Cut the Gasoline

Tag : walk behind mower

When Eric King moved from his apartment in Pittsburgh to asingle-family home with a lawn, he bought a manual lawn mowerinstead of the usual gas-powered kind.
He figures he's putting money in his pocket and saving trips to thefilling station.
He's got plenty of company. Sales of manual, or push reel, mowerswith the cartwheeling blades are on the rise this year.
Officials attribute the surge to increased environmental concernsbecause of emissions from gas-powered mowers, the faltering economythat makes the generally less expensive push reels more attractive,and $4-a-gallon gasoline.
"With the way gas prices are going through the roof and are goingto stay there or increase even further, that was the main reason Iconsidered one," said King, 29. "I don't consider myself anenvironmentalist; I consider myself an economist."
American Lawn Mower Co., a Shelbyville, Ind., manufacturer ofmanual and electric lawn mowers, says sales are up 60 percent to 70percent over last year.
"It's unbelievable," said Teri McClain, inside sales administrator."I think gas prices are playing a part in this."
Bud Schemper, manager of Schemper's Hardware in Ripon, agrees. Hesaid he's seen a little more interest in electric and push mowers.
"It's more a green thing," he said. "It's been that way for thelast six or eight months."
McClain estimates that about 300,000 push reel mowers are soldannually in the United States. That's about the same as the numberof electric mowers that are sold. Though growing, sales of bothstill are dwarfed by the roughly 6 million typical gas-powered,walk-behind mowers purchased every year.
Kushmila Kumar, department lead at Orchard Supply Hardware onOakdale Road in Modesto, said gas mowers are still the big seller.In the past month, it has sold 15 or 20 compared with one or twoeach of the push and electric mowers.
"If you're looking at older buyers, they don't want to use a pushmower," she said. "It's too hard."
Push reel mowers have evolved from those heavy iron beasts of thepast into lighter (19 to 34 pounds), easier-to-push models withwidths up to 20 inches and cutting heights that can be adjustedquickly. Accessories include grass catchers and sharpening kits.
Prices for push reel mowers usually range from nearly $100 to $250.Web sites show electric mowers selling for about $145 to $430.Walk- behind gas-powered mowers usually cost $150 to $400. Thenonriding, self-propelled variety can go from $200 to $900.
Clean Air Gardening, a Dallas retailer that sells push reel andelectric lawn mowers as well as composters, rain barrels andorganic fertilizers, said sales are up 27 percent this year, andsales of electric mowers made by Towson, Md.-based Black & DeckerCorp. have increased more than 20 percent this year.
"We're not keeping up with the demand," said Joseph Newland, groupproduct manager for the company's outdoor division.
People Powered Machines, an Ipswich, Mass.-based Internet store,has seen a 25 percent rise in the sale of push reel and electriclawn mowers this year.
"The increasing price of gasoline is one of the bigger factors,"said spokesman David Temple.
That might be true if you've got a huge area to mow. But DarellClark, owner of Modesto's Modern Saw and Lawn Mower Shop, said ifyour home is on an average-sized lot, he doubts gas prices are aprime motivator for the switch.
"It takes a third of a gallon of gas to mow your lawn," he said."So, if you buy five gallons, you've got enough to last awhile.It's not taking the toll as with cars."