CSA C22.2 No/ 62841-4-2-2023: Electric Motor Lawnmowers
After watching machinery in a textile mill that cut off any excess fabric to finish woolen cloth, Englishman Edwin Beard Budding was inspired to replicate the concept with cutting grass. In 1830, Budding invented the first lawnmower. We now have Budding to thank for not having to spend countless hours manually trimming grass with hand shears or scythes. CSA C22.2 No/ 62841-4-2-2023: Electric Motor-Operated Hand-Held Tools, Transportable Tools And Lawn And Garden Machinery – Safety – Part 4-3: Particular Requirements For Pedestrian Controlled Walk-Behind Lawnmowers (Binational Standard With UL 62841-4-3) covers specifications for pedestrian controlled walk-behind cylinder lawnmowers and rotary lawnmowers.
The First Lawnmower
Budding’s 19-inch-wide lawnmower was made from wrought iron. It had a rear roller driving the gears and the knives on the cutting cylinder. This lawnmower was designed to be pushed or pulled across grassy areas, cutting them down with a set of rotating blades. Budding’s invention had worldwide impact, influencing the development of suburbs and all grass sports—particularly golf. Over time, lawn mowers have become more efficient, lighter, smaller, and sustainable, allowing people to mow larger areas of land in less time and produce less emissions (when using an electric lawn mower).
What Is CSA C22.2 No/ 62841-4-2?
CSA C22.2 No/ 62841-4-2-2023 applies to the design of pedestrian controlled walk-behind cylinder lawnmowers and rotary lawnmowers equipped with the following:
- Metallic cutting means; and/or
- Rigid non-metallic cutting means; and/or
- Non-metallic cutting means with one or more cutting elements pivotally mounted on a generally circular drive unit, where these cutting elements rely on centrifugal force to achieve cutting, and have a kinetic energy for each single cutting element of greater than 10 J.
CSA C22.2 No/ 62841-4-2-2023 does not apply to robotic lawnmowers; remote-controlled lawnmowers; flail mowers or flail-type attachments; scissors type lawnmowers; grassland mowers; sickle bar mowers; towed/semi-mounted grass-cutting machines; scrub-clearing machines; lawn trimmers and lawn edge trimmers; lawn edgers; grass trimmers; brush cutters; brush saws; agricultural mowers; trailing seat/sulky units; ride-on machines; non-powered lawnmowers; combustion engine powered lawnmowers; hybrid and fuel cell powered machines and associated charging systems; and garden tractors or their attachments.
Are Lawnmowers Sustainable?
Most rotary lawn mowers use an internal combustion engine that runs on gasoline or other liquid fuels to create heat or mechanical energy through combustion. Since gas-powered lawnmowers emit pollutants like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), they are not sustainable as they contribute to air pollution, global warming, and health issues. Due to environmental concerns with gas-powered mowers, there has been an increase of popularity of electric and robotic mowers that are more energy-efficient and pollute less.
Research and development has helped manufacturers reduce internal combustion engines emissions of criteria pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) by more than 99% to comply with EPA emissions standards. Using a sustainable lawn mower, such as those that are electric or require manual pushing, can significantly reduce the carbon footprint and help maintain the environment.
Electrical Safety of Lawnmowers
CSA C22.2 No/ 62841-4-2 specifies that to assure electrical safety, the lawnmower electrical plugs must match the outlet and the plug should not be modified in any way. In fact, one should always turn off the lawnmower at the socket when not in use, or even better, unplug it all together. The standard also recommends avoiding exposing the lawnmower to rain or wet conditions because water entering a lawnmower may increase the risk of electric shock. Lastly, it details to not use any adapter plugs with earthed (grounded) lawnmowers since unmodified plugs and matching outlets will reduce risk of electric shock.
CSA C22.2 No/ 62841-4-2-2023: Electric Motor-Operated Hand-Held Tools, Transportable Tools And Lawn And Garden Machinery – Safety – Part 4-3: Particular Requirements For Pedestrian Controlled Walk-Behind Lawnmowers (Binational Standard With UL 62841-4-3) is available on the ANSI Webstore.
