Gas Carts pollution?
 

We own a 2020 Yamaha...how much pollution does it create?:blahblahblah:

A gas-powered golf cart with a 10.5 horsepower engine that operates for 2.5 hours each week emits 1474.2 pounds of CO2 each year, according to a study by Princeton University.

Less than your SUV, a bus, a jet airplane and a Chinese coal fired power plant. And while "1400 pounds" of CO2 may sound like a lot, our atmospheric CO2 levels are relatively low, so just consider that golf cart as producing plant food which ultimately generates O2.

Way less than a car and roughly the same as an electric cart when one opens their eyes and considers all the factors, not just what comes out of a tailpipe.

Assuming you were honestly interested in an answer....


Pollution seems to be measured in the amount of CO2 released and the amount of CO2 released is proportional to the amount of gasoline burned.

My cart gets very close to 50mpg while my car gets more like 30mpg. Every mile that I choose to drive my cart rather than my car reduces the amount of CO2 I produce.

The average breathing, human being emits over 700 lbs. of CO2 per year.

Without CO2, life wouldn't exist.

CO2 is a not a pollutant.

The question is how much carbon does the production of and use of a gas cart use in comparison to an electric cart. It would not surprise me that the production of the batteries offsets the carbon produced by the gas one.

Electricity is expensive to produce. Battery production is likely much more expensive and environmentally unfriendly than any byproduct from a gas cart. In addition, those tries everyone is equipped with, the amount of energy used to produce those and the lamp black byproducts are super environmentally unfriendly.

Just take a sniff in one of the tunnels when there are a couple of them in there.

which proves just what???? Probably smells better than a flatulent elephant:1rotfl::1rotfl:

Without a battery of some kind a gas golf cart could not pollute

I really don't believe life is that simple. The only way this could be correct is if the golf cart used a catalytic converter and other pollution mitigation devices like your car has.

Interesting. It turns out you might be right.

Not only would burning more fuel release more carbon, the use of a catalytic converter would seem to increase the amount of CO2. One of the purposes of the catalytic converter is to convert CO to CO2. CO2 is listed as a greenhouse gas while CO is not; perhaps that is because CO has already been controlled through the use of converters. In any case, while the amount of carbon released by burning a gallon of gas is the same regardless of how it is burned, the use of a catalytic converter appears to increase the amount of CO2 produced.

Do you have data showing something different? Do you have data showing a less efficient engine burning more fuel with an attachment in place to increase the amount of CO2 would still produce less pollution?

Are all those Yamaha's poking a hole in the ozone? Is that why it's so hot around here?

Nope, no data to support it. Just way, way too much time reading car magazines. It just seems to make sense to me, I am not pretending to be an authority

Let me add to my response. I seem to remember reading that mowing your lawn for an hour pollutes as much as driving for like 6 hours or some crazy number like that. Again, not an expert. Our golf carts, setting aside the EFI, are closer to lawn mower tech than car tech.

The Villages Founders main mistake in my book was not making TV gas cart free, and go all electric.
For the simple reason they stink, and those exhaust fumes can't be good for anyone's health.

My golf car gets about 35 miles to the gallon. At 2.5 hours per week, at 20 miles per hour, it would consume about 74 gallons per year, and at 6 pounds per gallon, it would consume about 445 pounds of gasoline per year, maximum! How can 445 pounds of gasoline produce 1,474 pounds of CO2???? Fake news!!!!

Good luck selling that book! And since the developers have no desire to limit short term rentals, which could effect home sales, do you really think they would even consider not allowing gas carts, which are by far more popular than electric?

The Villages is one of the few large residential developments that allow gasoline power golf carts. I think it was probably by a function of when TV began. In those days, electrically powered golf carts had some limitations, they no longer have.

I suspect TV will eventually find a way to prohibit them in newer areas and it won't be long before the environmentalist figure out a way to ban them, in general. Gas carts are already becoming obsolete in the golf world and TV won't be far behind.

Anyone claiming that gasoline powered gas carts are better for the environment, has been sucking fumes and should clear their heads before typing.

It's a tough call. Comparisons are apples to oranges due to both equipment differences and emissions requirements. I found 2001 comparisons that looked better than 2010 comparisons but with the expectation that 2018 regulations would close the gap again. In addition, small engine testing usually measured the pollutants that are removed by catalytic converters but didn't consider the CO2 that are produced.

Emissions from small engines are not as clean as those from highly-regulated automobiles. Still, in striving to make the ride smoother, quieter, and cleaner (less fumes), I would guess that they aren't as bad as the lawnmowers used in the comparisons.

Calculation: ( Apology if my math is rusty)

Looking at the thread and facts given: 2.5 hours use per week, speed limit 20 MPH, quote 50 MPG , weight gallon of gas 6 pounds, pounds of CO2 emitted per year 1474.2.

2.5 hours at 20 miles per hour =50 miles per week at 50 Miles per gallon= 1 gallon per week times 52 weeks per year= 52 gallons per year times 6 pounds per gallon= 312 pounds gas used per year.

Seems something is wrong. My math? Est of MPG (Even at 12 MPG) weight of gas used is less the Pounds of CO2 produced .

Must be something scientific like combustion of gas carbon used combines with more oxygen weight than carbon weight by a function of their molecular weight. Not worth discussing molecular weight.

It seems that we are all talking about some number that none of us question and then progress into our save the world discussions.

Gas carts are not better for the environment, they’re just simply better

Well. I am 83yo. drove both types, gas an electric for over 20 years when we wintered in TV. and I'm correct when I say gas does stink, and the fumes are not good for your health.
You need to eat more more spinach.
Bill..:ho:

Yeppers!

Love my electric Star. No noise pollution or smell pollution. Not sure how gas vs electricity production compare for co2 but I can talk at low volume and have a pleasant ride everyday.

Please let us all know how pleasant the ride is when your battery dies 5 miles from home.

I have not experienced that but I imagine the ride is very similar to when you run out of gas 4 miles from home.

But I can fill my tank from a can in minutes, you'll need a tow to the nearest electric outlet and then wait hours.

You can fill your tank in minutes if you happen to be at a station when your fuel runs out otherwise you will need a tow.

I don't let the tank in my gas cart run low enough that I need to immediately find a station. Likewise, I never let the battery in my electric cart get low enough that it becomes an issue. I know my electric cart has a full charge when I leave in the morning. I'm pretty sure I topped off the gas cart within the last couple of weeks so it really ought to have enough fuel to last through today.

Yes, if both carts were to hit empty while away from home the gas cart would begin moving on its own power sooner than the electric cart would. As a practical matter, after steady, non-stop driving for six hours do drain the battery in my electric cart I would be ready for a break anyway.

Run out of gas? Run out of electricity? Never happens unless you're just plain stupid.

Depends on how much you drive it!

Pollution is 1 issue but hazardous waste is more important. How are your electric golf carts and EVs recharged? A lot of them by coal plants, most people think electric is all pure, it’s not. How much of our natural resources are used to create lithium batteries. Then you got disposing issues of the batteries which are hazardous waste products and if you have these hazardous waste sites near drinking water reservoirs. They have these same issues in the northwest next to the Columbia river

There are several companies who will deliver gas to your cart within 1/2 hour...

All for a nominal fee... No tow needed...

There you have it!

You read here, you need no further evidence!

Wasn't trying to sell anything.
Just think TV should have made it all electric from the beginning, and I never even suggested banning gas carts as an option.
As you say, certainly not going to happen now.

And how exactly would they have made the villages all electric without banning gas carts? Without explicitly banning gas carts, people would buy what they consider to be their best option. Just look around and you will see what most people consider the best option, YAMAHA GAS CARTS.

none

I believe if you look around you will notice that Yamaha gas carts no longer have the dominance they did even three years ago. They are still the most common cart but they used to be almost the ONLY cart. Today, there are a whole lot of other carts on the paths.

Golf Carts are designed for limited short distances such as golf courses and small mobile home communities. Golf Car are designed with more car like features such as headlights, turn signals, speakers, upgrade seats, enclosures, etc. and for use as a more of a main mode of transportation. The Villages is the largest 55+ community and that’s why gas golf cars will always be here. Lithium battery powered golf cars are very expensive, do not have the range, take much longer time to refuel. The FAA will not allow lithium batteries in the cargo hole of passenger aircraft, why would you want a large lithium battery in home with your family?