Opinion Vlog - Synthetic vs. Conventional Oil in Small Engines

[@danconser6709]

The Maintenance Departments in the Company I worked for began converting over to synthetic oils for ALL of our industrial equipment back in the mid 1990s. They did this for the reasons you discuss, but mainlly because they last longer and protect the rotating equipment & seals for longer, thereby reducing maintenance costs & extending the life of equipment. Ever since then, I have been a believer in this and have made the move to use (the appropriate) all synthetic oils in ALL of my own personal vehicles and equipment. Take the time to check out what the appropriate oil is for your service, then make the change. You'll be glad you did - IF you've done it correctly. I appreciate your word of experience. It has been "awhile" since I was myself "up to speed" on this subject, so I always appreciate a discussion to remind me about these details. Good Video. Thanks!

[@modoc852]

I recommend synthetic oil for any mechanical application, best invention in the automotive industry since fuel injection.

[@davehoward2791]

Nothing in my OPE but B&S SAE 30 Dino and never once in 50 years have I had a single engine failure due to poor lubrication. It’s a good oil with a respectable additive package, as evidenced by VOA’s and UOA’s on BITOG. I’m a mechanic by profession so I pay attention to the little things. I recently did a valve adjustment check on my 9 year old Ariens riding mower with a B&S 17.5 hp engine. After 450+ hours both valves were within specs for lash. Spend whatever you need to on oil to sleep well at night, but a good Dino oil formulated for air-cooled engines will keep your engine happy until something else kills the equipment.

[@TheRichardF10]

I switched to full synthetic on my 1988 Honda Civic at 200,000 miles. I did not experience any leaks at all because the car has always been serviced when it needed to since brand new with conventional oil. I have used Conventional and full synthetic back an forth, pretty much every brand that is available. With conventional oil, I can actually feel the deterioration of the oil. The engine feels like it operates raspy and rough the more it gets used. With full synthetic oil, the oil does not experience the raspy, rough feeling even when it's close to the end of the interval. My car is old. The owner's manual states to change it every 6 months or 7,500 miles. In those 6 months, I probably go to 3,000-4,000 miles on the oil, so a full synthetic is overkill but I do like the engine to operate smoother. I change my own oil, so I don't feel the expense that most people would feel when a mechanic changes their oil and charges a ridiculous amount. Great video. My personal preference for oil is Valvoline full synthetic max life.

[@lorenray9479]

On a 63 ford galaxy with 60,000 miles It would get noisy by 3,000 miles on aireolube parafene 1970z. At oil change it got quiet again. Strait 30w I believe! Lol

[@BrucesShop]

Great video. I change my oil more than the guidelines say. With synthetic oil I don't use them in air cooled engines as the operating temperature is much higher. I have no issues with using synthetic oil in liquid cooled engines. With an air cooled engines I think they run hotter and the synthetics are just a bit to thin with the higher operating temperatures. This may be an "old guy" thing but I have done some reading as the newer oils breakdown on high temps. I think the synthetics smell bad after the same hours of use in an air cooled engine (old guy again). I have customers who insist on synthetic oil and I don't give then any static about that. I install it for them. This is a great subject and I hope you get a good response. I love this type of conversation. You may be right about the entire subject. Thanks Bill. As you say clean oil is the key As always Bruce Pender

[@billyb351]

Thanks Bruce. I just happened to see a video that was uploaded today on Royal Purple vs. Amsoil synthetic oil kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2PdhGuDrtt9rrc from Project Farm. He cooked both of those oils for 2 hours at around 375*F which is about as hot as an air cooled small engine can get and then did a cold pour test. The Amsoil was almost as good as new after that. That was quite impressive. Running the oil in a motor is different than cooking it on a hot plate though. A small engine also aerates the oil by slinging it around instead of pumping it. Not sure if that would affect it differently and cause oxidation of the additives faster. I would imagine most of the additives are the same or better between conventional and synthetic. I guess the real test would be to run synthetic in a small engine for a period of time and also conventional for the same amount of time and then compare the used oil that comes out.

[@davidsparling3505]

Bruce Pender Balderdash! You are subscribing to unproven old wive’s tales. A synthetic oil of the same SAE weight will have the same “thickness” or “thinness” as a mineral based oil. As to your opinion on which handles heat better, in every aspect the synthetics are far superior to mineral based oils. Glad you don’t work on my equipment.

[@modoc852]

Synthetic oil has to be one of the best inventions in the automotive industry in my life time, I personally use it for all mechanical applications including electric motor sleeve bearings.

[@lorenray9479]

I custom blend to enhance. 50% syn blend with full syn same brand. In gen that tech told me it requires a smooth carbon ring seal. Who knows broz!!!!!!!

[@heavymechanic2]

Synthetic handles the heat of air cooled engines very well, and it is preferred over conventional in a lawnmower and other engines that work very hard in the summer heat. The snowblower really never gets hot enough to burn conventional oil and makes little difference. I own a similar snowblower and have experimented with all different grades and just use 5W30 conventional per the manufacturer and have never had any problems with the engine.

[@vikingnorm6935]

Agreed, I use full synthetic in my log splitter in summer, and it gets ULTRA HOT being right by the hydraulic pump/lines/cylinder & I never had any issues

[@davidsparling3505]

The synthetic will flow much better in the winter. Why would you switch?

[@heavymechanic2]

@Ivana Notyers I work a snowblower fairly hard and the fan air feels warm, the crankcase gets warm but not scalding hot like a mower or other summer equipment.

[@NorthlanderMN]

Mowers 10W30 synthetic any brand. Snow blower 5W30 synthetic any brand. I change them every other year. Never a problem.

[@saltypatriot1768]

Do u keep a regular oil filter on

[@NorthlanderMN]

@@saltypatriot1768 I buy the Fram silver or gold oil filters.

[@martinschulz9381]

What kind of oil to use in your small engine? Use small engine oil not automotive oil. Automotive oil is formulated for fuel economy and emission control systems and small engine oil is not. Small engine, outboard, motorcycle oils all have their own formulations and different API classifications and contain higher levels of Zinc anti wear additive. You wouldn't put small engine oil in your car engine. They usually explain this in the owners manuals.

[@LuchoVegax]

Thanks for such a detailed explanation! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@davidsparling3505]

The Mobil1 and Valvoline are API rated SN Plus. The Super Tech conventional is only SN. Synthetic oils are much better, especially in an air cooled motor...period. Why are we even debating this in 2020? Synthetic oils come in literally every new car now. They are superior in every way and the difference in price is so small it’s inconsequential.

[@billyb351]

I agree. There still are plenty of people who claim synthetics are bad for older engines where the manual doesn't explicitly call for them. I run it in everything and always had superior results.

[@danteerskine7678]

@@billyb351 the reason why modern cars use thinner oil is because of the timing chain and how tight their requirements are. I don't doubt that synthetic motor oils are good but for small power equipments like Petrol generators which uses old techs ( carburettor, gear driven valves, splash lubrication system, no oil filter and no oil pump), full synthetic motor oils are pretty much useless because synthetic or not, you can't go beyond the recommended oil change intervals. Small engines requirements are so loose that u can use any oils possible from motorcycle to heavy trucks. If you're in a warm climate, it doesn't matter because you will have to use a slightly thicker oil, Sae 40, 15w40, 20w50 , mineral or synthetic, they will both work in small engines

[@MarkLloyd-yo4li]

I have a brand new honda hrx217hya walk behind mower . The mower store recommended Sae 30 . Would you recomend a synthetic in that over the standard oil they recommended . If so what weight?👍

[@darrenupton5500]

Change your oil when you cannot see the dipstick through the oil when you dip it cold.

[@lorenray9479]

I just checked a sitting mower. Clean on dip stick. I warmed it up. Dumped silver grey oil. It had settled over 2 months! The other mower showed clean. Trimmed a bit. Dark oil then showed on dip. Dumped dark oil. Time can lie on dipz!

[@barbatos5191]

Is that the same oil for engine cars?

[@billyb351]

Yes, it's the same oil I use in cars. Different weights for different applications. I use 5W-30 in all small engines. The oil weight for the car depends on what the manufacturer suggests.

[@user-sf7kl9uh7k]

ACEA's a much better standard