Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi! We have over 24 inches of snow. I have been trying to keep up but got behind last night. Normally we use the snowblower when it is 6" deep or less. Now the snow is about 18-20" and my daugher has been going after it with the snowblower for several hours. She just came in and said it started smoking near the push start area. She shut it off right away. The smoke was not blue or black but the color of cigarette smoke. She noticed a slight smell of gas (she thinks).

Did she just overwork the engine? It it okay to start it again? I told her to shovel the top layers and try to get it down so we can use the snowblower. Do you think that after the engine cools down it will be okay.

Thank you so much for you answers in advance. We really do not know what we are doing.

Sorry, I wont be of much help but the guys who could will probably want to know the make and model and if possible from the tag on the base section of the machine by the wheels.
Is the start button right on the very top of the engine above a small 2 inch or so housing for the electric plug?
Is there a light on the machine?
Is the oil level full?
Do you notice any oil dripping down anywhere like near the engine base or down the sides of the base housing?
trouts

Did the smoke seem like steam? The head at the top part of the engine where the bolts are gets very hot and a clump of snow might have fallen onto the head. She might have noticed some water bubbling on the head.

Did the motor sputter or backfire at the time or just before?

It is full of oil - I just added some after I wrote the first email. I don't think it was steam as it happened when she (without permission) started it again about an hour. Thanks for your help.

If I understand what you wrote correctly it happened again about an hour later when the engine was cold.

The usual things related to the carburetor would make noise so probably not that.

If it happened right away then it was probably not gas that had dripped on something.

The electrical related things are pretty remote and very low chance to produce smoke but you probably don't have an altinator.

I'm not sure about a loose sparkplug being able to let smoke escape so a long shot.

If it's an MTD product you can call their support line. I've called them a couple times and got someone without a wait. Yep, too late now and the support desks for various companies are usually closed on Sundays.

I guess if the oil was extreamly low you would have mentioned it. That also would have been unrelated in the seocond start as it happened immediatly.

I can't think of anything that would make a cold engine smoke from the head without some accompanying noticable noise which you have not mentioned. ??

Stumped! Looks like you might have to wait until Monday to get ahold of a local dealer. From what you've written I would not mess with it.
trouts
trouts

Cold machine will smoke if it's been tipped and some oil got in areas where it's not supposed to, or if it's been overfilled, but this will only last a minute of two. The smoke produced in such cases looks a lot like steam. Mine usually does it after I service it, not a big deal.

<BR> iculand wrote: <BR>


buy what u have written l would think theres a good chance it was some snow getting on a hot part (as trouts mentioned) theres three types of smoke that could come from a engine blue/black/white and white is the most unlikely of the three in a small engine, yes its ok to restart the engine it wont hurt it, do so and observe what happens if it smokes let it run for a couple of minutes and see if it goes away if so l wouldnt worry about, and as for overworking the machine thats isnt going to happen doesnt matter how many inchs or how long you run it. hopefully this helps some

She said:

"it started smoking near the push start area"

It seems like for the first report and for the second mention of smoke the poster was not there and getting the report from her daughter. I assumed since there was no mention of unusual smoke from the muffler that the smoke was from the head only - big difference.

So the possibilities are:

It might have been from the muffler only and not so unusual.

It might be that there was smoke going out the muffler AND from the head area on top. The muffler might be loose and smoking. Some smoke might be comming from muffler block connection and going up through carburetor heater box and possibly seeping through the head area.

There might be no unusual smoke out of the muffler and smoke up through the head area which is unusual. Possibly the head is cracked or leaking through the head gasket.

Well, the good news is that it is still running.
Maybe she put the choke on?
I would just keep using it. It is either going to work, or it is about to grenade. If it is about to grenade, not much you can do about it anyway. And by grenade, I do not mean something that is harmful to the operator, just the internals of the engine.
If it is overfull of oil, it will smoke. If the choke was put on while it was running it will smoke. Snow hitting the engine will make it smoke (steam).
Other than that, it *might* be internal damage - but so what? It is a lame horse at that point. Chances are good that it will last for years.

Go clear your driveway. And thank your husband for his service to our Country for me.

Where abouts are you?