I agree.
Unused motor oil = .00039
Gasoline= .00053
New oil from 20 to 150 degF will expand from 5 qts to 5.25qt approximately.
That’s not enough to worry about IMO.
We use dielectric oils that have double the CTE of motor oil…
Thanks for pointing this out Nevada_545,
My manual says that the oil should be warm, AND “After turning
off the engine, wait a few minutes for the oil to drain back into the bottom of
the engine.” I have not been waiting very long, but I have no engine trouble, yet.
I’ll wait longer in the future.
And washed the windshield. 
The only problem with not waiting long enough is that the oil level will read low when it’s not actually low and it may fool you into slightly overfilling the oil.
Also, the difference between a one minute wait and a 10 minute wait may not even be readable, especially if the oil is hot and flows readily.
3 Likes
I agree with that!
Additionally, I would rather check my oil “cold” because it’s quicker and neater. As I’ve stated previously, there is no need to remove the stick, wipe it off, put it back in and pull it out, check it and put it back, when I check my oil in a cold engine.
I simply raise the stick enough to observe the level (without removing it) and push it back into place.
I’ve done this for decades with multiple vehicles at a time and find it works out much better than the “engine warm” procedure.
Hey, when you’ve got half a dozen cars that means this method is better times 6! Trust me.
And one more thing… simpler and cleaner is better because it encourages most people to check more regularly or more often, especially considering one might have to find a rag / paper towel or have on nice clothing when not checking it cold. The main objective is to keep an engine from being run low on oil.
And one more “one more thing”… Keep that hood latch lubed, too, so that you don’t stress the hood release mechanism by properly maintaining the vehicle(s).
And another… I quickly visually inspect coolant level (in expansion tank) and brake fluid and top-off windshield washer fluid while I have the hood raised.
CSA 
I have no trouble checking the oil in my vehicles, but I have problems getting an accurate reading on the dipsticks of my lawnmowers. One engine is a Briggs & Stratton and the other is a Tecumseh. If I check the oil when the engines are cold, there is no problem. However, if I have to add oil or have changed oil, I have to let the mower sit for 10 minutes before the oil drains down the dipstick tube and I can get an accurate reading. This is particularly a problem with one mower that burns a lot of oil. (None of this would have been a problem if my neighbor would have kept the agreement we made that I wouldn’t mow my lawn until he mowed his and he wouldn’t mow his yard until I mowed mine, but he was out with his mower last week and Mrs. Triedaq insisted I had to mow our yard).
Back when I was living in an apartment, that’s the method I used, but I can’t do that anymore now that I live in a house because my driveway is on an incline, giving me false readings.
Fortunately, it’s not much of a hardship to check it at the gas station when I fuel-up, like people did in the good old days when there were full service stations. Wiping the dipstick clean and reinserting it in the block is part of the ritual for many people anyway.
B.L.E. provided the best answer.
I’m a firm believe that if you check it whenever it’s convenient to you, whether that’s in the morning, or at the gas station, or after waiting 10 minutes, or whatever, your engine will never know the difference.
1 Like
I just had this problem this past weekend, I guess I can finally say that spring may have arrived in the northeast.
I now own a mower that burns electrons. Charge the LI-ion battery, stick it in the mower, and cut the grass. Afterwards my ears aren’t ringing and my hands aren’t tingling from vibration. No oil to check or change.
The only thing better would be sheep or goats but keeping livestock is frowned upon in my neighborhood.
2 Likes
Me too. But I don’t have to charge a battery! I just plug the mower in and go!
By the time I checked the oil, filled the gas tank, and bent over to pull the start cord on my gas mower my back was already killing me. When I found this ultra-lightweight electric mower, all molded plastic (including the hollow-plastic wheels) except for the motor, blade, and handle, I saw it as Godsent… which it has turned out to be. Since a can’t get a new back, the new mower is perfect.
1 Like
Wow - 51 posts on checking oil…here’s 52: the Ford Ecoboost engines hold the oil in their heads for quite a while, friend checked it after filling gas, 1 qt low, added a quart, then checked it the next morning, WAY high. So do the test where you check the oil every few minutes and see how long it takes.
@B.L.E. I bought a used electron burning mower from a friend. However, I have been somewhat disappointed with it. It is an an older Black & Decker and uses lead acid batteries. I replaced the batteries two years ago and only got two seasons of use out of these batteries. I may have killed the batteries the first season I had the mower. I was helping the widow of a friend and stalled the mower out a couple of times which tripped the circuit breaker. This may have weakened the batteries. I replaced the batteries this past weekend, so I’ll see how it goes.
I do like the quietness of the mower and it cuts well. However, Mrs. Triedaq finds it too heavy to push and prefers the 18" aluminium deck Toro gasoline mower we.bought back in 1988. A newer electron powered mower with the lithium ion battery may be a.better bet. With one mower 30 years old, one mower 26 years old and this Black and Decker rechargeable mower that may be 10 years old, it may be time to upgrade to a lithium battery mower.
I had a plug in mower but managing that cord was a such a PITA, I ended up using the old gas mower instead, when it ran. That 56 volt 5 ampere-hour battery adds about 4.5 pounds to the mower’s weight according to my bathroom scale.
I’m using an EGO Li-ion mower, it’s doing a great job replacing my old Toro.
That’s what I have.
@B.L.E and @texases Thanks for the information on the EGO lithium ion battery powered mower. It should be lighter and more convenient than what we are now using.
It can be, but I have a small yard and developed a workable pattern. It’s amazing how innovative one can get when one has a physical disability.
My previous house had a 3/4-acre yard. I used a tractor for that one. There’d be no way to reasonably mow that with an electric.
What you need is a self propelled mower and a post or tree in the middle of the yard that has a diameter about 1/3 the cut of the mower. Attach a rope to the front of the mower and let it wrap the rope around the tree as you sit back and drink beer.
I wonder if they haven’t already tried it at The Possum Lodge up there in Canada.
It might have been longer if the title read-
What day of year is best to check oil?
2 Likes