# New Snowblower oil recommedation



## Niraj KP (Jan 2, 2019)

Hey Team, I have a new snowblower (Ariens Rapidtrak 32 hydro) being delivered on Friday, my question is can I use 5w-30 Mobile 1 full synthetic oil vs the Ariens 5w30 regular 4 cycle oil. I ran synthetic in my Craftsman old blower and worked great a little quieter too.According to Bob the oil guy Fully synthetic would be best for less wear and tear.. What do you think?


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Use the oil that is in there for the first year and then switch to synthetic. It needs to break in using regular oil, then you change it as there will be metal filings in the oil.


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## 132619 (Nov 20, 2018)

dito!! don't change the oil this year as the rings need to seat, after that using syntec is fully ok 

and don't be scared when you see metal in the oil. it's normal ,


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

If you want to change the oil after an hour or 3, to remove some of the break-in metal particulates, that's a good idea. But do that oil change with conventional oil. 

I would hold off until 5-10 hours before going to synthetic, for the reasons that were mentioned. You want to let the piston rings seat using conventional oil.


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## ventz (Jan 1, 2019)

I have an Ariens Deluxe 28", and the manual specifically calls for regular 5W-30, but then mentions that using synthetic is "ok" if regular is not available. From the way they wrote it, they made it sound like a "lesser" substitute, which shocked me a bit. A couple of years ago I gave them a call to ask about it and they said that they recommend their own brand of oil (shocking!), but any regular 5W-30 is fine. Personally, I've been using Shell's since Coscto sold a large box of it at one point for really cheap (unrelated - the problem is with a 5 year oil shelf life, it wasn't that great of a deal )

But my question - does synthetic really make a difference when it comes to a snow blower?

I am wondering because given that you should change the oil at least once an year (assuming 40 hours or less usage, or every 40 hours), I would assume that the oil simply wouldn't have a chance to get that "used/burnt". 5W-30 is the same oil older Hondas/Toyotas use for much bigger engines which put a lot more wear and tear.

With cars, unless it's actually required for the engine because of a V6/V8/etc, usually you use synthetic because you want to get longevity -- let's say instead of 3500 miles, you want 6000-7500 (or even 10,000 w/ the Mobile High Miles one). Assuming on some level it's "better" for your engine too? But other than miles, it's always a requirement to change it in the worst case once per year, even with the Mobile1 10K oil. So in the case with a snow blower, if you will never go longer than an year, why even bother with synthetic? To be fair, it's only $2-3 more, so maybe there's no harm?

Anyway, wanted to get people's thoughts.


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## SnowH8ter (Oct 8, 2018)

When I brought the big Husky home last Oct, I dumped the factory fill and replenished with M1. I did the same with the old Mastercraft over 20 yrs ago. I had the head off that beast about 10 yrs ago and the rings were seated just fine, thank you. Contrary to urban lore, synthetic motor oils that meet the spec for the equipment in question, do not hinder an engine's ability to "break in."


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## 132619 (Nov 20, 2018)

what matters is the weight for cold temp flow abilities and the Service rating matching what the manufacturer recommends


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## Niraj KP (Jan 2, 2019)

thank you everyone, I will wait till the season is over and switch over.. in the spring when I'm ready to put the unit away.. It's not because of the difference in price of synthetic oil.. Synthetic oil is basically fresh oil from the refinery vs conventional motor with is recylced oil.. I've see and heard the engines run smoother, suited and better lubrication even though its the same grade of oil. in this case 5w-30 wight oil.


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## whimsey29 (Jul 9, 2016)

New small air cooled engines tend to initially have visible metal particles in the initial oil change. Briggs & Stratton say to change the initial fill out at 5 hours. I think Troy-Bilt says the same. I initially changed my snow blower at ~2 hours, some metal glitter in the oil, and have been using Shell Rotella 10W-30 since. I got it cheap and it's a HDEO that can take the abuse the poor 179cc engine gets. It's stored in a semi heated garage so the 10w-30 weight is not a problem. My Briggs & Stratton generator came with 10W-30 but recommends synthetic 5W-30. After the first hour I changed the "factory" oil, it was really full of metal glitter. I've use synthetic 5W-30 for every following oil change and no more glitter and it doesn't use oil between my oil changes of ~40 hours. So I guess the rings set ok.



Whimsey


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