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Lawnmower produces more pollution than 43 cars
10 Jan 2020

Posted on 01/10/2020 7:36:21 AM PST by rey

Years ago, some sharp person here set me straight on how one gallon of fuel, approximately 8 lbs, could produce gases weighing more than the original fuel by combining with other atmospheric gases.

Now I read CA wants to ban all gas-powered lawn tools to include golf courses and athletic fields as one mower produces more pollution than 43 new cars driven 12,000 miles a year (516,000 miles total). Most lawn mowers are single cylinder and most cars are 4 cylinders but a great many are 6 or 8 and car cylinders are a much larger displacement than lawnmowers and blowers.

Granted, there are not as many clean air devices on a lawnmower, but lawnmowers certainly are not run as much as cars, so how is it possible that mowers create more pollution? If the technology exists to make cars so clean they are 43 more time less polluting, why can't a single or small multi-cylinder mower be cleaner? Why must they be banned?


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: environment; newgreendeal; pollution
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1 posted on 01/10/2020 7:36:21 AM PST by rey
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To: rey

Weight. Cost.


2 posted on 01/10/2020 7:40:19 AM PST by Spruce
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To: rey

Micro fuel injection systems are being introduced on small engines now. (Just looked at a snow blower so equipped)

That should go a huge way to cleaning them up. Also catalytics. They are tremendously versatile on a host of equipment in extremely demanding applications.

Battery power will have to come a long way to replace them.


3 posted on 01/10/2020 7:44:14 AM PST by headstamp 2 (There's a stairway to heaven, but there's a highway to hell.)
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To: rey

https://www.treehugger.com/cars/25-cars-are-causing-90-air-pollution-we-breathe-new-study-finds.html


4 posted on 01/10/2020 7:44:38 AM PST by Sacajaweau
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To: rey

Depends on what one means by pollution. Excluding CO2 and H2O (these are natural products of combustion), the other gases like nitrous oxide, CO, and unburnt fuel are considered pollutants.

Cars have catalytic converters, which burn up those nasties and emit very little other than CO2 and H2O. Small engines don’t have catalytic converters - or the combustion mixture controls that modern fuel injected engines have. As a result they emit, raw, what exits the combustion chamber.


5 posted on 01/10/2020 7:45:11 AM PST by Cboldt
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To: rey
When they want to ban your car, they talk about CO2

When they want to ban your lawnmower, they talk about NOx

Most people, these days, are worked up about Global Warming, which has nothing to do with lawnmowers. It has everything to do with the amount of fuel burned, which for lawnmowers is very little.

Your lawnmower produces a minuscule amount of CO2 compared to your car. So, when it comes to talking about lawnmowers, we are going to ignore CO2 and worry about smog-forming pollutants and particulate, instead.

6 posted on 01/10/2020 7:46:49 AM PST by gridlock (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: rey

I did ditch my gas mower for an electric battery one. It was on it’s last legs and a pain to keep running. Got the electric on sale in fall after the season was over and they were dumping inventory.

No gas, no oil, no filters, no gaddam pull cord - pull cord - pull cord... One button push, battery charge is good for an hour. I have to admit, it’s very convenient.


7 posted on 01/10/2020 7:46:59 AM PST by BBQToadRibs
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To: Cboldt

And besides that:

Bumblebees can not fly!!


8 posted on 01/10/2020 7:47:44 AM PST by old curmudgeon (There is no situation so terrible, so disgraceful, that the federal government can not make worse)
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To: rey

Because of the Yuge push/lobbying by electric mower manufacturers I presume. Wizards of OZ don’t want you to see behind the curtain though to see what actually powers them:-)


9 posted on 01/10/2020 7:50:54 AM PST by Harpotoo (Being a socialist is a lot easier than having to WORK like the rest of US:-))
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To: rey

That’s why I take my grandkids for rides on my lawn tractor.

Fun and emissions in one package.


10 posted on 01/10/2020 7:51:00 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (Epstein pulled a Carradine, the bozo.)
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To: gridlock

There is no global warming.


11 posted on 01/10/2020 7:53:15 AM PST by CodeToad (Arm Up! They Have!)
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To: rey

Cars and trucks have sophisticated fuel delivery systems that allow the fuel injectors to deliver precisely the right amount of fuel into the air stream to burn cleanly and efficiently. They also have a catalytic converter to take care of most of the NOx and CO emmissions. So to get a lawnmower to run as cleanly and efficiently as a car engine you need 1)a catalytic converter, 2)mass airflow sensor, 3)temperature and pressure sensors, 4) electronic fuel injectors, 5) Oxygen sensors, and 6)a computer to run it all. And this is a minimum.


12 posted on 01/10/2020 7:53:23 AM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Everyone who favors socialism plans on the government taking other people's money, not theirs.)
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To: rey

The statements are based on different measurements of “pollution”. In one CO2 is not included, in the other, it is.

CO2 “pollution” is determined nearly completely on the volume of fuel consumed over time. Automobiles burn far more fuel than lawnmowers or golf carts when measured for a year in a country. Thus, by the CO2 measurement, they produce far more “pollution”.

However, when measured by other methods, looking at nitrous oxides, CO, and unburned hydrocarbons, automobiles use three-way catalytic converters which eliminate nearly all of these pollutants. Thus, in comparison, your lawn mower, or any other internal combustion engine, with no three-way catalytic converter, produces much more of these.

Thus, the authors of this lie are comparing apples to horse manure.


13 posted on 01/10/2020 7:54:32 AM PST by norwaypinesavage (Calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country)
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To: headstamp 2

I recently switched my leaf blower to battery when the 2 cycle one crapped out. It is amazing and cost effective for homeowner use. I wouldn’t want to try and earn a living with one. A fortune in battery packs to keep one going for a day’s work.


14 posted on 01/10/2020 7:54:38 AM PST by mad_as_he$$
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To: rey

> CA wants to ban all gas-powered lawn tools

Gotta keep the demand for illegal immigrants to boost Democrat votes.


15 posted on 01/10/2020 7:56:55 AM PST by ArcadeQuarters (Socialism requires slavery.)
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To: BBQToadRibs

We have a new gasoline (Honda motor) mower and a battery powered mower.
Both are walk behind machines. The battery lasts about 50 minutes, then needs a three hour charge.


16 posted on 01/10/2020 7:58:01 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
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COOL! Where can I get one?
I’ll run it all day for Earth Day!


17 posted on 01/10/2020 7:58:13 AM PST by RandallFlagg (Fact: Gun control laws kill innocents.)
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To: rey

Maybe their ultimate objective is to ban personal electrical generators for the home.


18 posted on 01/10/2020 7:58:23 AM PST by Ozark Tom
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To: Ozark Tom

Think bigger.

They want to ban single-family homes, attacking the lawns is the first step.


19 posted on 01/10/2020 7:59:06 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: rey

I don’t understand the reporting, but battery-powered lawnmowers are a LOT quieter, are cost-competitive, and you don’t have to worry about keeping a gas can or getting a blast of pollution in your face. I really don’t know why anyone would buy a new gas-powered lawnmower.


20 posted on 01/10/2020 8:04:38 AM PST by dangus
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