CNG Lawnmower.

[Lakewood90712]

Well , spring is almost here , and I got lazy and did not drain the gasoline from my mower. The carb is gummed up. Not going to rebuild the carb this time.I am going to convert it to NG. The conversion is super easy, now to find a small fuel tank cheap , otherwise I will have a 50' fuel hose .

Stay tuned for updates.

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

Check into the portable tanks used for medical O2. lightweight alluminum, and i BELIEVE they are 3000#+ at least. Should hold enough for a days mowing.

[rtry9a]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

Why???

I can't think of a single reason why anyone would want to mow grass with a high-pressure flammable fuel supplied by heavy tank or a rubber hose of questionable character unless you are using a lawn tractor (in which case propane makes more sense) At best, the high vibration level would be a very hostile environment for a nat gas regulator and keeping the various fittings leak-free, not to mention the likelihood of a cut hose or ripped out fitting.

Just buy one of the many economic electric mowers available- no emissions, quiet, and very lightweight. The wire is a pita, but nothing compared to a (bigger/heavier) rubber hose; they both have a nasty habit of finding every rock, tree, sprinkler head, and tippy container between you and your energy source.

[cowboy]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

I was in corpus cristi last year they converted in the 70s and had a rider with two cng tanks a lot of the city motor pool is cng

[cngmike]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

It would be an easy conversion. I don't know if it is worth it. Iv'e been using the same electric mower for at least 16 years. It's never let me down.

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

I really don't think the goal here is to be 'worth it'... It's more of just a 'build it because I can' thing.

[cowboy]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

why cut grass get a horse you fuel it with grass and it makes fertilizer to grow more grass and you can ride it to work and dont even need a compresser LOL

[OKGX]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

One thing to keep in mind is that if it runs out of CNG your not going to run down with a tank of gasoline and fill it up (unless you make it dual fuel). You'll be pushing the mower back to the compressor. I was thinking of doing this too. My mower is too big and I have too much to mow to go electric cheaply. I found some stainless steel gas sampling cylinders that I may use. They are DOT approved and rated to 6000 psi. I found them surplus at an oil field supply. They hold a liter of water each and already had high pressure gas valves on each end. I suppose with careful planning you could mount two and make them removable so if you did run out you could take one back to the compressor and fill it.

[CDNCNG]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

I have an older lawn tractor and have considered a similar conversion. This is an air cooled engine and I am wondering what type of regulator you would use?

Thanks

[Lakewood90712]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

I'm going to try the Beam regulator and fuel block from of my tri fuel generator and use pipeline gas from the NG bbq quick connect in the yard. Will need a high pressure regulator too if I use a cng tank.

[ccgas]

Re: CNG Lawnmower. pics of CNG lawnmower at Corpus Christi TX

here are some pics of the lawnmower cowboy was talking about. It has an Impco set up on it.

[cngacrossusa]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

Check out Ebay as guy in VA has cng regulator and 2 cng tanks (look like maybe 3,000 psi) from sailboat that he converted from cng to lp. The 2 cng tanks and regulator look ready made for "cowboy style" cng lawnmower!! LOL

P.S. I hear that EPA now cracking down on emissions from lawn mowers, so it IS time for cng lawnmowers to come of age.

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

I think the sailboat cng cylinders are like 500 pounds or something. They are just for running the stove, and SOMETIMES a space heater.

[PrairieGas]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

I was told that there was a 20-30% reduction in power when converting to CNG. I found a G-TECH compressor 275# compressor and had considered converting but now I do not know. I did spring for a regulator and carb but fuel storage was a problem. The mower did run on the CNG. Back to gas. Curious to see what kind of engine and HP and if it runs consistently
Thanks

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: CNG Lawnmower.

All things left the same, switching to CNG will cause a loss of power.. this is because CNG requires more oxygen per unit energy produced. CNG, however, has a much higher octane rating (130+) allowing the engine to be timed/compressed more aggressively, so you can get most of that power back, and end up being much more energy efficient.