Oil Capacity ?

I have always felt the manufacturer knew what oil was best for their engines and followed these recommendations. It seems as if more manufacturers are recommending a sythetic and multi viscosity oils.
Kohler CV operator manual
View attachment 74374View attachment 74373

As a small engine mechanic and attending Kohler service schools we were told to use 10W30 due to Kohler using hydraulic lifters and told straight 30 would cause issues with the lifter and cam.
Until I retired (medical, I wish I was still working) 5 years ago when we serviced an engine we used 10W30 in Kohler Commands, and Honda engines and 30 in everything else, Briggs, Kawasaki, Generac etc. and 5w 30 in snowblowers.

Oil for Command pro 62 590 09 Rev. --
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Oil Recommendations
Synthetic oil is recommended for use in LPG/
NG fueled engines. We recommend use of
Kohler oils for best performance. Other highquality
detergent oils (including synthetic) of
API (American Petroleum Institute) service
class SJ or higher are acceptable. Select
viscosity based on air temperature at time of
operation as shown in table below.
°F -20 0 20 32 40 50 60 80 100
°C -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40

So it appears even the Comands can now use 30 as well.
Kohler and Kawasaki oil, both have a zinc additive. At Kawi. service school I asked what was the difference between the two branded oils.
The answer? The color of the bottle , both were made by the same oil company. Now Kohler is using Amsoil oil that's treated to their specs, while Kawi is still using the same, Lube-Tech additives. I use T1 30wt Rotella in my Magnum and 10w 30, T4 in the newer OV engines. They have a higher zinc count..
Hope this helps.
 
One reason for multi grades is that they are detergent oil where most straight 30 are non detergent. None detergent allows the waste particles to settle out of the oil where detergent oils suspend these particles so an oil filter can filter them out. Otherwords no oil filter non detergent oil, Oil filter detergent oil.

Now if I remember synthetics are made using natural or liquid petroleum which oil operations just burn off the natural gas as a waste product of oil extraction. So it reduce the released CO2 levels. Plus it is more durable. Just needs a zinc additive or moly additive to reduce wear even further. Moly is actually very good when used in older vehicles. Example is my S1500 that was getting to have low oil pressure <30 psi around 300K miles. Now it has >55 psi and its at 350K. Moly actually fills in those wear scratches to a point.


I do not agree that small engine need non detergent oils as in the last link. Years ago I tore an old (1946) tractor apart that had be run with non detergent oil and scraped a lot of old gunk out of the crankcase. Of course back then there was not much known about oils. If you look at the oil that the manufacturers recommend or put their name on the bottles you will find they are a detergent oil.
 
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