synthetic oil or not
The Honda 2000 generator says to use sae 10-30w but doesnt specify if it needs to be synthetic or not. Does anyone use high quality oil or is it overkill?
Forum Discussion
racedrvr wrote:
I use diesel oil (Rotella synthetic) in all my non vehicle engines. It has additives the car oils don't have because of the catalytic convertors potential of being contaminated. During the very cold winter camping season I use 0W-30 Mobil 1 because the generator will shut down on the first few starts due to oil warning light with the more viscous oil I use as recommended in the summer. The 0W is thin enough in the very cold that it doesn't cause that problem.
Rotella removed the higher ZDDP (or zinc) content about 7 years ago. Rotella has a CJ-4 rating which is "Designed to optimize after-treatment service life in systems on 2007-and-newer trucks" It also carries a SM rating for gasoline engines which is a sure sign that it has a much lower zinc content matching that of today oils for gasoline engines.
If you really want to make sure you are using the right oil for your Honda genny then go to Lowes, Home Depot, or Camping World and get the Honda brand oil. As for me I use whatever 10w/30 I have left over or whatever the cheapest I see on the shelf. It's a generator not a Farrai.
