10W-30 in my snowblower

[Wade Lippman]

I am putting my snowblower away for the season. It calls for 0w-30, and is good for 0F.
I bought a case of 10w-30 for my lawnmowers, and have a life time supply of it. I don't have any 0w-30.

We don't get snow when it is below 20F, and my garage (where the snow blower is...) never goes below 40F.
So, is 10W-30 going to be okay?

[Jerome Stanek]

Yes you can

[Steve Schlumpf]

You won't have any problems with 10w30.

[Greg R Bradley]

Yes, the key statement here is that it is stored in your garage that never goes below 40F. You are STARTING the engine when the oil is above 40F, since it is stored where it never goes below. Once it is running, it won't matter that it is cooler outside.

[John K Jordan]

What's a snowblower?

JKJ in East TN

[Malcolm McLeod]

What's a snowblower?

JKJ in East TN

I think you put ice in it and make snowcones...?

[Van Huskey]

What's a snowblower?

JKJ in East TN

It is an odd device invented to reduce heart attacks in areas where white crystalline water builds up during the colder months and is not just a novelty like it is for those of us in the south. It reminds me of Sam Kinison's solution to world hunger, just move where stuff grows... paraphrased: What is this? SNOW What will it be in 100 years? SNOW.

[Bruce Volden]

I think you put ice in it and make snowcones...?

What's a snowblower?

JKJ in East TN

Man I hate you'se guy'z.

Bruce

[Wade Lippman]

What's a snowblower?

JKJ in East TN

Man I hate you'se guy'z.

Bruce

Don't hate them; pity them. Go there in August.... I'll take snow anytime.

I think I might have used 10w-30 at the last oil change; at least I don't remember buying 0w-30. But who knows.

[Bruce Volden]

OTOH I use 10W30 in my log splitter. The first year I had it I tried starting it in winter and about lost my knuckles from kick back!!!
Seems the 35 ton 2 stage splitter was too much for me. I now use it when the weather is warmer! Mayhaps I should put an electric start on it?

Bruce

[John K Jordan]

Don't hate them; pity them. Go there in August.... I'll take snow anytime.

I grew up in Western PA. I remember a 3' snow, plenty 8" and 12". Frozen, frozen, frozen. But it still hit the 90s in the summer.

Compare the graphs of average high and low temperatures for Knoxville TN and Pittsburgh PA, scaled to match the temps:

temperature_average.jpg

The average high in Knoxville is
4.2 deg warmer in summer compared to Pittsburgh

But the average low is
9.0 deg warmer in winter
(I see our avg low is 25.1 deg warmer than in Malone NY. Pick your poison.)

This doesn't give the whole picture of course, but might be an indication of how much we suffer.
BTW, our strawberries are getting ripe now. My gardening brother in Ohio said our growing season seemed about two months longer than his.

JKJ

[Dave Lehnert]

What brand engine?
Here is some good info for a Briggs And Stratton engine.
https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na...-capacity.html

[Wade Lippman]

What brand engine?
Here is some good info for a Briggs And Stratton engine.
https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na...-capacity.html

Thanks! I was looking for a chart like that.
It is a "craftsman" engine, but one cheap little engine can't be that much different than another.

JKJ-We all have different preferences. I will take 20F and snow over 90F and humid any day. (still, I would take coastal California if they could just do something about all the people there!)

[Tom Stenzel]

The Craftsman snowblower we have was made by MTD, dunno where the engine came from. It has 5-30 in it because that's what I had. Plus according to the chart that came with it it's good low enough to the point my wife and daughters wouldn't go outside to use it because it's too cold out.

Then again it only got used once this winter. I just drained the gas out of it that I put in it last November. The amount of wear it gets each year, it'll last for a century.

At 40 degrees 10-30w should be OK, it might make tugging the starting cord a bit harder. Take it easy until it warms up, the splash lubrication might be a bit spotty for the first couple of minutes.

-Tom

[Ronald Blue]

OTOH I use 10W30 in my log splitter. The first year I had it I tried starting it in winter and about lost my knuckles from kick back!!!
Seems the 35 ton 2 stage splitter was too much for me. I now use it when the weather is warmer! Mayhaps I should put an electric start on it?

Bruce

What do you need a splitter for? I didn't know there were trees in South Dakota. Only wind....