Help, I need a new mower, should I get gasoline or electric?

The local power company uses coal, nuclear, very little wind, and very little for methane on an old garbage dump site. Another coal plant is planned for the near future. Knowing this do I get a gas or electric model mower?

Here is the mower we are looking a: http://www.drpower.com/TwoStepCategory.aspx?Name=NeutonMower2Step

I need to decide by Monday morning. Thanks for any input in advance.


BTW We pay an optional extra charge on our electric bill each month toward the green sources of power.


http://ww1.oppd.com/prodsvc/resprodsvc/greenpower.cfm

OPPD has made some great strides since entering the renewable energy market in 2003. OPPD began with a 660-kilowatt wind turbine generator, located at Valmont Industries Inc. in Valley, and a $4 million landfill gas-to-energy plant, at the Douglas County Recycling and Disposal Facility near 216th Street and Highway 36. Recently, OPPD has expanded its landfill gas-to-energy plant and entered into a wind farm partnership that will generate another 10 megawatts of green energy.

The power produced from these energy sources is now available for purchase by OPPD customer-owners.
Here's how it works:

* Subscribers to the rate sign up for a minimum of one year.
* Residential customers can participate at four levels, ranging from an additional cost of $4.50 per month to $30.00 per month.
* Commercial customers also will be able to purchase Green Power at an additional cost of about 3 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Become a Green Power Partner Today!
Green Power Enrollment Form

Landfill Gas Plant

In it’s venture into renewable energy, OPPD is turning waste into watts with a landfill gas plant at the Douglas County landfill. The plant utilizes methane gas, which is given off by decomposing garbage. That gas is captured and used as fuel to power 800-kilowatt internal combustion engine/generator sets. As a result, what would be a waste is put to productive use. Using renewable landfill gases also reduces the consumption of fossil fuels.

The amount of renewable energy produced by OPPD’s landfill gas-fired generating plant is currently about 4.8 million watts. Because of a recent expansion project, the plant will be able to generate as much as 6.4 million watts in the coming years. That is enough "green power" per year to provide electricity for more than 4,000 homes.
Wind Farm

OPPD recently increased its future renewable energy generating capacity with the purchase of 10 megawatts (mw) of wind power from Nebraska Public Power District’s new 60-mw wind farm.

Participation in the NPPD wind energy project is an example of OPPD’s commitment to pubic power partnerships and emphasizes its goal to support renewable energy projects.

The additional 10 mw of capacity from the wind farm is expected to produce enough electricity to serve approximately 3,100 residential customers.
Wind Turbine

A third way OPPD participates in the renewable energy market is through its wind turbine project, which towers more than 200 feet over the Nebraska countryside. Electricity is produced when wind turns the rotor, which moves the high-speed shaft in the generator. The turbine is expected to produce 1.7-million kWh of electricity annually, enough to power approximately 150 homes.


Workers Installing a Wind Turbine
OPPD employees and a Valmont representative inspect the main equipment housing of the wind turbine generator.


The turbine project, a joint venture with Valmont Industries Inc., utilizes a specialized tower and lift prototype - made especially for utility-sized wind turbines - that will help make wind power more economical for utilities.
Contact Us
For more information, please e-mail awalde@oppd.com

Signup to Become a Green Power Partner!
Green Power Enrollment Form

area to mow

here on my acre, it's gas or goats baby!

If you've got a good yard, one of these will work pretty well

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/reelmowers.html

I've got one, but my yard is kind of weedy, which I'm going to do something about once I have some work done to my house that would ruin any landscaping I would do. I've tested it on a good yard, and it's quite nice and supposedly better for your yard as it's essentially cutting like a scissor without any whipping action you get from the other kind of mower.

On edit: I got one of the cheaper Brills. If you go electric, go crazy and get one that runs by itself and uses solar power. :)

TlalocW

Actually do a better job of keeping the grass because the clip the grass.

Less noise is an added plus.

Not any harder to push than a non-power gas type, and I understand that you can get a battery powered one.http://www.american-lawns.com/lawns/cordless_electric_mowers.html

I picked one up at a garage sale for $5.

http://www.american-lawns.com/lawns/reel_mowers.html

Are the kind that professional groundskeepers use on golf courses and other sporting fields. They're gas/electric powered, but the rotating blades don't hurt the grass as much as a whirling blade.

TlalocW

we had one of those

Compared to my old gas one, it's lighter, less noisy, easier to start. And I don't smell like gasoline after using it.

They are also very quiet...an added bonus.
Lee

a great job. Ours is made by Lee Valley and has the widest cutting range.

Link:

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=10190&cat=2,2160,51170&ap=1

MADE IN THE USA!

range possible, as you suggest.

Unless you have way too much lawn, they work just fine and give you better exercise than a power mower of any type.

boy that brings back memories

but it might be an alternative to gas or electric mowers...

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/02/25/toro-to-introduce-environment-friendly-biodiesel-powered-mowers/

The B100 models will be out in 2009...

Example:

Scotts 20-Inch Push Reel Mower #2000-20
Other products by Great States Corp
(120 customer reviews)
List Price: $139.95
Price: $119.99
http://www.amazon.com/Scotts-20-Inch-Push-Mower-2000-20/dp/B00004RA3E/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9734365-9495861?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1174684177&sr=8-1

No gas to haul, no stinky fumes to gag upon, no cord to trip over, just the gentle whir the blades slicing through the grass. Having mowed grandparents lawns with their eletric mowers and coped with a gas mower I could barely start I much prefer the reel. Unless you get a full self-propelled mower a reel is easier to push and maneuver. When my Mother tried the reel she could not believe how easy it was to push. I had to practically pry her off the mower so I could finish the lawn :)

replace your lawn with something like wild thyme or any other low growing ground cover that needs no maintenance. Not only is it better for the environment, but there is no greater joy than to run barefoot over a great smelling surface.

If for some strange reason you insist on grass, get an unmotorized lawnmower. It is gret exercise.

grass in what little sun (very mature trees help limit the need for air-conditioning we get for the dogs to bask in the sun. It's expensive to replace an entire yard ~1/2 acre with shade plants, so we do a little each year. My favorite which is hearty and fragrant is sweet woodruff, but I guess it depends on your soil, level of acidity, light etc. The push (reel) mower is also safe enough for kids to use, so we allow our son age 10 to earn a little extra money. It works well even after a vacation when the grass gets a little long. It's definitely NOT your parents push mower.

But I have to save up to get rid of the lawn. I'm going to make the backyard totally concrete (save a few waterwise plants in planter boxes). For the front yard, I want to do a cute wooden bridge over a stream made of stone, and put waterwise plants on each side of it.

doesn't seem like a very ecologically sound solution. Increased runoff, greater sensible heating around your home, energy intensive to make(and for some poor smuck to remove long after you are gone), zero biodiversity, I could go on and on.

Also, is that little stream a natural one? Wouldn't be very cute if it requires constant pumps (electricity), wastes water (evaporation), etc.

because I wasn't going to put any water in it - just river rock in the bottom.

Now, as to the concrete, you have a point. But I want an area that grows nothing, including weeds - something to walk on. Putting rock there doesn't do it - 'cause weed grows between the rocks. If anyone has any ideas, I'd be interested - something for a small area, near the solar-heated pool, in the backyard.

but when you said totally concrete I envisioned a rather large area, which raised my caution flags. Concrete has it's place, but I'm more partial to pavers, or flagstone set in crushed gravel. Lots of variety available for both and easy enough for many homeowners to tackle themselves. Both of these create a pretty flat surface, which still allows water to drain somewhat naturally, although grade is still a consideration near foundations etc. as runoff is increased over vegetation. If you have a proper gravel base below pavers/flagstone(3-4") and fill the gaps with the fine particles from the crushed gravel, weeds shouldn't be an issue really-at least in my experience. Your conditions may vary? If your climate is generally hot choose light colors as they will be cooler.

For what it's worth I'm not a landscape architect or anything, but I have installed flagstone on two jobs designed by a friend who is one, and I've helped two other friends lay pavers. Aesthetically I think they are more pleasing as well, but tough to beat concrete on price and you can add color and faux wood/rock look now too. Good luck.

I have had trouble with weeds growing through pavers/gravel before, but perhaps I just wasn't using the fine particle. It's extremely hot out here. We do have a fairly large concrete area around the pool (great drainage because my brother-in-law did things). It is a very small area, but I think that the pavers with fine particles would work.

Anyway, you've got me thinking ...

Thanks.

It's not like you're going to be significantly greener one way or another. While electric might seem so, coal is vastly worse than gasolene in every way, so some electricity from coal is every bit as bad as a gas-fired mower. So I'd say go with what's simplest for you. Oh, and ignore the people insisting that you buy something from the 1800s. :)

http://www.epa.gov/oar/recipes/smallen.html
http://www.epa.gov/oar/recipes/mowers.html
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/equip-ld.htm

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/19-yard.pdf

I use a reel mower, but I have an electric mower I use for when the grass has gotten too high to push the reel mower through. One of the keys to a reel mower is to keep the blades sharp.

http://www.epinions.com/content_187044171396

Still going strong after nearly two years, and still recommended.

You can buy additional batteries to change out if you have a large mowing area. One Battery lasts in the neighborhood of 1 hour of mowing before needing to be recharged. If battery technology improves...

Thats really the deciding factor.

We fenced the back yard when we moved in in the middle of November. The dogs run all over it in all kinds of weather. There is no grass there now. There are low maintenance greens of some sort now and landscaping. Trouble with the no grass is that whenever the ground is wet, we get all kinds of mud from the dogs. The rat terriers aren't big enough to make any real mess. But the German short haired pointer gets mud everywhere. That is why we want to go to a high traffic grass. The front has Zoysia for grass. Fontenelle forest is on the other side of our back yard fence, so there is plenty of shade back there to keep the ground from drying out very fast.

an electric mower would work well or a push one if you are up to it. Electric mowers unfortunately have a limited range, so they aren't practical for large yards unless you have one the is hooked up to an outlet with an extension cord.

Could you get an electric mower, a solar PV panel, and a charge controller? That way, over the week the PV panel would charge up the mower, and keep it charged, so it would be ready to mow on weekends.

That way, you neither burn gas nor use your local electric provider whom you see to feel is insuficiently green?