How Often To Change Lawn Mower Oil?

When it comes to trimming green lawns, a lawn mower can be your best friend. Appropriate lawn mower upkeep and maintenance will ensure that you get the most out of your machine for a long period.

However, many individuals forget an important side of lawn mower maintenance when it comes to replacing the lawn mower oil. Furthermore, many are also unsure of how often to change lawn mower oil.

Well, don’t worry, this article will outline everything you need to know.

So, let’s get started.

In this content you’ll learn:

How Often To Change Lawn Mower Oil: Everything You Should Know

When provided with proper information, you will be fully guided on how often to change lawn mower oil throughout this article. Therefore, let’s read through the facts.

When To Change The Lawn Mower Oil

Oil has a significantly longer lifespan underground than it does in a little lawnmower engine. Heating and cooling down your mower oil regularly lowers its usability. Mower’s oil usable life varies depending on the kind of engine.

For example, for small engines, it’s roughly 50 hours of service, but it can be anywhere from 25 to 100 hours. Something to note: you’ll need to refuel after the first 5 operating hours if you’re operating a new lawn mower machine.

It is also important that you inspect the oil each time you use it. High temperatures, damp grass, dense dust, and rugged terrain – all of these can alter the frequency of necessary oil changes. So, you may need to change it more often as a result.

Here are several clear signs that it’s time to change your lawn mower oil.

Dipstick

Remove the dipstick and inspect the fuel level after a few minutes of operating your mower. Then, clean it with a white cloth or piece of white paper. If you notice that the cloth comes out dirty or shows signs of debris, it’s essential to change the oil.

Hour Meter

An hour meter is commonly found on motorized lawn mowers as well as tractors. Keep following the oil replacement plan that’s included in your lawn mower’s hour indicator.

Time used

Although most push mowers, and perhaps some walk-behind mowers, lack hour meters, a general estimate might work. If you trim your lawn for 4 hours per week, 50 hours will likely last you for around 3 months.

Annual maintenance

It’s important to do a regular maintenance operation on your mower after the mowing period. Remember to change the oil throughout your process of washing, maintaining, and polishing the blades. This will ensure that it is ready for the following mowing season.

Why Change The Lawn Mower Oil

Changing the oil every 50 hours and perhaps once a year may not seem like a big deal, but you’ll be amazed at how soon the refueling time arrives.

Now, this might seem like a laborious task, and you may wonder why it’s even necessary. Well, oil expires and then becomes rusty and dirty over time. So, change the oil whenever you notice it’s old.

Any sort of old, worn-out oil strains the engine, and as a result, the engine will malfunction faster than it should. Thus, inspect the oil level in your lawnmower regularly, even if you don’t use it much.

It’s advisable to double-check it before and after each use. If you operate a lawn mower without oil, such as a battery-operated lawn mower, it will destroy the engine and you will likely need to buy a new lawn mower.

It is preferable to spend the necessary few minutes to inspect the fuel level before mowing the grass, rather than having to buy a new lawnmower.

How To Change The Lawn Mower Oil

The steps for changing oil are as follows:

Check that the engine is switched off.
Remove the spark plug cable to ensure the lawn mower doesn’t accidentally spark or ignite while you’re changing the oil. The instructions for doing so should be included in the lawn mower’s user manual. For this stage, you’ll require spark plugs.
Identify and remove the oil plug.
With an old cloth or rag, wipe the dipstick shaft and the drain plug locations.
Remove and discard the dipstick. The oil fill connector can also be the dipstick. If this is the case, leave it in place until you’re ready to replace the oil.
Make sure the spark plug is face-up on the mower deck.
Place the oil drain container underneath the mower, where the oil plug is.
Disassemble the oil plug with a ratchet until oil begins to.
Pour the entire amount of oil into the oil storage tank.
Change the original oil tank with a fresh one, if your mower has one, by rotating it counterclockwise until you can extract the oil filter completely. Then, to fasten it, change the original oil filter with a clean one and screw it clockwise.
Replace the oil plug and tighten it using a socket wrench.
Find the oil fill line and remove it. If your lawnmower has two oil fill plugs, replace one of them. The dipstick can also be used as an oil fill plug.
Pump the oil into the area where the oil fill cap or dipstick was previously removed.
Pour the required quantity of oil until you hit the fill mark on your lawn mower, if it has one.
Replacing the oil plug or dipstick is a good idea. Before reinstalling the dipstick, wipe it clean using a towel or rag.
Wipe away any oil that has dropped onto the mower’s exterior.

Conclusion

Finally, we’ve explained how often to change lawn mower oil. Lawn mowers are essential for maintaining your lawn and keeping your yard up-to-date. So, it should be properly cared for.

Lubrication is required to keep those parts working smoothly, and this can only be accomplished with fresh, high-quality oil. We hope you’ve found this information useful.

Best of luck!