[AutoShepherd]

This is shocking news for most, but we verified what the EPA proved years ago.

A lawnmower pollutes more than your car!

Here's a video we did on the subject:

On Vimeo (best quality):
Cars Vs. Lawnmower - The Emissions Showdown on Vimeo

On Youtube (faster loading):

‪Cars Vs. Lawnmower - The Emissions Showdown‬‏ - YouTube

‪Cars Vs. Lawnmower - The Emissions Showdown‬‏ - YouTube

[Enzo_Guy]

I always figured lawnmowers were heavy polluters but I never realized how bad it was.

Speaking of which, I need to cut my grass tomorrow.

[BML99]

Better get the scissors ready. Go green sucka.

[Enzo_Guy]

Originally Posted by BML99 Better get the scissors ready. Go green sucka.

I will laugh manically as I pollute and mow plants tomorrow.

I also live in the woods, we could use a little pollution to kill some of the overpopulated deer around here.

[BML99]

Bastard!

[Enzo_Guy]

Originally Posted by BML99 Bastard!

I can hear the Prius Army coming for me now. I'm getting the shotgun.

[BML99]

‪Drag Racing in a Prius.‬‏ - YouTube

‪Drag Racing in a Prius.‬‏ - YouTube

[Enzo_Guy]

Haha, it's Da Bunk from The Wire!

[BML99]

Michael Bluth from Arrested Development!

[Enzo_Guy]

Originally Posted by BML99 Michael Bluth from Arrested Development!

He will always be The Bunk.

[Notcho]

Live green.. buy a cow to eat your lawn.

Sure the mowers have higher emissions... their design hasn't really changed since they were first introduced. It's almost comparing apples to oranges.

The catalytic converter alone isn't what separates the mower from the cars in the test, however. While a cat would help, there is a LOT more going on under the hood of a car in order to keep emissions down.

First off, low emissions start with the fuel system. Lawn mowers are carbureted. It's a simple and cheap device designed in the 1800s. Almost 200 year old technology. A carb is far from perfect when it comes to creating an ideal air/fuel ratio. On top of that, with a carburetor, fuel is not atomized ideally, and whatever amount of fuel is atomized, a good amount of it turns back into liquid droplets in the intake runner. Remember, liquid fuel does not burn; the vapor does. Fuel injection eliminates pretty much every issue that a carb has. If you have an injector that provides atomized fuel located directly on the intake port, you will minimize the amount of waste fuel (as well as the hydrocarbon count in your exhaust). A properly tuned fuel injection setup provides a damn near perfect combustion at all RPM and load (14.7 air/fuel ratio is stoichiometric, meaning a complete chemical reaction with minimal excess). But, a fuel injection setup would cost more than the whole damn mower.

Other things make a huge difference too.. devices like an A.I.R. (Air Injection Reaction) system. These can be one of two designs, either a pumped setup (aka smog pump) or a pulse setup which uses the vacuum created by the exhaust flow to pull air from the air cleaner, through a reed valve and into the exhaust (modern cars use this). The idea for this isn't just to supply the catalytic converter with oxygen to allow it to burn easier or keep it from overheating; they have used these on cars since 1968, long before catalytic converters were used. Their purpose is to pump fresh air into the exhaust stream, thereby dilluting it and thus lowering the concentration of emissions. I've heard of people loosening their exhaust connections in order to draw in more fresh air in order to pass emissions tests.. this is essentially what the A.I.R. system does.

Cars also have EGR systems, which reroute exhaust gasses into the induction in order to lower combustion temperatures, thereby reducing nitrogen oxide compound levels.

Aside from exhaust emissions, cars also have fuel vapor capturing devices... instead of a vented gas cap, they have a closed system, and the tank has a vent that runs to a charcoal canister, which connects to a vacuum port. When the fuel temperature in the tank rises and fuel begins to evaporate, the vapor is captured in the charcoal canister and is allowed to condense back into liquid and return to the tank, but if it doesn't, the vapor is drawn into the combustion chamber through the vacuum port the next time the engine is started, and is burned then. Small engines sold in California already have evap systems like this.

Aside from the evap system, mowers have none of this stuff. It's not surprising that a mower would create more emissions than a car that is equipped with almost everything ever designed to reduce emissions.




But again... the bottom line... Adding all this equipment to the mower would probably cost more than the mower itself. On top of that, you have to consider what it would take to make all of this extra stuff.. it would potentially mean that a bunch of factories in China would have to burn a lot of coal and old tires in order to produce all of these new things and then burn more oil to ship them over here so us Americans can save the world from our lawn mowers.

[mcqueen]

Fantastic! Can I go back to wanting to scrap all the emissions crap from my car now?

Originally Posted by 89 5.0 LX Live green.. buy a cow to eat your lawn. Sure the mowers have higher emissions... their design hasn't really changed since they were first introduced. It's almost comparing apples to oranges. The catalytic converter alone isn't what separates the mower from the cars in the test, however. While a cat would help, there is a LOT more going on under the hood of a car in order to keep emissions down. First off, low emissions start with the fuel system. Lawn mowers are carbureted. It's a simple and cheap device designed in the 1800s. Almost 200 year old technology. A carb is far from perfect when it comes to creating an ideal air/fuel ratio. On top of that, with a carburetor, fuel is not atomized ideally, and whatever amount of fuel is atomized, a good amount of it turns back into liquid droplets in the intake runner. Remember, liquid fuel does not burn; the vapor does. Fuel injection eliminates pretty much every issue that a carb has. If you have an injector that provides atomized fuel located directly on the intake port, you will minimize the amount of waste fuel (as well as the hydrocarbon count in your exhaust). A properly tuned fuel injection setup provides a damn near perfect combustion at all RPM and load (14.7 air/fuel ratio is stoichiometric, meaning a complete chemical reaction with minimal excess). But, a fuel injection setup would cost more than the whole damn mower. Other things make a huge difference too.. devices like an A.I.R. (Air Injection Reaction) system. These can be one of two designs, either a pumped setup (aka smog pump) or a pulse setup which uses the vacuum created by the exhaust flow to pull air from the air cleaner, through a reed valve and into the exhaust (modern cars use this). The idea for this isn't just to supply the catalytic converter with oxygen to allow it to burn easier or keep it from overheating; they have used these on cars since 1968, long before catalytic converters were used. Their purpose is to pump fresh air into the exhaust stream, thereby dilluting it and thus lowering the concentration of emissions. I've heard of people loosening their exhaust connections in order to draw in more fresh air in order to pass emissions tests.. this is essentially what the A.I.R. system does. Cars also have EGR systems, which reroute exhaust gasses into the induction in order to lower combustion temperatures, thereby reducing nitrogen oxide compound levels. Aside from exhaust emissions, cars also have fuel vapor capturing devices... instead of a vented gas cap, they have a closed system, and the tank has a vent that runs to a charcoal canister, which connects to a vacuum port. When the fuel temperature in the tank rises and fuel begins to evaporate, the vapor is captured in the charcoal canister and is allowed to condense back into liquid and return to the tank, but if it doesn't, the vapor is drawn into the combustion chamber through the vacuum port the next time the engine is started, and is burned then. Small engines sold in California already have evap systems like this. Aside from the evap system, mowers have none of this stuff. It's not surprising that a mower would create more emissions than a car that is equipped with almost everything ever designed to reduce emissions. But again... the bottom line... Adding all this equipment to the mower would probably cost more than the mower itself. On top of that, you have to consider what it would take to make all of this extra stuff.. it would potentially mean that a bunch of factories in China would have to burn a lot of coal and old tires in order to produce all of these new things and then burn more oil to ship them over here so us Americans can save the world from our lawn mowers.

*slow clap*

[WickedSnake00]

Psh. Emissions.

Get one of these:


320hp/1000ft-lb, already EPA 2013 emissions levels, since 2007!
Nothing special for emissions contols either. It's a fumigated NG setup, uses cooled EGR and a catalyst. Quieter and cleaner than diesel, and a good deal of gasoline engines as well.

Crap...does this make me an environmentalist now? This is one of the engine platforms I support at work.

[OptionalStang]

hahah doesnt pullute less than my car...no cats no nothing...the fumes hurt you senses when your 5ft away from the back of my car, i feel sorry for who every gets too close to my rear end at stops..peeee youuuuuuuu

[OptionalStang]

PS...i havde always wanted that exact subaru...and hehehe i gotta see that movie..

[03SonicBoom]

I literally LOLed when they suggested using an electric mower.

Not sure about everyone's particular area, but here in Indiana the electricity come from coal. You're simply passing the emissions from gas to the coal plant. I doubt too many people would say it's a huge improvement.

But I don't care if my mower emits 30x more pollution than my car. I drive my car 15k miles a year. I use my mower once every two weeks for 3 months a year.

Jet skis also emit a ton more pollution than cars.

[supermachone]

its as easy as this

the universe is way bigger than we are, we have no control on the outcome of life

we live, we die, thats that

all this stupid go green conservative crap is just annoying

the earth has been around for who knows how long, survival of the fittest, if we extinguish ourselves than we are obviously not fit for this planet

[WickedSnake00]

Originally Posted by 03SonicBoom I literally LOLed when they suggested using an electric mower. Not sure about everyone's particular area, but here in Indiana the electricity come from coal. You're simply passing the emissions from gas to the coal plant. I doubt too many people would say it's a huge improvement. But I don't care if my mower emits 30x more pollution than my car. I drive my car 15k miles a year. I use my mower once every two weeks for 3 months a year. Jet skis also emit a ton more pollution than cars.

You forgot all the hippies on their high horses (pun forthcoming) about methane emissions as well.

They list farms, more specifically livestock "emissions" as a leading cause of greenhouse gases. Not only that they bemoan that those livestock consume a disproportionate amount of resources.

We better get rid of livestock along with our lawnmowers to save the environment.

[Six Banger]

Originally Posted by supermachone its as easy as this the universe is way bigger than we are, we have no control on the outcome of life we live, we die, thats that all this stupid go green conservative crap is just annoying the earth has been around for who knows how long, survival of the fittest, if we extinguish ourselves than we are obviously not fit for this planet

4.2 Billion years, give or take

God forbid people attempt to stop us from extinguishing ourselves (as I go truck shopping mind you) Tree huggers are annoying, but if people try to do little things to save the earth, I'm all for that.

[Six Banger]

Originally Posted by 03SonicBoom I literally LOLed when they suggested using an electric mower. Not sure about everyone's particular area, but here in Indiana the electricity come from coal. You're simply passing the emissions from gas to the coal plant. I doubt too many people would say it's a huge improvement.

Shh, you'll anger the hippies. The Leaf emits 0 emissions, it doesnt make any pollution being made, being driven, charged, and the huge battery sure isn't a threat to the environment. And we should just shut down all the power plants while we're at it. After all the Leaf can also run on hopes and dreams.


Seriously though, most of the liberals I argue with about electric cars/ lawn mowers have the mind set that they're 100% emission free.... they dont even consider the fact that the power had to come somewhere. (and they dont have solar panels or windmills behind their houses )