Is it just marketing bs to assuage lazy consumers like me?  Or is there some change to small engines that makes this possible?  My suspicion is that Briggs and Stratton engines always have been indestructible so it is just marketing.  I remember my dad saying a lawnmower engine would be happy  with any oil it gets.

In a similar vein, I was surprised to hear that my 86 (holy schitt, can she really be that old?) mother just changed the oil in her ancient mower.  

Is it electric?

2 minutes ago, 2Far said:

Is it electric?

Nope!  Briggs and Stratton. It list torque instead of horsepower for some crazy reason.  Maybe because I think it is 7 which would be a lot if it was horsepower.  

Here is what B&S has to say.

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/innovations/push-mowers/just-check-and-add-technology.html

 

Apparently you change the air filter and add oil and that is it.   They say they have done a better job of sealing the fill tube?    

Weird.

I think I would still change it.   Takes a few minutes to tip it on its side and then refill.   Of course, if you are a dumbass like me, you overfill it and it kicks back and almost breaks your wrist when you try to start it.

I would change it every year or two  

Use synthetic oil  

Although honestly I think my last couple mowers were still running but the decks rusted away  

Either B&S wants to sell more mowers as engine wears out faster Or you could just re-charge the battery rather than put gas in.

Looking at B&S site, they don't market "no oil change" with any of their engines in the lawn mower section - just the "Innovation" section. Even then, relying on the air filter to keep oil clean would seem to be a recipe for disaster.

What I did find interesting in the push mower section was the indication that B&S does both gas and battery-powered, but the comparison link just loops back to the same "choosing a lawn mower" page and no reference to a battery powered lawnmower engine anywhere.

Comparing Gas & Battery-Powered Mowers

Briggs & Stratton has the power needed to get the job done by offering a variety of options that include both gas and battery lawn mowers. Learn more about specific considerations, in our  gas vs. battery-powered mowers comparison guide >

I have no idea.   I know nothing about how mowers work.

30 minutes ago, 2Far said:

Is it electric?

nominated and mark as solution!  

2 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

I have no idea.   I know nothing about how mowers work.

truer words have never been spoken.   You know as much about mowers as your grafix guy does about design.

5 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

I have no idea.   I know nothing about how mowers work.

Ask Sack Lunch. I believe he had a unique “fondness” for B&S engines.  

Three years from now, most people who buy these mowers won't be able to start them, with carbs all gummed up with ethanol.   So why bother changing the oil?

12 minutes ago, TrentonMakes said:

Three years from now, most people who buy these mowers won't be able to start them, with carbs all gummed up with ethanol.   So why bother changing the oil?

28 minutes ago, TrentonMakes said:

Three years from now, most people who buy these mowers won't be able to start them, with carbs all gummed up with ethanol.   So why bother changing the oil?

I skip the Sta-bil additive and pay extra for the ethanol free gas for the mower and pressure washer engines. For 2 cycle engines, since use very little (a can or two per season) I buy the 50:1 pre-mix. Reminds me, I need to go to Wawa and get some ethanol free.

23 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

Where do you add that on an electric mower?

The last mower I bought also has a B&S engine that says no oil change needed. I think that is BS and change the oil annually by tipping over the mower into a drain pan as @jsharr  suggests.

I also use Sta-Bil for storing gasoline but usually use premixed gasoline for 2-cycle engines.  

When I last was researching mowers, I noticed the "no oil change" thing, but the site I was on also said you could change it if you want.   I would still change it every fall, just before putting it away for the winter.    

I have had a "No oil change" lawnmower for 27 years.    

I'm thinking... I only changed the oil on my old walk behind Honda mower once after the first season. It lasted fifteen years until the deck rusted out. I dont even remember checking the oil, ever. Always started first pull. The "new one" is already four years old. I should probably change the factory oil on that.    Luckily I got the plastic deck this time.  

22 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

I have had a "No oil change" lawnmower for 27 years.    

It's nice to be a gazillionaire    

Or does WoW cut your grass?    

10 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

I have had a "No oil change" lawnmower for 27 years.    

You might be flying with 'no oil change' jet engines also. We would just add oil as needed plus send oil samples to a lab to check for excess metals in the oil.

After a flight we'd bring out a couple of quarts of oil just in case for the jet engines. The piston engine guys would roll out a 55 gallon drum with a hand pump. The joke was that the USAF got rid of piston engined aircraft because the Russians developed an oil seeking missile.

1 hour ago, Kzoo said:

I have no idea.   I know nothing about how mowers work.

Ok, you get POTW. Hands down.

 

1 hour ago, TrentonMakes said:

Three years from now, most people who buy these mowers won't be able to start them, with carbs all gummed up with ethanol.   So why bother changing the oil?

I got all excited because the internet said a nearby station sold ethanol-free gasoline. So naturally when I went there and asked for it I was greeted by a blank stare. I really didn't expect any different, but we live in hope.

 

Does anyone want to buy a new Toro lawn mower?   I think I used it 3 times before we moved.

1 hour ago, jsharr said:

nominated and mark as solution!  

Oops!  I already gave it to Wilbur, but that is a contender for sure    .  Got a good laugh oot of it.

 

Ethanol gas doesn't gum up carbs, it actually cleans them.   By loosening up deposits, which can then clog up the carb.   But that happens when it's running, not sitting.   StaBil does nothing to the ethanol, it does a ton for the gasoline.  Ethanol in the carb is all evaporated long before your first spring start.    The gas is collecting water and breaking down over the winter.

59 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

The last mower I bought also has a B&S engine that says no oil change needed. I think that is BS and change the oil annually by tipping over the mower into a drain pan as @jsharr  suggests.

 

Just changed the oil in my mower and pressure washer, but none of the B&S stuff. Both are Hondas. No drain plug so had to tip them.

5 minutes ago, 12string said:

Ethanol gas doesn't gum up carbs, it actually cleans them.   By loosening up deposits, which can then clog up the carb.   But that happens when it's running, not sitting.   StaBil does nothing to the ethanol, it does a ton for the gasoline.  Ethanol in the carb is all evaporated long before your first spring start.    The gas is collecting water and breaking down over the winter.

Yup!  Olefins form the gum.  Ethanol just corrodes shit.  

3 minutes ago, 12string said:

Ethanol gas doesn't gum up carbs, it actually cleans them.   By loosening up deposits, which can then clog up the carb.   But that happens when it's running, not sitting.   StaBil does nothing to the ethanol, it does a ton for the gasoline.  Ethanol in the carb is all evaporated long before your first spring start.    The gas is collecting water and breaking down over the winter.

Technically, you are correct, ethanol doesn't gum up the carbs. Ethanol deteriorates the gas lines and that residue accumulates when sitting, then clogs up the jets in the carb, plus impacts the seals and rubber bladder if it has one. Had to replace several mowers and other lawn equipment even after rebuilding/replacing the carb which really gets expensive. Never had a problem since switching the ethanol free.  

The one pull first start tries not to work. Now, when first starting I remove and shake out the air filter and before I re-insert it, a quick blast of ether directly into the carb. Starts first time every time now.  

59 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

It's nice to be a gazillionaire    

Or does WoW cut your grass?    

No, I have just never changed the oil.  

6 minutes ago, Tizeye said:

Technically, you are correct, ethanol doesn't gum up the carbs. Ethanol deteriorates the gas lines and that residue accumulates when sitting, then clogs up the jets in the carb, plus impacts the seals and rubber bladder if it has one. Had to replace several mowers and other lawn equipment even after rebuilding/replacing the carb which really gets expensive. Never had a problem since switching the ethanol free.  

The one pull first start tries not to work. Now, when first starting I remove and shake out the air filter and before I re-insert it, a quick blast of ether directly into the carb. Starts first time every time now.  

Yup, that's the mess ethanol makes.

It's not too bad if it doesn't sit for too long.   Some newer engines are being built to withstand Ethanol.   But the best storage is a full tank of ethanol free with StaBil.   And I do keep ether around, usually only need it the first spring start.

The boat is OK with ethanol, but it gets Stabil, and only a couple gallons in storage so I don't have to suffer through 45 stale gallons if that happens.   I can dilute it   It also gets Seafoam in the spring to clean up any water.

Late to this thread but clearly this is the ultimate throw it away and buy new item.

2 hours ago, Wilbur said:

No, I have just never changed the oil.  

Are your planes maintained to the same standard?

 

3 hours ago, Philander Seabury said:

Oops!  I already gave it to Wilbur, but that is a contender for sure    .  Got a good laugh oot of it.

 

you know you can change that, right?  

3 hours ago, Road Runner said:

It's nice to be a gazillionaire    

Or does WoW cut your grass?    

Wut?   i thought that was @Kzoo's job.

26 minutes ago, Digital_photog said:

Are your planes maintained to the same standard?

 

Of course not but I might if they ran for 20 minutes a week for 20 weeks of the year.    

2 hours ago, Philander Seabury said:

Nope!  Briggs and Stratton. It list torque instead of horsepower for some crazy reason.  Maybe because I think it is 7 which would be a lot if it was horsepower.  

One site says some small engine company, maybe Briggs and Stratton, was sued because the hp listed was a lie, so everyone started listing torque.

My Craftsman M220 mower (picture at bottom) has torque on it, not hp.   The motor is Briggs and Stratton.

A lot of sites say, "You can convert torque to horsepower by multiplying the torque rating by RPMs of the mower and dividing by 5,250. Now you can compare horsepower to horsepower.

The small print under the FT LBS Gross Torgue on the red label at bottom say 2600 rpm.

6.25 x 2600/5250 = 3 hp

But the first table below says a 150 cc Briggs and Stratton has 4.25 hp.

Note that 6.25 x 3600/5250 = 4.28 hp and the article the bottom table comes from says for Briggs and Stratton, "most of its series offer gross HP ratings at 3000 to 3600."

So I guess I have a 4.25 max. hp that normally operates at 3 hp: it doesn't come with a throttle but would increase hp when it was cutting through stuff without losing to many rpms.   It self-propels at speeds fast speeds but does slow down a little in tough grass.

I've had a 6 hp lawnmower in the past and I don't notice the one I have now being any weaker.   So maybe a lot of 5 and 6 hp lawnmowers in the past were listed higher than reality.

Most people here saw the pictures of my yard looking like a wheat field in 2020 when I couldn't mow it because it was filled with glass and debris that hadn't been cleaned up from the fire. It was in growing the yard for months because of pandemic problems and landfill admissions problems in 2020.   I needed to get down to about a foot high with a weedwhacker, then my current lawnmower did the rest moving very slowly and lifting the front end to munch chunks of grass - but it didn't want to quit.   I had foot-high grass a few times between then and when I moved in at the end of June last year because of construction, etc. delaying me, and the lawnmower worked fine when I was finally allowed to get to it.

I don't change the oil in my mower.  

Oil Change?   You mean I'm supposed to change the oil?

I got the mower from my BiL who picks up as-is small motor stuff from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc., for $25 or $50 and repairs it. So no manual came with it.

I just looked up the manual for mine and there's all kind of lubrication I've been skipping.   I doesn't say anything about changing the oil and there's no oil filter but a manual for a smaller Craftsman mower says to change the oil after every 50 hours of use.

 

This is the mower I am contemplating buying right now.   My old Sears Craftsman mower is on it's last legs, I'm afeerd.

B&S "no oil change" engine.

 

Fresh oil keeps my turbocharger happy.

6 hours ago, Philander Seabury said:

Yup!  Olefins form the gum.  Ethanol just corrodes shit.  

So how much Olefin do you add to your fuels & who pays the most kickbacks?

2 hours ago, Road Runner said:

This is the mower I am contemplating buying right now.   My old Sears Craftsman mower is on it's last legs, I'm afeerd.

B&S "no oil change" engine.

 

I wish I would have bought a wider than the standard 21”. But the price goes up quickly.  

27 minutes ago, 2Far said:

So how much Olefin do you add to your fuels & who pays the most kickbacks?

No idea. I think there is way less of it in gasoline than there used to be due to environmental regulations.  

We have 2 Toro mowers (his and hers) that we used at our old home.    I do change the oil in both mowers.    

One of the mowers is considerably older than the other.    It burns oil..   I'm guessing the piston rings are nearly gone.   Not much compression or hp anymore.   After a few minutes, the catalytic converter is hot enough you don't see the cloud of smoke from the burring oil.     Now the mowers are used for trimming around the trees and bushes.

The JD tractor get taken back to the JD dealer once a year and I let them do all of the maintenance.   It gets about 50 hours of use a year.

 

11 hours ago, Philander Seabury said:

I wish I would have bought a wider than the standard 21”. But the price goes up quickly.  

Lot of factors go into that price.   I picked up a used 36" commercial walk-behind - it was not cheap, but it's a machine that's made to run 8-10 hours a day so it should last me forever, and it cut about an hour off the full-yard job.   That's an hour I could be riding!   It is a shoulder workout muscling it through turns though.

2 Things:

1 - Today's motor oil doesn't break down with age under use as legacy motor oil blends did

2 - We put essentially that same oil in our vehicles and drive 3,000 or 7,000 miles, sometimes under heavy loads.   Any residential mover would need to be used for decades to get that same level of use.

I check my mower oil level several times a year and change it about every 5 years.   I have a snowblower that hasn't had an oil change in 15 years.   I use it a handful of times a winter (maybe) and when I put it away the oil still looks fresh.

 

 

A couple of my friends in high school had no oil change cars. They would just add a quart or so every time they bought gas. I think their engines were self changing the oil.  There was always a puddle of oil where they parked.