Why Lawnmowers?

When it comes to air pollution, lawnmowers have a surprising large impact. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, one gasoline-powered non-riding lawnmower emits the same amount of pollutants as eight new cars driving 55 mph in the same period of time. According to the California Air Resources Board ("CARB"), a 2006 lawnmower contributes 93 times more smog-forming emissions than a 2006 passenger automobile. Not only is the burning of 800 millions gallons of gas per year for trimming grassy yards contributing to this pollution, but according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), the spilling of 17 million gallons of fuel during refueling and blade cleaning also releases unburned hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. In all, the EPA estimates that gasoline-powered lawnmowers are responsible for 5% of all air pollution in the United States. Similarly, CARB estimates that lawnmowers are responsible for 2% of smog-forming pollutants emitted each year in California. The EPA also estimates that each lawnmower produces 80 lbs of atmospheric-warming carbon dioxide each year.

Each year Americans purchase 5 million gasoline-engine walk-behind mowers. There are currently 66 million lawnmowers in the United States. These mowers are used to maintain an estimated 50,000 square miles of grass lawns. The average walk-behind gasoline-fueled lawnmower engine has a design life of approximately 150 hours, which represents on average a seven year life.

You may be asking why there are no laws mandating catalytic converters for lawnmowers. The answer is that such laws are being blocked by small-engine manufacturers. They may have very valid arguments, such as increased costs and safety concerns. To be fair, they have reduced lawnmower pollution by making engine design changes. Also, it is possible that the recommended CARB standards are too stringent, and might not be achievable. The big issue is not the 5 million new lawnmowers sold each year, but rather the 66 million lawnmowers already in the field.

It is this large pool of smog emissions that the Smog Avenger^TM line of catalytic converters is intended to address. Because an internet-based business model does not allow us to match each engine with an optimized catalytic converter, our product testing shows that typical factors of 3x to 5x reductions can be expected. Note in the figures below that carbon monoxide suppression occurs once the lawnmower under test had warmed up, while the hydrocarbon emissions were suppressed in the very beginning when the engine was still cold. If every existing lawnmower had its muffler replaced with a Smog Avenger^TM catalytic converter, a net reduction of roughly 3% in air pollution in the United States could be expected!

The problem with an internet-based business model is the diversity of muffler shapes, sizes, exhaust directions, bolt spacing, and bolt sizes, and inlet port sizes. A catalog of basic catalytic converter models will eventually emerge that will require extensive documentation to allow customers to chose the optimum solution for their lawnmower. In the mean time, we have come up with a solution that asks customers to send us their existing muffler for a few days so that we can assure that their Smog Avenger^TM catalytic converter, which will be delivered within 30 days, is appropriate and will fit the first time.