It is Safe to Use a Synthetic 5W-30 in 4-cycle Mower Engines!

reynoldston

reynoldston

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  • / It is Safe to Use a Synthetic 5W-30 in 4-cycle Mower Engines!
I have found this out more by experience then any lab test. I am around a lot of different brand engines and mowers and find that mowers use more oil with the multi weight oils. I have found through the many years of being in the repair trade that they are always making big improvements in lubrications. This is the reason I will still say you will just be find with the synthetic 5W-30 and as the manual tells you just keep a close eye on the oil level. Myself just out of habit I always check the oil before I use any of my equipment.
 
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bertsmobile1

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  • / It is Safe to Use a Synthetic 5W-30 in 4-cycle Mower Engines!
RoofTopPigeon said:
bertsmobile1;

Are Victa; the Best Selling Brand of Push Mower's in Australia?
and if not; what is?
Click to expand...

Due to the total ineptitude of the various managements over the past 40 years Victa has gone from 70% of the Aust market to 30%.
That still makes it the top selling brand but now they are just another "Briggs on a Bowl" I would expect that share to drop even further.
The previous management company outsourced the new designs to a commercial design company who designed a trash mower made from tissue paper that was impossible to use and rusted out before warranty expired.
AFAIK they got to a state that they were no longer able to service their debts to B & S which were secured by options which B & S exercised a while back.
B & S stopped the option of Honda engines so that knocked 5 % off their sales.
B & S Stopped developement on the new generation Power Torq ( Eco Torq) which was just about ready for production, they also jacked up the price of the 2 strokes to be $ 100- $ 200 more than the same chassis with a sprint engine which killed sales of the 2 strokes which allowed B & S to continue with it's long term plan to shut down all Australian production of Victa lawnmowers.
The locally made Victas all have a particulalry bad Chinese made B &S branded engine so they are selling more USA made mowers rebadged as Victa.
B & S have also jacked up the price of 2 stroke spares to force them all to be replaced.
A new ignition module for a late model Power torq engine is now $ 180 ( Wholesale ).
one of the aftermarket suppliers is now working with Atom industries ( inventors of the ignition module ) to make a $ 25 replacement .
The Mk I Power torqe was good for 50 years and the Mk II to Mk IV should be good for longer if we can get ignition modules for them.
Rover , ( owned by MTD ) selling rebadged World Lawn probably come in second
Masport (owned by MTD ) selling rebadged USA mowers would be 3rd
Honda would be 4th
After that there is dozens of brands all with 5 % or less and mostly rebadged Chinese temporary diverted land fill sold under house brands or old local brands
 
reynoldston

reynoldston

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  • / It is Safe to Use a Synthetic 5W-30 in 4-cycle Mower Engines!
bertsmobile1 said:
Due to the total ineptitude of the various managements over the past 40 years Victa has gone from 70% of the Aust market to 30%.
That still makes it the top selling brand but now they are just another "Briggs on a Bowl" I would expect that share to drop even further.
The previous management company outsourced the new designs to a commercial design company who designed a trash mower made from tissue paper that was impossible to use and rusted out before warranty expired.
AFAIK they got to a state that they were no longer able to service their debts to B & S which were secured by options which B & S exercised a while back.
B & S stopped the option of Honda engines so that knocked 5 % off their sales.
B & S Stopped developement on the new generation Power Torq ( Eco Torq) which was just about ready for production, they also jacked up the price of the 2 strokes to be $ 100- $ 200 more than the same chassis with a sprint engine which killed sales of the 2 strokes which allowed B & S to continue with it's long term plan to shut down all Australian production of Victa lawnmowers.
The locally made Victas all have a particulalry bad Chinese made B &S branded engine so they are selling more USA made mowers rebadged as Victa.
B & S have also jacked up the price of 2 stroke spares to force them all to be replaced.
A new ignition module for a late model Power torq engine is now $ 180 ( Wholesale ).
one of the aftermarket suppliers is now working with Atom industries ( inventors of the ignition module ) to make a $ 25 replacement .
The Mk I Power torqe was good for 50 years and the Mk II to Mk IV should be good for longer if we can get ignition modules for them.
Rover , ( owned by MTD ) selling rebadged World Lawn probably come in second
Masport (owned by MTD ) selling rebadged USA mowers would be 3rd
Honda would be 4th
After that there is dozens of brands all with 5 % or less and mostly rebadged Chinese temporary diverted land fill sold under house brands or old local brands
Click to expand...

:confused2: :confused2:
 
R

RoofTopPigeon

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  • / It is Safe to Use a Synthetic 5W-30 in 4-cycle Mower Engines!
bertsmobile1 said:
After that there is dozens of brands all with 5 % or less and mostly rebadged Chinese temporary diverted land fill sold under house brands or old local brands
Click to expand...

bertsmobile1; if you were to go out and buy a do push mower today; in Australia what brand would you buy?
 
R

RoofTopPigeon

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  • / It is Safe to Use a Synthetic 5W-30 in 4-cycle Mower Engines!
bertsmobile1 said:
After that there is dozens of brands all with 5 % or less and mostly rebadged Chinese temporary diverted land fill sold under house brands or old local brands
Click to expand...

bertsmobile1; if you were to go out and buy a new push mower today; in Australia what brand would you buy?
 
B

bertsmobile1

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  • / It is Safe to Use a Synthetic 5W-30 in 4-cycle Mower Engines!
Honda,
Any of the models with a steel or alloy deck
Because they will outlast any NEW mower & have parts back up for a long time.

2nd choice
Masport.
Mowers are not as good quality but strong dealer network and again a good part back up for older models.

Nothing else new.
Everything else is either badly made trash or has dubious distribution & support.
Because the market is so small most brands are franchised.
The franchisors are a small group of "old money morons with deep pockets & massive egos " so they pay way too much for exclusive distribution rights then jack up the prices to recoup some of their ego's spending.
Because they are basically loss making they do little advertising , have very poor dealer support , carry almost no spares & have inept warehousing.
Then the brand owner changes the franchisor so old dealers have to change to a new supply network to get new stock and the new distributors will not carry any parts for the previous distributors models unless they fit current models.
Then you have a sh*t fight to get warranty work done as the old & new distributors argue over who is liable.
The power tool market is really competative down here snd every brand of electric drill also appears on a lawn mower, originating in China.
I can buy a lawnmower for $ 72 landed from China if I buy them in 2000 unit lots so we get a lot of these selling just under $ 200.
 
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