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Dixie Chopper Manufactures World's First Natural Gas Mower
It's common knowledge that cars contribute to air pollution, but most people don't recognize a second culprit parked in their garage: the lawn mower. A Swedish study recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society shows running a lawn mower for one hour produces nearly as much air pollution as a 100-mile car trip. Such sobering statistics, market demand and a desire to do "what's right" led Coatesville-based lawn mower manufacturer Dixie Chopper to introduce the world's first compressed natural gas lawn mower, the Xcaliber Eco-Eagle, scheduled to be rolling off the production line early next month.
While a homeowner's lawn mower can spew a significant amount of pollution into the air, imagine the more damaging effects of fleet commercial and industrial mowers such as those produced by Dixie Chopper. Dixie Chopper President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Morgan says commercial mowers often run up to 12 hours a day during busy times of the year.
"We're in business to make a profit…but as a company, we're also concerned about the planet," says Morgan. "I'm excited about [the new mower] because it subscribes to my triple net philosophy: it's good for the bottom line; good for the planet and good for people." Listen
Several years ago, the company introduced the industry's first liquid propane mower to ease emissions concerns. Company leaders say the new Eco-Eagle is "greener" than its predecessor, because it runs on compressed natural gas, which burns even cleaner than liquid propane. Natural gas is also safer than traditional fuels in case of a spill, because it's lighter than air and disperses quickly when released. The EPA states that 17 million gallons of fuel, mostly gasoline, are spilled each year while refueling lawn equipment.
Morgan says the Eco-Eagle is about 30 percent more expensive than its traditional counterpart, but users will also realize about a 30 percent savings in fuel costs because natural gas is less costly. Listen
"There are a lot of cities, airports and municipal bodies that have their own refueling station of natural gas, so they're buying it in bulk and have the ability to refuel the lawn mower," says Morgan. "This is not something a guy running one lawn mower is going to be interested in. This is primarily for somebody running two, three or four lawn mowers who has the refueling station already in place." Listen
The company unveiled the mower at an alternative fuels conference in April, but had to postpone taking orders until this month because it was awaiting certification for the mower from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which sets emission restrictions for engines sold in the state. While the Eco-Eagle meets CARB standards, Morgan says the company is working to "get all the paperwork done" before it can begin selling the mower. Listen
"One of our sources in California said the moment we can sell the mower in California, he would have a meeting and we would receive 1,000 orders immediately, because there are so many cities there interested in being green and being clean," says Morgan. "So we're about to find out what the demand is. I believe it could be as many as a couple thousand mowers a year, which would be a good percentage of our manufacturing fleet."
Morgan expects demand for the mower will climb as the availability of natural gas increases. A natural gas locator tool on the U.S. Department of Energy website shows only four natural gas refueling stations open to the public in the state of Indiana: three in Indianapolis and one in Evansville. Listen
"Going forward, we're cleaning up the exhaust on everything that we sell," says Morgan. "Number one, because it's the right thing to do, and number two, because it's just a matter of time until federal and California requirements are such that you have to do it."
With EPA estimates that lawn mowers account for up to 5 percent of the nation's air pollution, the agency issued regulations in late 2008 that require a 35 percent reduction in emissions from new lawn and garden equipment beginning in 2011. Morgan says the company is ahead of the curve—meeting market demand while also helping the environment "because it's just the right thing to do. There's no question about it."
