Hi,
q1)
I've just bought a new petrol mower after my old one died after 18
years service, and find it specifies LawnMower Oil. Is this a con and
will any good quality Motor Oil 20/50 be just as good?

q2)
My new mower has a hook on the handle for the Starter Cord but I
cannot for the life of me see why, can anyone explain?

--
Dave
Internet Businesses you can start during your Coffee Break!
http://www.squidoo.com/idiotsguide

Dave wrote ...
q1)
I've just bought a new petrol mower after my old one died after 18
years service, and find it specifies LawnMower Oil. Is this a con and
will any good quality Motor Oil 20/50 be just as good?

q2)
My new mower has a hook on the handle for the Starter Cord but I
cannot for the life of me see why, can anyone explain?


Go look at a can of "Lawnmower oil" and see what the specification is...pen
and paper might be a help...
From my own little knowledge.....

S.A.E rating is basically the viscosity so you get 30 or, say, 10w-30 which
indicates it doesn't change viscosity like a normal straight 30 oil when
cold/hot. (in this case more runny when cold the same when hot)

Then there is the API (USA) or ACEA (EU) or JASO (Japan) rating which
denotes how good the oil is as a lubricant.
Letters like API. SD or SC denote the type (detergent) and lub quality and
the higher the second letter the better it is.
Some oils also carry an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) rating (i.e
for BMW it's now LL-04) so you might see that too.

If you write down the spec any decent motor factor will be able to supply
oil of the right quality at a cost saving.

Provided the oil you buy meets or betters the specification you will have no
problems and the manufacturer cannot say you used the wrong oil if the
engine self destructs.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:39:04 -0700 (PDT), zzapper wrote:

and find it specifies LawnMower Oil.

Define "LawnMower Oil" in terms of SAE etc. I'd expect to find that
information in the manual for the engine. Note that the overall mower
manual will be less detailed than the proper engine manual. You should
have got a copy of the proper engine manual with the mower. Most of the
common makers have manuals online if you didn't.

Is this a con and will any good quality Motor Oil 20/50 be just as good?

See what grade is specified in the manual for the expected temperature
range that the engine is going to be operated in and use that or something
acceptably close, what ever that means!

My bottle of "Qualcast Lawn Mower Oil" says "SAE 30" and "API SF".

*IF* my understanding of oil ratings is correct (big if) a 20w50 oil is
thicker than a 30 oil at the same nominal operating temperature of 100C. I
think you'd be better looking for a 10w30 oil or at least one with the 30
for the hot viscosity rating.

My new mower has a hook on the handle for the Starter Cord but I
cannot for the life of me see why, can anyone explain?

So you don't have to bend down so far to pull it?

--
Cheers
Dave.

g'day zzapper,

from my mower mechanic days, we always recommended mono grade oils for
mower or at least not multi-grade visco motor car oils, that means SAE
30 or SAE 40 or even a combination SAE 30/40 they used to have one,
but never multi grades as mower engines then used a filterless splash
feed system, and in mowers we found here you don't need those lighter
grades as they will only get burn off.

for my 25 year old b&s we use SAE 40 or even 50 depending what is
available at the time of the oil change, but nothing less than SAE
30..

with the starter cord thingy, overseas mowers have it mostly not seen
much here yet (hopefulll never maybe?) it is part of the foolproofing
safety methods of modern mowers, from what i have observed each time
you let go the mower handles to empty the catcher the engine stops, so
to save all the stooping to restart the mower, the starter handle/cord
is within easy reach of the operating positions as the trip bar needs
to be grasped so the mower will start.



On Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:39:04 -0700 (PDT), zzapper
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

On 26 Apr, 11:39, zzapper wrote:

I've just bought a new petrol mower after my old one died after 18
years service, and find it specifies LawnMower Oil. Is this a con and
will any good quality Motor Oil 20/50 be just as good?

I would not put multigrade motor car oil in an air cooled engine. It
is likely to get very thin when the engine gets hot.

I would recommend the specified oil - a one pint bottle will last a
very long time, and I don't think that motor oil is particularly cheap
now anyway.

On 26 Apr, 11:39, zzapper wrote:

My new mower has a hook on the handle for the Starter Cord but I
cannot for the life of me see why, can anyone explain?

I think the idea is that you don't have to bend so far to pull-start
it. This is particularly useful if it is one of those that stops when
you let go of the safety handle. The cord is made a bit longer, so
you have not lost any revolutions per pull. I suspect the whole
thing is supposed to avoid back injuries - or at least to be seen
doing something to avoid back injuries if it comes to litigation.

On Apr 27, 8:04*am, bobharvey wrote:
On 26 Apr, 11:39, zzapper wrote:

My new mower has a hook on the handle for the Starter Cord *but I
cannot for the life of me see why, can anyone explain?

I think the idea is that you don't have to bend so far to pull-start
it. *This is particularly useful if it is one of those that stops when
you let go of the safety handle. *The cord is made a bit longer, so
you have not lost any revolutions per pull. * I suspect the whole
thing is supposed to avoid back injuries - or at least to be seen
doing something to avoid back injuries if it comes to litigation.

Hi
I've bought the proper oil, I guess I wont need much any way.
The "catch" with my new mower is that you cannot leave it running
while you move say a flowerpot, because as soon as you let go of the
handle the engine stops. Good for safety but a nuisance.

My main grumble is the manual.
a) it was a combined manual for my push model and the more complicated
self-propelled version - very confusing
b) The diagrams had no blow up of essential bits
c) I could only understand the manual AFTERWARDS
d) No principles were explained
e) The front wheels were folded the wrong way, I guess to store
easier- not in manual

I am an engineer so why did I have to struggle to understand a simple
mower!!!

BTW Could hardly mow anyway as this year we ave a very nice crop of
cowslips

Thanks for your replies
zzapper