| | Category | EN | P11 | Propane Lawnmower |
| | Abstract | The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of running |
| | a lawnmower on propane using an affordable propane conversion, |
| | compared to running the lawnmower on gasoline. This experiment |
| | examined the fuel consumption for the lawnmower when run on propane |
| | and gasoline under the same load condition, and which fuel was more |
| | cost effective. To generate repeatable load conditions, the lawnmower |
| | blade was replaced by an automotive fan blade. By controlling the RPM of |
| | the engine, the load could be controlled. The RPM was measured with a |
| | digital multi-meter calibrated using a variable speed strobe light. The fuel |
| | consumption part of the experiment was conducted by running ten minute |
| | tests on low, medium, and high RPM, and then measuring the fuel |
| | consumed. The amount of fuel used was then converted to grams for |
| | comparison. Finally, a fuel cost analysis was performed. The results of |
| | these tests showed that the lawnmower running on propane consumed |
| | more fuel than when it was run on gasoline. The cost analysis showed |
| | that the cost of running the lawnmower on propane was almost ten times |
| | greater than gasoline. In conclusion, although propane is said to burn |
| | cleaner than gasoline, the experiment showed that propane is not cost |
| | effective to use as fuel for home lawnmowers, and it consumes more fuel. |
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