Green expo: Walk-behind mowers to be more energy efficient

A cynic could have walked down the aisles of the Green Industry and Equipment Expo (GIE+Expo) last week and scoffed at the rows and rows of beefy yard and farm gear, much of it for contractors, and most of it sporting gasoline-powered, internal combustion engines that hardly evoke the word "green." But a closer look, especially at next year's crop of walk-behind mowers and their engines, gave a different impression.

As of next year, walk-behind mowers must emit 34 percent less hydrocarbons than they did five years ago. (Lawn tractors and other riding mowers had to meet the latest requirements last January.) What this means, if you'll be in the market for a walk-behind mower next spring, is a model that's more likely than ever to sport a premium engine with an overhead-valve or overhead-cam design. Such engines start more easily, run more cleanly, and last longer. They're also lighter, which means more maneuverability.

The downside? You'll probably pay about $20 more for that walk-behind mower, which we saw coming three years ago when we blogged about the Environmental Protection Agency's incremental regulations. For tractors and zero-turn-radius mowers, there's more of a premium—closer to $50—for compliance with the latest regs. But considering how much longer the mower could last, presuming you keep up maintenance, both premiums should pay for themselves.

The coming year, we learned at the show, will have a mix of compliant and non-compliant engines in walk-behind mowers. But since engine sellers and buyers (mower makers) were limited by law as to how many engines could change hands prior to the switchover, a mower you buy next spring is more likely than not to have a 2012-compliant engine, such as Briggs and Stratton's 550EX (see photo).

The 550EX is one of Briggs' E Series line, which debuted at GIE+Expo. Among its features are a "starting promise" (one of two pulls, or they'll fix it for free—but with conditions), no priming or choking (EX models only), and less noise and vibration. Scan the QR code on a sticker on the engine with your smart phone, and the specific model's owner's manual will load.

—Ed Perratore