Alexandria, VA – March 20, 2013 – Spring has sprung, and that means the annual cleaning and preparation of lawn and garden equipment.  Whether it’s a mower, trimmer, blower, chainsaw or pruner, if it runs on gasoline, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) recommends a series of steps to avoid fuel-related problems and ensure a smooth-running engine.

“Many are so eager to pull out lawn and garden equipment once spring arrives that they sometimes forget basic steps to ensure the powerhouse of the equipment – the engine – is in good working order,” said Kris Kiser, President and CEO of OPEI.  “One challenge is that most fuel contains some level of ethanol, which contains corrosive alcohol, so you want to make sure that fuel does not sit in the tank for more than 30 days, and especially not over winter.”

To avoid fuel related problems as you pull out your lawn and landscaping equipment, OPEI reminds consumer to check the following:

• If fuel has been sitting all winter long in the fuel tank, don’t use it in the spring.  Drain it responsibly and put in fresh fuel.
• Do not use gas with more than 10 percent ethanol (E10).  Some gas stations may begin to offer 15 percent ethanol (E15), but this higher ethanol fuel is dangerous – and is in fact illegal – to use in any small engine equipment, such as chain saws, snow throwers, generators, lawn mowers, lawn tractors and all other lawn and garden equipment.For more information on E15 and why you can’t use this in lawn and garden equipment, go to www.opei.org/ethanolwarning.
• Don’t leave fuel sitting in the tank for more than 30 days. Untreated gasoline (without a fuel stabilizer) left in the fuel system will deteriorate, which may cause starting or running problems and, in some cases, damage to the fuel system.
• After finishing mowing, turn the fuel valve OFF and leave it OFF until it’s time to mow again. Fill the mower’s fuel tank between uses to minimize air in the tank.
• Store gasoline in a clean and sealed plastic container approved for fuel storage, and store the container away from direct sunlight.
• Keep the air filter properly serviced and check it before each use. A properly maintained air filter will help prevent dirt from entering the carburetor

About OPEI

What is E15 and why should I care?

E15 is shorthand for gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol. The reason it’s a big deal is that ethanol is fairly corrosive to rubber and certain metals, so it can cause damage to vital components. Ethanol also attracts and bonds with water from the air, and that water can separate out inside the tank due to phase separation. If your vehicle sits for long periods between use, the moisture settles to the bottom of the tank and can potentially clog in-tank pumps and filters. Damage is also possible in fuel lines, injectors, seals, gaskets, and valve seats as well as carburetors on older engines.

Read more from the article here.

Situation overview:

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently gave approval for gas stations to start selling 15-percent ethanol-blended fuel (E15).
• E15 gas is now legal for use in cars, pickups and SUVs manufactured since 2001.
• However, E15 is not approved for off-road engines. This includes engines found in mowers, power washers, portable generators, leaf blowers and other commonly used outdoor power equipment.
• Engine manufacturers and leading trade organizations are concerned that many consumers will utilize E15 in outdoor power equipment and other non-approved engines, causing permanent and irreversible damage.

Read more from the article here.

These potential new regulations apply to a wide range of activities, many of which would either directly or indirectly affect the Green Industry. Examples include: Read more from the article here.

Hats off to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and hopefully Maine lawmakers in their quest to ensure consumer safety.  As the head of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, an organization that has been battling the introduction of higher ethanol blend fuels for several years, Maine’s effort to protect consumers from the risky and harmful effects of ethanol 15’s use should be lauded.     Read more from the article here. 

OPEI is an international trade association representing 84 manufacturers and their suppliers of consumer and commercial outdoor power equipment, such as lawnmowers, utility vehicles, trimmers, chainsaws, snow throwers, and other related products.

The institute was founded in 1952, and is dedicated to promoting the outdoor power equipment industry by undertaking activities that can be pursued more effectively by an association than by individual companies. OPEI is also a managing partner of GIE+EXPO, the industry’s annual international trade show and exposition for equipment.

Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the OPEI and the OPEI Education and Research Foundation, is also an attorney and joined the institute four years ago. Prior to joining OPEI, Mr. Kiser served for 14 years in senior management at two major Washington, D.C. trade associations. He was Vice President of State and International Affairs for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and Vice President of Governmental Affairs for the American Forest & Paper Association.

Mr. Kiser also worked nine years for noted international affairs expert and former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton. He was Special Assistant in the Congressman’s personal office and spent two years as the chief administrative staffer (AA) with the Joint Economic Committee during Hamilton’s Chairmanship of the Committee.

Q: What trends do you see in the landscape equipment industry?  Read more from the article here. 

“For the first time in American history, fuel used for some automobiles may no longer safe for any non-road products. It may, in fact, destroy or damage generators, chain saws, utility vehicles, lawn mowers, boats and marine engines, snowmobiles, motorcycles, ATVs, and more,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, one of the industry groups who have been sending warnings to the federal government about E15.

In September 2011, members of the Engine Products Group (OPEI, National Marine Manufacturers Association, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Global Automakers) filed a formal legal challenge to EPA’s E15 partial waiver decision.  The EPG asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the E15 waiver decision. The decision on this matter is expected to be issued at any time by the court.

Said OPEI’s Kiser, “EPA purports to educate tens of millions of Americans using hundreds of millions of engine products, asserting it will educate these users with a 3 inch by 3 inch pump label. It’s frighteningly inadequate.”

Many times OPEI has pointed out that the EPA’s prior experience with the introduction of new fuels shows that labeling alone is insufficient to prevent misfueling. As the EPA led the transition to unleaded fuels, the Agency reported a misfueling rate of nearly 15 percent almost ten years after the introduction of unleaded gasoline, and even with a physical barrier at the pumps.

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The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) is an international trade association representing more than 80 engine and equipment manufacturers worldwide in the utility, forestry, landscape, and lawn and garden industry. OPEI is a recognized Standards Development Organization for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and active internationally through the International Standards Organization (ISO) in the development of safety standards. For more information, visit www.OPEI.org.

The manufacturers, represented by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute and 11 other trade groups, have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to require the continued availability of gasoline with no more than 10% ethanol content.

Ethanol is a fuel additive made from corn. The EPA has approved a 15% blend for newer-model vehicles that could be available this summer, according to petitioners that represent Wisconsin engine makers Briggs & Stratton, Mercury Marine Inc., Kohler Co., BRP Inc., and companies in other states.

The higher ethanol blend, E15, could damage or ruin millions of engines, according to the manufacturers, because their products were not designed to run on fuel with more than 10% ethanol in it.

Overheating and engine performance are among the problems that face owners of boats, lawn mowers and other outdoor power products if they’re mistakenly fueled with E15.

“Misfueling is our primary concern,” said Kris Kiser, executive vice president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute.

“People mostly buy gasoline based on price. If they can get E15 cheaper, that’s what they’re going to buy.”

Engine makers also worry that the higher ethanol blend will supplant access to E10 gasoline with 10% ethanol, the current fuel used across much of the country.

“Many gasoline stations may not be equipped to accommodate an additional fuel, leading them to choose between E15 and E10, and E15 will likely win out since it may be more profitable,” Kiser said.

The fuel additive is subsidized by a federal tax credit, which blenders can keep or pass on to consumers. Raising the blend to 15% will create new sales opportunities for the producers.

Wisconsin ranks 7th among ethanol-producing states.

Advocates say the marketplace, rather than engine makers, ought to determine what fuels are available.

Retailers will provide what consumers want, said Josh Morby, executive director of the Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance, which represents ethanol producers.

Ideally, Morby said, gasoline stations would have fuel dispensers where the consumer could choose what ethanol blend they want, ranging 10% to E85, which is 85% ethanol.

“It comes down to consumer choice, and right now the choice isn’t there for people to use E15,” Morby said.

The EPA regulates fuel additives, including ethanol. Monday, an agency spokeswoman said there was no date set for a ruling on the engine manufacturers’ petition.

The agency is writing rules for clear labeling on fuel pumps so that consumers won’t use the wrong blend when E15 becomes available. But engine makers say they expect misfueling, partly based on their past experience with fuel changes.

There was a misfueling rate of 15% when the U.S. made the transition from leaded to unleaded gasoline in the 1970s, according to engine manufacturers.

There are 70 million Briggs & Stratton engines in the United States that would be adversely affected by E15, said Briggs spokeswoman Laura Timm.

“It’s a significant concern for us, unless a mainline fuel (such as E10) remains available,” Timm said.

Not knowing what the next fuel blend will be makes it difficult for companies to design engines, she added.

There is technical and anecdotal evidence that even 10% ethanol blends have damaged boat engines, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

“We think the EPA has an obligation to make sure there’s a fuel available for boats and small engines,” said Christine Pomorski, spokeswoman for the association that represents Fond du Lac-based Mercury Marine and other boat-engine makers.