# First oil change HSS1332ATD



## cprstn54 (Feb 19, 2014)

My new machine arrived in NY after the blizzards and I could only test it on my lawn, which still had 6" of snow. Everything worked OK for the 15 minutes I ran it.

With 65 degree weather forecast this week, it is looking unlikely that I will get anywhere near the 10 hours specified in the manual (or more than the 15 minutes), but I will get to the one month.

What should I do? Run it at medium throttle with no load for a few hours? Put it through its paces with the housing off the ground and blow air off my driveway for a couple of hours while listening to an MP3 player? Or just replace the oil and do the ten hours next season? Or just ignore the 30 days and leave the 15-minute oil there until next winter?

Ken C


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## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

Blowing air will do the same as letting it sit in the driveway running. If it were mine I would run it at full throttle sitting there for an hour. Then change the oil and store it. Another oil change mid season next year depending on the amount of snow you get.


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## rosco61 (Dec 8, 2014)

*oil change*



cprstn54 said:


> My new machine arrived in NY after the blizzards and I could only test it on my lawn, which still had 6" of snow. Everything worked OK for the 15 minutes I ran it.
> 
> With 65 degree weather forecast this week, it is looking unlikely that I will get anywhere near the 10 hours specified in the manual (or more than the 15 minutes), but I will get to the one month.
> 
> ...


Same machine here and the same question. 0.2 hours on the meter. 
No snow in the forecast.


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## charley95 (Feb 10, 2014)

I replaced mine with Mobil 1 5w30. I run Mobil 1 in all my small engines.


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## mobiledynamics (Nov 21, 2014)

I would just leave it in till next season. Then run it WFO *wide f open* giving it a good load. At the 1 hr or 2 hr mark, whatever you get to it on the meter depending if you are blowing out a whole storm, I would just dump and fill afterwards.


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## Apple Guy (Sep 7, 2014)

First off, their is now way in heck I would run new machine oil for 10 hours when there is no filter. Even with a filter I would dump it. Honda is NUTS!!!!! I ran mine 2011 928 for 2 driveways and changed it. You could see the classic new motor glitter in it. Changed it again after another 2 driveways. Then waited till mid season to do it again. Yours....15 mins personally would change it and then run it for 5 mins and cut the fuel off and store it. Remember at the beginning of the season to hand pull it for 2 fast times with the ignition off and let sit for 1 minute to let the oil seep into the crank and large end connecting rod before starting. As far as running it with no load, NO WAY. Your lower end is already for the most part broken in, now your main concern is loading your piston rings and sitting running will not do that. Honda motor cars are the ONLY manufacture that uses a break-in oil. Oil analysis states it has a high molybdenum content. Who knows if Honda Outdoor goes this route to reduce piston scuffing. I would add some of this to a top tier semi-synthetic oil to put back in for next year. The moly will help reduce friction in cold start startups next fall. You need to do the math to add just the same amount as is speced out for 5 quarts for your 1/2 of a quart or so snowblower.That will give you about 300 to 400 ppm of moly. Run semi-synthetic with moly till it is gone and run full synthetic after that. All NAPA store carry this German additive. GREAT STUFF!! I run it in all my cars at 1/2 strength to save $$ will still getting useful amount of moly and lawn and snowblower at full recommended strength. MOS2 ANTI-FRICTION AIC LM2009 | NAPA Auto Parts . .


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

mobiledynamics said:


> I would just leave it in till next season. Then run it WFO *wide f open* giving it a good load. At the 1 hr or 2 hr mark, whatever you get to it on the meter depending if you are blowing out a whole storm, I would just dump and fill afterwards.


This is what I would do. 
I don't see any reason to waste your gas on blowing air. Some members believe you need to load the engine somewhat during a break in. 

I am not sure how the oil drain is oriented on this machine but if it is over the wheel you may want to consider adding a Drain-Z-it hose at your first oil change....... Or make your own if you have the material.


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## SnowG (Dec 5, 2014)

td5771 said:


> Blowing air will do the same as letting it sit in the driveway running. If it were mine I would run it at full throttle sitting there for an hour. Then change the oil and store it. Another oil change mid season next year depending on the amount of snow you get.


Not good for an engine to run wide open without a load. 

I'd drain the gas and carb, and put it away till next year as if it wasn't used.


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## cprstn54 (Feb 19, 2014)

cprstn54 said:


> What should I do?
> Ken C


From Briggs & Stratton:

*What are the recommended break-in procedures for my engine?*

In general, there is no special engine operation procedure required during the break-in period. There are, however 2 major points to consider when using an air cooled engine for the first time:


Do not operate the engine at full load during the first 5-10 hours of operation.
Change the oil after the first 5-10 hours of use.
 In the past, the engine break-in period was very important to the overall life and durability or the engine. The break-in period required has changed over the years with improved piston ring materials and designs. The break-in period now (5-10 hours) is short in comparison with that of engines of the past. Aluminum cylinder bore engine piston rings break-in faster than those used on case iron cylinder bores.
Break-in period is accomplished at any speed above idle and may occur faster if the engine is operated at varying loads and speeds. However, break-in occurs at an acceptable rate if the engine is operated at slightly less than top no-load speed with or without a moderate load. Combustion pressures at this speed are sufficiently high to cause piston rings to conform to the cylinder wall. It is recommended that an engine not be operated continuously at full load during the initial hours of operation. This can lead to permanent deformation of the cylinder bore.
*It is very important to perform the initial break-in oil change, however.* After the first 5-10 hours of operation, the oil should be changed to remove asperities that have broken from the bearings of the engine components and cylinder wall. Break-in can be performed using the recommended grades of standard or synthetic oil. Which switching to synthetic oil, the most cost effective method would be to use our standard oil for the break-in procedure, and if desired, use synthetic oil afterwards. For more information on oil types, please visit our Oil Recommendations page.


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There appears to be no concern about acids eating the engine, which makes Honda's "30 day" recommendation puzzling. Anyone know why 30 days?

Based on the foregoing, I could safely run the engine at 3/4 max RPM (and vary it a bit) at no load or low load for 4.75 hours and change the oil, or I could spare the environment and just do the 5 hours next winter with the original oil left in.

Blowing air off my driveway at 3/4 RPM (using all features) for part of the 5 hours offers the additional advantage of identifying problems long before next winter starts.

Ken C


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## Apple Guy (Sep 7, 2014)

cprstn54 said:


> From Briggs & Stratton:
> 
> *What are the recommended break-in procedures for my engine?*
> 
> ...


 I think you are doing a dis service leaving engine oil in for 5 hours. That is just plain nuts. If you saw the cross hatch metal that comes out of new motors with 30 mins of use you would not want that in your motor. You might as well grab a razor blade and scrape a 1/2 sheet of 800 grit black metal sandpaper grain off and dump into your crank case of your new Honda. I have built many race motors and have had break-in conversations with an Indy Car engine builder and he said discount anything any manufacture tells you on how to break in a motor. Run light for the first 15 to mins and go for full load on the rings after that. Try to keep rpm down a couple thousand from redline if possible for a bit. It is all about the rings. And as many have posted most motor really don't need break-in these days. The machining/materials are just much more accurate/robust these days. No worries about 3/4 rpm on your motor, it is not even close to it's stress level of rpm. It is set from the factory at what would be at 4,000 rpm of a 6,000 redlined car motor. Honda uses torque and not rpm to keep noise and pollution down. RPM on our snowblower motors are of no issue. Classic example is how the car industry and brake industry wanted to keep very easy on your car brakes and baby your engine on your car/truck. When the proper way is the bed the brake by getting them to just start smoking to flash off the resins and put a layer of brake material that will "stay" on the rotors. The rotor of a properly bed brake rotor has a blued color to them. This is the proper way. But the car manufactures are worried you will crash "while doing it right". But it's your motor, but don't get too caught up in generic, and now questionable (mr Rogers) based break-in procedure that has now been mostly discounted from craftsman that are a head of their field in engines and brake industry that do almost the opposite of the manufactures lame guidelines. This is changing slowly but it still is there.


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## 404 (Feb 1, 2015)

SnowG said:


> Not good for an engine to run wide open without a load.
> 
> I'd drain the gas and carb, and put it away till next year as if it wasn't used.


To be fair, SB engines have a governor, so "wide open" does not happen at no or low load.


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## AMSOIL (Dec 23, 2011)

The Answer to your Simple question is use it like the people who make the engine and follow the directions the "OEM" gives you. If there was a concern about the "particles" in the oil during the first 10 hours the OEM would of placed an oil filter on the engine or provided you additional instructions. Use whatever oil works for you and i'm sure you will earn your PHD in Science over a simple question as this thread progresses.


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## Apple Guy (Sep 7, 2014)

AMSOIL said:


> The Answer to your Simple question is use it like the people who make the engine and follow the directions the "OEM" gives you. If there was a concern about the "particles" in the oil during the first 10 hours the OEM would of placed an oil filter on the engine or provided you additional instructions. Use whatever oil works for you and i'm sure you will earn your PHD in Science over a simple question as this thread progresses.


 Yea, run your metal filled "glitter" oil for 10 hours. Sounds good to me. Go by the book as he said. You will save $5.00 at least.


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

The way Briggs has written this statement it makes it pretty clear you don't have to do anything "special". Those 2 points sound optional in the way they word it. So will they honor any warrantee if you don't do those 2 points?

"In general, there is no special engine operation procedure required during the break-in period. There are, however 2 major points to consider when using an air cooled engine for the first time:


Do not operate the engine at full load during the first 5-10 hours of operation.
Change the oil after the first 5-10 hours of use."
Lets face it, the average non commercial owner is not even going to think about following these two guidelines. Those of us on this board thing about this kind of stuff arguably too much.


The vast majority of home owners running power equipment do every thing by convenience. If they remember or have time they will change the oil, etc. It is not even near a priority.



My neighbor has a nice Honda Snow blower he paid 3k new for it and he has not changed the oil in the past 4 years. It is 11 years now and runs fine. I don't really know what he is thinking. It just seems to me he thinks annual oil changes for it are overrated. 



When people HAVE TO get it serviced they will then have the oil changed. 



This type of thinking is pretty common for the non-commercial user.


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## cprstn54 (Feb 19, 2014)

For $2.50 I decided to be conservative and changed the oil (still conventional) after 1.0 hours. The old oil was golden and free of sediment. Looked like it just came out of the bottle. Break in will continue next winter.

Ken C


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## jshel101 (Sep 12, 2016)

I'm in an unique situation. My step father gave me his snowblower last month. He bought it brand new in 2012, ran it for about 10 minutes until he hit his garage. I think he got scared of it and put it away. I used it at his property 2 years later for about 20 minutes. Then that was the last time it was used.

The oil still looks brand new, but I'm contemplating changing it right away since it has been sitting so long not being used. Or should I wait until spring and change it after I use it for the season?


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## Infantryman (Oct 3, 2016)

For the quantity that is required (+/- 1 liter but mine is 0.6), change the engine oil. In reality, change it every year.


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## AMSOIL (Dec 23, 2011)

I concur above. Cheap insurance to change the oil even midway through season. Oil Color is a false positive when it comes to deciding whether to change the oil or not. Oil is susceptible to moisture (bi-product of combustion)and static temperature change whether used once or multiple times. OA is the "ONLY" way to be certain if the oil is within spec/grade. In summary....change the oil and don't be afraid to change it if your feeling motivated.


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## jshel101 (Sep 12, 2016)

Thanks. I think I'll change it this weekend. We got our first snow fall of the season. Unfortunately not enough to test out my snowblower.


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