Plumes of white smoke!

[Rickcin]

My neighbor just serviced his craftsman lawn tractor that has a 21 or 22 hp engine, single cylinder and he changed the oil and guessing he over filled it since the thing sent out huge clouds of white smoke.
I went over to help him and the cylinder head and spark plug area was covered with oil and when draining some of the oil, it appeared to be very thin.

I know very little but I’m thinking it could be a blown head gasket?

Or, perhaps it was overfilled and just happens to be coincidental?

 

[Scrubcadet10]

Also be sure Check the oil for the smell of gasoline. That could indicate a bad carburetor Needle and seat or float.
Most likely the oil capacity is around 1 quart and a half.
Post up the engine make and model numbers if you can.

 

[Rickcin]

It’s a Craftsman YT 3000 and I’m trying to determine the engine manufacturer buts it’s a 21 hp single cylinder.

Its a Briggs & Stratton 540 cc engine

 

[Born2Mow]

White smoke is oil burning.
• He's either grossly over-filled the engine. (Some is good, but more is never better.)
• Or he's running some super-thin car oil in it. (Air-cooled engines run much hotter so the weight is critical.)
• Or he poured the replacement oil into the wrong engine hole or into the gas tank

Probably has not damaged the engine yet, so focus on those 3 areas. It may continue to smoke for several minutes after the correction is made.

Hope this helps.