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Students invent quieter leaf blower

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Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#81

Post by alamortsubite »

kristofferR wrote: post #55
lowercased wrote: post #15

Won't help much until these are mandated by law, or.. we just wait for a couple generations to die out. There's a section of folks who enjoy loud engines. It's their jam, they love being 'outdoors' with loud gas powered engines, big trucks, riding lawn mowers. It's a fantasy escape world for them. Over time, the next couple generations may hopefully adopt more battery powered outdoor stuff (mowers, blowers, etc) beca…

I don't understand this, isn't most of the noise coming from the air and not the engine in the leaf blowers?

It's both. This design focuses on quieting the airflow. From TFA:

The team started working last September. They hoped to improve an electric or battery-powered leaf blower, which is already much quieter than the notorious gas-powered ones, where the sound can carry over an average suburban block.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#83

Post by xxs »

kristofferR wrote: post #59
Maxion wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on where you live and the size of the yard. Electric are great when the size isn't that big. Once you go larger, it becomes very hard to do practically with electricity.

Isn't it the opposite? Doing it the manual way with gas is super hard compared to just buying an electric robot mower, especially in large yards.

There are different types of mowers - push (usually 4cycle), push+self propelled, riding one(s), then 2cycle scythe types, and then trimmers and brushcutters (spinning blades). Those options (more or less) are available battery powered, too. Battery powered ones have shorter use per charger but they are lighter (and usually less powerful).

However, if you can use a robot one (or few of them), it tends to be an easier setup - it does require flatter lawn and what not, though. However they are insufficient in cases where one really needs a riding mower.

Personally, I have/use a robot, a battery powered strimmer, gas powered brushcutter, and a push behind mower. The main job is done by the little robot, but the rest have their uses as well.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#84

Post by sgarland »

vouaobrasil wrote: post #67
klankschap wrote: post #54

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

Exactly right. It's asinine to blow leaves. They don't do any damage and they create habitats for spiders and insects. I hate poeple who want clean, empty mowed lawns, aiming for an ideal that is far away from nature. Sickening.

I don’t want a natural habitat in my yard. That’s what the woods behind my house are for. I want a clean, relatively flat, and soft field of grass that my kids can run around barefoot in.

I’m all for natural beauty, but most people already live in urban or suburban environments. What’s the point in pretending when you’re surrounded by asphalt and brick?

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#85

Post by iwontberude »

lowercased wrote: post #15

Won't help much until these are mandated by law, or.. we just wait for a couple generations to die out. There's a section of folks who enjoy loud engines. It's their jam, they love being 'outdoors' with loud gas powered engines, big trucks, riding lawn mowers. It's a fantasy escape world for them. Over time, the next couple generations may hopefully adopt more battery powered outdoor stuff (mowers, blowers, etc) beca…

Leaf blowers are already mostly electric, and they are annoying as hell. People will take time to replace them, but I assure you they aren’t loved at all.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#87

Post by iwontberude »

goda90 wrote: post #37
lowercased wrote: post #15

Won't help much until these are mandated by law, or.. we just wait for a couple generations to die out. There's a section of folks who enjoy loud engines. It's their jam, they love being 'outdoors' with loud gas powered engines, big trucks, riding lawn mowers. It's a fantasy escape world for them. Over time, the next couple generations may hopefully adopt more battery powered outdoor stuff (mowers, blowers, etc) beca…

I was out weeding my garden yesterday evening and there was some pleasant bird song around me. And the droning of a gas mower a block away. And someone zooming back and forth on their crotch rocket on the main street in the other direction. At least the mower sound probably wasn't intentional...

You should hear my electric makita, it’s loud as hell and sounds like a banshee from Halo.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#88

Post by alamortsubite »

delichon wrote: post #52
lowercased wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not in rural areas. People shoot guns at 1am and... "god given freedoms" and "piss off back to the city y'all" and all that are trotted out anytime a complaint is made. Again, it may change in another couple generations, but it'll be slow.

I lived in cities for four decades and rural areas for two. Hearing late night gunshots was routine in cities. I think it's happened once in hearing from my rural home. My neighbor is a state biologist who put down a sick coyote. Or course it can happen a lot if you get the wrong neighbors. But that's more of a risk in the city where you have so many more neighbors.

Wow, which cities? I've lived between cities and the sticks in the U.S. almost my entire life and while I've never once heard gunfire in a city, in the country it's a daily routine (occasionally, if rarely, even fully automatic).

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#89

Post by cafard »

datavirtue wrote: post #56
Aurornis wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There's a section of folks who enjoy loud engines. It's their jam, they love being 'outdoors' with loud gas powered engines, big trucks, riding lawn mowers. It's a fantasy escape world for them. That’s an awfully uncharitable projection. The lawn business people I know would love to adopt full electric fleets of gear. They aren’t sending their teams out with gas engines because it’s a “fantasy escape world”. They d…

I have been running the best of the best in tools and battery tech: Milwaukee. The blower and weed trimmer (especially) burn through very expensive batteries (XC8.0) very quickly. It is not a feasible replacement for even a moderate job. My yard is super small and I move quick and have learned to pull the batteries at 50% to keep from ruining them. But I have burnt up at least one $200 battery that will only charge t…

If your yard is that small, why not use devices powered by a cord? Our yard is middling, but the trimmer, with an extension cord, reaches everything that needs trimming. I confess I know nothing about leaf blowers. My wife talks about getting one, but we still use rakes.

Re: Students invent quieter leaf blower

#90

Post by fkyoureadthedoc »

KingOfCoders wrote: post #68
fkyoureadthedoc wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people have an even quieter one, no yard, what's your point? What's so important about this statement that you had to be the 3rd one to make it?

If three people make this, then it should say something about a.) leaf blowers and how they are liked by bystanders b.) that this might be solving the wrong problem. "you had to be the 3rd one to make it?" With people making a personal attack out of everything, I wonder: Does this make you happy? How are those people in real life? Can't they discuss things without getting personal? (Oh and I see the irony of my comme…

> With people making a personal attack out of everything,

Just because you feel attacked doesn't mean you were attacked. Nothing bad happened to you, other than being asked a simple question.

> PS: No I don't read everyone of 180 comments before I comment myself.

In this case 0 were read in order to rush and make a low effort joke because there were two rake comments above the fold and nowhere near 180 total when you wrote it. There's no need to lie here, you gain nothing from it.

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