As with all power equipment, stringent regulations play a powerful role in the evolution of string trimmers. In response to pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), equipment manufacturers are striving to build a better trimmer with impressive results.
RAISING THE BAR. While the word regulation often carries a negative connotation, these national and regional mandates have actually benefitted the trimmer industry, said Nick Jiannas, product manager, Stihl, Virginia Beach, Va. "With the regulations becoming stricter, the units now run leaner, hotter and faster," he observed. "In essence, they’ve required us to build a better trimmer."
The two-cycle engine trimmer - the longtime industry standard - has traditionally operated off of an air/fuel mix with the fuel serving as the coolant. This is the primary source of emissions the EPA and CARB are targeting through regulations, Jiannas described. The challenge manufacturers have faced is designing an engine that cools effectively and cleanly, he pointed out. "We’re trying to build an engine that strikes a good balance between the two."
Complying with increasingly rigid requirements transformed the trimmer into a more sophisticated piece of equipment. "Basically, the trimmer is a much more high tech product because of the need to comply with emissions and make sure the product holds up over time," Jiannas added.
This modern trimmer is a far cry from the days when trimmers were heavy, noisy and vibrated heavily, according to Malcolm Stieneker, warranty manager, RedMax, Norcross, Ga., who has been in the power equipment industry since 1969. "They really didn’t have a lot of power and were very difficult to work on," he recalled. "Carburetors broke, heads flew off - it was fun," he added, laughing.
Through the years, these essential landscaping tools have become more powerful, fuel efficient and lighter, Stieneker described.
| Maintaining An Edge |
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Having a dedicated piece of equipment for edging jobs is one landscaping rule of thumb that contractors should not disregard. While there are contractors who use a trimmer to edge, this can be a potentially dangerous and often expensive mistake, according to Nick Jiannas, product manager, Stihl, Virginia Beach, Va. By using a trimmer to edge, "basically you’re running the trimmer line right on a sidewalk," he noted. "Concrete will eat up trimmer line." A quality and safety-conscious contractor should buy a dedicated edger upfront and avoid dealing with the possible safety issues and wear and tear on the machine. After all, "it’s pay now or pay later," Jiannas noted. Contractors have several options when choosing an edger. For one, edgers come in hand-held or a wheeled models. Hand-held models are lighter and easier to use when maintaining existing edges, Jiannas said. The wheeled models tend to have more restrictive emissions regulations and generally utilize four-stroke engine technology, he added. Wheeled edgers allow for larger edger blades and are generally best suited to tougher conditions, such as establishing a new flower bed, setting an edge for the first time in the spring or working in heavy dirt or clay, he advised. Depending upon their needs, contractors can also choose an edger with a straight or curved shaft, allowing for greater speed or flexibility, according to Jiannas. "A straight shaft has less friction with much improved cutting torque," he observed. "This is important for contractors who need to speed edge. Curve shaft edgers have harder times cutting through dirt and debris." Choosing an edger is a highly individualized decision - like buying a pickup truck, according Dennis Blanton, product development administrator, American Honda Motor Co., Alpharetta, Ga. He said contractors should talk to equipment dealers or manufacturers to help determine what their specific edging needs are. |
ENGINEERING FOR IMPROVEMENT. In the quest for a cleaner, quieter, lighter machine, three primary technologies are shaping the development of today’s trimmer.
Stratified charge technology - Relying on careful timing to reduce harmful emissions, this technology utilizes a double barrel carburetor with two "throats" - a conventional throat containing a mixture of air and fuel and another containing only fresh air, Jiannas described. With this design, the piston moves up and down, while a stratified layer of fresh air is created on top of the air/fuel mixture. Then, when the air and fuel mix goes up into the combustion chamber, the fresh air goes in and out first, resulting in a cleaner emission.
Catalytic converter technology - This is another emission-reducing technology, relying on platinum-based metals, which create a chemical reaction. When exhaust gases come out of the cylinder, they pass through this converter which "superheats" the metals, Jiannas described. The leftover exhaust is then burned and converted into environmentally friendly carbon dioxide and water.
The major drawback to catalytic converters is that they tend to add weight and heat to a trimmer, which can make work unpleasant for a landscape contractor on a hot summer day, Stieneker pointed out. Another disadvantage is that catalytic converters tend to degenerate over time, eventually failing to convert all of the gases passing through. Replacing this component is an added expense that some contractors might not want to deal with, he said.
Four-stroke technology - With this approach, all engine processes are self-contained in the combustion chamber so there is no "scavenging loss," or harmful emissions, Jiannas explained. Since these engines contain an extra oil tank and additional working units compared to a two-stroke model, four-stroke engines may be heavier and bulkier, he noted.
One of the biggest advantages of a four-cycle engine is increased fuel efficiency, noted Dennis Blanton, product development administrator, American Honda Motor Co., Alpharetta, Ga. Blanton cited a study Honda conducted that compared the fuel consumption of two-stroke and four-stroke trimmers. Based on 30 hours of operation for 32 weeks (a typical season), the four-stroke engine used about half the fuel compared to the two-stroke, Blanton explained.
Based on the feedback Honda received from its contractor customers, four-stroke engines have been shown to produce a lesser degree of smoke and smell and a lower noise level than their two-stroke engine counterparts, he added.
ADAPTING TO CHANGE. As old-school trimmers and other power equipment models phase out, time will tell which of these newer technologies will win over contractors, according to Jiannas. These advances, especially the four-stroke and catalytic converter trimmers, are so new to the marketplace that the industry cannot predict its favorites he pointed out. "These are so new in the game," he said. "Spring 2001, for example, is the first season that California is going to see a lot of this stuff in retail."
The four-stroke engine trimmer, in particular, has yet to penetrate the mainstream landscape market, according to Stieneker. "The four-cycle really hasn’t gained in popularity yet," he observed. "Everybody’s just used to the two-cycle since there are so many out there."
Jiannas agreed. "The commercial landscape contractor right now is not buying a lot of four-stroke trimmers."
Jiannas added that most equipment dealers still have regular two-stroke trimmers and other power equipment in stock, so a shift to the newer technologies will be a gradual process, although eventually, when the regulations are stepped up, contractors will be required to buy a compliant product.
Contractors also tend to be creatures of habit and are comfortable with the older, two-stroke technology equipment, observed Dana Possick, RedMax’s assistant manager of national marketing. "People are always resistant to change," he pointed out, especially with technologies that are relatively new to the marketplace. Transitioning from the old to the new will largely be a matter of industry education, he said.
In terms of cost, landscape contractors shouldn’t see a dramatic a price increase with these new, advanced trimmers, Stieneker predicted.
However, prices are sure to rise, as with any new technology, Jiannas added. "There will be a price tag increase," he said. "It’s a fact of life."
As trimmers and other outdoor power equipment become more technologically sophisticated, manufactures pay more to produce these units - an increase that will most likely be passed on to end-users, i.e. landscape contractors, Jiannas said.
The exact price increase remains to be seen, however. "It’s too early to tell," he pointed out, adding that he does know one thing for certain. "(Any cost increase) will be a short-term pain for long-term gain."
The author is Associate Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.
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