Z781 Smoking on start-up

TiptonLawnCare

New member

Equipment
2020 Z781kwti-60
Mar 26, 2020
2
0
0
Riley, IN USA
Hey everyone! Just joined so please bare with me if I mistakenly break a rule. I used the search bar for my question but couldn’t find the answer I was looking for.

I bought a brand new Kubota Z781i in January of this year with the 30HP Kawasaki EFI engine on it. Since then I have started it 2-3 times and let it run for a little bit just to circulate the oil, let it build some heat, etc. (I don’t believe in letting things sit untouched) and each time upon start-up it blows out a pretty good plume of smoke. Keep in mind the engine only has 0.7 hours on it but I feel like the amount of smoke it blows out on start-up is abnormal even for a brand new engine. It goes away within probably 5 seconds and doesn’t smell like it’s burning oil once it’s been running and hasn’t used any oil (don’t think I’ve ran it long enough to consume any). The only time it smokes is right upon start-up. The engine doesn’t make any weird noises and runs solid from what I’ve seen with it so far.

Is this normal? Should I contact my dealer? Should I ride it out once season peaks and see if it clears up? I live in Indiana so we are not quite into season just yet. This is my first Kawasaki engine I’ve ever owned. I’ve always ran Kohler or Vanguard but couldn’t pass up the orange this time! Any help or advice is much appreciated so thank you in advance!
 

Workerbee

Active member

Equipment
Zd21
Mar 1, 2020
157
45
28
MN
Are you sure its oil? It may be fuel as it would be enriched upon a cold startup.
 

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
4,870
1,607
113
Mid, South, USA
It is normal, nothing to worry about. They almost all do it. It is due to some of the fuel sitting in there, it kind of gets old after a couple weeks, and when you fire it off, it burns it--combined with a rich condition ("choke") it's gonna smoke a little.

Run it. After you put a hundred hours on it, any oil usage that you've noticed should be gone--assuming the air filter and engine oil/filter have been serviced properly along the way.