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With the first day of Spring right around the corner, everywhere you look people are calling in sick with a case of “spring fever”.
What does this also mean? YARD WORK!
Before you run out to the garage and fire up that mower, please allow me to share some information I just learned with you.
A typical gas powered lawnmower produces as much pollution in 7 hours of operation as a modern car does in a 100,000 miles of driving. — ThirdDirection.com
That’s a big, whopping, “WTF?!” for must of us. It sure was for me. What does it make you think?
The same articles as mentioned above goes on to explain why:
The off-road engines found on lawnmowers, leaf blowers, tillers, as well as snow blowers, snowmobiles and dirt bikes don’t have to have catalytic converters. These handy devices reduce gasoline emissions by about 90%, and are mandatory on cars and trucks.”
Granted, those above numbers seem a little high to me, but I’ve not been able to find anything else to the contrary.
Another site, PeoplePowereMachines.com, does seem to confirm those numbers by saying:
Each weekend, about 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants. Garden equipment engines, which have had unregulated emissions until very recently, emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, producing up to 5% of the nation’s air pollution and a good deal more in metropolitan areas … A conventional lawn mower pollutes as much in an hour as 40 late model cars (or as much as as much air pollution as driving a car for 100 miles).
Is there a solution this madness???
Yes, there is!
Consider recycling that old gas guzzling, carbon spewing, noise polluting gas powered mower for an electric one.
I know what you’re thinking. “They look stupid” or “I don’t want to have to mess with the cord”.
Well, electric mowers have changed quite a bit these days. Many models are as sleek and sexy as the fancy gas powered ones. In addition, more and more models can be found without the hassle of a cord, utilizing rechargeable batteries instead.
Now, let me blow your mind.
If you’ve got a big lawn or just happen to be a riding mower kind of guy/girl, there is ONE solution for you! It took some scouring, but I’ve found one, and only one, cordless electric riding mower!
The Electric Ox, pictured at right, is THE solution for riding mower aficionados. Hang on, there is a hidden bonus. This is not just a riding mower, it is the “Electric Ox Multi-Purpose Vehicle”.
This big guy has a myriad of awesome attachments, such as:
- The pictured 44” mower deck
- A 48″ dozer blade (manual angle)
- A front counterweight – 50 lbs. (when the Electric Ox is used for towing)
- A convention clean sweep blade/brush
How cool is that?!
Head on over to the product specification page to check out the other standard and optional features. Such features include:
- Charge gauge with hour meter
- Adjustable high back suspension seat
- On board smart charger
- Optional AC inverter with three 120V outlets to use the Electric Ox as a mobile power station for your tools
So there you have it, the riding lawnmower lover’s electric dream come true!
Have you seen any other cordless riding electric lawnmowers? What electric push mowers have you had experience with and how did you like it?
UPDATE
Since so many of you asked for greater details about the Electric Ox in the comments and emails, we went to great lengths to obtain this information, including its pricing, options, and other specifications and have finally succeeded!
Check out ALL the details, including pricing, for the Electric Ox tractor and its options/attachments.
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I'm here.
Sure, that explains it: catalytic converters reduce gasoline emissions by about 90%.
So 100 gallons in a car polutes as much as 10 gallons would in a mower. If that 10 gallons could run your mower for 7 hours, and that 100 gallons can run your car for 100,000 miles, it would be a tie, same polution. If you need more gas than than to go 100,000 miles, maybe the mower could run a little longer on the same plution too,
That’s ok, I read somewhere that 83.4% of statistics are half made up anyway.
sad how misinformed people are on this topic.
those stats are completely fabricated and bs. They don’t make 2-cycle mowers anymore and even the older models aren’t bad on emissions.
There are companies working on some new gas free technologies (STIHL’s Lithium ion tools seem to be great)….and yes there is always gas powered push mowing..if you think that’s really much different then a ride-on in terms of gas usage.
…
Also, here’s a tip.
How about thinking to support your local dealer first instead of buying crap from big box stores that only care to push knowledgeable smaller, industry educated dealers out of business.
Where do you plan to have your machine repaired?
Maybe find a dealer you can trust or who knows what they’re talking about, instead of choosing a chain that hires apron wearing minimum wagers who only know about the lawn industry from what they’ve read in their employee manual.
We need to keep environmental issues in perspective. Mankind contributes pollution that is a tiny fraction of the pollution emitted by the earth itself in the form of gases and eruptions going on all the time. A single volcanic eruption can (and HAS in the past) created a global environmental effect that has wiped humans out on a global scale (read about the Toba eruption, for example). Our manmade pollution is a small fraction, yet we are spending enormous amounts of money every year trying to cut our pollution a couple more percent, while people starve to death in countries around the world. Let’s keep some perspective and spend our time, treasure and energy gaining ground on REAL problems.