A Little Peace & Quiet: Engines

Being a profitable landscape contractor means having equipment that is running and reliable at all times.

Whether it’s a trimmer, blower, walk-behind or zero-turn riding mower, without a durable engine, the machine isn’t going anywhere.

“An engine is expected to start every time and deliver the power a contractor expects from that machine,” noted Paul Blum, product manager for single cylinder engines, Kohler Co., Kohler, Wis. “It can’t break down all of the time. A landscape contractor doesn’t have time for that, especially in the spring and summer.”

While contractors are looking for more horsepower, lighter weight products, greater durability and extended service intervals, engine manufacturers have to be mindful not only of their interests, but of the regulations required of the new technology and products they produce.

REGULATIONS. “The engine business is a mature market,” pointed out Brad Murphy, director of information systems, Robin America, Wood Dale, Ill. “Technology that is being used on smaller engines is being used in larger engines, and small refinements are being made in current engines to meet CARB and EPA emissions regulations.”

Currently, all emissions from hand-held products are required to be around 2 percent. California Air Resources Board Tier II and Environmental Protection Agency Phase II requirements, scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2000 and Jan. 1, 2001, respectively, will reduce these emissions another 70 percent, a 40 percent change from CARB Tier I and EPA Phase I regulations. For non-road, spark-ignition, non-hand-held engines at or below 25 horsepower, typically used in lawnmowers, the standards will result in an estimated 59 percent reduction in emissions of hydrocarbons plus oxides of nitrogen from those achieved under the current EPA Phase I standards, according to the EPA.

“These additional regulations are for engines up to 25 horsepower,” Blum explained. “Engines from 25 horsepower to 1 liter must meet automobile engine standards, which are tougher because of the need for a catalytic muffler to reduce noise.”

Blum said CARB Tier II and EPA Phase II should be the final set of emissions standards for awhile. “CARB has backed off of a possible Tier III,” he said.

“Other changes in the current wave of regulations may include an in-use test on engines,” Blum continued. “Right now, the regulations are applied to engines as they come off of the assembly line. Soon, we may be able to apply these regulations to hours of engine usage in the field and rate the engines to different levels from 125 to 1,000 hours of use, which would be more stringent and cost more. The higher rating an engine manufacturer chooses to apply their product to, the higher the cost.”

Earlier this year, CARB also approved a $25-million incentive program to pay businesses for reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions below mandated levels in heavy-duty trucks and agricultural machinery.

The CARB program, and emissions regulations are causing changes in an industry that hasn’t based its designs on emissions regulations before, Murphy said.

“Regulations place engine manufacturers up against a timetable trying to meet these standards,” he said. “And these standards are forming landscape contractors’ current buying trends.”

Regulations are also forcing the industry to improve technologically and environmentally at the same time, added Steve Ditter, product line manager, walk-behind rotary mowers, Tecumseh, Grafton, Wis.

“There are better cooling methods and lower oil consumption on engines today because of the regulations,” Ditter said.

PREFERENCES. When it comes to engines, contractors are buying twin-cycle vs. single-cycle, liquid-cooled vs. air-cooled and overhead-valve vs. side-valve, according to engine manufacturers.

While all three of these technologies are being perfected because they are the preferred method when compared to their counterparts, due to reducing engine emissions and noise levels, engine manufacturers are also improving them technologically to increase durability, decrease weight and improve their overall performance.

Liquid-cooled engines are preferred because they run cooler in all weather conditions, according to Andy Somich, territory sales manager, Modern Power Equipment, Wickliffe, Ohio.

“Liquid-cooled engines run cooler, are quieter and last longer than air-cooled engines,” Somich explained. “Liquid engines will run cooler through the summer months, while air-cooled engines run based on the weather. If it’s a hot, summer day, an air-cooled engine will tend to run hot.”

When it comes to twin-cycle vs. single-cycle engines, 60 percent of contractors are buying twin-cycle and the remaining 40 percent are buying single-cycle, and those numbers are increasing in the favor of twin-cycle engines, Somich stated.

“All of the new equipment we get is coming in with twin-cycle engines only,” Somich said. “They tend to have more power, run quieter and start easier needing only two fingers and one pull. Single-cycle engines usually take more effort.”

And, because there is less carbon build-up in the cylinder heads of overhead-valve engines, they are preferred over side-valve engines, Blum remarked.

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“With overhead valves, there is less oil consumption because of the extended length needed between oil change intervals and they run cooler,” Blum added.

“Overhead-valve engines also run inherently cleaner than side-valve engines because the combustion chamber is smaller and because the valve is located right over the piston,” Murphy added. “The only problem being that overhead-valve engines have more parts, which usually means more maintenance. But engine manufacturers are looking toward more technological designs to reduce the number of parts so that less maintenance will be required. Contractors tend to associate side-valve engines with lower quality machines.”

For hand-held equipment, a big debate has always been the choice between two-cycle vs. four-cycle engines, Murphy said.

“Two-cycle engines give a lot of power in a small, lightweight package, but they are inefficient in the way they use fuel,” Murphy explained. “In a two-cycle engine, oil is mixed in with the gas for fuel, which leads to added pollution when the mixture escapes through the combustion chamber without being burned out the exhaust pipe.”

But two-cycles can also operate in any position and run at high speeds – 7,000 to 8,000 rpm, Murphy pointed out. Yet, he said, four-cycles, although they run a little slower – 4,000 rpm – can’t operate at any angle and are a little bigger and heavier, run much more efficiently, releasing less emissions. Currently, engine manufacturers are focusing on improving both designs to create that perfect combination of low emissions and a lightweight, high-speed product.

HORSEPOWER. The first thing contractors look at when purchasing engines, according to Somich, is horsepower.

“You can never have too much horsepower,” he said. “When given the choice be-tween a 12-horsepower or 18-horsepower engine, 98 percent of the time contractors will choose the 18-horsepower engine. And there’s not too much of a difference in cost as you step up from one horsepower to the next.”

Of course, when it comes to lawn mowers, such as a typical walk-behind mower, an engine that is too large won’t bolt on to the machine, but otherwise it’s easy to apply more horsepower to a machine by buying a bigger engine, Somich said. However, most engine manufacturers tend to disagree with the need for more horsepower.

“It’s a total waste of money to get higher horsepower unless the original engine was underpowered,” Murphy maintained. “Contractors can overpower an engine to the point where they’ll damage the machine. For example, on a zero-turn riding mower, you can overpower the hydraulic pump by applying too much horsepower and cause damage to the machine.”

Besides, the greater the horsepower, the greater the cost of the engine, Ditter noted.

“Contractors want an engine with the power they need to do the job,” he explained. “Contractors don’t want to pay for what they don’t need.”

Contractors should discard the urge to buy more horsepower and focus on sticking with the horsepower that the equipment originally came with when replacing engines, Ditter said. This can prevent them from hurting their performance with too few horsepower or spending too much money and possibly damaging the machine with too much horsepower.

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Other factors contractors have to worry about when replacing engines is whether the engine needs to be replaced with a short block, reworked or whether a whole new engine or new piece of machinery is needed, according to Cameron Litt, product manager for twin-cylinder engines, Kohler Co.

This decision can be made based on the overall condition of the engine and machine, Blum pointed out.

“If there’s less than half a season left in the piece of equipment, contractors are probably better off getting a whole new machine,” he said, “rather than worry about a new engine.”

RELATIONSHIPS. Contractors rely on local dealers to service their equipment.

“Contractors will do routine maintenance,” Litt said, “but they usually hire a good mechanic or establish a good relationship with their dealer so they can count on service when they need it.

“Overall, contractors want engine performance without much downtime,” Ditter added.

The author is Assistant Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.

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