil for control would've been a much better test. And also maybe run them all for the allotted break in time with proper oil first for better comparisons

[@rccrazer]

I'd like a sexond video with another engine performed as designed with the same oil to see what it's supposed to run at and follow up with a cold and oiled compression test. I'd also like to see them put into go-karts.

[@GHOOGLEMALE]

A test with the correct engine oil is essential as a comparator - I suspect you would have seen those filings as well - Failing that then a short flush run for each with flushing oil perhaps? Additionally, a longer run - preferably with some sort of load applied - for a true test of these oils. £60 for a little engine like that though is amazing!

[@WilliePeck]

It would be really interesting to see how these engines would react if they had a constant load like a pump hooked up to them

[@brianallen9810]

Nice welds. What's with the air cleaner housing on them ? All of them seemed to move around quite a lot.

[@metalburner357]

Putting them under load would be more interesting. Maybe hook them to a water pump that feeds from a container it pumps it back into to make a constant loop.

[@peterc2248]

Where did you buy them?

[@DougDeMuroFan]

0:44 bro sounds like DIY perks

[@powerman2442]

I believe multiple people in the comments already said, but I'll bet this would have turned out different if the engines were under load. Would have been cool to see them attached to a rototiller or something.

[@Klichtmetzer]

It would be great to just have a 4th engine with regular engine oil in the test as well. Especially for the metal particles in the oil and the scratches in the cylinder.

[@kenibnanak5554]

It would have been nice if there had been two baselines of Mobile1 and a cheap oil like Penn to compare the result against.