Lawnmower and small gasoline engine advice and tips needed

self | 4 16 2018 | self

[dennisw]

I want to keep this new Troy Bilt lawnmower running great. It is the TB230 with 163cc* Briggs & Stratton® 725EXi Series engine     http://www.troybilt.com/equipment/troybilt/troy-bilt-tb320-walk-behind-mower-12avb2a3711 

My questions are:

1. Do you use synthetic oil? What brand and what weigh?
2. Or do you use regular oil? What brand? What weight?
3. Both of the above are climate dependent    You will use different oil if you live in New Mexico compared to Minnesota
4. How often do you change your lawnmower oil?
5. -
6. Is it OK to use 94 octane premium gasoline right from the beginning? As soon as I start using this new lawnmower?
7. Will using 94 octane gasoline stress out the Briggs Stratton engine? Make it run too hot?
8. Is it worth the effort to buy gasoline with ZERO ethanol in it? My closest place is ten miles away so I would have to buy a few gallons to make it worthwhile....and add stabilizer or not?
9. -
10. What is a good additive for the 10% ethanol gasoline that we find everywhere. Additive For small engine use with this 10% ethanol gasoline
11.  
12. How much hotter do small air cooled lawnmower engines get compared to water cooled automobile engines
13. Is there a superior gasoline filter I should buy and install on the Briggs and Stratton

[Revel]

Didn’t it come with an owners manual? That will tell you what oil to use. As far as Gas is concerned you are better off using ethanol free for several reasons. But it you do or don’t there is one thing that is very important. Time and heat are the two things that cause the gas to go bad and possibly do damage to the carburetor. If you keep your equipment in a hot shed then the fuel will go bad much quicker. The cooler the storage environment- the better. If you are going to store the mower long term without using it then you should run it out of gas as stabil is not a 100% solution.

[OldMissileer]

It's amazing what happens when you RTFM.

I have always read the manuals. It is something my Dad always told me to do and then reinforced through 16 years of Strategic Air Command.

I have owned way too many small engines and this Honda was the first to call for something other than 30 weight. I was just surprised.

[NorthMountain]

I’m not sure when they started specifying multi-vis automotive oil, but it’s very common now.

[Revel]

“10w30 has detergent. SAE 30 is a NON-detergent oil.”

No- SAE 30W oil can be either. You have to read the label.

The recommended oil charts in small engines now include multi viscosity oil. And non detergent has not been recommended for a long time. The manufacturer’s uses standard detergent oils now.

[Mr. K]

Note that this is a POLITICS website.

Not lawnmower maintenance.

[Revel]

Here is something that is very Important! The first oil change needs to be done after only 5 Hours of use. (Break in Oil) That should be in the user manual.

[woodbutcher1963]

I was advised this by my local small engine/Stihl dealer:

After you run it dry with the stabilized ethanol gasoline, pour in a half quart of the TRUE FUEL 4 cycle gasoline($6.95/quart). Then run it for 10 minutes before put it away. Even if you run the ethanol gas dry it can still have a small amount in the bowl or the jets of the carb.

I formerly used your method. I switched to this a few years back. It is well worth the $3-4 of non ethanol fuel. FYI, there is only one gas station around here that sells non ethanol gas. It has 110 leaded racing fuel.

[Clutch Martin]

I change the oil a few times per year and run pump gas with stabilizer, keep the air filter clean, and check the plug every couple years. They last until the valves go... about 10 years. I refer to the manual for details.

[Harpotoo]

Any kind of oil is fine. Only use non-ethanol gas: http://myboatsgear.com/2017/01/04/marine-fuel-app/
Use your blower on the mower after each use.
Not much else except regular maintenance..

[V K Lee]

Haven’t a clue but it was recommended you visit with this guy for any small engine questions

Taryl Fixes All:
http://www.greenindustrypros.com/article/12058281/taryl-fixes-all-small-engine-repair-and-youtube-sensation

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Cd9kKYXFakV7ChvU_rjKw/about

[sarge83]

AMEN!!! Do this and regular maintenance and you small engine will be fine. Use ethanol and get ready for never ending issues.

One of the small repair shops in my shop stop taking weedeaters about two years after ethanol was introduced into the gas supply on a country wide level. He would repair all the damage and they customer would go home and use it a couple of times and show back up in a couple of weeks demanding that it be repaired again, that he didn’t fix it correct the first time. So it was a never ending cycle of fixing these small engines on his dime.

Another Stihl dealer would repair only Stihl machines with the proviso they only use 100% gasoline. I had a craftsman weedeater that worked great for years. Along came ethanol and it was dead after one season. I bought a Stihl and have used only 100% gasoline and it is still going after six years.

[outofsalt]

The only thing I don’t understand is why it’s more expensive.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We owned a Briggs powered splitter but sold it when it got old.
Bought a 5.5 horse Honda powered TroyBuilt at a big box store. Just love it.

The Honda is easy to start, has low end grunt on big wood and is economical.
10W-30 fresh each fall. Drain the gas from the gas line.

There’s work to do next spring...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Amsoil is damned good oil.
It and most other synthetics are made from natural gas.

A more recent development out of Pasgacula is “synthetic” lube made from residual oil. I’ll reserve judgement on this product...

[IncPen]

ping

[dennisw]

Thanks...will do that. It is not in the user manual. And for all the dopes who posted RTFM...I did before I posted. And the manual gives three oil choices. 30 weight, 10-30 and 10-30 synthetic.

[dennisw]

Thanks...if you live in Buffalo....isn’t straight 30 weight too heavy for colder spring and fall weather? Not winter when there is no mowing.

[buffaloguy]

I would go with 30 weight. It should be warm enough to allow the engine to turnover.

[Charles Martel]

As far as I know their carbs CANNOT HANDLE PUMP GAS. They will fail quickly and rebuilding will not work any longer than the original carb.

I agree, but that is true of so many small engines these days - not just Briggs & Stratton. The emissions-friendly carburetors are mostly to blame - the ones made of plastic with molded-in jets and idle air bleed circuits, no adjustment possible. No chokes, either - only primer bulbs. Just the damned primer bulbs are killed in short order by ethanol, even if the other parts were impervious you'd still have to replace that annually.

Notice too, how the manufacturers got smart and changed engine designs to prevent users from swapping in the older design carburetors.

[Senator_Blutarski]

I have been using full synthetic 5W30 oil in my lawn mowers and snow blowers for a decade with superb results. I buy the cheap Farm and Fleet synthetic manufactured by Citgo.

Change the lawn mower oil every 50 hours (which for me is twice a year). Change the oil on the snow blower in the spring when it goes into storage.

When I buy gas for the mowers and blowers I use non-ethanol gas and immediately add both Stabil and Seafoam to the entire gas can. I buy big bottles of Stabil in the early winter on sale. My mower and snow blower are one or two pull starts when they come out of storage.