new craftsman spewing smoke

[ymarianne]

I have a brand new Craftsman Pro Series 7000 that makes me sick from the white smoke. It’s my second unit as the first one did the same thing so I exchanged it for another one. The oil level is fine. It is rated for steep terrain which is why I bought this model. I do use it on hills more than 15 degrees. It starts smoking after about 30-45 min of mowing. Has anyone heard of this problem? I am going to return this and buy another model next year. Not sure if I should stick with Craftsman or go with another brand that might be better on hills. Thanks.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Is it equipped with the Briggs engine or the Kohler Courage? I have had the Briggs V-Twin version before and it had issues similar to your description on my property for around 4 years before the engine decided it had had enough and stopped rotating. My current is a Kohler Courage V-Twin and it is really working and running great after almost 600 hours of use on 17 degree average side cutting and 32 degree up and back cutting. The Kohler is a FAR better power plant from what I have experienced. My opinion based on my history with the 2 engines is that I'll never own another Briggs engine unless its a full commercial grade unit. The cheaper consumer engines are smoke machines and die an early death if used on hills.

 

[ymarianne]

This has a Kohler engine. I’m really disappointed as I love the mower apart from the really loud engine and getting sick from smoke every time I mow! Your hills look like mine. My last Craftsman was their bottom of the line mower and lasted about 12 years. I don’t have faith in this one, I think it’s a design flaw.

 

[mddorange]

I have a 7 year old Craftsman Pro 9000 with a 24hp B & S V-Twin that has ran flawlessly on all kinds of terrain.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I have a 7 year old Craftsman Pro 9000 with a 24hp B & S V-Twin that has ran flawlessly on all kinds of terrain.

What hours are on it, and also... Alabama calls hills what we call level ground up here in the mountain regions. The issue is with getting oil while the engine is tilted 15-30 degrees, many of the lower priced (non commercial) engines do not oil well (or at all) on severe angles. Your 7 years may be on relatively flat earth and with 150 hours.... so you would need to tell the rest of the story for it to have meaning. Your towns elevation there is 449 feet above sea level. My yard has over a 400 foot change in elevation from front to rear Looking at the topology map of your area, you are nestled in the low lands between 3 mountains, in other words in basically low laying flat lands. Free Marion County, Alabama Topo Maps & Elevations

 

[mddorange]

I have 452 hours on my Pro Yard Tractor.

I have a creek that cuts through my property. My elevation runs from 289 feet at the creek up to 793 feet on each side. This creates a fairly steep grade on both sides.

 

[Rock Crawler]

452 hours on a non commercial Brigs engine is far beyond what I saw on my last 2 Craftsman mowers that had v-twin brigs in them. I use good (Amsoil) lubricants in mine to try to help them live, but I just couldn't get 4 full summers from those 2 engines. I have 6 years (almost a 7th under the belt) on this 2010 Craftsman with the Kohler. Your doing good, I would guess I had 300-350 hours on the 2 Brigs engines when they were finished. It was a shame because my frames/decks were still in very good condition with only minor paint missing and slight surface rust in places. The machines were no where near done physically... but yet with the death of the hydro units and the engines using as much oil as gas.... The good thing is that the engines were done and the hydro units were done at about the same time. Mine would be smoking like a old coal train by the time the hydro completely took a dump on me. This new one, the engine is still running at 110% and the hydro is starting to slow down on me... the end is coming. But it's done a valiant job for just under 600 hours now. I guess it doesn't owe me anything for the $2600 I paid to get 7 full summers.

 

[mddorange]

Yes, I am just now starting to get a little smoke sometimes.

I have had to change my deck out twice. The first time was because the front wheel support broke off. The second time was because the deck got bent and would not completely straighten back out.

 

[dougbthom]

I have the 24HP Briggs from Sears for the past 7 years and it has run beautifully since day one. I also use Amsoil in everything I own and I'm convinced this has prolonged the life of all my equipment. The only time I have ever experienced smoke from any equipment is when on some units the pre air filter that is soaked in oil has had too much oil thus causing some temporary smoking.