Have you all noticed that you see more battery-operated lawn equipment at the big box stores? Husqvarna walk-behind mowers are no longer sold as are Hitachi/Metabo gas blowers and even Toro gas trimmers. Honda officially ceases lawnmower manufacturing in September 2023. And Honda's recent engine issues for certain models have accelerated that cessation since licensed sellers were asked to halt sales. All outdoor gas-powered equipment (mowers, edgers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers, generators, chain saws, tillers, etc.) have pollution limits for emissions. Below are the USEPA regs which began as early as 1995 as "Nonroad Spark Emission Engines" and have been coming forth in phases. Phase 3 exhaust emissions standards took effect in 2011 or 2012, depending on the size of the engine.
https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emi...s/regulations-emissions-small-equipment-tools
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-U/part-1054
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/part-1054#p-1054.125(e)
It's no gimmick for those lawnmowers makers that claim no oil changes as that's included in rule (e). Note that "You" is the manufacturer.
"(e) Maintenance that is not emission-related. For maintenance unrelated to emission controls, you may schedule any amount of inspection or maintenance. You may also take these inspection or maintenance steps during service accumulation on your emission-data engines, as long as they are reasonable and technologically necessary. This might include adding engine oil, changing fuel or oil filters, servicing engine-cooling systems, and adjusting idle speed, governor, engine bolt torque, valve lash, or injector lash. You may not perform this nonemission-related maintenance on emission-data engines more often than the least frequent intervals that you recommend to the ultimate purchaser."
I have less than a half acre of grass to mow, and I use an older self-propelled walk-behind mower. I decided to buy a second mower with similar capabilities but from a different manufacturer. And I have been buying up spare parts for both mowers, gas trimmers, gas blowers including carb kits for the 2-cycle engines. I picked up a service manual for one of the mowers along with supplies of small engine oils and fuel stabilizers. All of this defined as "Small Equipment & Tools" is being phased out. So if you need new equipment or OEM parts, now and any upcoming fall clearance sales may offer the best opportunities to buy as they may be harder to find in the coming years. Just my 2 cents.
https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emi...s/regulations-emissions-small-equipment-tools
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-U/part-1054
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/part-1054#p-1054.125(e)
It's no gimmick for those lawnmowers makers that claim no oil changes as that's included in rule (e). Note that "You" is the manufacturer.
"(e) Maintenance that is not emission-related. For maintenance unrelated to emission controls, you may schedule any amount of inspection or maintenance. You may also take these inspection or maintenance steps during service accumulation on your emission-data engines, as long as they are reasonable and technologically necessary. This might include adding engine oil, changing fuel or oil filters, servicing engine-cooling systems, and adjusting idle speed, governor, engine bolt torque, valve lash, or injector lash. You may not perform this nonemission-related maintenance on emission-data engines more often than the least frequent intervals that you recommend to the ultimate purchaser."
I have less than a half acre of grass to mow, and I use an older self-propelled walk-behind mower. I decided to buy a second mower with similar capabilities but from a different manufacturer. And I have been buying up spare parts for both mowers, gas trimmers, gas blowers including carb kits for the 2-cycle engines. I picked up a service manual for one of the mowers along with supplies of small engine oils and fuel stabilizers. All of this defined as "Small Equipment & Tools" is being phased out. So if you need new equipment or OEM parts, now and any upcoming fall clearance sales may offer the best opportunities to buy as they may be harder to find in the coming years. Just my 2 cents.
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