The guy in the picture is JP Patten, entrepreneur and computer expert, shown with his newly outfitted biodiesel lawn mowers. Now, I think this guy’s got a great idea, he buys lawnmower motors from China, takes them apart, rebuilds them so they burn waste grease from deep fryers.
So far, so good. He says the engines are more powerful and more efficient than their gas counterparts, and they cause much less pollution. Ok, I’m sold, but how much are they?
$1,899. What? Hey, it’s a Toro model that usually sells for $700 with a gasoline engine, and now it burns grease. $1,899, shoot, for that amount of money I can hire the kid down the street to cut my grass with an old-fashioned hand mower and save not only money but even the small amount of pollution created by the “upgraded” mower.
Patten told the Miami Herald, “We’re trying to come up with the iPod of the alternative fuel industry”. His startup company is called HUGR Systems, an acronym for Helping U.S. Grow Responsibly.
So far, he’s sold five mowers and has yet to make a profit, but he’s hopeful the idea will catch on. One business consultant suggested he sell the Toro riding mowers to commercial users, where it would be competitive with gasoline models.
When he’s not spending his working hours teaching doctors how to use computers in operating rooms, Patten heads for the garage and his lawnmower business.
He ran into some problems from the EPA some time ago, when was told he could no longer import the engines from China. Regulations, according to the EPA, require that if the engine can run on biodiesel, it cannot run on regular diesel fuel.
After making necessary changes, Patten got his company up and running again. He’s just waiting for a big order from Toro, something like 50,000 engines. Now that makes sense, but $1899 for a home lawn mower?
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This posting does not make sense in several ways. Biodiesel is not grease, which has the mowers been converted to run on? It can’t be both. On the other hand all diesels can run on either biodiesel or regular diesel, there is no such thing as an EPA regulation saying that they can’t. Where does the poster live that he can get a kid to mow his lawn for years for $1100? It must be a very small lawn, not one needing a lawn tractor, and even small lawns run $50 a time which would add up to more money in less than two years. Of course, if the idea was really mass produced the cost difference would be much less. Someday probably all lawn tractors will be diesels running on biodiesel.
This posting does not make sense in several ways. Biodiesel is not grease, which has the mowers been converted to run on? It can’t be both. On the other hand all diesels can run on either biodiesel or regular diesel, there is no such thing as an EPA regulation saying that they can’t. Where does the poster live that he can get a kid to mow his lawn for years for $1100? It must be a very small lawn, not one needing a lawn tractor, and even small lawns run $50 a time which would add up to more money in less than two years. Of course, if the idea was really mass produced the cost difference would be much less. Someday probably all lawn tractors will be diesels running on biodiesel.
First off I just wanted to say that I think your idea is genious. I have interests in the idea of “new age” lawn mowers that are biofuel capable. I am also learning the ways of an entrepreneur and I believe that converting to environmental friendly small engines is the way to go, and with enough exposure could possibly be a great investment for both small business and large companies as well. I would very much appreciate if you could drop me a line on this topic and give me the lowdown on how to start on my own way of learning about this. Please email me at my address: backwoods289@yahoo.com
Great job by the way and the best of luck to you!
Is there contact information for this guy? I’d like to talk to him.
Is there contact information for this guy? I’d like to talk to him.
Is there contact information for this guy? I’d like to talk to him.