# Change oil or not?



## buffettck (Jan 4, 2017)

I started with fresh oil at the start of this season, which has been not very active. I probably won't even put but a couple of hours on the oil (I have an hour meter), so would it hurt anything to just leave the oil in it over the off season until next winter? It still looks fresh out of the jug.


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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

Leave it. Check at the beginning of next season before and after a run-up just to be sure.

Save the dinosauruses.//

ccasion14:


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## garboo (Dec 5, 2017)

No problem ,as Yanmar said..as long as it is the correct level.you R good.I changed my oil after first 6 hours and found metal bits in the oil
after the break in period..I don't think it is that critical ,just change it once a season after that unless you have snowblower adhd.


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## Ariens hydro pro (Jan 24, 2014)

Just check the oil to see if it looks clean. I know a guy who never changes the oil and it runs fine, he says. That machine is 3 years old. I won't push my luck with winter snow. I need my machines to run. I like to service my snowblower when spring comes. New oil and grease then drain the gas. It's only uses 3/4 of a quart with no filter so it's cheap enough to do. So as long as you service it once a year that snowblower will last you many many years.


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## buffettck (Jan 4, 2017)

It's already broken in from last winter, so that's why I was asking. Hate to toss oil that's only got a few hours on it, but oh well. I think I'll change it anyway. Even using synthetic, it's not like it costs that much anyway. LOL


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## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

I change the oil in my machines every 5 years whether it needs it or not :grin:

You should be fine


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## old ope mechanic (Feb 16, 2018)

do a off season service,drain the fuel , leave the old oil in it to soak up any condensation over the summer ,change the oil in the fall when rotating machines summer to winter so it has fresh oil for the winter,


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

I'm in Central NJ, we get 1-5 snows/year. I change my oil once every 5-7 years with synthetic.


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

buffettck said:


> It's already broken in from last winter, so that's why I was asking. Hate to toss oil that's only got a few hours on it, but oh well. I think I'll change it anyway. Even using synthetic, it's not like it costs that much anyway. LOL



If it helps you sleep better by all means do it.

Just think how many hours a car engine has on it to drive 3k miles or 7k miles? The big difference is that it has an oil filter and it is a water cooled engine.

My neighbor has a very nice Honda snow blower that is about 15 yrs old now. He was complaining to me how the Honda dealer wanted $500 to go over it and tune it up. He told me he has not changed the oil in over 5 years. He just adds. I shake my head as it was likely a $2k+ machine new. I don't endorse this but it goes to show how tough some engines are and how good the oil has improved. It seems to start and run fine.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Yanmar Ronin said:


> Leave it. Check at the beginning of next season before and after a run-up just to be sure.
> 
> Save the dinosauruses.// ccasion14:


What he said. Depending on how much area and how often it snows doing yearly changes might be overkill. I'd worry more about needing it if I saw signs of condensation in the oil. :2cents:
I do use a 0-40 Mobil 1 Syn in mine. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-0W-40-Full-Synthetic-Motor-Oil-1-qt/17034373


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

I change my snowblowers oil roughly every 2 years. I don’t get enough hours on the oil to warrant changing yearly. This year I have a new hs720 and a new GX390 I swapped onto my hss928. Both will get an oil change to get rid of the break in material.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

old ope mechanic said:


> do a off season service,drain the fuel , leave the old oil in it to soak up any condensation over the summer ,change the oil in the fall when rotating machines summer to winter so it has fresh oil for the winter,


that's a good point. condensation. you could also repurpose that oil for other things.


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

I change the oil at the end of the snow season. I don't want to leave contaminated oil in the crankcase all summer. Also, I think (my $.02) that there is more crankcase condensation in the winter when the oil goes from very hot to very cold every time I use the machine, than in the summer, when the machine just sits and the temps vary less.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

Yes, but running it bakes out any moisture, unlike when sitting in the summer.


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## vinnycom (Nov 6, 2017)

easy and cheap enough to do every year so why not, i going to run engine one more time before storing to boil off any moisture in oil. its my first year w/a sb so i'll squirt some oil in the plug hole and rotate engine every once in awhile during off season to lub it up and change it out before first snowfall next winter


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## old ope mechanic (Feb 16, 2018)

helpful information 
summer storage hints 
http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/c...ur-snow-thrower-for-storage-in-the-off-season

winter hints 

http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/c...w-to-prepare-your-snow-thrower-for-winter-use


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## buffettck (Jan 4, 2017)

old ope mechanic said:


> do a off season service,drain the fuel , leave the old oil in it to soak up any condensation over the summer ,change the oil in the fall when rotating machines summer to winter so it has fresh oil for the winter,


Is condensation really that big of a deal since it would just evaporate out of the oil the very next time it's used and the oil gets up to temp for a good while?


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## Ariens hydro pro (Jan 24, 2014)

buffettck said:


> Is condensation really that big of a deal since it would just evaporate out of the oil the very next time it's used and the oil gets up to temp for a good while?


It it gets real bad you can see the white cream on the dip stick. That will take a while to burn off. When I see that cream I change the oil ASAP.


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

we're probably debating the the extreme details, and I'm sure we all agree that regular maintenance is the key. But my $.02 again is that running an engine may indeed boil out most/all of the water, but cool down that last time, especially in the winter, will introduce more condensation again.

Regardless, my main concern with leaving used oil in an engine for months is all contaminants, which can include the following (copied from an EPA site paper): lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, dioxins, benzene and polycyclic aromatics. 

thanks all for comments and opinions. If we had more snow I would be testing out the machine instead of theorizing about water condensation properties.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

Many of my customers haven't changed the oil in 15 years before I see the machine......I see it because the carb is messed up, the skids and scraper are gone, the belts are fried...you know the drill. I do the stuff thats needs to be done and change the oil......motor runs like new.....


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

paulm12 said:


> we're probably debating the the extreme details, and I'm sure we all agree that regular maintenance is the key. But my $.02 again is that running an engine may indeed boil out most/all of the water, but cool down that last time, especially in the winter, will introduce more condensation again.
> 
> Regardless, my main concern with leaving used oil in an engine for months is all contaminants, which can include the following (copied from an EPA site paper): lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, dioxins, benzene and polycyclic aromatics.
> 
> thanks all for comments and opinions. If we had more snow I would be testing out the machine instead of theorizing about water condensation properties.


Consider, though, that the humidity is crazy low in cold climates . . . . 20% relative at 5 degrees is single digits at reasonable temps. IE, not much to condense out no matter what the conditions. Now, a nice warm garage, that's different . . .


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

With running full synthetic I now go every 2-3 years depending on how much use.


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## snow-shovel (Aug 13, 2015)

old ope mechanic said:


> helpful information
> summer storage hints
> http://www.cubcadet.com/equipment/c...ur-snow-thrower-for-storage-in-the-off-season
> 
> ...


Interesting that Cub Cadet hints at changing the oil at the end of the season and again at the beginning of the next season. That is their answer to the question of before winter or before summer.


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

Good god, don't be a bunch of cheap SOB's. Change it in the spring before ya put her away for the season. What does that amount to? $5 to $10?


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

It's not necessarily an issue of being cheap. Maybe the machine just didn't get used that much that year and in their mind it doesn't make sense to change it.

.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

gibbs296 said:


> Good god, don't be a bunch of cheap SOB's. Change it in the spring before ya put her away for the season. What does that amount to? $5 to $10?


Not even, maybe $2. I'm on your side.


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## ve1_snow (Feb 8, 2018)

RIT333 said:


> Not even, maybe $2. I'm on your side.


I'm also a firm believer in changing the oil at least annually, especially for a newish machine. Just getting set up for the oil change is your chance to do a good review of the machine and do some preventative maintenance before it becomes a problem. Skip one year and you'll soon start forgetting about servicing it altogether. Stick with the good habits and not the bad ones.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

We have always changed the oil in our OPE yearly, no matter how low the useage. I think it's one of the reasons that I have some stuff 30+ years old that runs like new . . . *zero* downside, and hard to forget a schedule if you do it the same for everything!

- Tim


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

I just checked the Honda owners manual for an HS624. I don't own one of those, but I am a proud owner of an older model. According to the 624 manual it should be changed yearly at the start of the season. And we all know, if Honda says so, it must be right


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> It's not necessarily an issue of being cheap. Maybe the machine just didn't get used that much that year and in their mind it doesn't make sense to change it.
> 
> .


I guess I should have said lazy. Spend good, hard earned cash for a top of the line machine, and then can't follow the maintenance schedule for oil changes in the owners recommended by the people that built it....hmmm...interesting. Not trying to be a jerk, just wondering why?:surprise:


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## buffettck (Jan 4, 2017)

Very often, manufacturer maintenance schedules are just "good enough" to get you through the warranty period.


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

yup, if you are going to change it, change it at the beginning of the season, that will help get any condensation out that has accumulated over the summer.


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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

The thing about oil is... it's easy to speak in generalities; 'do this, do that, do this other thing'. And generally yeah, it's mostly it's all (or at least a little) good advice and principals to adhere to. One way or another.

But what it all comes down to is the oil that's in *your* engine, right now. That's the only oil you care about. Not the magical 5~20-hour 'break-in' instruction manual oil. Not the magic oil techniques of internet lore. Not the season. And most certainly not the oil that you ran out of because you never checked it, because then it's too late to care.

So check it. Every time. Does it look good? It's probably good enough. Does it look bad? Stop, get it outta there and dump in some fresh.

/All oil threads ever.

ccasion14:


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

GoBlowSnow said:


> yup, if you are going to change it, change it at the beginning of the season, that will help get any condensation out that has accumulated over the summer.


Why would you expect it to accumulate condensation over the summer ? A bottle of oil doesn't, and they are both sealed. I change mine after the season, and let it sit with fresh oil, instead of letting it sit for 6 months with contaminated oil.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

Well, the engine isn't really sealed. Some air can move in and out via the crankcase breather due to barometric/temp changes. Not much, but some . . .


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## snow-shovel (Aug 13, 2015)

Which is worse, the small amount of condensation gathered over summer storage, or the contaminants accumulated during a winter of use. The use mine has seen the past couple of winters is very sporadic because our temperatures have varied with a swing of 70 degrees during those months. Periods of setting without use have been quite variable with most intervals of one or two months. The winter usage in my opinion is the most severe an internal combustion engine can experience. Not only contaminants from rich fuel mixture starting in very cold temperatures along with the blow by accompanying that operation, then add the moisture setting during the fluctuating temperatures for weeks at a time.

My vote is to change at the end of the winter season. A purist would change twice a year as suggested by Cub Cadet, but I think that is too extreme.


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