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popsci_2013 02480.txt

#Can Your Hybrid Cut Your Lawn? Here's One That Cana Toyota Prius is many things but a convenient lawn mower isn't one of them. Useless right? Luckily it is now possible to buy a hybrid lawn mower known as the Raven MPV-710. In many ways a hybrid mower makes sense. After all if you're making an effort to be green you might as well try and cut down on gasoline usage in all your vehicles--even the ones that never hit the streets. Almost a cross between ATV and mower the Raven MPV-710 appears to be one of the highest-tech options on the market. The hybrid tag may put you in mind of a Toyota Prius but in reality this thing is more like a Chevy Volt--its electric motor provides the drive while the single-cylinder 420cc gasoline engine is used to generate the electricity it uses. Because of the electric direct drive Raven says it transfers more power to the wheels than most mowers on the market and it's smoother too. Top speed is 17 mph three times quicker than most mowers and there's enough torque to pull up to 500 pounds. Though to actually get any mowing done you'll still have to slow down to 5 mph...As with any hybrid the MPV-710's efficiency benefits are also important. Used as a generator the Raven's engine is more frugal than other mowers so you'll get up to 12 hours of running on a 5-gallon fill. Some hasty math suggests economy of around 40 mpg though that's only if it can run for the full 12 hours at its top speed. Not that anyone uses these to make long trips anyway so just be happy it can sip gas at a slower rate than its entirely-gasoline equivalents. It can also be used as a generator for users wishing to power electric tools. The price for all this technology after a bit of digging is around the $3000 mark. Which doesn't seem excessive to us given the technology. But hey--someone out there knows more about ride on lawn mowers than us. What do you think of the new green option? This article written by Antony Ingram was published originally on Green Car Reports a publishing partner of Popular Science. Follow Motor Authority on Facebook and Twitter. More from Green Car Reports and affiliates: 2013 New york Auto Show Preview2014 Mitsubishi Outlander: First Drive2014 Lexus IS First Drive: Videoa hybrid mower makes no sense. A full EV mower DOES make sense--especially if charged from solar power. http://www. hustlerturf. com/products/zeon. htmlzero turn and pricey but the best if you want to save the environment. Did you know the average lawn mower pollutes more in 30 minutes of cutting a lawn that a car does in a week and in some cases a month of use? First hybrid vehicles are justified just not for the cost if you remove the government discounts. It is not an economic justified product on its own. For some people or locations an electric lawn mower or electric riding mower could be a great idea. I'd actually be interested in buying one of these tearing it down to get the guts out and using them in my own EREV build. My one and only question is whether or not the engine/generator runs full-time or not. I would LOVE if it only kicked in if the battery level or power demands reach a certain point. That means no custom programming literally just ripping the parts out changing out a few transformers and resistors and plugging it into my application. For me as someone who has a rather hilly meadow to mow does it have 4-wheel drive? Putting a motor on each wheel would be the way to go. That would sell more units than the hybrid hype because existing 4-wheel drive mowers start at 6-7k and go up from there. Not a fan of Hybrids. Especially not since we tested their MPGS at near highway speed against high mileage combustion engine cars (The Aveo and Smart Car. Prius did awful. Here. See for your self. http://www. viewbix. com/v/Hybrid-vs-Combustion/139a7527-f7e7-4450-b253-041a2b6d11ddchloe. I see what you mean...Bobby`s artlclee is impossible I just got a great new volvo after I been earnin $6718 this-last/4 weeks and-over $10 thousand last-month. this is actually the easiest job Ive ever had. I actually started 5 months ago and right away began to make more than $78 per-hour. why not look here...www. bay89. co o

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