Pottinger mower oil...

[ColinV6]

Planning to change the mower oil for the first time, book says SAE 90 but most bits I’ve called round here seem to say 80w-90 will do.
Can anyone advise? I can find SAE90 online but seems not many keep it in stock locally.

 

[bazza3034]

80 90 will do the best just change
It more often

 

[Dave W]

This comes up every season and I don't think there's a conclusive answer.
Most of the older machines recommend ep90 or 80/90 where 90 isn't available (which generally speaking ep90 is about obsolete).
Morris lubricants recommend jdf liquimatic as an alternative to 90 but it's significantly thinner.

Personally I wouldn't want straight ep90 anywhere near a mower bed but that's merely my opinion

 

[76masseyman]

80w/90 will be just fine, just got a greater temperature range than a 90.
Main thing to check is if it is requiring GL4 or GL5 ?
Sadly for us, a lot of manufacturers forget this critical bit of information, so go GL5 if in doubt.

 

[mf7480]

Always used to change the mower oil every season. When I bought the last new one 10 years ago I was told not to bother, more damage is done by refilling with the incorrect amount than not changing it at all. I never have and it’s never been a problem

 

[ColinV6]

80w/90 will be just fine, just got a greater temperature range than a 90.
Main thing to check is if it is requiring GL4 or GL5 ?
Sadly for us, a lot of manufacturers forget this critical bit of information, so go GL5 if in doubt.

All the manual says is SAE90 3litres in the bed, and 0.7 and 0.8 litres in the gearboxes. So it’s more than a bit vague.

 

[ColinV6]

Always used to change the mower oil every season. When I bought the last new one 10 years ago I was told not to bother, more damage is done by refilling with the incorrect amount than not changing it at all. I never have and it’s never been a problem

I never changed the oil in our Krone mower either. It ran fine. Just checked it before every use.

Just the manual says do an oil change after 100 hours, I presume in case any swarf ends up in the oil from running it in.