What Are You Smoking?

The colour of your diesel smoke tells a story

- Stuart Reichardt

Even if you are not at all mechanically minded, there are certain indicators in the smoke your diesel engine emits that indicate certain anomalies that need attention. Excessive smoke from any modern diesel engine is indicative of a problem, but knowing what different smoke colours mean will help to indicate the nature of the problem, and what part of the motor needs urgent attention.

Marine diesel motors will always emit a bit of smoke on start up, but that smoke should disappear quickly. If the smoke becomes visible after the motor warms up or when the throttle is opened, it often indicates a problem that needs fixing. This is where noting the colour of the smoke will assist in determining the problem.

There are basically three types of smoke that are emitted from a diesel engine and these are blue, black and white. Leisure Boating delves into the fume and smoke-filled world of diesel engines to get the facts.

WHITE SMOKE