New mower , smoke on start up ?

1894

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All new for me so I could use some advice. I've never had a v-twin or pressurized oil mower motor before. My cub rzt-s with a 22 hp kohler sv 715 motor sometimes puffs a bit of smoke when I start it.
4.5 hours on the motor so far . Mower manual says " put throttle to slow before shutting off " Engine manual says " throttle between full and 1/2 before shutting off "
Tried both , they each give the 'once in a while' puff of smoke when starting the engine while cold . I'm not seeing a pattern yet .
Is this just the motor getting broke in ? Something to worry about ? Any leanings toward slow or 3/4 throttle when shutting the motor off ?
 

TnHusky

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Phil I had a similar situation right after I bought my mower which has a 24 hp Kohler on it. I had cut the engine off and was talking to a neighbor and the engine was on a slight incline downward and apparently the engine was a touch overfull as well. Anyway I fired it up and the blue smoke rolled and sorta startled me in doing so. That was however the only time it has done that as well. Also I do believe it takes some time to seat the rings but just check the oil lever and verify that is correct and keep a eye on the level as well.
I always start my engine at a idle and let it warm a tad before throwing it to it as well. I think you will be ok over all. I know have 13.3 hrs on mine with no problems.
 

Brucebotti

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I have a Kohler Command Twin in my circa 2000 craftsman GT. It does the same thing on a cold startup from time to time. It was disconcerting at first, but after 13 years and approximately 600 hours, I guess it's ok. I change the oil and filter every 25 hours and it never burns any.

I would check with the dealer, but I'm sure that you are okay.

Bruce
 

djdicetn

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All new for me so I could use some advice. I've never had a v-twin or pressurized oil mower motor before. My cub rzt-s with a 22 hp kohler sv 715 motor sometimes puffs a bit of smoke when I start it.
4.5 hours on the motor so far . Mower manual says " put throttle to slow before shutting off " Engine manual says " throttle between full and 1/2 before shutting off "
Tried both , they each give the 'once in a while' puff of smoke when starting the engine while cold . I'm not seeing a pattern yet .
Is this just the motor getting broke in ? Something to worry about ? Any leanings toward slow or 3/4 throttle when shutting the motor off ?

1894,
Does the mower have a separate Choke control and Throttle/Speed control?? Or is it one of the new engines that have a single control and an "auto choke feature"?? Some smoke at startup, when cold due to the choke open, is normal for any small engine. My engine manual(and all mowers I've ever owned) recommend that you reduce the Throttle/Speed to the slowest settin for a minute or two before turning off. That's what I would recommend.
 

Rivets

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Dice auto chokes are not used on tractor engines!!! Kohlers are know for slightly smoking on start up, I wouldn't worry about it. Always shut a tractor engine off at lowest throttle, as the carbs are set up different than tractor engines.
 

djdicetn

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Dice auto chokes are not used on tractor engines!!! Kohlers are know for slightly smoking on start up, I wouldn't worry about it. Always shut a tractor engine off at lowest throttle, as the carbs are set up different than tractor engines.

You really don't like me do you??? In a thread titled "New mower, smoke on start up?", I read "cub rzt-s with a 22 hp kohler sv 715 motor sometimes puffs a bit of smoke when I start it." in post#1(which is the post that I responded to). Just what about "Cub RZT-S" tells you that he is talking about a "tractor engine"????? So, none of the new Cub Cadet RZT's with Kohlers have the new choke(where there is no Choke Control/Cable)??? And if we are in the "correcting each others" mode, just what do you mean in your last sentence where you are saying that a tractor carb being set up differently than tractor engines???? That sentence is pretty confusing from a mechanic that's "worked on them all"? But I guess my advice was just completely out of line, confusing and "full of smoke":0)

P.S.
Like I told user 1894, both of the Briggs & Stratton engines on the two lawn tractors I have owned AND the Kawasaki FX691V engine on my Gravely "smoke slightly on startup"....until I close the choke. Or am I just imagining that???
 

Rivets

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You are right, I don't. I like and respect posters who know from experience what they are talking about. You post about things that you have never used or experienced. You say you get your information by doing research, but never try the products. You are just like the advertisement about believing every thing you read on the web to be true. When I post, I use hands on experience as my background and research. If you knew what an auto choke system was and how it works, you would not have asked the original poster if his unit had one. When you stick to posting about things that you have actually experience and can give that type of info to others, I may start liking you, but I don't think you will change and I'm sure I'm too old to change. Hope your Gravely never needs to go into the shop, as the mechanic will have you breathing over his shoulder, glad it will never be me.
 

Mad Mackie

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Had a sign in the old power equipment shop that I worked in years ago, " $25/hour labor rate, $50/hour if you watch, $75/hour if you help"!!!:laughing:
Mad Mackie in CT:biggrin::smile:
 

djdicetn

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You are right, I don't. I like and respect posters who know from experience what they are talking about. You post about things that you have never used or experienced. You say you get your information by doing research, but never try the products. You are just like the advertisement about believing every thing you read on the web to be true. When I post, I use hands on experience as my background and research. If you knew what an auto choke system was and how it works, you would not have asked the original poster if his unit had one. When you stick to posting about things that you have actually experience and can give that type of info to others, I may start liking you, but I don't think you will change and I'm sure I'm too old to change. Hope your Gravely never needs to go into the shop, as the mechanic will have you breathing over his shoulder, glad it will never be me.

Well, the feeling is mutual and I'll share my opinion of your "expert advice". You apparently own a Toro and work at a dealer that sells Kubotas and Toros(good guess right, since you've never actually said that in your posts). When you began criticizing my posts about how much I like my Gravely or how reluctant I was to accept the quality of the new Kubota Kommander, you were pretty specific that the Kubota Kommander(or any Kubota) and/or a Toro ZTR were the only quality ZTR machines on the market and everything else(including my Gravely) was "junk". IMHO, you may have worked on "a handful" of every brand available(let say a few hundred) compared to the hundreds of thousands of units for those brands that have never seen the repair shop at a dealer(and I'll venture to guess you have no "ownersip experience" to share for Gravely's or others). Yet, your obvious bias towards your dealer's brands clouds your ability to really benefit users on these forums that are shopping for a new ZTR. Yes, I've done a lot of research, and I have test driven approximately 8 different brands before I purchased mine, but read ANY of my posts and you will find that I also "heavily" recommend makes such as Toro, Hustler, Cub Cadet, Big Dog, Dixon, Husqvarna and yes.......even Kubota although most of their ZTR's are not affordable except by businesses. I do not just recommend the Gravely because I own one to users seeking a specific grade of ZTR's and have a specific budget. I don't think I can say that about your brand/model recommendations. And I have not claimed any small engine repair knowledge, only "speculated" about the new "built-in" chokes and this post is the first time I have attempted to assist a user about a very common occurrence with all lawn mower engines(puff of smoke at startup). Yet your absolute and complete knowledge indicates that this is only evident in a Kohler engine. Are those the only engines you have ever started cold with the choke on in your mechanic experience???? Did the others not emit a small puff of smoke at startup? Maybe we should allow the OP to respond to me and answer my questions(I did "ask" about what type of choke his cub had) since he is the only one who knows how much he pushed the choke control to start his mower engine(or if it has a choke control lever) as you were'nt there. I welcome and embrace constructive criticism and do not purport to know everything, but your "fragmented sentences" reply to my post was obviously not intended to be constructive and teach me anything(much less the OP). So if you want to avoid giving me any advice to help me learn more(since your knowledge is so comprehensive compared to mine) that's fine, but you can take your personal vendata towards my opinion of the Kubota Komander elsewhere(I wouldn't have that deck-hanging system on my ZTR for that kind of money), which I backed with a line-for-line tech spec comparison to the Gravely ZT HD). I consider this the only direct personal response to you that anyone will see going forward on these forums and I encourage you to do the same. This is not a venue for argument and slander towards other users, rather a forum intended to give advice and learn new things. Let's both try to stick to that.
 

Rocketman

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Well, the 22 HP V-Twin Briggs on my Cub ZTR does the same thing, and it has almost 600 hours on it with very little oil usage, so my guess is that it will keep doing it, and will run for a very long time!
What kind of oil do have in it?
 
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