Lawn mowers - no oil change for life ????

[rfuerst911sc]

So as I wait for my JD 430 to come back from the dealer ( separate post ) I was thinking maybe I should pick up a self propelled mower as backup . There are areas of my lawn that the 60" deck can't access .

Looked on CL and plenty of name brands to choose from in good shape . But I wanted to also look at new . Many manufacturers are advertising no oil change for life !!! Just check the level and top off as needed . When did this nonsense start ?

Do they still have a drain plug ? Are they designed to burn oil forcing more frequent top offs ? An air cooled engine that works under very harsh environment ( dirty and hot ) is it a big deal to drain and refill one quart of oil ??? Or is this just another example of the throw it away mentality ?

[Scott Douglas]

I think it may have to do with the avg size of lawn most mowers see in their life time.
Take my mower. I changed the oil @3 maybe 4 years ago and replaced the oil with some old Brad Penn oil I had saved from an oil change on my SC (so maybe it was longer than 3-4 yrs ago). I haven't touched it since. It's a Honda, the only one I treat that way. All my other Honda's get regular oil changes.
At most, my mower used to be used for 1.5-2.0 hrs per week tops, usually less. Now I have a gardener so I don't worry about it any more.

EDIT - I guess I should explain that this Honda mower is really not a Honda mower. It's a Honda engine I had my son put on a Snapper Hi-Vac mower deck when he was in high school. I bought the cheapest Honda side throw mower I could find and took the engine off it. This was back in 2003 or a little earlier as he hadn't graduated high school yet but said he wanted to be a mechanical engineer. So, I had him engineer the change in power plants on the mower. It's worked out well for the money invested.

[cabmandone]

My Husqvarna has no drain plug. Freaks me out to not change oil. I think in my manual is states I can tip the mower to drain the oil and refill.

[Evans, Marv]

I also have a Honda. It's probably 30+ years old. I change it once in a while, but don't keep track. I know it's gone for loooong periods without being changed. I recently bought a Club Cadet string mower for knocking down the long grasses to make my defensible fire space. I really like it. I think it might be decent for an area you normally mow along with being used for knocking down weeds, etc. I bought one of those suction devices and use it for oil and transmission changes. It makes changing oil in a mower easy and not messy.

[Venetian]

I have a 30 year old Honda mower. I have changed oil on it maybe 4 times. It has no drain plug that I can see making an oil change a serious pain. That being said the mower has been flawless other than a broken clutch cable that I replaced. Always starts. I only use it about one hour per week for about 3-4 months of the year.

Kind of unrelated but I have had 3 Acuras(Honda) which the only thing I have done with them is change oil regularly and they as well have been trouble free. One I drove for 10 years without issues....not even brake pad change.

[Evans, Marv]

My Honda mower is from the days when they had a drain plug. I used to use it once a week but now only use it to mow weeds. It's also great for that and faster than a weed whacker on reasonably level ground. Other than change oil, I replaced the drive belt once.

[creaturecat]

haven't changed the oil in my 13 year old Honda - since i bought it. never added any oil either.
haven't even checked the oil level - i think it has an auto shut off - if it gets low. maybe not .......
it does have a drain plug.
it's become an experiment in negligence.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by cabmando

My Husqvarna has no drain plug. Freaks me out to not change oil. I think in my manual is states I can tip the mower to drain the oil and refill.

Take off the pan and install your own drain?

Get it hot and suck it out with a motorized pump? Add a strong magnet to attract particles.

Oil becomes contaminated with bypass and acidity, that is a given.
Refer back to the unspecified legal term "lifetime".

[red-beard]

No oil change for the life of the motor. So they are not expecting a long life...not if you are not changing the oil.

[dad911]

No drain? Suck it out with an oil extractor through the filler (a big syringe)

[Ralph3.]

Change once a year, last Honda lasted 19 1/2 years because the deck rusted out, engine still ran great. Cheep insurance changing oil.

[SCadaddle]

Taryl explains the "No oil changes" concept. Start at the 5:00 minute mark unless you want to watch the drama of Uncle Andy.

[dad911]

I couldn't get through the vid, more than a few seconds. How about a summary?

An friend had a van in the 70's, his dad put in special oil and filtering system that supposedly never needed changing. Engine was noisy, I finally convinced him to dump the oil and it was watery with a sheen. 100k miles and 10 years of blowby and condensation? Fresh oil got rid of the noise.

[matthewb0051]

Sounds a bit counter intuitive to me. I locked up a mower in college at a job I had. Never even checked, let alone changed the oil. Shortly there after I was looking for new employment...

[Por_sha911]

With all due respect, if you take advice from that yahoo in the video you get what you deserve. He may know what he is talking about but his presentation of himself destroys any credibility.
For me, one quart of oil every year is worthwhile. I just warm up the engine, tip over the mower and drain through the dip stick tube. Come back 15 mins later and refill. No big hairy deal.

[Bill Douglas]

Had a mower years ago and never changed the oil ever. Mind you it was a 2-stroke.

That could be an option seeing it's only an occassional use mower till the JD gets back.

[GH85Carrera]

I don't care what anyone says about not changing the oil. On my mower, I change it every other year. I mow just my yard, and that is an hour per mowing from late April until the day after Thanksgiving.

I replace my air filter every year, and a new spark plug with an oil change. My last mower ran fine for almost 30 years until it wore out. This mower should outlast me.

[stevej37]

Interesting....

[SCadaddle]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

With all due respect, if you take advice from that yahoo in the video you get what you deserve. He may know what he is talking about but his presentation of himself destroys any credibility.

In the words of David Letterman: "I do and I do and I do for you kids, and this is the thanks I get."

Lighten up Francis. Make an attempt at gleaning just a scintilla of knowledge once in a while. Obviously the guy is doing very well in this day and age of social media and marketing his skills. And you just might learn something. Better yet, you just might learn something to help your fellow man.

[E Sully]

Tough to watch, but it seems the basic concept is that due to better machining and running cooler engine temps, there is less oil contamination. The mower will use .1oz/hr, in 40 hours it will use 4oz. Refilling 4oz at this point will replenish the additives needed to keep the oil good.
It does require diligence by the owner to have a clean air filter, spark plugs, and cooling fins clean.