There are many chapters to the story of lawn mower’s lubrication. To keep this home improvement equipment in a good shape, you can’t skip the essential maintenance once in a while.
And without any denial, oiling is one most important part of the entire treatment session. It’s also considered the basic ones since owners do not require taking lawnmower to any shop for such minor maintenance. They can simply do it themselves.
But before that, of course, you need to know a bit deeply about lubrication basics. For example, find answers for questions such as, what motor oil to use in my lawn mower? We’ll talk about those things in detail…
What Motor Oil to Use in My Lawn Mower & Other Lubrication Concerns…
To be more specific about the lubrication process and other steps, you need to start with determining what type of oil for lawn mower works best. There are quite a few types and depending on your lawnmower’s characteristic you would choose one.
Small Engine Oils.
When anyone asks about what kind of oil to use in lawn mower, I usually get reminded of motor oils. It’s actually due to the old practice and believing in conventional lubrication regime. Of course, it’s one of the options but there are better ones as well you can go for.
Small engine oil, however, is much better in significance than the regular motor oil type. Since your equipment will go through a lot of operation conditions, the small engine oil can manage to pamper it better with its protection and additive benefits.
Usually, a lawnmower stays in a side not involved in any sort of work for several days, sometimes weeks. And then it starts experiencing the pain of dirt and dust getting over. As a result, the performance seems to be compromising. A good quality small engine is capable of providing the right strength. It can keep this dirt sticking out of your lawn mower’s way. And so, the equipment keeps running for years flawlessly. Depending on your viscosity requirement you can certainly choose a lot of types.
However, be sure your lawnmower can use some small engine oil. Usually, the manual comes with this information. You can also figure out the right oil type and viscosity level from instructions.
If You Have a Lawn Mower with Four-stroke Engine…
Usually, when the case is regarding how to put oil in a lawn mower that is bigger in size, four-stroke engine oils are finest option. Chances are the huge lawnmower that you own come with a four-stroke engine. And so, there’s a need to get the oil meant specifically for it.
The four-stroke engines are highly noticeable in other large vehicle as well apart from a lawnmower. A sump is operated here which helps in pumping oil continuously. It does so before returning back to the sump.
Now even with a large mower, you still need to have a check at the owner’s manual. There should be some instructions regarding whether a four-stroke engine could be applied in the gear. Similar to most cars, some lawn mower can have different specifications related to oil.
Also, when learning about how to change lawn mower oil, you should have a look at the additives involved in that lubricant. The viscosity should match required level of your lawnmower.
2-Stroke Engine Oils
Let’s talk about the smaller size lawnmowers now. Usually, the mini size lawn mowers come with a 2-stroke engine and so it should need some different sort of oil than bigger engine, right? Well, no.
The smaller 2 stroke engine actually does not need a separate lubrication system. You can try mixing fuel and oil to get the lubrication mixture for such engine. The oil gets burn together with fuel. However, you do need to take care of the ratio for mixing oil and fuel. The owner’s manual will come with right information. So, you should look into it and follow the specific ratio.
Oil Classification Depending on SAE System.
To keep the oil choice for lawn mower’s engine simple and effective, there’s a system to test thickness, temperature, and viscosity of different types. This connotation is known as the SAE system and you can probably see it in oil bottle. It also helps to figure out whether the oil is synthetic or not.
Some points that could be helpful regarding the SAE system to decide oil types are given below:
- For small engine types, the SAE 30 oil works perfectly, especially for warmer temperatures.
- A lighter variant SAE 10W-30 is good to go during cold weather however might result in higher oil consumption.
- For cold temperature climates, another oil type that works great is SAE 5W-30.
- The Vanguard W-50 is modern and technology-driven lawnmower suitable oil that can work well with a lot of different temperatures. So, for landscaping and commercial needs, this oil works the best.
- If you wish for less oil consumption and suitability to any temperature, then there are Synthetic SAE to go for.
The Right Time to Consider Oil Change.
Many have mixed feelings regarding how often to change lawn mower oil should be enough. Well, the new mowers will require an oil change after first five hours of use. It should come inside the user manual.
If you own a lawnmower with tiny engine power, changing oil every 25 hours of use is recommended. For the larger motor, time period is 50 hours of operation. The frequency of oil change depends on some other factors as well.
Such as how extreme the dirt and dust were. Or if you were using it on a rough surface. The wet or dry grass can also be the deciding factor of your mower’s present condition.
So, you need to combine everything together to train your instinct about when exactly your particular lawnmower needs some oil change. And that’s something you will eventually get used to after operating it for a certain time.
Conclusion
So, for the question of what motor oil to use in my lawn mower? I hope you have your confusions sorted out by now. There are many types and considerations that will play an important role in deciding this answer.
But that’s kind of understandable since there are so many types of lawn mowers today. The easiest way for you is to have a look at user’s manual for further and specific information regarding it.
However, if there’s no manual included, just do your own research and it’s not that complicated issue, to be honest. Also, you may want to contact a professional to talk about the oil that your lawnmower particularly needs. Good Luck!