Lawn Mower stupidity

[razor2025]

So, the lawn mowing ritual has began again. In my stupor, I've managed to pour down a small bottle of 2 cycle engine oil into my lawn mower that is 4 cycle. It's not alot, probably 1/5 or 1/6 of the oil capacity. The big question is: Do I need to drain all the 2-cycle oil completely, or can I simply top it off with regular SAE30 and it'll go its merry way?

*no I didn't mix the 2-cycle with gas, I simply poured the small bottle into it.

 

[Wapp]

Oil is oil, imho. Just use the rest of the 2 cycle oil and then switch to the 4 cycle stuff when the 2 cycle is completely gone.

FYI, I don't know anything about anything.

 

[radioouman]

It probably won't hurt anything to leave the 2 cycle oil in there. Just fill it the rest of the way with SAE 30, or whatever your mower takes and don't worry about it.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I'd drain it to be safe, but "oil is oil" isn't true. I wouldn't expect you to need to flush it or anything.

Now, I'm assuming you poured in the gas+oil mix oil, and not the normal lubricating oil.

 

[NissanGurl]

Well, it's probably not helping matters, but considering it's a small amount and all oil is really a blend of oils I personally would fill the rest of the oil tank with your usual oil. Try stirring it a little or sloshing it around to blend the two types of oil. Also, I'm not a mechanic so this is my best guess based on my knowledge of oil (which isn't too much). Don't really know the exact difference between 2-cycle and 4-cycle engine oil? Viscosity? Additives to prevent breakdown? Try searching the web to find the difference maybe.

 

[Specop 007]

Oil is not oil.
If your car recommended 30w would you use 5w-30? No.

Your lawn mower engine uses the same principles as your car engine. It also requires the same care. Giving it proper care will keep it in top running condition and give you years and tears of hassle free use. Using oils outside of what is recommended could prematurely wear the engine or flat out cause it to stop working by burning up.

Drain it and use the proper oil. Its easy and doesnt take very long and will keep your mower running strong for years.

Unless your like me and wanting the damn thing to die so you can bore it out and tweak it for a bit more grass whipass.

 

[Mermaidman]

Do what I did this past weekend: I replaced my SP gas mower with an electric mower for my standard suburban 1/4 acre lot.

-No need for gas
-No need for earplugs
-I can mow at 7 AM without rousing the HOA nazis.
-More polar bears

 

[razor2025]

From my lack of knowledge about engines, I think 2 cycle and 4 cycle is pretty different. 2-cycle does Intake/Mix in 1 cycle, and then combust/exhaust in another? 4 cycle is intake - mix - combust - exhaust in 4 cycles? I'm not sure if these 2 different engine actions warrant a HUGE change in oil type.

I WOULD try to drain if I can find the manual or figure out which screw I can unscrew and drain it... but I can't seem to find anything that indicates an "oil pan" screw like in a car.

 

[razor2025]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Do what I did this past weekend: I replaced my SP gas mower with an electric mower for my standard suburban 1/4 acre lot.

-No need for gas
-No need for earplugs
-I can mow at 7 AM without rousing the HOA nazis.
-More polar bears

If it was 1/4 lot, it would be nice, but it's more like 1/2 + a bit more acre. I haven't heard of electric mower, so I guess I could kill this thing and buy one of those. Are they relatively cheaper/expensive compared to regular push mowers?

 

[jlbenedict]

Isn't 2 cycle oil the type that you have to mix with the fuel? (also used to power weed eaters, etc.)

Regular mowers have a seperate place for the oil, alone??

 

[NissanGurl]

Originally posted by: razor2025
From my lack of knowledge about engines, I think 2 cycle and 4 cycle is pretty different. 2-cycle does Intake/Mix in 1 cycle, and then combust/exhaust in another? 4 cycle is intake - mix - combust - exhaust in 4 cycles? I'm not sure if these 2 different engine actions warrant a HUGE change in oil type.

I WOULD try to drain if I can find the manual or figure out which screw I can unscrew and drain it... but I can't seem to find anything that indicates an "oil pan" screw like in a car.

Well, if you can't find a way to drain it then I guess you'll just have to let that oil work through. Or you could grab a baster from the kitchen and suck it out that way...you'll just need to buy a replacement before cooking any big turkeys in the oven . I must be thinking of a different kind of oil, but I thought the 2-cycle oil you added to the gas and mixed it there before it ever went into the engine.

Are you saying that you had a 4-cycle engine that had a separate oil reservoir and you just accidentally grabbed the oil meant for the weed eater and added it to the lawnmower (or something along those lines)? Keep in mind my first experience in using 2-cycle oil was yesterday when I fired up the weed eater for the first time and had to mix the gas+oil, so I'm definitely still learning about small engine care.

 

[OutHouse]

drain it and put in heavy weight oil. its not that hard.

 

[herbiehancock]

2 cycle oil is vastly thinner than normal motor oil (4 cycle oil). 2 cycle oil is made to be mixed with gas....."normal" oil won't very easily.....and burned in the combustion process and it's how the cylinder is lubricated.

To drain the oil on a push mower, you open the fill plug/screw cap and turn it over onto a drain pan. There's usually no specific drain plug/bolt separate from the fill plug/bolt, which you see on cars.

But, if you poured a very, very limited quantity of the 2-stroke oil into your crankcase, it'll probably just burn off from the heat and drop your oil level down a bit quicker than you'd normally see. I really doubt it's going to burn out your motor or harm it in much of any way.

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: razor2025

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Do what I did this past weekend: I replaced my SP gas mower with an electric mower for my standard suburban 1/4 acre lot.

-No need for gas
-No need for earplugs
-I can mow at 7 AM without rousing the HOA nazis.
-More polar bears

If it was 1/4 lot, it would be nice, but it's more like 1/2 + a bit more acre. I haven't heard of electric mower, so I guess I could kill this thing and buy one of those. Are they relatively cheaper/expensive compared to regular push mowers?

The cordless battery-powered mowers are expensive and very heavy to push. Corded e-mowers are cheap and light, but you have to maneuver the extension cord. Dexterity +2 needed.

Your lot is too big for one though, so stick with your gas mower

 

[smitbret]

Are we talking about a riding mower or a push mower? In either case, I'd probably drain the 2-cycle out of there and put in 4-cycle. The 2 cycle will just burn off, but I don't know how fast and do you really want to take the chance of running your lawn mower low on oil? It may cause changes in the oil pressure due to the different weight and the way the oils settle into the pan. If it's just a push mower, though, I'd probably take the lazy way and top it off, checking the levels every 1/2 hour or so. If it's a rider, drain and refill. Have you never changed the oil in your lawn mower before? If it's a pusher, then the oil drain plug is probably underneath the deck.
-Brett

 

[slag]

Just top it off with regular 4 cycle oil and you will be fine. No need to drain it.

/thread

 

[arcas]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Do what I did this past weekend: I replaced my SP gas mower with an electric mower for my standard suburban 1/4 acre lot.

-No need for gas
-No need for earplugs
-I can mow at 7 AM without rousing the HOA nazis.
-More polar bears

I've toyed with the idea of doing the electric mower thing. Tell me: I'd expect the motor to only be 9 or 10 amps, right? If so, how well does it mulch? How well does it handle cutting tallish grass? Do you have to mow more frequently with an electric mower or can it handle it?

 

[razor2025]

Well, after 1 hour of mowing it looks like it's okay and probably burn out the 2 cycle oil out w/o much problem. It's a 11-12 yr old lawn mower, so if it croaked, then it was time anyway.

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: razor2025

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Do what I did this past weekend: I replaced my SP gas mower with an electric mower for my standard suburban 1/4 acre lot.

-No need for gas
-No need for earplugs
-I can mow at 7 AM without rousing the HOA nazis.
-More polar bears

If it was 1/4 lot, it would be nice, but it's more like 1/2 + a bit more acre. I haven't heard of electric mower, so I guess I could kill this thing and buy one of those. Are they relatively cheaper/expensive compared to regular push mowers?

how much coal was burned to make the electricity to run your mower?

 

[Specop 007]

Originally posted by: arcas

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Do what I did this past weekend: I replaced my SP gas mower with an electric mower for my standard suburban 1/4 acre lot.

-No need for gas
-No need for earplugs
-I can mow at 7 AM without rousing the HOA nazis.
-More polar bears

I've toyed with the idea of doing the electric mower thing. Tell me: I'd expect the motor to only be 9 or 10 amps, right? If so, how well does it mulch? How well does it handle cutting tallish grass? Do you have to mow more frequently with an electric mower or can it handle it?

The one I used was old as hell, and I wasnt even remotely impressed with it. For a normal lawn it may have worked well, but we lived on a farm and keeping the lawn trim and prim wasnt a high priority. So it got pretty shaggy. We'd have to tilt the mower back on the rear 2 wheels and work if forward then bring it down on the thick stuff, just wouldnt cut it. Granted, this was pretty thick stuff and very tall too.

For a normal lawn should do fine, but even then I hate dragging the cord all around etc etc.

For suburban lawn care I'm sure they would do fine. And really both types (electric and gas) have there maintenance aspects. I prefer dealing with gas and oil over extension cords. Personal preference.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: razor2025

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Do what I did this past weekend: I replaced my SP gas mower with an electric mower for my standard suburban 1/4 acre lot.

-No need for gas
-No need for earplugs
-I can mow at 7 AM without rousing the HOA nazis.
-More polar bears

If it was 1/4 lot, it would be nice, but it's more like 1/2 + a bit more acre. I haven't heard of electric mower, so I guess I could kill this thing and buy one of those. Are they relatively cheaper/expensive compared to regular push mowers?

how much coal was burned to make the electricity to run your mower?

ever heard of hydroelectric?

 

[razor2025]

And in case anyone's wondering, I did just top it off with SAE 30, and proceeded to mow the lawn. For the first 30minute, it sputtered every 5-10 seconds (but it already did that before) and after that, it went pretty smooth, so I assume things are okay. Thanks for the advice ATOT.

 

[Googer]

ROBO MOWER!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H54DLiT6a30&eurl

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: Specop 007
Oil is not oil.
If your car recommended 30w would you use 5w-30? No.

why not?

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: razor2025

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
Do what I did this past weekend: I replaced my SP gas mower with an electric mower for my standard suburban 1/4 acre lot.

-No need for gas
-No need for earplugs
-I can mow at 7 AM without rousing the HOA nazis.
-More polar bears

If it was 1/4 lot, it would be nice, but it's more like 1/2 + a bit more acre. I haven't heard of electric mower, so I guess I could kill this thing and buy one of those. Are they relatively cheaper/expensive compared to regular push mowers?

how much coal was burned to make the electricity to run your mower?

ever heard of hydroelectric?

ever heard of power distribution?