California to ban small gas engines by 2024

[Sharky]

https://www.carscoops.com/2021/10/california-is-banning-all-small-engines-by-2024/

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[Langwilliams]

You get what you vote for

 

[Fawnbuster]

Wouldn't visit that state if I had a free trip...

 

[Trigganometry]

Gonna be a lot of used weed wackers for sale along with unemployed gardeners/landscapers. Then they will fine you for unsightly property ?

 

[DeathRanger]

From the article
"CARB says that using a leaf blower for no more than an hour is the equivalent of driving a 2017 Toyota Camry well over a thousand miles."

Not polluting the entire planet so some people can have a pretty lush green patch of grass in the desert seems like a good thing to me.

 

[Langwilliams]

I read the link but it didn't specify if they were banned from use or banned from being sold. If banned from use stores are gonna eat a lot of inventory because I'd be patching mine together to make it to the deadline. There's already power shortages...let's see what happens when every single household plugs a lawn mower in while the a/c is running in the summer. I can't think of an alternative to gas generators for camping or emergency power (like to keep a sub pump an freezer running in a storm). I've seen the portable "solar panels" but they barely charge a cell phone.

 

[Sharky]

From the article
"CARB says that using a leaf blower for no more than an hour is the equivalent of driving a 2017 Toyota Camry well over a thousand miles."

Not polluting the entire planet so some people can have a pretty lush green patch of grass in the desert seems like a good thing to me.

"California Air Resources Board".....no biased reporting from them.......

 

[Azriq]

Those crazy nuts....the next thing you know, they'll want to remove lead paint from children's toys, get rid of liquid mercury and require seatbelt usage..... Sarcastically said. Not all change is bad. I remember when people whined about carburetors going away and moving to fuel-injection. Look where we are today performance wise. Our Ranger is an excellent example. 270 HP with 310 lb ft trq and getting 25+ mpg. You can literally let it run in your garage all night and not die from the fumes. I'm not keen on "big brother" minding my business but some things just make sense in the long run.

 

[viperwolf]

California: ?
Volcanic Eruption < Weed wacker

 

[Langwilliams]

Those crazy nuts....the next thing you know, they'll want to remove lead paint from children's toys, get rid of liquid mercury and require seatbelt usage..... Sarcastically said. Not all change is bad. I remember when people whined about carburetors going away and moving to fuel-injection. Look where we are today performance wise. Our Ranger is an excellent example. 270 HP with 310 lb ft trq and getting 25+ mpg. You can literally let it run in your garage all night and not die from the fumes. I'm not keen on "big brother" minding my business but some things just make sense in the long run.

I agree change can be great BUT I feel they are pushing it too hard too fast. My son loves his electric lawnmower. He has a suburb lot. My daughter has 4.5 acres an an electric mower for that is more than an entry level car. People are going to go broke replacing everything at once, an in most cases replacing something that's working well.

I don't know if the order bans their use or their sale. If it just bans their sale that's a little better since every piece of lawn equipment will need to be replaced at some point (except for 60's cub garden tractors, those run forever) so it won't be a killer all at once on a family budget.

This current push to green energy is too much too fast IMO. There's already summer power shortages without half the country plugging their car in every night. The technology isn't good enough yet or affordable.

I watched a special on Smithsonian an they showed the "Nevada 1" solar power plant. That channel loves green energy an pushes the green agenda. Nevada 1 is the size of a conventional power plant but only produces one seventh of the power of one. It had to be hard for Smithsonian to admit that. That's in the southwest desert, the best location in the US. Image that plant in Maine or North Dakota, people would freeze. I live near Cleveland an in December it's only sunny for about 5 days an the sun set's at 5.

I'm not against green energy but I want them to pump the brakes on this massive shift we're not remotely ready for.

 

[KNI]

I'm using Husqvarna battery series and I can note that those tools are mostly an improvement over their gas engine counterparts. Only issue I've seen is with the chainsaw which lacks the torque when going over 8"-10" tree diameter (some say the newer model fixes this).

Battery capacity is somewhat an issue, you need 2-3 to have continuous rotation if you have access to charging on site or 8-10 if on off grid site. Battery backpack might be requirement for anyone using those for professional services.

So equipment is good and battery issues are solvable.

For normal home owner it's a no-brainer to go with battery series. For professionals the real problems are the pricing and locked supplier. Savings on the gas, maintenance and parts do not cover the battery costs on professional side. And non-interchangeable batteries cause limited equipment choices. At least for now.

I'd say that the proper way for this would be to ban the new sales for non-commercials first, 5 years later for commercials and 10 years later the existing. At the same time the battery infrastructure should be standardized and regulated. This way it would allow volume buildup, lower profit margins and equipment flexibility.

Personally I only see myself buying chainsaws and brush-cutters with an engine anymore.

 

[AzScorpion]

I agree change can be great BUT I feel they are pushing it too hard too fast. My son loves his electric lawnmower. He has a suburb lot. My daughter has 4.5 acres an an electric mower for that is more than an entry level car. People are going to go broke replacing everything at once, an in most cases replacing something that's working well.

I don't know if the order bans their use or their sale. If it just bans their sale that's a little better since every piece of lawn equipment will need to be replaced at some point (except for 60's cub garden tractors, those run forever) so it won't be a killer all at once on a family budget.

This current push to green energy is too much too fast IMO. There's already summer power shortages without half the country plugging their car in every night. The technology isn't good enough yet or affordable.

I watched a special on Smithsonian an they showed the "Nevada 1" solar power plant. That channel loves green energy an pushes the green agenda. Nevada 1 is the size of a conventional power plant but only produces one seventh of the power of one. It had to be hard for Smithsonian to admit that. That's in the southwest desert, the best location in the US. Image that plant in Maine or North Dakota, people would freeze. I live near Cleveland an in December it's only sunny for about 5 days an the sun set's at 5.

I'm not against green energy but I want them to pump the brakes on this massive shift we're not remotely ready for.

It bans the use, at least that's what the OP's article says.

The ban will include the use of gas-powered lawn equipment,generators, and other off-road equipment that contributes to CO2 emissions.

So lets kill small business even more when they're still trying to get back on their feet after the lockdowns.

While the push for this ban seems to pave a clear path towards a greener future, there will be a significant impact on small businesses that focus on the production and sales of these products. Marc Berman, the author of the legislation, wasn’t hesitant to admit that the transition towards battery-powered equipment is sure to affect some businesses but said that California will pledge $30 million to their aid — but is that enough?

While costs are one concern — a gas-powered commercial lawnmower could cost between $7,000–$11,000, while the electric equivalent could be twice that — there’s also a logistics element. That’s because extra batteries will need to be carried and transported for commercial jobs, which would require more staff. Businesses would also need to upgrade their workshops to cater to the daily recharging requirements. There’s also the question of emergency fuel-burning generators, which are still the best solution for backup power.

 

[RedlandRanger]

It bans the use, at least that's what the OP's article says.

I read it and can't tell if it is a ban on USE or just a ban on the SALE of them. To me, the article was not clear. In one place it refers to the sale and in the other it refers to the use.

I guess it doesn't matter to me since I don't live in CA.

 

[AzScorpion]

I read it and can't tell if it is a ban on USE or just a ban on the SALE of them. To me, the article was not clear. In one place it refers to the sale and in the other it refers to the use.

I guess it doesn't matter to me since I don't live in CA.

This came out a few weeks ago and I thought I read in a different article it was the sale. I hope so as this makes much more sense and gives people time to convert over. I'm all for cleaner/greener use but not forced on us all at once. Some of these smaller businesses are going to need time to convert their equipment over which will come at a large cost to them

 

[RedlandRanger]

This came out a few weeks ago and I thought I read in a different article it was the sale. I hope so as this makes much more sense and gives people time to convert over. I'm all for cleaner/greener use but not forced on us all at once. Some of these smaller businesses are going to need time to convert their equipment over which will come at a large cost to them

The other thing which I always think about is the dumping of LOTS of perfectly good gas powered equipment - one of the big tenets of "green" is "reduce/reuse/recycle" - not "throw it away". A ban on the USE would fly in the face of that. I certainly hope it is just a ban on the sale.

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