Oil filter check for Kawa FR691V

Oils do not wreck an engine.So you will not get the answer you seek.
Some just protect better than other
It is not like throwing a rod.
Wear happens slowly over time.
Wear is also dependent upon a massive amount of variables that can not be controlled for.
Dust, local weather conditions, humidity of the very air the engine consumes, slope of the yard, type of grass, average mow time, etc, etc, etc, etc


As previously mentioned you would need to keep very accurate records of the type ( and cost ) that only the military and avaition industries can afford to do to get any meaningful answers.
Even then you need science & engineering knowledge to be able to interperate those answers .

I have only been running the repair shop for 5 ( nearly 6) years and I am yet to see an engine that grenaded because of the oil or filter used.
Even today, Briggs sell their engines with no oil filter fitted, with oil filter but no circulation pump , oil filter and circulation pump.
AFAIK B & S are the only company that sells an unfiltered engine.
However they all sell engines with different levels of oil circulation, splash lube, pressure fed big end only or full pressure lubrication.
These are not long term engines.
They are all built down to a price for an acceptiable service life ( gets shorter every season )

bertsmobile1 said:

Even today, Briggs sell their engines with no oil filter fitted, with oil filter but no circulation pump , oil filter and circulation pump. AFAIK B & S are the only company that sells an unfiltered engine. However they all sell engines with different levels of oil circulation, splash lube, pressure fed big end only or full pressure lubrication. These are not long term engines. They are all built down to a price for an acceptiable service life ( gets shorter every season )

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Yes, some of the smaller B&S engines still use splash lubrication--i.e., no oil pressure or filter. I'm not aware of any riding mower engines of that configuration but there may be some in cheaper mowers. These can be very durable with good maintenance, however, as I had a Sears 3.5hp edger for 35 years that only required yearly oil changes (synthetic "car" oil) and a some assorted carb maintenance in that time frame. A flood finally killed it and was retired with honors after a long, useful life. As simple as it was I could've overhauled the engine but didn't since the rest of the edger hardware was at the end of its lifespan.

My other B&S engines were either IC or Vanguard, and I never had any trouble with any of them--except the carb in the Vanguard engine (needle and seat). This Kawi engine is the first 4-cycle non-B&S engine I've owned in a lawn implement. I'm hoping it'll do as well or better.

Honda refused to reduce the build quality to the level that the mower companies would pay for so they exited the large mower engine business.
They still make the same engines with horizontal shafts but the reduced parts volumes has caused a price increase so you will not find many in the USA where price is the deciding factor over quality but you do see them in European equipment where quality is the deciding factor over price.
Honda still make small engines, mainly for their own push & self propelled mowers but it looks like no other maker will fit Honda engines any more, most opting for cheaper imported engines.
When Honda left, Kawasaki stepped right in as the "top" line engine.
Weather they are in fact any better than the top shelf Kohlers or Briggs is a matter of debate.
I see a lot of internal cost cost cutting that I do not like.

People are not rational & no longer have the ability to make rational reasoned & informed decisions.
Thus most mowers come in 3 grades
1) cheapest , fitted with Briggs ( formally Tecumseh )
2) better , or midrange fitted with Kohlers and a couple of hundred dearer
3) most expensive , fitted with Kawasaki's

Thus you cover the whole market.
The cheapskates who simply want to spend the least , the one uppers who like to think everything they own is better than every one elses and the undecided middle of the roaders.

As for which is best, debatable.
Generally the Briggs engines seem to take the most abuse, they tend to be lazy with more cc / hp.
This makes them the right engine for that market sector cause the people who won't open their wallets at purchase time tend to be the same who do not service their engines.

And Briggs were making the single cylinder Intek series without oil filters .
You find them on store branded ride ons & McCulloch branded ride ons down here.
From memory the Stihl Viking range also used filter less engines, but they were made by Murray & are no longer produced.

As a repairer who pulls apart about 20 engines a year I always find it funny that most of the self appointed expert opinions come from people who would be lucky to pull apart one engine a decade.

In fact the only reason I posted was the empathitical statement that there was no difference between mower oils & car oils otherwise this thread was an amusing insite into other peoples thinking.

Here we go again.......................................Enjoy..

7394 said:

Here we go again.......................................Enjoy..

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Naw.
Said my piece.
Wasn't it Einstein who said the definition of insanity is repeating the same experiment over & over again while expecting to see different results.

iclick said:

Yes, some of the smaller B&S engines still use splash lubrication--i.e., no oil pressure or filter. I'm not aware of any riding mower engines of that configuration but there may be some in cheaper mowers. These can be very durable with good maintenance, however, as I had a Sears 3.5hp edger for 35 years that only required yearly oil changes (synthetic "car" oil) and a some assorted carb maintenance in that time frame. A flood finally killed it and was retired with honors after a long, useful life. As simple as it was I could've overhauled the engine but didn't since the rest of the edger hardware was at the end of its lifespan.

My other B&S engines were either IC or Vanguard, and I never had any trouble with any of them--except the carb in the Vanguard engine (needle and seat). This Kawi engine is the first 4-cycle non-B&S engine I've owned in a lawn implement. I'm hoping it'll do as well or better.

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Well good luck with your new machine and don't forget to pick up some genuine Hustler mower grease. :biggrin:

Edit: I just came across a receipt for Kawi 30 weight oil and oil filters. Cost from my dealer is $5.95 for a quart of oil and $10.95 for the filter. I wouldn't call those prices outrageous or worth looking for an alternative.

Darryl G said:

Well good luck with your new machine and don't forget to pick up some genuine Hustler mower grease. :biggrin:

Edit: I just came across a receipt for Kawi 30 weight oil and oil filters. Cost from my dealer is $5.95 for a quart of oil and $10.95 for the filter. I wouldn't call those prices outrageous or worth looking for an alternative.

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I haven't seen Kawi KTech oil around here, although I'm sure someone carries it, but Lowe's has the filters for $15. We could always order on-line if we could trust the vendor to provide a genuine part.

Darryl G said:

Well good luck with your new machine and don't forget to pick up some genuine Hustler mower grease. :biggrin:

Edit: I just came across a receipt for Kawi 30 weight oil and oil filters. Cost from my dealer is $5.95 for a quart of oil and $10.95 for the filter. I wouldn't call those prices outrageous or worth looking for an alternative.

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I would call them outrageous compared to Mobil Delvac or Rotella 15/40 and an even better filter. It's your money though, buy what you want.

iclick said:

I haven't seen Kawi KTech oil around here, although I'm sure someone carries it, but Lowe's has the filters for $15. We could always order on-line if we could trust the vendor to provide a genuine part.

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Find a wix filter that fits your machine, and I get mine from Amazon for anywhere from $6 to $10.
Just a suggestion,
Use what you want and what cost is best for you.?

I just don't get it. Would you guys who run automotive oil in your mowers (and somehow think it's better for it) run mower oil in your cars/trucks. I bet not...