EPA Standards Fuel Rethinking in Small Engine Market

Tougher environmental regulations are continuing to drive changes in the small-engine industry, similar to what's happened with car and truck manufacturers.

For the small-engine makers, represented in Wisconsin by Briggs & Stratton Corp., Kohler Co., Generac Power Systems, Mercury Marine Inc. and BRP International, the total estimated costs will rise to $620 million by 2037, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

What's more, the makers of outdoor lawn-and-garden equipment, such as Ariens Co. and John Deere, are affected by what happens with the engine manufacturers.

"Things are in a huge state of flux," said Gregory Weekes, a John Deere product marketing manager.

John Deere makes garden tractors and utility vehicles in Horicon. Ariens, based in Brillion, makes snow-throwers and garden tractors.

Ariens is about one-third of the way through its annual snow-thrower production. Those machines are made in limited quantities, usually in the fall, based on what manufacturers and dealers expect to sell. In the winter, the companies gear up to produce garden tractors and other outdoor power equipment for the spring and summer.

Engines on the current snow-throwers aren't required to meet the 2008 environmental regulations. But as the rules change, products like snow-throwers and garden tractors might have to be redesigned to accommodate a catalytic converter - a bolt-on engine device that reduces pollution but creates high-temperature safety issues.

"You really have to worry about the hazards," said Dan Ariens, company president and chief executive officer.

Kohler Co. is spending $11 million on research to develop cleaner engines. The company wants to meet EPA requirements without the use of catalytic converters or other bolt-on devices, said Richard Koehl, director of marketing and quality.

Increased use of ethanol-based fuels also worries the small-engine industry. Some states, such as Minnesota, have said they want to use 20% blends of ethanol with gasoline because it's an environmentally friendly fuel additive made from corn and other renewable energy sources.

But ethanol has caused problems for some boat engines, partly because it absorbs moisture from the air. Ethanol also is corrosive to aluminum and other metals.

There would have to be some major small-engine design changes to accommodate 20% ethanol, said Marvin Klowak, Briggs' vice president of research and development.

In some cases, rubber hoses and gaskets could be broken down by the fuel additive. Pieces could flake off and cause fuel-system problems.

An increasing number of cars and trucks run on an 85% blend of ethanol with gasoline. But tests at Briggs & Stratton have shown that fuel economy drops 40% to 60% when E85 is used in a small engine.

"Performance is an issue too," Klowak said. "Carburetors are designed to run on a certain air-fuel mixture. When you introduce a lot of alcohol into the gasoline, it's going to run much leaner . . . with engine surging and poor performance."

Within the next five years, under environmental regulations being phased in, gasoline engines used in outdoor power equipment will run 35% cleaner. And although a lawn mower produces as much pollution in one hour as a car does in 20 miles, it's much better than years ago when a lawn mower polluted as much in an hour as a car did in 350 miles.

Advanced Technologies

Small-engine makers have turned to advanced technologies, some of them from automakers, to clean up their act.

"Everything that influences the automotive industry eventually finds its way into small engines," said Steve Hespe, a Generac vice president.

Generac was probably the first U.S. engine manufacturer to develop a propane-powered engine for the lawn and garden industry. That mower, the Dixie Chopper, produces about 50% fewer ozone-forming emissions, according to Generac.

The new U.S. environmental standards could reduce air pollution by millions of tons a year. In some cases it's difficult to go much further because the cost of adding technology such as fuel injection to a lawn mower could be four times higher than the cost of the entire engine.

And because so many small engines are used in products sold through major retailers such as Sears, Wal-Mart and Home Depot - retailers who insist on keeping prices low - companies like Briggs must weigh the costs of improvements against the risks to their businesses.

Initial adoption of technology is expensive. But eventually the costs come down on sheer volume, according to Hespe.