Tailgating Alert: Gasoline-powered blender banned by California Air Resources Board

With football season in full swing, you might be doing a little weekend tailgating or entertaining at home. If you need a new blender or gas grill for your football fiesta, check out our buyer's guides to these appliances and try these easy, delicious grilling recipes. If you live in California, where the strict air-quality standards set by the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District have an impact on the outdoor power equipment, paint, and other consumer goods available, there's one margarita or daiquiri maker you won't be able to buy.

The Los Angeles Times' Up to Speed blog recently reported that CARB fined Lake Forest, California-based On the Edge Marketing and CSK Auto Inc. of Phoenix $240,000 for selling a gasoline-powered "Party Blender" (shown) to California residents because the souped-up appliance is equipped with an illegal, uncertified two-stroke engine that runs afoul of CARB's regulations.

CARB maintains that the type of two-stroke engine used on the blender can produce emissions 10 times higher than those produced by engines approved for use in the state. "Gasoline-powered blenders may be this year's tailgate sensation, but drinkers should not be polluting our air while having a good time," said CARB Chairwoman Mary D. Nichols.

Many outdoor-power-equipment manufacturers are phasing out two-cycle engines as local, state, and federal emissions standards get tougher. Lawn-mower-exchange programs are one way states and municipalities can get consumers to replace old lawn mowers with greener models.

Note that our ratings of string trimmers and leaf blowers (available to subscribers) do not identify whether an engine is a two- or a four-cycle type. The Cub Cadet 4125, Craftsman 79614, and Troy-Bilt TB465SS string trimmers have a four-cycle engine. In our testing we found these models to be a little heavier at the handle, and their engines were as hard to start as a two-cycle engine. The John Deere BH25LE and Craftsman 79498 leaf blowers have a four-cycle engine.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out our free buyer's guides to string trimmers and leaf blowers.

Pellet stoves are a hot topic with consumers

As high energy prices and federal tax incentives continue to spur interest in pellet stoves, the number of online discussions about these appliances seems to be on the rise. Among the topics of interest to potential buyers and seasoned users are which pellets to buy, their proper storage and cleanup, and even possible pellet shortages during peak heating season. The Napoleon NPS40 stove, $2,350, is shown.

You'll be happy to learn that the "supply of pellets stoves and fuel is good," according to Leslie G. Wheeler, director of communications for the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association.

The HPBA advises that you keep pellets dry and not handle them more than necessary, since they can breakup into smaller pieces. Also note that wood pellets in 40-pound bags are easier to store, keep dry, and tote to a stove than loose pellets, which require some sort of large bin.

Storage area can definitely be a concern with wood pellets. "You need some space to store the pellets; I have 4 tons in my basement," says John McAloon, a project leader in the Consumer Reports Technical Division. McAloon schleps the 40-pound bags of pellets into his basement by himself, but innovative bulk-delivery systems could become a more-attractive alternative.

As for water damage, "I've had water get into one or two bags stacked near the bottom of the pallet, but it ruined only a small amount of pellets," McAloon adds.

The HPBA suggests that you burn only grades of pellet recommended by the manufacturer of the stove and clean your stove(s) at least once a week regardless of which grade of pellet you burn.

"The stove requires some cleaning, but I haven't had problems with dust, and the pellets do burn pretty efficiently. Each week, after burning 300 to 400 pounds of pellets, I might find just a few clinkers—large ash deposits,"  says McAloon.

Two manufacturers whose pellet stoves were tested four our recent report—Harman Home Heating and England's Stove Works—offer valuable safety and troubleshooting advice on their Web sites.

Share your own tips or insights about using pellet stoves, which fuels to buy, and other subjects by leaving a comment below. Our future coverage will look at these burning topics.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential Information: The October 2009 issue of Consumer Reports includes expert advice on ways to slash your energy bills, ratings of compact fluorescent lightbulbs, and coverage of solar water heaters (stories and ratings are available to subscribers). Look for more ways to save in our new Energy Saving & Green Living guide.

With new LED lightbulb, Philips is first to enter DOE's Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prizes competition

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that over the course of a year LED lightbulbs could save enough power to illuminate more than 17 million American homes and also keep nearly 6 million metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions from entering the environment.

That's why the DOE, through its Energy's Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prizes competition, or L Prize, is fast-tracking efforts to find replacements for two of the most widely used inefficient lightbulbs—the 60-watt incandescent lightbulb and the PAR 38 halogen lamp.

Philips Electronics recently became the first company to submit an LED bulb (shown) into the $10 million competition, which was established through the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The winning bulbs will also be considered for federal purchasing agreements and promoted by DOE partners, including utility companies.

The DOE has set the bar high for the winning products. It's looking for LED lightbulbs that use less energy than not only incandescent and halogen bulbs but also compact fluorescent lightbulbs. (Check out our latest report on and ratings of CFLs, available to subscribers.) These LEDs must consume less than 10 watts, last more than 25,000 hours, and produce more than 900 lumens—a comparable output of a 60-watt incandescent lightbulb. What's more, the bulbs must be dimmable, and their color, light output, and light distribution must be similar to that of the bulbs their replacing. Independent laboratories will confirm that the bulbs meet the DOE's high standards through testing that's expected to take up to a year.

The competition encourages manufacturers to address LED drawbacks faster than the 20 years it's taken them to improve CFLs. Governments offering prizes for innovation isn't new. To help those lost at sea, the British government offered a prize in 1714 for coming up with a device to measure longitude, and in 1810 Napoleon offered a reward for finding a way to preserve food for soldiers. The chronometer and the canning process resulted.

You can find LEDs in stores now, and some are more efficient than CFLs, last even longer, turn on instantly, and don't contain mercury. But the quality of the white light LEDs typically produce isn't great, they don't produce enough light, and bulbs cost $20 to $50, with some soaring to $100.

The DOE has provided the following rough price guidelines for the winning LEDs: $30 (halogen replacement) and $22 (incandescent replacement) the first year the bulbs are on the market and $14 and $8, respectively, by the third year. These prices reflect rebates and other incentives to consumers. That's aggressive pricing, given that DOE is emphasizing a Made-in-the-U.S.A. model for the LEDs. For instance, 75 percent of the LED must be assembled in this country or packaged here, or the majority of the LED's die or chip must be U.S. made. One of the factors behind the price drop for CFLs is that most are made in China.

We'll continue to track the news surrounding the L Prize and keep you informed of the latest developments in LEDs.—Kimberly Janeway | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential reading: Find out how to choose CFLs, read "10 Questions for . . . Nadarajah Narendran, Ph.D., Lighting Researcher" for more news on advances in lighting technology, and see what European consumers think about the European Union's ban on some incandescent lightbulbs.

World Health Organization lowers recommended action level for radon; goal is to reduce lung-cancer risk

Based on recently completed research, the World Health Organization is recommending that homeowners take action to remediate the radon level in their home if it exceeds 100 becquerels (Bq), which corresponds to 2.7 picocuries per liter (pCi/L).That's lower than the 4.0 pCi/L current action level in this country as recommended by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.

The WHO also says that if this level can't be reached because of country-specific conditions, the action level should not exceed 300 Bq, or about 8 pCi/L. 

The WHO research, based on four years of work by 100 scientists from 30 countries, appears in the "WHO Handbook on Indoor Radon" (PDF).

The EPA has just learned of the WHO's recommendation, according to Tom Kelly, acting director of the EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. The EPA regularly reexamines its recommendations on radon and will take the WHO's advice into account but is not changing the level now. "The WHO does not say 2.7 is a safe level; there is no safe level. The EPA has said that homeowners should consider mitigation at levels of 2.0 pCi/L," says Kelly. "At levels of 4.0 pCi/L, homeowner should be very concerned. What's most important is that homeowners have their homes tested and that our message on radon is simple, clear, memorable, and actionable."
 
Radon, a radioactive gas, results from the natural decay of uranium that's present in most soils and can enter the home through cracks and holes in the foundation. Radon is a leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers. The WHO states that as many as 14 percent of lung-cancer cases in many countries, including the United States, are caused by exposure to radon. Smokers who live in a home with radon face an even higher lung-cancer risk.
 
Detecting radon is relatively simple and fixing the problem isn't difficult. However, as we found in our latest report on radon test kits, some kits underreported radon levels by almost 40 percent, so choosing the right one is crucial. Check out our ratings of radon test kits to find the most accurate, reliable models.

Long-term kits are more accurate because radon levels can vary from day to day. You should place the test kit(s) on the lowest occupied level of your home away from windows or vents.—Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Remember, radon levels can vary from one house to another in a neighborhood, so even if all surrounding homes are free of radon, you should have yours tested, especially important if you've done major structural renovations. To find a remediation contractor, contact your state radon office. Remediation will cost $800 to $2,500, depending on the radon-reduction system used and the characteristics of your home.

Russell Simmons and America's Greenest Campus promote environmental efforts at colleges nationwide

A multifaceted mogul who started the Def Jam music label and the Phat Farm clothing line and developed HBO's Def Comedy Jam, Russell Simmons is more than just a hip-hop impresario, a point emphasized by his latest endeavor. 

The 51-year-old Simmons is serving as the spokesman for America's Greenest Campus, a competition among colleges to reduce their carbon footprint. "Hip hop makes the planet cool. Now hip hop has to save it," Simmons says in the public-service announcement shown here.

Nearly 500 schools have entered the America's Greenest Campus competition, each with an official student organizer responsible for managing campus involvement and promoting carbon-reduction activities, including using the sleep mode on computers, taking mass transportation, and turning off the lights when leaving a dorm room. (With any luck, they're using compact fluorescent lightbulbs.) The competition wraps up on October 5.

Two $5,000 cash prizes will be awarded, one to the school with the most members and one to the school with the largest percentage reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions. The University of Maryland currently tops the leader board; its 2,128 members have reduced carbon dioxide on the College Park campus by 1.17 percent. (Let's hope the frats aren't serving flat beer.) As of September 25, East Tennessee State University leads that category, with its members posting a 22 percent reduction so far.

Simmons has been a vegan for years, something he's connected to the green movement. "The consumption of animals causes more harm to the environment than all the forms of transportation put together," he told CNN last year.

Simmons might want to extend his green efforts to the world of cars. As part of his 2008 divorce settlement with Kimora Lee Simmons, every two years he has to buy or lease a car for his daughters' use, and the vehicle must be valued at a minimum of $60,000 each. Considering that most highly fuel-efficient vehicles cost much less than that, Simmons might be stuck buying the Tesla Roadster, an all-electric sports car that starts at an off-the-chain $109,000.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Use these expert tips for cutting energy costs and visit our new Energy Saving & Green Living guide for more ways to curb carbon emissions at home.

Technivorm Moccamaster KBT-741 makes great coffee but isn't a perfect machine

Being able to take home a coffeemaker that we're testing for a report on these appliances is among the, um, perks of my job. I recently got to use the Technivorm Moccamaster KBT-741, a $265 machine that's a favorite of many coffee aficionados.

But for all its prowess at achieving the prime temperature the vital for great brewing—195° to 205°F, held for six minutes—during our ongoing testing for an upcoming report on coffeemakers, the 10-cup Moccamaster KBT-741 hasn't impressed when it comes to convenience or carafe handling. Granted, extracting the most flavor from coffee is what matters most, but given the price of this coffeemaker, shouldn't it also be easy to use?

I recently used the Moccamaster KBT-741, made in the Netherlands, at home for a weekend. To my untrained palate, there was a noticeable difference between the coffee my machine brews and that from the Technivorm. Especially when I ground the beans immediately before brewing, the Technivorm delivered a cup of coffee that demanded I sit down, sit still, and do nothing else but savor it.

That said, I also encountered the same problems our testers have seen. What hung me up first was the protection designed to keep you from brewing without the thermal carafe in place. Most coffeemakers have a similar feature, which also lets you pour a cup midbrew. But on this Moccamaster, the brew stop comes in two parts: a button that gets pressed when you push the carafe all the way to the left and a switch on the filter holder that can halt the release of brewed coffee. Position the carafe an eighth of an inch off from the button, and no water will reach the coffee. Press the button without the filter-holder switch in its proper position, and brewing coffee will collect in the filter basket. Fortunately, the two times this happened, I was making only enough for a tall mug.

Also, after making coffee seven times, I also wasn't quite sure about the amount of water required to brew, since the lines on the reservoir didn't correspond to how much coffee I brewed—even after accounting for some evaporation and absorption into the grounds. After I looked at other coffeemakers, I realized that this Technivorm is hardly alone in the disconnect between water in and coffee out. The lesson? When brewing less than a full pot, you need to experiment to get the right amount of water.

As much as I enjoyed the coffee I made with the Technivorm, I can't justify springing for it. That leaves me with my current machine, which looks nice on the counter and does a fine job with decent beans. But I'll miss the coffee that the Moccamaster makes.

So to my colleagues, if I'm not in my office any morning next week, you might find me "testing" the Moccamaster in our labs. Just follow the coffee aroma.—Ed Perratore | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out our buyer's guide to coffeemakers, which includes ratings of drip and pod models and espresso makers. And read our latest report on coffee. Ratings and report available to subscribers.

Q&A: Should we replace our old refrigerator?

We recently moved, and our refrigerator seems a dinosaur. Will we save money by replacing it with a comparably sized new model?

As we covered in "Cash for Clunkers Moves to Appliances. Money Back for Your Old Kelvinator?" now might be a good time to buy a new refrigerator and take advantage of the $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. (Read our survey-based report to find the best places to buy appliances.)

With their better compressors, improved insulation, and precise controls and defrost mechanisms, today's refrigerators typically use about a quarter of the energy of similar models built in the 1970s. What's more, motor wear, dirty coils, leaky gaskets, and other issues make refrigerators less efficient over time. While proper maintenance can extend the life and efficiency of your refrigerators, if yours is more than 10 years old, chances are you'll save by upgrading to a more energy-efficient model.
Use the Energy Star program's Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator to get an estimate of how much you can save by replacing an old model with a new one. You'll need to do some legwork to get a more-detailed comparison.

To find out how much energy your current refrigerator uses, check the nameplate, usually located on an interior surface of the refrigerator, say on a door frame. The nameplate will probably list the model number and a manufacturing date. Note that for some brands the date is encoded into the serial number. (For GE appliances, for instance, if the second letter is Z, the refrigerator was made in 2000, 1988, or 1976. The GE Web site has details.)

Once you have the model number and manufacturing date, check the manufacturer's site or do a Web search. After Googling "1989 Sub-Zero 561," one Consumer Reports editor with that built-in found a site with spec sheets for his model. The 20-year-old appliances uses 795 kilowatt hours. A comparable new Sub-Zero 36-inch side-by-side uses 602 kWh.

Otherwise, use an energy monitor, or watt meter, to determine how much energy your refrigerator consumes each day. These devices cost $25 to $100, although you might be able to borrow one from a friend or even your local library.

To compare they energy use of your current model to that of new models you're considering, refer to the EnergyGuide label, which you'll seen in stores and often on manufacturer and retailer sites.

Once you've selected a new model, you can donate your old working one or properly dispose of it. Many retailers offer free haul-away of old appliances, so ask about removal at the store. To find out how to get rid of a major appliance, go to Earth911.com or contact your municipal public-works department. For more details on recycling, go to to this page at EnergyStar.gov.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Check out our refrigerator buyer's guide, which provide shopping tips and ratings and brand-repair history (available to subscribers) of dozens of models.

Energy efficiency tops the agenda at the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative

The Clinton Global Initiative is holding its fifth annual meeting this week in New York City. The event brings together an A-list group of leaders and luminaries from the worlds of business, government, academia, science, and nongovernmental organizations. On the agenda are energy and climate change, education, global health, and economic empowerment.

Some 1,400 "commitments to actions" have come out of the initiative since former president Bill Clinton (shown yesterday with President Barack Obama) founded the CGI in 2005. Last year, Jack Hidary, chairman of SmartTransportation.org, announced the Car Allowance Rebate System, or cash for clunkers.

Hidary was on hand yesterday to discuss the journey from commitment announcement to headline news. He explained that it was the memory of his grandmother receiving a rebate for her old refrigerator that inspired cash for clunkers. He noted his satisfaction that the $300 million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, aka cash for clunkers for appliances, brings things full circle.

At this year's CGI, energy efficiency has been a hot topic. President Clinton observed yesterday that the United State ranks 100th in the world for energy efficiency. Bracken Hendricks, a fellow at the Center for American Progress, said that "the U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of energy efficiency in terms of this untapped resource."

Several commitments made this week target energy efficiency. Duke Energy and ENN announced an agreement to speed up the development of low-carbon and clean technologies. Among the innovations they'll look to accelerate is the use of algae to soak up greenhouse gases.

There's also lots of buzz around a session planned for this afternoon called "Infrastructure Special Session: Building a Better Future—A Progress Report on Making it Right in New Orleans." Some of the interest might come from the fact that Brad Pitt started the Make It Right Foundation, which aims to rebuild New Orleans in a sustainable manner and was launched at the 2007 CGI meeting. Today's session will provide an update of that effort and is expected to spin out into other exciting areas of green building.

You can stream video of this or any other session at the CGI Web cast. We'll continue to report on interesting commitments that came out of from the meeting.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Inside Consumer Reports Test Labs: Reviews of vacuums from Oreck, Garry, Bissell, and Eureka

As part of the testing for our continuously updated ratings of upright and canister vacuums (available to subscribers), our testers come across all kinds of claims from manufacturers.

The Oreck Halo, $600, whose claims we covered in this June post, uses the same UV technology the company bought from Halo Technologies, maker of the Halo UVX upright we tested last year. "Halo Technologies," we reported then, "says its uprights, including the $400 UVX, kill dust mites, flea eggs, and germs using UV light. We didn't test those claims because the UVX was only so-so at the more primary tasks of cleaning carpets and picking up pet hair." So was the Oreck Halo, which excelled only at cleaning bare floors and keeping emissions low. What's more, the Oreck Halo weighs 19 pounds, more than Oreck uprights we've tested in the past.

Among other recently tested models are the Bissell Lift-Off Multi-Cyclonic Pet 89Q9 (shown), $180, and the Eureka Whirlwind+ Pet Lover 3276, $120, both designed with pet owners in mind. The Bissell, like earlier Lift-Off models, has a modular motor/bin assembly that detaches for use as a canister vacuum or a heavy handheld. As a standard upright, however, it fell short of the Eureka in carpet cleaning, vacuuming with tools, and some other tests—including pet-hair pickup, for which the Eureka was excellent.

The Garry Ultra Light vacuum, $200 without shipping, sold through infomercials and at www.garryvac.com, was also among the latest batch of tested models. The manufacturer touts that this vacuum can cut cleaning time because it picks up everything on the first pass and that it can clean the air and kill germs. What's more, the maker's current pitch promises free bags for life, a free (before $30 shipping) steam mop, and a no-hassle guarantee of a free replacement vacuum if you ever have a problem, no matter what.

Get more details on this model by reading "Inside Consumer Reports Test Labs: The Garry Upright Vacuum Is a Lightweight . . . In More Ways Than One."—Ed Perratore | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: If you're in the market for a new vacuum cleaner, check out our free buyer's guide, which also includes ratings of hand and stick vacuums.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ventures into social media

If you've seen the Verizon Wireless ad in which a son pleads with his father to "cool it with the Twitter updates," you realize that at least on the high-tech front, there's not much of a generation gap between today's kids and their parents.

So it makes sense that the stodgy federal government has entered the world of social media. The latest agency to try out Web 2.0 is the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is now using YouTube (CPSC Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum is shown), Twitter, and FlickR as ways to raise awareness of safety issues and recalls.

The agency has relied on its Web site, OnSafety blog, and e-mail alerts to spread the word, and ran the "Drive to 1 Million" campaign more than two years ago. Now the CPSC will publish its recall notices, videos, podcasts, and more on the aforementioned social networks. The push began yesterday with a campaign aimed at preventing furniture tip-overs.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: To stay on top of product recalls and other safety-related topics, read the Consumer Reports Safety blog.