Dixie Chopper expects to sell 500 to 1,000 propane-powered mowers this year.
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Popane-powered commercial mowers, although still rare, are rolling off assembly lines. Chances are you may see and perhaps
operate one on environmentally sensitive properties near you soon. Propane's clean-burning properties make these mowers a
functional "green" alternative to gasoline- and diesel-powered units.
Pollution-conscious companies, communities, universities and other institutions can contribute to protecting air quality while
at the same time saving green energy through better fuel efficiency and fewer oil changes.
Sloshes, splashes and spills of gasoline are eliminated along with potentially harmful vapor releases. Plus, pilferage is
reduced at locations where stored gas cans invite "fuelish" thievery.
A 30-hp Generac engine powers Dixie Chopper's new LPG mowers.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has stated that a typical 4-hp gasoline lawnmower engine generates nearly six times
as many volatile organic compounds per hour of use as the family car. Compared to a gasoline-powered mower engine, a propane
version reduces emissions of ozone precursors by one-third; fuel economy is boosted 14%, claim propane equipment manufacturers.
Propane's potential
"We're excited about the market and it's potential," says Jessie Johnson, vice president of sales and marketing for Blossman
Gas, Ocean Springs, MS. He encourages propane suppliers to "do research in your market and talk to potential users. Assist
the landscape equipment suppliers to get the equipment into your market."
Johnson says the market for propane-powered mowers appears "huge" in Texas, California, Arizona, Georgia and Florida. In cold-weather
states, like Ohio and Michigan, the most promising uses for propane vehicles, apart from regional transit, will be for snow
removal, he says.
For years, Blossman personnel have been building propane mower prototypes and converting mower brands to run on LPG (commercial
propane), including a converted Toro zero-turn model with 48-in. deck that it sent to the University of Richmond in Virginia
to test against a similar gasoline-powered model.
At the test's conclusion, the university kept the LPG mower and returned the other. It has since purchased three propane-powered
utility carts and is adding two more this year.
"Obviously, we're pleased with propane," says Steve Glass, horticulturist and landscape manager at Richmond.
He adds that operators preferred the LPG mower over the identical gasoline unit for several reasons.
The unit seemed to have more power than the comparable gasoline unit. Also, operators of the Blossman-modified Toro unit liked
having the cool-to-touch fuel tank near the driver's position. "On a hot summer day [operators] lay their arm on the tank
and it stays cooler," Glass says.
Propane means green
In addition, students and faculty committed to "green" causes feel that the alternative fuel is a better fit with the campus
environment.
Environmental considerations are at the top of Tom LaMuraglia's list at Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC, too. He's the
landscape superintendent there.
"Everything we have is either propane or biodiesel," he says. In his equipment building are units by five different commercial
equipment manufacturers.
He says fuel costs to mow the 12 acres of turfgrass at the campus are the same for gasoline and propane mowers, and he sees
little performance difference in equipment using either fuel.
Both he and Glass agree that the oil in their propane-powered mowers stays cleaner than similar gasoline-powered units. They
feel this many mean longer engine life and fewer repairs for their propane equipment.
