Can I put used motor oil in my lawnmower?

Question

I know that obvioulsy, I CAN. BUT will it do damage? The oil I'm wondering about is a used high quality synthetic that came out of my roommate's last oil change. I wouldn't think it would, but could it hurt the lawnmower at all? It's a regular push mower. Just looking for a way to recyle and save a buck, all info will be great

Answer 1

Oil breaks down over time, it absorbs all the impurities in a motor, with synthetics, im not sure how that works. How clean does it look? If its all black and dirty, dont use it - if its reletively clean- id filter it out with like a cloth - pour it into another container you can see thru , and see if any impurities are left. Most mower engines are a 'sling' type, meaning oil pretty much just gets 'thrown' at the vital parts/berings. Normally i wouldnt say 'Use used oil' , but with synthetic... i dont know. I think filtering the synthetic would keep the fragments ( there will be some) out, but still you dont know how degraded it is ( might not have as many lubricating properties as new) . Its up to you if you want to try it, it could work fine, it could wreck the motor over time. I wouldnt take the chance .
Kidd

Answer 2

Take the used oil to the local recyle center and buy a quart of new 30wt oil for you mower. It will solve both concerns. You change oil in a motor for good reasons. The oil collects contaminates and it also breaks down from heat and pressure. A quart of oil is less than $2.00 at Wal Mart. Hardly worth the risk. Drain the oil from the mower and put it into the same container for recycle.

Answer 3

It is stupid to use used oil in any machine, it only take 3/4ths of a quart to refill your mower, See oil never goes bad but all the detergents and other chemicals that oil companys add to oil breaks down and burns up leaving oil black again as it was when it first came out the ground, if you want to recycle that oil use it for squeeky or rusty hinges on a door or scissors anything else except back into engines,,thats a no no and used oil from motors has metal shavings in it that will scratch & wear a motor down faster than clean oil

Answer 4

A lawnmower engine has the same needs for clean oil as a car engine does. If the cars engine will wear prematurely with old oil, so will a mower engine.
Oil at Walmart is less than 2 bucks a quart!

Answer 5

You don't mix 5w-30 with the gas, that will cause problems. Most lawn mowers do not require mixing like small tools do. The 5w-30 should work in the oil compartment but I would recommend SAE30 instead. If you engine is a 2-stroke then you will need to mix 2-stroke oil into the gas at the rate specified by the manufacturer (typically 50:1). Since it sounds like you may have run the mower without any oil in the oil compartment you may have ceased the engine (not good). I would take it to a small engine shop and have them look at it. Hopefully you didn't cause any permanent damage to the motor.

Answer 6

If you are trying to save a buck this week............... Go for it. If you think that because it says synthetic that it will last longer..........Wrong!!! Eventually you will have to get new oil for the mower, Spend the 5 bucks and change the oil, better than $150 for a new mower huh?

Answer 7

It could do damage. Your roommate's oil could possibly have metal from his engine or from the oil filter turned upside down to drain into the used oil. That metal could cause severe damage to your lawnmower. Cheap, new SAE 30 is far better than used synthetic.

Answer 8

Use only new 30 weight oil, unless you want to wear out the motor prematurely.

Answer 9

During the eighteenth century, private explorers who called themselves the Bandeirantes found gold and diamond mines in the state of Minas Gerais. The exploration of these mines ended up financing the Portuguese Royal Court's debts for a long time. However, the predatory way in which such riches were explored by the Portuguese Crown harmed colonial Brazil with excessive taxes (at some point, taxes amounted up to one fifth of all the gold and diamonds mined in the country, or 20 percent of total production, named the quinto). Some popular movements supporting independence came about against the abusive taxes established by the metropolis, such as the Tiradentes incident in 1789, but they were often dismissed with violence by Portugal.[21] Gold production declined towards the end of the eighteenth century, starting a period of relative stagnation of the Brazilian hinterland.[22]