Lean, Clean Running Machine

Two-cycle engines are under quite a bit of scrutiny these days, especially considering tightening federal and state emissions standards. Gone are the days of smoke-blowing, ear-ringing, hand-held equipment, as manufacturers search for better ways to serve contractors professional needs and meet stringent clean air regulations.

EPA Phase 2 emission regulations, active in January of this year, required manufacturers to decrease the hydrocarbons and nitrates of oxide levels by 75 percent. In 2005, allowable emission levels will drop to 37 g/bhp-hr – a significant allowance difference. To meet these changing limits, manufacturers are flexing their engineering creativity and coming up with new engine models that cater to clean air standards.

Shindaiwa is one such manufacturer, with its C4 Technology – Compression-Charged Clean Combustion. This two-cycle/four-cycle hybrid engine is designed to allow contractors the maneuverability and freedom of movement afforded by light-weight equipment while offering the four-cycle benefit of controlled combustion. The engine was integrated into the T2500 trimmer and shipped to distributors in March, said Jay Larsen, marketing communication manager, Shindaiwa, Tualatin, Ore.

“What is unique about the technology is, unlike your typical four-cycle engine – a lawn mower, for example, where you have a gas reservoir and a separate oil sump – we use one fuel tank and there is no dip stick like on a car,” Larsen explained.

Since there is not a separate lubricating system, contractors can treat the new engine just as they would their standard two-cycle model. They can still work at all angles, since they don’t have to worry about keeping an oil sump upright, and they still mix the oil and gas like they would on a typical hand-held unit.

“It’s just business as usual plus the all-position, all-day use,” Larsen pointed out. “The guys in the field are used to using the oil/gas mix, so it is an advantage to have a four-cycle engine and still have the situation where [contractors] will not have to worry about adding oil to a sump, which is an extra step they are not used to with our equipment.”

The author is Managing Editor – Special Projects for Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at khampshire@lawnandlandscape.com.