mower pollution

[MNgopher]

A lot of writing and I can't figure out if there is a question or some sort of complaint in the OP's post.

Yes, lawnmowers are dirty compared to cars. And old school, carbed engine with zero emissions controls (other than preset idle screws etc) versus cars that have electronic fuel injection and catalytic converters. Are we surprised the old school engines pollute more?

The old lawn boy may use less gas, but I'd love to see the emissions numbers. Just using less gas isn't the whole story...

And what pollutant are we comparing? Hydrocarbons? Carbon Dioxide? What Car are we comparing to?

 

[splinter]

I use a handy push mower. It's liberating and therapeutic for me.
NONE of my neighbors on this quiet cul-de-sac do their own gardening.

I save my hydrocarbon consumption for our thirsty V-8s and imported overpowered sports cars.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: ragtoplvr
EPA says we use 800 Million gallons of gas a year mowing our yards. WHAT A WASTE!


Google says there's 126 million households in the US. I realize this is an average and not everyone has a yard, but this is only 6 gallons a year per household.

There's more beneficial things for the EPA to be worrying about...

All things considered, I look down upon you for selling that old Lawn Boy.

Sounds like a neat machine regardless of how much smoke it produced.

 

[tmorris1]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: ragtoplvr
EPA says we use 800 Million gallons of gas a year mowing our yards. WHAT A WASTE!


Google says there's 126 million households in the US. I realize this is an average and not everyone has a yard, but this is only 6 gallons a year per household.

There's more beneficial things for the EPA to be worrying about...

All things considered, I look down upon you for selling that old Lawn Boy.

Sounds like a neat machine regardless of how much smoke it produced.

They should also write a paper on the amount of pollution and jet fuel used for the EPA to fly around the country and world. Bet it a heck of a lot more than lawn mower use.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

It's not a waste if my yard gets mowed. If I started the mower and went inside to watch t.v., that would be a waste.

 

[Quest]

I service a lot of Honda and B&S flathead mower engines lately. Although B&S flatheads are of low energy conversion efficiency, facts are:

(1) most lawnmower engine owners neglect their engines (i.e. seldom change oils (leads to oil burning), air filter clogged, spark plug fouled, etc. In the end: those engines pollute more than a well-tuned mower engine.

(2) B&S flathead engines produced for mowers (those 6hp and up, until replaced by OHV type recently), run on very lean mixture carb. There's also a california spec'ed pollution index sticker on their body and most of those B&S mowers are only 1 or 1.5 level higher than that of a typical Honda OHV engine type.

I got spark plug pic to prove it:

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2664444

As to EPA quotes we use blah-blah-blah gallons to mow lawns and pollute air, this is somewhat fake news. While I'm equally guilty for driving my 1.5L N/A turrdmobile to and from work and pollute air, fact is, I use less than 2 gals tops of gasoline per year to mow my lawn (using a well-tuned craftsman 675hp 21" mower)

so, that still doesn't work out to very minimal pollution from my end.

Q.

 

[Alex_V]

And the OP's calculations don't even account for how many times you'll have to replace the newer, thirstier piece of equipment in the lifespan of the older one. Stick that in your carbon footprint calculator and smoke it!

My '74 Economy Jim Dandy had a 60" deck, 14HP flathead Kohler, and 3-speed transmission - weighed in around 800 lbs., and that Kohler had its work cut out for it to keep that big deck spinning. But I'd descend on the family cemetery, mowing in 2nd (5 MPH) and occasionally seeing max load climbing a hill in thicker grass, and in 1.5 hrs. the thing would have only burned about 6 quarts of gas to cut approx. 1.5 acres. By my observations a modern 42" cut single-cylinder mower would burn substantially more to do that same work, and would be worn out in 3-4 years of doing it where the Economy would be good for 3 times that.

 

[Bud]

My lawn gets mowed weekly. The guys who mow have equipment that is all powered by gas. If there is someone who would like to cut it with battery powered equipment, more power to them. Haven't found that person in my neck of the woods.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: fsdork
I will seriously consider a battery-powered lawnmower and trimmer the next time around. If I can be sure I can get the lawns cut on one charge, and not have to replace a battery within the life of the mower chassis, I'm in.

Its 2018, and lithium ion batteries are great. Why mess with a gasoline powered mower, especially for a small yard?
Last year I got a:
EGO 20 in. 56 Volt Lithium ion Cordless Push Mower with 5.0Ah Battery and Charger Included
----Included 5.0Ah Arc-Lithium battery powers all EGO POWER+ products
----Single-lever, 6-position deck-height adjustment
----Charges in approximately 80 min with included standard charger
----Runs the mower for about 45 minutes

...but for an even smaller yard, consider a Black and Decker rechargeable or maybe Ryobi battery mower for cheaper than the Ego.
Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon....

No oil changes, no getting gas for it, no air filters, easy decision.

 

[JTK]

Interesting numbers. There's been "facts" and figures thrown around in regards to this for years. Like said, I'm sure based on the gallon of fuel burned, the carbon footprint is huge for OPE without fuel or exhaust management.

Same can be said for all the motorcycles out there, water craft, etc..

 

[BrocLuno]

My mower is a 12.5 HP garden tractor with a flathead Kohler. Uses about 1/2 gallon a week to mow about 1/2 an acre. 9 months a year.

Tractor is a John Deere and was 10 years old when I bought it run down, 25 years ago. The engine cleaned up nicely with good services and such. The tranny died two years ago and got a new Peerless trans-axle.

I've spilled a few quarts total in 25 years fueling it on side hills and such. I Don't use stupid EPA cans. So even spilling a bit now and then, I have used 100 gallons in 25 years - so I call poopoo on the EPA estimates.

If 2-strokes "wasted" 30% of their fuel, we'd see it coming out the exhaust as raw fuel and the plugs would be fouled and wet ... They may be less efficient at idle than at OP RPM, but they do not waste 30%.

I've been tuning 2-strokes including outboards, hot-saws, and race bikes for something like 50 years now. Fuel consumption at designed high power envelop is maybe 10% worse than a similar sized 4-stroke tuned to race specs. And the 2-stroke is making more HP, so the fuel is being used, not wasted. Again I call poopoo on the EPA for making up facts ...

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
My mower is a 12.5 HP garden tractor with a flathead Kohler. Uses about 1/2 gallon a week to mow about 1/2 an acre. 9 months a year.

Tractor is a John Deere and was 10 years old when I bought it run down, 25 years ago. The engine cleaned up nicely with good services and such. The tranny died two years ago and got a new Peerless trans-axle.

I've spilled a few quarts total in 25 years fueling it on side hills and such. I Don't use stupid EPA cans. So even spilling a bit now and then, I have used 100 gallons in 25 years - so I call poopoo on the EPA estimates.

If 2-strokes "wasted" 30% of their fuel, we'd see it coming out the exhaust as raw fuel and the plugs would be fouled and wet ... They may be less efficient at idle than at OP RPM, but they do not waste 30%.

I've been tuning 2-strokes including outboards, hot-saws, and race bikes for something like 50 years now. Fuel consumption at designed high power envelop is maybe 10% worse than a similar sized 4-stroke tuned to race specs. And the 2-stroke is making more HP, so the fuel is being used, not wasted. Again I call poopoo on the EPA for making up facts ...

When I had carb’d 2S outboards they drank fuel … but traded on a Mercury OptiMax and unreal how much better on fuel and as Guy Clark sang … “she don’t make no smoke” …

 

[MCompact]

I have to cut 2.5 acres minimum and I want to do it as quickly as possible. The eco-nazis can moan all they want; I'm keeping my two ZTR mowers...

 

[Lawn_Care]

We can't win with all of those dang mowers causing pollution. And don't forget all of those BBQ grills & smokers polluting the air.

 

[BrianF]

Thanks to this thread I think I will go out and cut a few acres of lawn tonight. The bugs will be bad so I will spark up a few tires to smudge.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
I have to cut 2.5 acres minimum and I want to do it as quickly as possible. The eco-nazis can moan all they want; I'm keeping my two ZTR mowers...

Do you have to mow 2.5 acres? Maybe you do to keep your lot looking good, but I do see alot of people mowing acres for no good reason really.
Sometimes just leaving it alone can look pretty good too.


I think there's a stat that lawn grass has more acres in 'production' than any farmed crop. http://scienceline.org/2011/07/lawns-vs-crops-in-the-continental-u-s/
Quote:
Homes, golf courses and parks may grow more acres of turf grass than U.S. farmers devote to corn, wheat and fruit trees — combined. In a study published in Environmental Management in 2005, researchers estimated there are 40 million acres of turf grass in the U.S., covering 1.9 percent of the land

Think about that for a second, most of it mowed a dozen times a year with dinky home mowers, 21" 42" 60" wide, moving at 2-5mph... The man and machine hours is incredible... It's like building the Hoover dam every week!
I mow the minimum around the house for the kids to play and around fruit trees and barn, but other than that, the only extra mowing I want to do is the a 9' haybine behind the tractor...

 

[ragtoplvr]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: ragtoplvr
EPA says we use 800 Million gallons of gas a year mowing our yards. WHAT A WASTE!


Google says there's 126 million households in the US. I realize this is an average and not everyone has a yard, but this is only 6 gallons a year per household.

There's more beneficial things for the EPA to be worrying about...

All things considered, I look down upon you for selling that old Lawn Boy.

Sounds like a neat machine regardless of how much smoke it produced.


Deck was broken,(no I did not do it), patched, useable offered $400 and I took it. Have two other F engine lawnboys.

I will still be smoking in my 80's

Rod

 

[MParr]

A firebreak and flame work real well. Afraid of fire? Herbicide works well.

 

[pkunk]

I traded a virtually new electric mower for an old nasty looking Lawnboy 2 stroke 20 years ago. Best deal I ever made. On 50 to 1 mix it only smokes until it warms up and starts to work. Lots of power even at my 8200 elevation. A miser on gas too

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: tmorris1
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: ragtoplvr
EPA says we use 800 Million gallons of gas a year mowing our yards. WHAT A WASTE!


Google says there's 126 million households in the US. I realize this is an average and not everyone has a yard, but this is only 6 gallons a year per household.

There's more beneficial things for the EPA to be worrying about...

All things considered, I look down upon you for selling that old Lawn Boy.

Sounds like a neat machine regardless of how much smoke it produced.

They should also write a paper on the amount of pollution and jet fuel used for the EPA to fly around the country and world. Bet it a heck of a lot more than lawn mower use.
Or the Co2 they breath out