This is just socialism, thinking your hearing and breathing is more important than efficient landscaping. If leaf blowers were really that bad the market would have eliminated them.
How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
121–130 of 250 posts
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
Get too hot for use on a device like a leaf blower. Also would add non-negligible costs.
Would making them 4 stroke engines make them burn significantly cleaner?
It would make them too heavy. Two stroke engines have a great power to weight ratio, which is pretty much the only reason that they are used.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#123This is just socialism, thinking your hearing and breathing is more important than efficient landscaping. If leaf blowers were really that bad the market would have eliminated them.
Consider adding a /s ^^;
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
The real issue IMO is that the battery powered yard tools are infected by the same planned obsolescence as existing power tools. Most gas-powered yard tools last damn near forever even if you don't do maintenance on them. The battery powered ones are good for three years and then you're buying a new one. If you're lucky they still make the battery, but it costs as much a whole new tool. Wish we could standardize mode…
Many rechargeable battery packs are just assemblies of 18650 or similar cylindrical cells — if they just made the packs openable then it would be easy to replace and recycle the cells.
The cells are welded together with contact strips, you need a spot welder to rebuild a pack. Making cells removable isn’t economic, because vibration resistant electrical connections are not cheap.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#125The ban is on gas -powered leaf blowers. I’ve switched to all electric yard tools at home. No regrets; the tools are durable, can easily handle the whole job on a single charge, quiet enough that I feel comfortable letting my children assist (they can hear my instructions and generally what’s going on around them), and no gas engines to maintain.
The real issue IMO is that the battery powered yard tools are infected by the same planned obsolescence as existing power tools. Most gas-powered yard tools last damn near forever even if you don't do maintenance on them. The battery powered ones are good for three years and then you're buying a new one. If you're lucky they still make the battery, but it costs as much a whole new tool. Wish we could standardize mode…
Lithium-Ion batteries have a much longer lifetime than the old NiMH batteries, though. Haven't had much issues with electric power tools in the last couple of years.
And I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of the reliability of gas powered tools. Our lawn mower needed repairs frequently...
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#126Leaf removal, whether performed with a gas-powered leaf blower or a rake, will contribute to soil nutrient depletion in the long term. https://druidgarden.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/dont-bag-your-l...
And not removing them completely removes your control over the landscaping, because they will kill everything under them by suffocating them and blocking light from reaching it. Most people in suburban areas end up with tooo many leaves to compost or to try to mulch with a lawn mower. >to teach us, the widespread degradation and depletion of soil and other resources leads to a civilization’s collapse. This is why I c…
You and billions of others are doing it.
Yet people act surprised when articles about insect and worm population collapse come up.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#127>Noise, they have come to understand, is the secondhand smoke of this era. Most of the author's points about sound come down to hand waving and weasel wording. He says hearing loss is "coming up fast on the list" of public health problems (a meaningless assertion), and then he never presents evidence that leaf blowers are a significant cause of this. He started with the conclusion (leaf blowers make an annoying sound…
I understand the noise complaint, I work from home and I hear them all week as my various neighbor's gardeners arrive throughout each day. That said... I have an electric one that is awesome and it's much quieter than the 2-stroke I used to have. Leaf blowers do serve a purpose but the electric ones are a great improvement on noise and pollution.
Indeed leaf blowers produc one of the most distracting and annoying sounds when working from home
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Motorcycles do not have to be loud. Many riders believe that loud pipes make them safer, but I haven't seen data to back that up. I've owned bikes for years, commuted to work on them (when I've had office-based jobs), and mostly my neighbors are surprised to find out that I ride them, because I don't sit outside and rev them up in the mornings before leaving, or gun them up to high RPMs while leaving the neighborhood…
Really my objection is to the loud noise. If Harley Davidson makes a silent electric one, I'll rescind my call to ban them.
It's coming out this year https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/motorcycles/future-veh...
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would making them 4 stroke engines make them burn significantly cleaner?
Making them electric helps.
I just switched to an electric mower. It cost about the same as an decent mower, is lighter weight, always starts, is plenty powerful, and has about 45 minutes of charge on a swappable battery. I could buy more batteries if I wanted more runtime. I can also swap that battery with other equipment like string trimmers.
I've overhauled my last temperamental gas carb. The end of gas lawn gear is indeed in sight.
Re: How a small group of activists got gas-powered leaf blowers banned in D.C.
#130Decent 4 stroke ones are pretty clean and quiet IME, maybe just ban the 2 stroke cheapos.