cold splitters

[barbender]

Hondas have a reputation for icing the crankcase vent in the cold. They start blowing oil past the seals, I had to deflect the exhaust back toward the engine on my generator to keep it thawed in cold (MN cold😊) weather. 

[mike_belben]

Put a Honda on it.

Mine has a Honda on it. Still can be a booger to start on cold days. Not sure what oil it has in it. I did notice some carb icing last cold snap and it wasn't really that cold, mid 20's maybe. Or at least I think icing was the problem. Ran fin with no load but would die under a load, even after running for a while. Ran fine once it warmed up outside.

Sounds like water in the fuel to me.  A splitter has a vented tank.   Year round outdoors thats a lot of condensate dripping to the bottom.  

[maple flats]

I have Hondas on all of my small engine powered equipment. Regardless of the temp, full choke, pull one or 2 times and they start. I never got along with Briggs.
My small engines never get any ethanol fuel.
My vacuum pump I only start when temps get up to 32-34F, my splitter I don't think I've ever started it at less than 10F, but at 10F is starts fine. Colder than that I do something inside.

[John Mc]

The splitter I mentioned earlier has a Honda GX240 on it. As mentioned, it would not start in cold with SAE 30 oil in it. The switch to synthetic 10W-30 seems to have solved the problem.

I must admit I'm a bit puzzled as to why that made so much difference. Yeah, it was easier to pull with 10W-30, but you'd think pulling harder with the 30 weight would still start. I admit, I'm not as strong as I once was, but at least some of those pulls seemed to have it turning over just as fast as it did with the thinner oil. Maybe I had flooded it by then? I did not smell gas, though.

[Pulphook]

Go electric splitter---plug and play. Little maintenance. You can sing while running it.
Got 10 minutes ? Split, have a drink, eat, split some more. Easy.

[sawguy21]

barbender, I have seen that problem in the cold. The breather hose is icing up inside the air filter housing, pull it out then cover the opening with duct tape.

[doc henderson]

I don't have trouble with my Briggs.  I just turn that key and pull the choke.  lol.  18 hp twin, 28 gpm pump.  I'm sure the cold is harder on equipment.  Need to do better getting enough done in the spring.

[Old Greenhorn]

Nobody mentioned it, but I will throw it out there: DO you have a way to remove the pump load by de-tensioning the belt? I can do this on mine and once the engine is warmed up I can slowly engage the belt and let the pump warm up a bi before getting to work. Just a thought.

[doc henderson]

Mine has a lovejoy coupler.  I suppose you could put an electric clutch on it but I am sure that's expensive and another thing to break.  On smaller engines maybe a centrifugal clutch like on the old minibikes.  Could devise a tensioning pully like on a roto-tiller.

[Al_Smith]

I just answered a PM on this subject .First if you are using crankcase motor oil in the hydraulics ,it's really not the thing to be using in cold weather .You need something like type A, basically Dextron automatic transmission fluid .It won't thicken and and carries heat better than either motor oil or general purpose hydraulic fluid .You can buy it by the 5 gallon bucket .Fact I've got 60 gallons in my air over hydraulic auto lift with a 13" cylinder that will lift a pick up truck with 60 pounds of air pressure .

You are probably better off in cold weather to use synthetic motor oil in the engine .If the engine is in tune it should start at 15 below .If a snow blower will start there's no reason a splitter engine won't start .Watch the starting fluid ,sparingly if at all .Prime bottle is better .Sparingly else you'll flood it .Which of course depending on the person,could cause  an outpouring of rather foul language .Doesn't make it start though .

Now my home built with an 11HP flathead Briggs always starts but then again it's got self commencer commonly known as an electric starter . 8)

[thecfarm]

Not to keep beating a dead horse.
I have a briggs,OHV. Like I said a 5 year could start it in July 4th. A slow easy pull and I mean a slow easy pull and that thing will start so easy. But 20° I can pull on that thing 40 times before it starts. And that is with a quick hard pull too. There was a thread on it a few years ago.Same ideas than too. That is why I tried the fake oil. And yes on the snow blower motors. Had a couple growing up. They all started right up. But was not a briggs OHV either.
The magetic heater works for me and a piece of carpet to keep the motor warm.
I cut my wood to length in the summer time,than when I have more time in the winter,I split my wood. Yes,it does not get a chance to dry as good,but I don't want to spend the time to do it than. Winter months I don't do nothing outside. Hard to dig rocks and smooth out the rough spots with snow on the ground. Splitting gets me out doors.I have a OWB so it does not matter as much. Most of my wood is dead,but still wet inside.

[LeeB]

If it's cold enough mine won't start after 10 or so pulls, I don't want to be out there anyway.  :D

[Magicman]

Don't replace conventional motor oil in an old/worn engine with synthetic.  5W30 would be a much better option. 

[Al_Smith]

I've got an 8HP overhead valve Briggs on a portable generator and it always starts .It's an "easy spin" meaning it has a compression release that partly holds the exhaust valve open on cranking speed .
To add to that a few years I chanced upon a two stage snow blower which I bought for my son but I'm holding it for him in storage because he moved to Louisville KY .It's a 12 HP OHV Briggs "easy spin "and will blow snow about 30-40 feet .It has a plug in but I've never used it ,just pull it over with the choke on,putt putt putt .Then again it hasn't been 15 below here for a number of years which quite frankly I don't miss at all .Fact being retired now central Florida or coastal Louisiana is looking better all the time for a month or two in winter .I just have to have pity for  the poor fabled brass monkey in Maine,North Dakota and Minnesota in Jan- Feb .

[repmma]

Not to anger anyone, and I think synthetic oil has its advantages over conventional, but cold starting is not really one of them.  10w-30 is 10w-30.  Though the viscosity index may infact be a different matter the viscosity would be the same and therefore the starting (cranking) resistance. 

[LeeB]

A new oil war?  :D :D :D How about it @Al_Smith?

[Al_Smith]

I don't care what they use in their crankcase ,SAE 90WT, tranny fluid thinned with kerosene ,diesel fuel .
What few OHV small engines I have I use synthetic .The old clunkers I use conventional oil .When I bought the zero turn Toro the dealer told me to run conventional oil for the break in period changed at 20 hours then if I wanted to  I could go to synthetic ,50 hours .Which I did .I change it in the spring because I don't put 50 hours on it in a whole season.Should last forever .BTW it starts right up ,any temp .--self commencer you know  ;)

[barbender]

Not to anger anyone, and I think synthetic oil has its advantages over conventional, but cold starting is not really one of them.  10w-30 is 10w-30.  Though the viscosity index may infact be a different matter the viscosity would be the same and therefore the starting (cranking) resistance.

Nope, just because the viscosity index is the same doesn't mean they will behave the same. Maybe on paper, but I have had ample opportunity to observe different engine and hydraulic oils at -35°F, quality synthetic oils stay fluid at those temps when others turn to goo.

[blackfoot griz]

I have used one 'tool' often for all kinds of things other what it was intended for...it is a pretty pink hair dryer. It has warmed engines, hydraulic tanks, gelled diesel filters, frozen pipes, cold boots, etc. It has not dried one hair though.

[repmma]

Not to anger anyone, and I think synthetic oil has its advantages over conventional, but cold starting is not really one of them.  10w-30 is 10w-30.  Though the viscosity index may infact be a different matter the viscosity would be the same and therefore the starting (cranking) resistance.

Nope, just because the viscosity index is the same doesn't mean they will behave the same. Maybe on paper, but I have had ample opportunity to observe different engine and hydraulic oils at -35°F, quality synthetic oils stay fluid at those temps when others turn to goo.

Well i guess if we want to talk about oil for running a woodsplitter at -35 F id wager that the viscosity matters more than it being syn or conventional.  Wasnt the op talking about 40degs?  Not negative 40?  

Any slight advantage synthetic has for cold starting doesnt beat correct viscosity for the temperature.  Ive seen alot more charts that say Viscosity for the temp than i have to choose the Base Stock for the temp.  After that your cutting some fine hairs.

And viscosity index is the exact reason (among others) why one oil can perform better at below 0deg F.  The 10 in 10w is based it being 0deg F, so yes 10w syn is the same as 10w conventional for all intents and purposes.

But anyways i think Mobil 1 is well worth its cost based on everything else it does WAY better than the conventional oils. 

[barbender]

I am forced to sit through continuing education classes each spring for my logging job. Often there are classes/presentations put on by oil manufacturers. I ask lots of questions, to the point I annoy my co-workers😁 These oil engineers and reps all tell me the cold pour point is more important than the actual viscosity rating, in cold temperatures. Maybe we're saying the same thing from different angles, maybe not. I'm not sure at this point😊 My point still is, I have observed oils of the same viscosity side by side, and they are not the same in cold temperatures. Not all of them were synthetic either. I had two different conventional iso 32 hydraulic oils, but one had a lower pour point. My machine has a vacuum pump to pull hydraulic oil into the reservoir, it could pull the stuff with the low cold pour point, the other stuff couldn't be added until it was warmed up. I'd venture a guess you could tell the difference between those two oils if you had them in a splitter you were trying to pull over in the cold.

[mike_belben]

Split wood in spring, problem solved.

[Al_Smith]

Well that's a viable option I must say .There was a time I had to brave the elements but that time has passed .The novelty of snow and cold weather does not appeal to me at all .

[Pulphook]

No engine oil. No starting problems. No carb. No noise. No warmup. No fumes. No pink hair dryers.
Electric.

[LeeB]

Come on, not even the pink hair dryer?  :D