Liapis Landscape & Design, with 28 employees and 500 residential and commercial clients in Oakwood, Springboro, Centerville and Dayton, hosted an open house Thursday to show off a project that has been in the works for a year. Dave Guy, operations manager, said it cost $1,500 per mower plus eight hours of labor to install conversion kits that include a 33.5-gallon tank that lets the mowers operate entirely on propane.
Guy figures the investment should pay off from operating savings within two years because of the lower, stable price of propane compared with gasoline and significantly less engine wear and maintenance. He says propane costs about 15 percent less than gasoline. The company at 3159 Encrete Lane aims to convert its truck fleet in a few years.
Lawn mowers are notorious polluters. Gasoline mowers of the type used by Liapis pump out carbon emissions equivalent of 40 or so autos. Propane slashes the emissions by 70 percent, said business owner Phil Liapis. He’s also pleased that the vast majority of propane is produced in the U.S., keeping price fluctuations at a minimum compared to gasoline, which jumps up an down depending on world tensions and demand.
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