[southwells farm]

Hi all,

I've just serviced my Honda FG200 rotovator, it was a bit smokey when i brought it at the end of last year (2nd hand)

Its got a new filter, spark plug and fresh oil. I let it run for 20mins and its still a little smokey.

Is it supposed to be like that??

[Gwiz]

Ah, that all depends on what you call "a little smokey"
I had a chap bring a machine in to me to be serviced, he said it was a "bit smokey"
When I started it up to see if there were any faults with the drive, The workshop disappeared in a choking blue haze and I had to open all the windows and doors for half an hour before I could get back to work, and it set of the fire alarm.
As a general rule of thumb, if the exhaust fumes smell like burnt oil, then that is probably what you've got, and that is normally only going to be caused by a worn engine in some way (worn valve stems, piston rings, cylinder bore.....and so on) or too much oil in the crankcase, or maybe the oil is too thin.
As you probably aren't going to use the machine for too many hours a year, you might decide to put up with a bit of smoke, or if it's very bad, maybe it's time for a replacement engine?

[southwells farm]

Thanks for your reply.

I think when i used it last time it got better as i used it for longer (ie warmer).

I'm guessing the new oil is thin at the moment? The old oil was very black and smelt heavily of fuel.

i'll take it down the allotment over the bank holiday and give it a run. Tbh altho its 2nd hand its still quite new so hoping it wont need a new engine!

The smoke isnt as bad as you described, id say you can see its slighty blue as it leaves the exhaust and gets a bit heavier as the revs increase.

[Timebandit]

check that yo haven't overfilled the oil . if you have you will be burning this as well as petrol this is probably the most common cause of excess smoke .

[southwells farm]

Thanks for the advice timebandit, i dont think i have but i'll ckeck later.

[Vit]

And no reply for a long time... What was the cause of smoke? Thin oil or too much oil?