Author Topic: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023  (Read 1260 times)

230RN

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #25 on: May 19, 2023, 01:01:21 PM »
In fairness, the only reason China or anyone else is getting a pass is that according to Honda, they're ending sales here because US regulations have made it unprofitable to continue.

I wonder if those regulations were made under genuine legislative authority rather than just by green-drunk apostles of runaway conservation.

Perhaps things like this will start to make Americans aware of what 746 Watts is and where them there 746 Watts came from.

   
(Courtesy Getty. I chose that pic of a coal train because of the oil well.)

Running a five HP engine for an hour is  equivalent to 6 kiloWatt-hours, not including an efficienty factor.  Assuming a PFA efficiency of 50%, that would be 12 kWh.  Note we dribble drool over saving 15 Watts with an LED light in our kitchens. <back-patting emoticon>

According to
https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/

the kWh costs for Colorado and Hawaii are:

COLORADO 12.28¢ / kWh
HAWAII 32.76¢ / kWh

The State averages are dependent on many factors, including special rates for high-usage customers. See link for disclaimers.

I wonder if Honda has reckoned on the inevitable increased cost of electricity as demand increases and facilities are expanded and the future impact on our wallets.

Nah, they're only interested in their bottom line, not my top line.

Terry, 230RN

« Last Edit: May 19, 2023, 01:21:55 PM by 230RN »

Tuco

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #26 on: May 19, 2023, 01:20:46 PM »
Still using a 198? toro with the Toro (suzuki) motor.  Always wanted a Honda but it hasnt died yet. We shall see.
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WLJ

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #27 on: May 19, 2023, 01:22:01 PM »

According to
https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/

the kWh costs for Colorado and Hawaii are:

COLORADO 12.28¢ / kWh
HAWAII 32.76¢ / kWh

Kentucky 10.5¢

Couldn't imagine what my elec bill would be in Hawaii
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230RN

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #28 on: May 19, 2023, 02:55:11 PM »
Those prices appear to include taxes and fees and other assessments on top of the kWh costs.

I picked Hawaii because a couple of years ago some people on their gun board were commenting on the high cost (in relation to solar power.)  I included CO because I used to calculate my own personal e- costs which came out to about 13¢ / kWh including all the additional fees.

Hawaii has no coal or oil reserves, but it refines crude oil from Libya and Argentina which is shipped in on fuel-burning ships.  I'm not aware of any sailing cargo ships.

 Yet.

As I halfway hinted above, I hope sooner or later, atomic power will start looking good to our lamebrained useful idiot electorate.

America is being gelded by those people.

"You can't fool all of the people all of the time."  Yeah, but you only need  to fool 50.0001% of them.

Terry, 230RN
« Last Edit: May 19, 2023, 03:19:29 PM by 230RN »

WLJ

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #29 on: May 19, 2023, 03:01:51 PM »

I picked Hawaii because a couple of years ago some people on their gun board were commenting on the high cost (in relation to solar power.)  I included CO because I calculated my own personal e- costs came out to about 13¢ / kWh including all the additional fees.

Hawaiii has no coal or oil reserves, but it refines oil from Libya and Argentina which is shipped in on fuel-burning ships.  I'm not aware of any sailing cargo ships.


Terry, 230RN

Yeah I figure Hawaii would be up the creek for power production. No even any major rivers for hydro and I suppose not many good locales for solar. Guess they could cover the islands with windmills but that would ruin the scenic views that draw the tourists
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zxcvbob

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #30 on: May 19, 2023, 03:22:32 PM »
Yeah I figure Hawaii would be up the creek for power production. No even any major rivers for hydro and I suppose not many good locales for solar. Guess they could cover the islands with windmills but that would ruin the scenic views that draw the tourists

Geothermal!   :laugh:  (half joking, half serious)  With freakin' active volcanoes and direct access to the Pacific Ocean, I don't know why they aren't doing geothermal at least on a small scale.  Doubtful it could power the whole state.
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WLJ

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #31 on: May 19, 2023, 03:30:26 PM »
Geothermal!   :laugh:  (half joking, half serious)

Has anyone seriously studied how well that would work for the various Hawaiian Islands Hawaii at least on a supplemental  level?

Well to answer my own question, yes they have.

 https://energy.hawaii.gov/what-we-do/energy-landscape/renewable-energy-resources/

Quote
The Kilauea East Rift Zone, thus far the only region developed for geothermal energy in Hawai‘i, has all the attributes necessary for energy generation. Hawai‘i’s only currently operating geothermal facility, the 38-megawatt Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) power plant, is located in this region. Geothermal is a low carbon energy resource as it does not produce any greenhouse gas emissions and, as a steam-based resource, generally provides the same amount of output at all times of the day. In 2021, geothermal energy from PGV provided Hawai‘i Island with 17.6% of its electricity needs. Prior to the Kīlauea eruption in 2018, geothermal energy from PGV provided an estimated 31% of the island’s energy.
Other areas in Hawai‘i have been studied and show suitable attributes for geothermal energy generation. In general, the probability of accessible geothermal heat decreases as you move up the island chain to the older islands; however, certain areas on these islands, including Oʻahu, where energy demand is high, exhibit geothermal resource probabilities that may make it plausible for electricity generation. Probabilities are believed to be higher in areas of rejuvenated volcanism, such as areas on the south flank of the Koʻolau mountain range (Ito, et al., 2017).
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K Frame

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #32 on: May 20, 2023, 06:44:08 AM »
I think a majority of Iceland's power comes from geothermal sources....

Ah, nope. About 1/4 of its electrical power comes from geothermal, the rest comes from hydro power.

As for home heating, almost 90% of Iceland's homes are heated through geothermal means.

If I ever build a house I'm going to go with ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling.
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cordex

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #33 on: May 20, 2023, 08:13:38 AM »
If I ever build a house I'm going to go with ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling.
I have one. Maybe a newer system would be better, but I haven’t been impressed with the efficiency of ours.

Nick1911

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #34 on: May 20, 2023, 08:18:07 AM »
The installation is also very expensive.  Ten years ago a geothermal contractor at the college cited their cost at $2200 per ton for the dirtwork

cordex

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #35 on: May 20, 2023, 09:55:00 AM »
Yeah, my heat exchange pipes are over 20 years old so before I bought the place I looked into what it would cost to replace them if they failed. Estimates started at $20,000.

I think I’ll buy a modern heat pump when my system fails.

K Frame

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #36 on: May 20, 2023, 10:40:09 AM »
The installation is the rub. The deeper you have to drill (if you're doing the well option) the more expensive it is. You also need a company that is really experienced in this kind of installation.
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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #37 on: May 20, 2023, 02:47:48 PM »
I’d build a house into a hill or an insulated concrete form house if I had my pick with a high budget (alas my budget is a stick built budget). Our walk in basement at my parents house was temperate year round worn the earth insulating much of it.
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dogmush

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #38 on: May 20, 2023, 03:31:22 PM »
I think a majority of Iceland's power comes from geothermal sources....

Ah, nope. About 1/4 of its electrical power comes from geothermal, the rest comes from hydro power.

As for home heating, almost 90% of Iceland's homes are heated through geothermal means.

If I ever build a house I'm going to go with ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling.

I think I mentioned it before, but when I visited Iceland and got out of the cities, it was pretty common to see like 10-15kw Hydro-Generators that would run one farm.  There wasn't as much of a rural grid as you would think.  Each farm would tap the little stream on their property, pipe it out til they had 20 ft or so of head, and then dump it through their private turbine for power.  I thought it was really cool.

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #39 on: May 20, 2023, 03:41:06 PM »
The installation is the rub. The deeper you have to drill (if you're doing the well option) the more expensive it is. You also need a company that is really experienced in this kind of installation.

I had one, three 200 foot wells, so about 1200' of extraction pipe. Now the geniuses that installed it put the master thermostat closest to the unit, so in the basement. None of the other thermostats told you there was a fault so the system just happily ran backup resistance heat and the fault indicator was your electric bill. The fault was that the pump would pull a bubble on the ground loop and of course cease pumping. Tech would come re-pressurize it. Only thing that kept pressure was whatever expansion of the PVC pipe. They looked at me like I was from outer space when I suggested an accumulator similar to an overgrown hammer arrestor. It worked.
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ConstitutionCowboy

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #40 on: May 23, 2023, 11:51:27 AM »
Shall we toast Honda with a Bud? :old: [popcorn]

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #41 on: May 23, 2023, 11:55:36 AM »
Shall we toast Honda with a Bud? :old: [popcorn]

Woody

Did they run a commercial with Bud Light Boy prancing behind a push mower?
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MechAg94

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #42 on: May 23, 2023, 12:14:54 PM »
Do you think Honda will make their money back in generator sales?
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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #43 on: May 23, 2023, 12:33:26 PM »
Do you think Honda will make their money back in generator sales?

Pretty sure they got that covered in vehicles.
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Cliffh

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #44 on: May 23, 2023, 07:14:53 PM »
Aren't there some Honda portable generators, like for RVs, that are touted for the low noise levels?
Are they going to get out of that business as well?
  :facepalm:

Their EU series are very quite.  We bought one back in the early '90s, it's still running strong.  Fire it off in the back yard, you can't hear it at the back fence - ~100 unobstructed yards away.  We used it at a few RV parks where folks were running the gensets on their RVs, their built-in units were noisier than the Honda.

RoadKingLarry

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #45 on: May 23, 2023, 07:51:05 PM »
I picked up a Honda EG2800I in 2001 to run power to my boat while it was on the hard.
I'd fill the tank at home, load it up in the back of my Jeep and run it all day on maybe a half tank of gas. It was borderline too heavy for me and my freshly rebuilt shoulders to be lifting though.
 
I ran it almost daily from March to September with no issues. It is very quiet, I could listen to the boat stereo at a moderate level with it running 15' away and it wasn't annoying. A friend of was doing pretty much the same thing on his boat 100'+ away and his generator was annoying as hell.
I start it and run it for 30 minutes with a load every 6 months after storing it with a full tank of fuel with Stabil. I'm a little over due for that PM.
I don't think it is in production any longer.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Honda-EG-2800-Watt-Inverter-Gasoline-Portable-Generator/1002689688

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