So today was maintenance day on my equipment. After checking with my bro-in-law who's been running Powermatics for years he advised me to use 30W non-detergent oil. When draining the blower I noticed that the oil looked thicker than 30W. This is the first time I've changed oil since acquiring the unit. I put in the 30W and ran it for awhile and everything seems O.K. Is there anything I should keep an eye out for other than smoke and flames?
30 is ok in the blower, but risky in the summer months. I would like to see you go with a 40 weight, though. It may have looked thicker because the oil hadn't been changed for a while and had broken down. Or it could have had the Roots or Sutorbilt synthetic oil in it. If your blower is going bad, you wont see flames or smoke, but you will definitely hear some wicked noise. ha ha!
Jim, Tuthill recommends ISO 100 oil (which is equivalent to your SAE 30 W oil) for ambient temps of 32F to 90F. For 90F to 120F ambient, they recommend ISO 150 (40 W) oil. Non-detergent is correct. An ashless dispersant (the detergent) is only needed where fuel combustion takes place - as in an engine.
