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Students invent quieter leaf blower

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Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#261

Post by sandworm101 »

ericd wrote: post #212
sandworm101 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> It's asinine to blow leaves. They don't do any damage and they create habitats for spiders and insects. Leaves are a problem in many areas, be them footpaths, roads or even railways. And good luck trying to maintain a golf course by just leaving the leaves out to rot on the grass. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58783589 "Dry ice to help cut train delays caused by leaves on tracks"

I'm guessing that the person you're responding to isn't a huge fan of huge expanses of tightly mowed grass in the form of golf courses, either.

Or the fire risks associated with having piles of dry leaves near to houses and such.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#262

Post by sameerds »

wannacboatmovie wrote: post #252
foobarian wrote: post #158

I got an electric leaf blower mostly to avoid the noise and partly to avoid gasoline engine issues (a Kobalt 80V blower). What baffles me is that here the designers had a chance to make something truly quiet but instead they blew it and used a super-high-RPM motor-powered narrow turbine placed inside the pipe. It sounds like a dental drill amplified through a set of loudspeakers. I would kill to get a commercially de…

> (a Kobalt 80V blower). What baffles me I don't understand. You opted to buy the inexpensive store brand tools (Kobalt is Lowe's house brand) and now you're complaining that shortcuts were taken and it didn't exceed requirements or your expectations? I don't walk into Harbor Freight and expect Snap-On tools.

If I am not mistaken, the first sentence mentions what the GP commenter has, while the second sentence talks about what's mentioned in the article. You seem to be conflating the two.

EDIT: s/argument/article/

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#263

Post by hedora »

ajmurmann wrote: post #226
klankschap wrote: post #54

How about just leaving leaves for what they are. Just leave them and move on with your own life.

Are leaf blowers only a North American thing? When I grew up in Germany I hardly ever saw one. When I moved to the US they were everywhere. Not sure if they became popular around that time or if it's just more common in the US. When and where I grew up everyone also took care of their own garden, so I suspect that played a role as well

They’ve become more popular.

However, I think the idea that everyone needs to have a gardener loudly and poorly tend their 1/16th acre lot at random times is a problem unique to California suburbs.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#264

Post by jrmg »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #110
sidewndr46 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn't so much the noise that bothers me, what I've never understood about leaf blowers is what are they meant to accomplish? When I watch people use them they either blow the leaves into the street or the neighbors yard. What do they think that does? Now on the other hand, I do own a very noisy leaf vacuum. But when I've collected a bag full I can just deposit the leaves in my collection container. They are taken…

generally for landscapers it saves them the trouble of raking, which can put a lot of strain on your back — they'll blow the leaves onto a tarp and then wrap them up for easy removal in my experience, homeowners mostly dick around with them

This thread is like people who’ve never cleaned a yard before saying “I’ve never understood the purpose of rakes and brooms - don’t they just move things around? Surely you need to pick things up to really clean?!”

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#265

Post by jchw »

cooperadymas wrote: post #187
jchw wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have all electric lawn equipment as well, though my mower is a Toro. No disagreements that a 13A blower connected to AC will beat the shit out of a battery-powered leaf blower, but I'm sure you do and hopefully did realize that, the math just doesn't work out. The one place the Ego does excel at is stuff like edging and string trimming, where there's not nearly as much power needed. They definitely struggle a bit o…

I have no real problem with the blower being underpowered compared to a plug-in, but for commercial use, it would be a deal breaker. The Ego leaf blower and even the chain saw are good tools for 90% of my average home usage, and the convenience of not having to deal with cords or trying to start a small gas engine makes them worth it to me. I have not had to go to my old string trimmer once and should probably sell i…

> I have no real problem with the blower being underpowered compared to a plug-in, but for commercial use, it would be a deal breaker.

Yeah, exactly. That was my thought, too.

I don't think they're that far behind, but improvements in battery technology might be necessary for commercial usage to become viable without being subsidized or regulated.

> The mower on the other hand, I wanted to return after the very first mow but convinced myself that even with a poor cut the trade off was worth it. 4 years later and with batteries dying I'm considering other options (including the Toro electric, but many reviews made similar remarks to the Ego).

Yeah, I suspect you really do need the power of gas for your mowing. That does make me wonder why some people clearly do and some people clearly don't, but it's probably not worth wasting too much time pondering.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#267

Post by jabroni_salad »

klankschap wrote: post #54

How about just leaving leaves for what they are. Just leave them and move on with your own life.

I did that my first year of home ownership (because I am lazy). When I spring came around and the snow melted, all of the ground cover had turned into mud. No living plant life at all. I had to replant it all.

Something tells me that was not your desired outcome. Now I remove the leaves.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#268

Post by chiefalchemist »

hyping9 wrote: post #244
chiefalchemist wrote: post #65

Tuesday I mowed the lawn. Yesterday morning, I got up, made coffee, grabbed my shop broom and cleaned up out front. Not a leaf blower insight. Sure it took a couple of extra minutes but I also got some light exercise. I understand why a lawn service uses a leaf blower. I don't understand why my neighbors do.

[flagged]

Hey whatever. I don't care. But when I hear a leaf blowers early on a Sunday or even a Saturday, I cringe. There's no reason miserable people need to make others miserable as well.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#269

Post by rimunroe »

huhtenberg wrote: post #5
xxs wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you stumble on it. Other than that - leaf blowers are not used only in gardening work.

Yep, it's invaluable for getting your BBQ grill really going.

I actually got into metal casting and blacksmithing because one day I tried using my dad's shop vac to blow air into a fire I'd made in the backyard. The shop vac was about as strong as a leaf blower and was extremely effective.

After that I dug a small pit, trenched a 2" pipe into the bottom of it to act as a tuyere, and then hooked the shop vac hose to the other end of the pipe. That fire got hot enough that some rocks lining the pit glowed white and sand started to clump together. I could toss an 8-10 inch piece of (undried) oak log into the fire and it would completely burn away in under ten minutes. I had used an old log holder from a fireplace made of 3/4" iron bars to allow airflow around the larger logs as the fire was starting. When the fire died down I discovered it had completely buckled and collapsed from the heat.

I went on to learn how to make refractory bricks and distill charcoal. I switched from the shop vac to a computer case fan for my actual forges though, as the shop vac easily blew all the charcoal out of the fire pot and was very loud.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#270

Post by rimunroe »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #103
xxs wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you stumble on it. Other than that - leaf blowers are not used only in gardening work.

I've noticed roofing crews use them to remove old shingles. It must work pretty well, if they are dealing with carrying them around on the top of a house.

my neighbor uses them to clean his gutters
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