We don't use the 10W30 Honda ships with the mowers. Instead we go with a good brand name 30 as mowers are not operated in cold conditions. Don't get caught up with the name on the rebadged brand X bottle. Your warranty is not affected.

In freakin' Canada you don't use the recommended 10W30? Nobody ever starts their mower in BC when the temp is 50F or lower? Sure they do! 10W30 is definitely indicated there. SAE 30 is only to be used where the ambient temp at startup is 50F or higher (Honda manual). We use 10W30 even down here in VA because of cool starts in the spring and fall. We're cutting grass and bagging leaves/debris into December here, with some 40F starts. I imagine it's pretty much the same in BC. On my Lawn-Boy with Tecumseh, SAE 30 is okay down to 32F, so that's what I use in it. If I had a OHV or OHC engine, I would use 10W30. I'm really surprised at this recommendation to use SAE 30 in a Honda in Canada. Texas, maybe, but Canada?

We don't start our mowers in December because nobody has yet introduced a snowblower conversion kit LOL.We generally only cut from late April until late October depending on the weather. At 40 degrees, the grass aint growin'.

I have a Craftsman mower with the Honda 5.5hp OHC consumer grade engine. I got it in 2000, and, since draining the 30W oil it was shipped with at the 5 hour mark, it has had a yearly change of Mobil 1 synthetic. Most years this has been 5W30, but last year it used 0W30, with the same result as the 5W30. No add oil required at all, in six years.

You know, Briggs and Stratton recommend 5W30 or 10W30 synthetic oils now, and sell 5W30 under their own brand name. They do not recommend dino multi grades as they say it might result in consumption.

I have an hour meter on my mower, and it shows I use the mower 60 to 65 hours a year. It has never, in 6 years burned any but a negligible amount of oil in a 60+ hour year of running. This last year, using the 0W30, it was down about a sixteenth of an inch, which I attribute to the amount of oil wiped off the dipstick in regular checks. The oil still looked good,and I considered leaving it in 2 years, but decided to change.

I use this mower year 'round, cleaning up leaves through the winter, and I have winter grass on part of my lawn. So, it never goes more than 2 weeks without being used.

Considering that these simple air-cooled engines are splash lubricated using an oil slinger on the crankshaft, it makes sense to me that a multigrade oil is much better for initial lubrication and fuel economy, as well as having more power available due to less drag from the oil.

During the summer months, we use 10W30 in the Kohler Command because of the hydraulic lifters. They start poorly with single weight oil but eveything else gets 30. I am surprised 0W30 is available in TN. We only use it in extremely cold conditions, otherwise it is 5W30 from late fall to early spring.

Here in Vegas we use straight 30wt in all mowers all year. Its rare when someone mows in cold temps. We do have one tree guy with a couple of hydraulic lifter Kohlers on stump grinders that gets 10w-30 and snow blowers going up the hill get 5w-30 but everything else gets straight 30wt.

As for brands, anything with current oil service ratings that are up to date, which any major national brand will be, will not void warranty. Help me out on this guys, what is the current service ratings, "SL"? I think most manufactures say to use "SG" or higher.

I don't know about other brands, but Havoline has been stocking oil on the shelves with an API rating of "SM" for about a year now.

Is anyone using Rotella 5w-40 synthetic in the small engines? I now have 2 engines that use 10w-30 by the manual instead of the traditional 30w. I'd like to use a heavy duty conventional oil in 10w-30, but that is impossible to find in my area as a stock item at Wally World or the auto parts stores. A lot of commercial guys have gone to 15w-40 which I think too thick for my application. Specifically, anyone using 5w-40 in a Honda GCV-160? Thanks.

"Specifically, anyone using 5w-40 in a Honda GCV-160?"
I'm sure someone is.
Even though we both know that oil wouldn't hurt anything (except maybe a bit on fuel economy), if Honda doesn't specify a x-40, you would be voiding the warranty.
Try a truck stop for a 10W-30 HD. DELO 400 (for one) is supposed to be available in that weight.
Also, some WalMarts supposedly carry it?????

Here is a link that might be useful: DELO 400

I'm wondering if I should get Mobil 1 - 5w30 for my mower - currently have a SAE30 but storing it over the winter I think 10w30 or 5w30 would be better. There's a deal locally here where I can get a 4L (1 Gallon) for 1/2 price, will probably last me 3 years... also looked at Castrol and Pennzoil but Mobil 1 seems like a good investment.

I just bought a Husqvarna LC 221RH, has a Honda GCV160 OHC engine, using an ethanol-free gas, wouldn't mind using a Mobil 1 high performance oil if it's worth it. Not too concerned about heat here in Canada, but storage over the winter, although won't be running it in cold temperatures so 10w30 is probably fine.

I have a new CR-V as well which uses 0w30, but it's occasionally outside during cold winter days, so not sure if 5w30 is overkill but might help with the lifecycle and no issues in the spring...

Yep 5-30 would be a good idea for Canadian temps . I run premium syn oil in all new equipment . Used engines get Dino / Syn blend . I use Amsoil , however Mobil1 is Quality oil .