I just rebuilt the carb on the new to me Ariens 10hp snowblower with a L-head Snow king engine. I live in New Hampshire so it gets pretty cold at 5:00 am when I fire it up to use it pretty much every am during the season. I have been using regular 5W-30 detergent oil. Is syn. a better choice for cold wether starting, what about thouse 0W-30 oils?:confused:

the recommended oil for any 4 stroke engine is sae 30 i use sae 30 kohler oil in my repairs but im in North carolina where the weather dont get so cold like it does up there but its possible you can use a thicker oil but need to check with the engine manufacture on it for specs on the climate etc.


oh by the way its been a long long time since i last spoke with you on a forum how have you been ?

From Tecumseh manual: WINTER (Below 32F - 0C) SAE 5W30 PART #730226
(SAE 10W is an acceptable substitute)(Below 0F - 18C) Only - SAE 0W30 oil is an
acceptable substitute.

This means 5W-30 is the recommended, and there are two acceptable subs. according to OAT (outside ambient temp.).

As for the synthetic question, it isn't the kind of oil that determines viscosity. Both mineral and syn. oils having a 5W-30 (or whatever, if same) viscosity rating will be the same "thickness" at the same temperature. The first number, "5," means the oil acts like a 5-weight in the bottle/crankcase etc. The second number, "30," means the oil acts like a 30-weight when brought up to an engine's operating temp. Multi-viscosity is the term, else you'd be buying straight weights, like 30W.
I'm from NJ and 5W-30 does us fine, but have been up in NE skiing a lot and know what you mean - even snowmen head south during the winter LOL.

Thanks for the info guys! Guess 5W-30 will work for the early winter might switch to 0W-30 mid winter!:thumbsup: