Running thinner oil???

[wexplorew]

hi guys,
does anyone switch to thinner oil in the winter months? if so, how thin is it possible to run keeping in mind my skids could run 24+ hours pushing snow. i have no way to plug them in,
thanks,

 

[brdgbldr]

It all depends on how extreme the climate change is. It's the same for a car or truck. That's why they make oils with a weight range like 5w-30w. Back in the day you would most likely only be able to find single weight oils (30w). This is also true of hydraulic/hydrostatic oils.

Bobcat used to just offer one hydraulic oil that covered a wide range of temperatures. Now they offer two with different ranges which you may have to change from winter to summer depending on the temperature swing between seasons.

You can normally find charts with temperature ranges for the different weight oils. Your users manual should have a chart for what weight oil to use at different temperature ranges for your specific machine.

 

[billiards]

having been in the lube and fuel business for many years...my answer goes like this .....oil in the engine is needed to keep two medals from touching each other, many factors become involved as the engine runs that can make a difference to this one problem additives are put into the oil like warriors against the enemy.....but the very first hurdle is for the oil is to get to the points of contact.....that is done by oil viscosity, the temperature is the enemy, thick oil cannot get to the battle field.
in answer to your question, the correct oil as to the viscosity the mfg. recommendation in the user manual (which should advise the user according to out side temp)......i didnt mean to post a book on this or be smart....your question is a very good question and most or some do not acknowledge the importance of mfg. rec.........thanks for asking ..jack

 

[mrbb]

just food for thought, but syn oil also flows better in cold temps, so,, some times just switching from Dino oil to syn oil, can have a noticeable difference in cold weather starting! VERY SLIGHT< but the syn oil will protect your internal parts better than Dino oil when cold, which IMO is the bigger gain on using it! but even that too is not a HUGE gain!
but like others stated, your owners manual should have a chart listing what oil for what temps machine will be run in!

for me, and NOT saying this is what anyone else should do
but on several machine I have that call for 10w/30, just I switched to full syn 05w/40 rotella,t6 (due to that what I can find cheapest and most common in my area and can be had for about the same price as dino oil making it worth buying IMO< all the more so if rebates are on it which is also very common))
My experience after using for several decades now, have not seen any negative side effects, minus maybe costs, but again if you buy when on sale or with rebates, costs are about teh same!

and I again will be honest here and say that there is ONLY a SLIGHT difference in cold weather starting you will really notice!
as , I have a few machines that have always been hard to start in cold weather, and changing the oil didn;t result in any gains on them!(wish I could say other wise as I too hoped it would do more than it did for them)
I still either have to use a block heater, magnet oil pan heater ,( recently added a battery heater to one and that has been great so far) or some other way of warming them when things get very cold to run them, and having a battery tender on them or a jump pack handy when starting them!, the thinner syn oil, was not a noticeable difference in these stubborn cold weather starting models I have!

so, IMO< just changing to lower weight oil is not a FIX for cold weather starting,
it will HELP, protect internals more, and does help a SLIGHT bit, but its no magic trick or solution to cold weather starting issue's
some machines seem to have over others!

Just so you have some honest expectations here of what switching oil will really do for you

 

[foton]

I know this would be a huge PITA but consider the purchase of a small generator to power the block heater, battery blanket warmer, hair dryer what ever you can use to help start the machine. get the gen. set going ,go to coffee come back in a hour or so start machine. I know this is not what you want to hear. but avoid starting fluid whenever possible. I have a backhoe I put a timer on, I set it to come on and heat 2 hours before I need it and it makes a huge difference.

 

[Mustang Guy]

You're not complaining about the fuel gelling, so it can't be all that cold. You don't say where you are or what model machine you have, so it's not an easy call. Basically, you can run multi-grade engine and "hidrawlick" oils, but more specifics are needed.

 

[Mustang Guy]

I did this a few years ago for an unrelated situation.

 

[Equip]

Thinner oils aka viscosity is what you mean for different temps. SAE.
You can use Mobil 0W40 pour point of -52 or 5W30 or 40 all year round in new units.
S.A.E. hasn't changed since the beginning of oils.
I use it in all my vehicles or customers where seals and gaskets are good.
If it leaks it was going to happen either way from age.

 

[Equip]

In cold temps, SAE is all about getting the oil quick enough to the crank bearings etc.
Same as oil filters having a ant-drain back valve to prevent dry starts at the bearings.
In cold temps its 0W to 5W
Hot temps its 30 or 40 grade
So a awesome multi -grade is 0W40 which keeps you covered.
I always use synthetic oils as they have been around since WW2