(NAPSI)—If your lawn mower is more than 10 years old, it may be time to consider a replacement. In the past decade, engineering advances have produced gas-powered lawn mowers that run cleaner, start easier and are more fuel efficient than ever before, while providing a variety of options that make yard care easier.

Gas-powered mowers remain the No. 1 choice among homeowners, accounting for four out of every five mowers sold in the United States, according to The Stevenson Company, a leading consumer research organization. Lawn care experts say they aren’t surprised because gas mowers give consumers so many choices when it comes to power, price and options—something they don’t get with electric and battery-powered mowers, which are mainly an option for homeowners with small yards.

“Gas mowers provide a range of power to reliably mow any size yard and even tall, thick grass,” explains Rick Zeckmeister, a vice president at Briggs & Stratton Corporation, which engineers and manufactures gas engines for outdoor power equipment.

Today’s gas-powered lawn mowers, he points out, are also in tune with today’s environmentally conscious lifestyles. Since 1995, Briggs & Stratton has reduced carbon emissions produced by its gas engines by 75 percent. According to EPA statistics, all gas-powered outdoor power equipment combined accounts for less than half a percent of all carbon emissions in the U.S. (Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the U.S. Transportation Sector 1990−2003, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, EPA 420 R06 003, March 2006). Based on EPA statistics, if a family replaced a single 75-watt incandescent lightbulb with an equivalent compact fluorescent bulb in their home, it would more than offset the carbon emissions from using a gas walk-behind mower for an entire mowing season.

“Gas mowers have improved dramatically over the years in every way,” says Zeckmeister. “It would be like comparing a television from the 1990s to a new flat- screen LCD TV you would buy today.”

Other innovations and benefits of the newest gas mowers include:

• Easy starting, with a single pull of the starter rope or the push of a button, like in the newest cars;

• Improved fuel efficiency and advanced muffler systems that produce a more pleasant sound quality and less vibration;

• Ample engine power to mulch grass clippings while mowing, turning them into a natural fertilizer for the lawn;

• A variety of options to make mowing easier, from mowers that automatically adjust to the walking pace of the person mowing to digital dashboards that show the time, fuel level, maintenance reminders and other information.

Briggs & Stratton provides an online tutorial on how to select a lawn mower at www.yardsmarts.com.

For information on environmental and product performance considerations when choosing a new lawn mower, visit www.briggsandstratton.com.

 

On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate(NAPSI)