I have always used SAE 30 in my Westerbeke-27, mostly because that is what the prior owners used. Multi-weight oil is sometimes a bit easier to come by. Any real advantage to using a multi-weight? Any issues in switching during a regular oil change?
Jim Cosgrove
FATE 30U #343
Galesville, MD
I’m not sure that 30 weight is the recommended oil by Westerbeke. Any boat mechanic I know always recommends 15W40 unless you’re in the extreme cold or hot climates. The advantage is at start up (cold engine) it’s 15 weight and after warming up, it’s 40 weight. Thin oil is better when cold and obviously thicker oil is better when warm.
Joe Valinoti
S/V IL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
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Thanks Joe.
I’ll second that Joe, when we bought our NS the previous owner was using 30 weight, thankfully he only owned the boat one season. I immediately went to 15W40 diesel oil… recommended for diesel. I’ve used Valvoline although Shell Rotella is VERY good also, and there may be other brands as well, but the weight should be 15W40 for the reasons you’ve outlined. I don’t believe there should be any issues changing to 15W40 from 30 weight, do you Joe? I’ve had my engine oil lab tested several times and have had no issues whatsoever.
Regards,
Dick (& Shirley) Darrow
Cativa, NS30U #496
Sodus Bay, NY USA
No reason I can think of not to change over. FWIW, Rotella 15W40 is my choice also.
Joe Valinoti
S/V IL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
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Dick and Joe, I appreciate the advice. I purchased Rotella 15w40 today and will use when I change the oil on Wednesday.
Thanks,
Jim
Jim Cosgrove
FATE 30U #343
Galesville, MD
I think when these engines where first produced single grade oil was the norm. My VW in 1973 ran on 30 in summer and 15 in winter. I have gone to synthetic 5W40 Shell T6 for my W21 and the difference in wear and engine smoothness is measurable and material. In marine use regular dino oil is finished after 50 hours. Not so synthetic.
Good point Thor. You are quite right how time changes the rules. Today’s lubricants marketed are far better than what’s been offered 30 plus years ago.
Jack Dokter
Nine Lives 26C 099 W21
Penetanguishene On
Well, in the VW specialty repair shop I owned and operated since 1966 in NJ and which my son now has, we always used 10W30 HD. However, I am thinking of switching my W-27 over to synthetic.
Joe Valinoti
S/V IL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
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When my 30 was new in 1984 (W-27 engine) it came with a Westerbeke oil recommendation of 10W-30 HD provided it had the required “diesel code letters”. No oil company was specified. I have used this oil grade consistently over the subsequent 31 years with oil and filter changes every 50 hours or less, and always one just prior to haulout for the 6 winter months on the hard here in Ontario. There is no oil consumption between changes and I don’t see any degradation of engine performance over the years. Therefore I’ve applied the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it “ rule. I would gladly make the change to to synthetic if someone has good evidence that the change would make a significant difference in some way. Anyone?
Cheers,
Joel Watt
N30U 258, “Virgin Gorda”
Kingston, On.
Hi Joel;
This is encouraging information. How many hours are on your engine?
I use the same viscosity oil (Shell Rotella) and the engine, at ~1650 total hours, starts easily and runs well. Only a hint of moustache on the hull at the exhaust outlet.
…..Ed
Ed and Marlene Brost
SaSeaCat N30U 322
Sarnia Ontario
Hi Ed,
I have averaged about a hundred hours a season, just over 3100 hours now. My local diesel “expert” says he thinks the engine could easily have another 3000 hours or more life. (I hope he’s right but I sure won’t be around to see.) If that’s the case, yours is just “broken in.” 
Cheers,
Joel
N30U 258, “Virgin Gorda”
Kingston, On
What-a-yah mean Joel… you’re just broken in… Sandy told me so! You’ll see the hour meter break 6000 for sure.
Regards,
Dick (& Shirley) Darrow
Cativa, NS30U #496
Sodus Bay, NY USA
Here is the oil report. As mentioned the engine runs much smoother, particularly when cold. I will retest at 40 hours next summer and we shall see then where we stand.
Changing the oil in the W21 is a pain. Due to the engine angle and the oil drain being in the center of the pan you never get more than 2.5 quarts out of the 4. So I do one oil change and the another in 10 hours before she goes to bed for the winter. I think this may explain some of the gap between the 100 hour interval per Westerbeke and the analysis results.
Thor
097-111714.pdf (19.3 KB)
Thor,
Thanks for sharing these results. What's involved in getting the oil analysis done? What do you send them as a sample and how, for example?
Also, did you have to make a special effort to get all of the "dino" oil out before starting to use the synthetic?
Jim
Jim Cosgrove
FATE 30U #343
Galesville, MD
Thanks, Thor, I’m going to send in a sample when I change my oil in January and then fill it with synthetic. Next year I’ll send in a sample and see what the difference, if any, there is and let the members judge for themselves.
Joe Valinoti
S/V IL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
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Great! We now have an experienced mechanic, with lots of diesel experience I’m sure, doing research for us. I’m very interested in hearing about the results. My local marina which services almost entirely diesels (large ones) totally still recommends Rotella 15W40. I have never thought of asking about synthetic for the Westerbeke. I didn’t even know until recently that there were synthetics for diesels.
Hi Jim
I use Blackstone. They send you a small sample bottle, you mail it back and they email u the results
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/
I do it at the end of the season, to deal with the inability to drain all the oil this is what I do.
I get about 2.5 qts of the 4 qts on each change.
It is the only solution I can figure out…
Hi Thor,
Thanks, I’ve ordered a test kit and will get a sample to send in when I do my final oil change this weekend.
I don’t recall the W21 configuration from Morgan, but would it help to extract the oil from the dip stick tube? I used a Marpac fluid (vacuum) extractor last year on my W27 and it worked great. Easy to use and got out more oil than I ever have before.
Jim Cosgrove
FATE 30U #343
Galesville, MD