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Old 13-10-2024, 14:18   #1
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Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

Would like members opinion on if its best to change my boats oil and fuel filters at the end of the season or in the spring at the beginning of the season?
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Old 13-10-2024, 14:33   #2
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

Warm the engine and change the warmed oil in the fall. You’ll have nice clean oil in the engine while your boat is laid up. No sense in allowing oil contaminants to sit over the winter season within your valuable machinery.
Change the fuel filters basically for the same reason.
I also change my transmission fluid at the same time, replace the zinc in the heat exchanger too.
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Old 13-10-2024, 14:37   #3
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

Every other year whether it needs it or not.


I don't think it matters much. Whenever it's convenient and when the hourmeter shows it's necessary based on the guidance from the engine manufacture (usually 200 hours). I don't think engines last longer if the oil is changed more often than necessary.
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Old 13-10-2024, 15:48   #4
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

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Originally Posted by cburger View Post
Would like members opinion on if its best to change my boats oil and fuel filters at the end of the season or in the spring at the beginning of the season?
I always used to do at beginning of season because I don't believe the "acid oil" story.

The "oil will absorb water" story is interesting. Since power boaters seem to get oil analysis done more than sailboaters I asked on Trawler Forum once. Turns out there is little to no evidence from tests that oil in an engine "absorbs"

Then there are belt AND suspenders people who replace oil bo0th at end of season and the beginning of the next after storage.
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Old 13-10-2024, 15:49   #5
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

I've always done it at the end of the season, for the reasons Jim mentions. I doubt it makes that much difference, but if I have the choice, I do it at the end.
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Old 13-10-2024, 16:32   #6
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

As the average boat engine is not killed by poor oil change techniques, it probably doesn't matter.

However good oil management suggests when the TBN (total base number) of the oil drops by 50%, it is time to change it. TBN is measured (AFAIK) on the volume of Perchloric Acid required to alter a 10cc sample of the original new oil to pH value of 5. Now we ain't going to mess around to determine the TBN of the oil so the simple answer is to change it at the end of the season as during use, the TBN has slowly been decreasing.

However this is science. You can choose to disbelieve the evidence and follow your beliefs (even if the oil manufacturer chooses to take the evidenced based approach).
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Old 13-10-2024, 17:06   #7
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

Science, huh?

I'll have to talk with my other half. She gets paid to spread that science stuff around.

(She's a professor of chemistry. This might make a fun experiment, especially for the engineering track students.)
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Old 13-10-2024, 17:13   #8
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

I like to add to the mix of previous helpful opinions

Is the engine burning oil? and how much need to replace vs hours of use.

For an average season, the suggested 200 hours sounds good, last year I motored more than that and decided to change the oil, didn't change the filter, will do next oil change.
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Old 13-10-2024, 17:23   #9
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

Another minor consideration is the age and wear of the engine. More worn engines require shorter oil changes intervals then a barely worn engine. Sounds counter intuitive but a worn engine contaminate oil faster than an as new engine.
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Old 13-10-2024, 17:36   #10
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

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However good oil management suggests when the TBN (total base number) of the oil drops by 50%, it is time to change it.

And here I was taught and brought up on the idea that viscosity loss due to shear was the limiting factor.
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Old 13-10-2024, 17:40   #11
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

^^ I guess there are many limiting factors. Change it when any limiting factor is reached.
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Old 13-10-2024, 19:51   #12
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

My opinion is we are splitting hairs here. The difference between at the end of the season or the beginning of the season is so small that there is absolutely no real data to support one or the other, just people speculating and making things up.

Your choice here will have almost no real impact on your engine's lifespan.
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Old 13-10-2024, 20:06   #13
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

This topic has gotten a lot more emotion in the past
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Old 13-10-2024, 21:20   #14
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

I always change oil in the fall along with the transmission fluid, just before haul-out so she's ready in the spring. It doesn't take much time for me to do both. Fuel filter I change less frequently, usually only if I notice anything in the bowl or if it's been awhile.
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Old 14-10-2024, 06:58   #15
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Re: Change Oil and Filters Beginning or End of Season

I changed my oil before laying up for the winter, as a part of winterizing, or whenever the boat was likely to be idle for a prolonged period of time.
I also, sometimes [arbitrarily] changed the oil during spring re-commissioning, as well.

Most gasoline and diesel engine manufacturers recommend that you change your oil every 50-100 hours [check your owner's manual for your engine's exact interval requirements].

An oil analysis will tell you how long your engine can really go, between oil changes. They’re cheap, too [Blackstone’s standard analysis is just $35*].

* Standard Oil Analysis ➥ https://www.blackstone-labs.com/test...dard-analysis/
Report Explanation ➥ https://www.blackstone-labs.com/wp-c...e-combined.pdf
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