Leaf blower ordinances and Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Bans

[dylanmitchell]

A few cities around here have banned gas-powered leaf blowers. Small engines can create a lot of pollution but leaf blowers are handy for larger jobs and blowing out gravel or rock mulch. I'd rather see a limit set for emissions, particulate matter, and decibel limit vs a blanket ban on all gas blowers. Landscapers and gardeners will be the hardest hit and it may be hard to clear large areas while relying on battery-powered equipment and switching to new equipment will cost money.

There are some cleaner new small engines like Makita's 4-stroke motor leaf blower and Lehr has 4-Stroke Propane leaf blowers that could be a good step between the most polluting engines and having to use battery-powered equipment. Echo, Ego, Greenworks, Milwaukee, Husqvarna, Red Snapper, etc. will be selling a lot of new equipment. Some of the older equipment will be part of trade-in programs but there will be a lot of cheap gas leaf blowers for sale that may got to on ban areas.

For small jobs, I prefer a rake and push broom and am more concerned about the dust, pollen, heavy metals like lead, ***** matter, and pesticides that get blown up than engine fumes. I have a corded and battery-powered leaf blower because they're lower maintenance but don't want to be told I can't use gas powered equipment.

 

[InjectorService]

Thats a very interesting thing, I have not heard of a "leaf blower ban" before. Around here we had a herbicide chemical ban, but it was only for consumers, commercial outfits could still use it. Maybe they will do something like that with the leaf blowers?

 

[kctyphoon]

Anything to kill jobs...

 

[macs_rock]

I think if enough places sign on to this, then commercial demand will force the creation of better battery powered gear. As it is, the only people I know who have purchased gas over electric in the past few years are landscapers, most homeowners (myself included) seem to enjoy the convenience of electric more than the drawbacks.

I do like the idea of a 4 stroke propane powered tool though, especially if you can refill those little green tanks.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

Is this just in SoCal?

 

[Real_PhillBert]

I would like to see a study on how much of the total global pollution that small engines are actually responsible for. I would bet it's about as close to non-existent as you can get.

 

[CJM8515]

of course its socal..


you can have my gas powered leaf blower when you pry it from my cold dead fingers..

 

[fang123]

This country is f#$ked up.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

I would like to see a study on how much of the total global pollution that small engines are actually responsible for. I would bet it's about as close to non-existent as you can get.

Such studies are banned in CA due to proposition 65

 

[Farmall450]

Anything to kill jobs...

Pretty much.

 

[Farmall450]

I would like to see a study on how much of the total global pollution that small engines are actually responsible for. I would bet it's about as close to non-existent as you can get.

Ding ding.

 

[Professional Tool User]

This is where you go round up your local politicians and make them do the physical aspects of maintaining your garden for free. The worst imbeciles in terms of politicians have got to be the ones at the municipal level.

 

[rlitman]

Such studies are banned in CA due to proposition 65

Of course! Studies cause cancer in lab rats.

 

[Y00PER]

I really don't have a use for a leaf blower, since I have no reason to blow leaves, but a ban on them? I've heard some places don't let people own chickens, and others get fined if their grass is too long, not green enough, etc etc etc. Land of the "free"

 

[Jagmandave]

It's not really the pollution - it's the damn noise!

I know they banned them in Beverly Hills decades ago, all the Vietnamese landscapers went back to rakes and brooms.

2 of my neighbors have those things and they use them for hours at a time - drives me nuts after a while.

 

[CoogarXR]

2 of my neighbors have those things and they use them for hours at a time - drives me nuts after a while.

This. I work in my home office, and I have two OCD neighbors that will run backpack gas leaf blowers for HOURS. I have shooting-range muffs next to my computer that I wear, lol.

 

[PCMusicGuy]

They are stupid loud. Last week they were doing the sidewalks in front of the house, I was in my garage with over the ear hearing protection and they were still too damn loud.

 

[Steve_P]

30 years ago, essentially the only people with gas powered leaf blowers were landscapers. Now everyone with a house has one. And I've had an Echo PB-200 for ~35 yrs.

And how does banning gasoline blowers kill jobs? Small engine repair is already almost a non-existent employer going the way of TV repair; probably 10X more people work at Arby's.

 

[dylanmitchell]

Yep, it's mostly affluent cities in California and a few cities in other states passing arbitrary bans on blowers. I'm on board with regulating noise, emissions, and hours of operations in highly populated areas but a ban is overreaching. In urban areas, we have some really nasty stuff on sidewalks, in parks, and other public that gets blown up by leaf blowers so I avoid anywhere a blower is working but think they still have a place.

Commercial truck emission requirements are a similar story with truckers struggling to pay for the required updates to their emissions equipment. Unlike most passenger vehicles commercial trucks here have to update vehicles to meet current standards.

This is a partial list of cities with bans and it reads like a whos who. of the wealthiest cities.

Gas blower bans: Berkley, Beverly Hills, Carmel, Claremont, Encinitas, Del Mar, Indian Wells, Lawndale, Los Gatos, Malibu, Mill Valley, Ojai, Santa Barbara, West Hollywood.

Complete gas and electric bans: Del Mar, Hermosa Beach, Laguna Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Santa Monica.


https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-car-vs-truck-vs-leaf-blower.html

https://www.kqed.org/news/11310630/...g-equipment-poses-the-next-air-quality-threat

 

[dagofast]

I would like to see a study on how much of the total global pollution that small engines are actually responsible for. I would bet it's about as close to non-existent as you can get.

A quick Google brought this up: The EPA estimates that hour-for-hour, gasoline powered lawn mowers produce 11 times as much pollution as a new car. According to the EPA, each gas-powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new automobiles driven 12,000 per year – lawn care produces 13 billion pounds of toxic pollutants per year.

While I loves me some internal combustion, I personally dislike gas powered mowers, weed whackers and leaf blowers. As much for the noise as for the stink. I live in a desert so I have no lawn, but the few shrubs that need trimming are done with an electric chainsaw or electric trimmer and any clean up that can't be done with a rake or broom is done with an electric blower. I don't miss cleaning carburetors and tanks either.

 

[kelpaso1]

Small engine repair is already almost a non-existent employer going the way of TV repair; probably 10X more people work at Arby's.

You are clueless. There are millions of small engines out there. I support myself at what I do just fine.

 

[kctyphoon]

Dont get me started with California...

 

[dogdog]

Anything to kill jobs...

LOL not sure if there is a gas powered leaf blower union yet, but they do have battery portable blowers ...

 

[kctyphoon]

LOL not sure if there is a gas powered leaf blower union yet, but they do have battery portable blowers ...

Silly me -. I wonder if cleaning the human sh-t off the sidewalks will become a union job - using cordless electric pressure washers. Cause ya know, priorities..

 

[laser3kw]

According to the EPA, each gas-powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new automobiles driven 12,000 per year

I am going to make some assumptions.
car = 25 mpg, 60 mph = 2.4 gallons per hour
43 cars x 12000 miles per year (each car)= 516000 miles
516000 / 60mph = 8600 hours
8600 hour * 2.4 gph =20640 gallons

my gas powered lawnmower will cut grass for an hour on 20oz of gas.That equals 6 hours of cut time per gallon of gas.

So my lawn mower that takes 6 hours to burn 1 gallon produces about the same air pollution as 43 cars burning 20640 gallons of gas?
What did I do wrong?

even if you break it down to 8760 hours per year burning 20640 gallons it still comes down to cars burning 14.14 gallons in 6 hours vs lawn mower burning 1 gallon in 6 hours.

 

[kctyphoon]

I am going to make some assumptions.
car = 25 mpg, 60 mph = 2.4 gallons per hour
43 cars x 12000 miles per year (each car)= 516000 miles
516000 / 60mph = 8600 hours
8600 hour * 2.4 gph =20640 gallons

my gas powered lawnmower will cut grass for an hour on 20oz of gas.That equals 6 hours of cut time per gallon of gas.

So my lawn mower that takes 6 hours to burn 1 gallon produces about the same air pollution as 43 cars burning 20640 gallons of gas?
What did I do wrong?

I would research where figures COME from, before you invest any real time into trying to figure anything out.. cause ya know “99% of scientist agree”....
I think you will see the rise of fuel injected small engines in the near future.

 

[laser3kw]

And...
my mower runs for an hour once every 3 or 4 days during mowing season. The cars, as described above, are burning 2.35 gallons every hour of every day, all year...

 

[Wamsutta]

The problem lies with 2-cycle engines and cheap two cycle oil. My 4-cycle Stihl weedeater burns way, WAY more cleaner than a 2-cycle Shindaiwa. How do I know? I know by my extremely sensitive nose. I can smell the difference between rich and lean. But, I know how to adjust the carburetor for 14 parts air to 1 part fuel. Most people on the planet are clueless about carburetors.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

The landscapers come once a week to tend to the courtyard my condo faces. Mower, hedgeclippers and blower, one guy on each. Between the noise and the two stroke smoke stinking up my living room, I'd be glad to see them go back to rakes and brooms. Put a couple more guys on the job if need be. The monthly cost wouldn't be that much more.

 

[finn]

I have a gas blower, and one battery blower. I support the ban, at least in urban areas. The things are obnoxious.

To those that said just set a dB limit, please do a search to all the posters that advise others to pull the muffler baffles on their chainsaws, and consider the fart cans on ricer cars, the straight pipes on diesel mall cruiser trucks and change of life uHarleys, and cans on snowmobiles.

The only way to preserve pease and quiet is a ban, at least when there is available alternative technology, like battery blowers.

 

[Farmall450]

30 years ago, essentially the only people with gas powered leaf blowers were landscapers. Now everyone with a house has one. And I've had an Echo PB-200 for ~35 yrs.

And how does banning gasoline blowers kill jobs? Small engine repair is already almost a non-existent employer going the way of TV repair; probably 10X more people work at Arby's.

Uhhhh

 

[Farmall450]

I am going to make some assumptions.
car = 25 mpg, 60 mph = 2.4 gallons per hour
43 cars x 12000 miles per year (each car)= 516000 miles
516000 / 60mph = 8600 hours
8600 hour * 2.4 gph =20640 gallons

my gas powered lawnmower will cut grass for an hour on 20oz of gas.That equals 6 hours of cut time per gallon of gas.

So my lawn mower that takes 6 hours to burn 1 gallon produces about the same air pollution as 43 cars burning 20640 gallons of gas?
What did I do wrong?

even if you break it down to 8760 hours per year burning 20640 gallons it still comes down to cars burning 14.14 gallons in 6 hours vs lawn mower burning 1 gallon in 6 hours.

Their ICE test engine was probably running rich and 16:1 two stroke

 

[ChrisLS8]

It's the wave of the future. EV will be a large percentage in a short time. Instead of focusing on the real issue which is unchecked population growth they Target things that they want to acknowledge exists

 

[dagofast]

I am going to make some assumptions.
car = 25 mpg, 60 mph = 2.4 gallons per hour
43 cars x 12000 miles per year (each car)= 516000 miles
516000 / 60mph = 8600 hours
8600 hour * 2.4 gph =20640 gallons

my gas powered lawnmower will cut grass for an hour on 20oz of gas.That equals 6 hours of cut time per gallon of gas.

So my lawn mower that takes 6 hours to burn 1 gallon produces about the same air pollution as 43 cars burning 20640 gallons of gas?
What did I do wrong?

even if you break it down to 8760 hours per year burning 20640 gallons it still comes down to cars burning 14.14 gallons in 6 hours vs lawn mower burning 1 gallon in 6 hours.

It isn't entirely about the amount of fuel burned. It is about how thoroughly it is burned and what it is run through after being burned. Or rather in a small engine, the lack thereof. A small engine, 2 or 4 stroke, is carbureted with no feedback loop and no catalyst to help clean up the results of (poor) combustion.

If you doubt how clean modern cars are, with computer controlled spark & fuel injection, air pumps and feed back loops provided by sensors, feel free to crank your windows down following a group of new cars down the road. Then find an old car show and after the show ends, follow some of those old heaps down the road and repeat the experiment. You'll be gagging on unburnt hydrocarbons within a mile.

I LOVE cars & motorcycles. I love internal combustion engines. But I like the modern clean burning ones a helluva lot more than the old dirty ones. And don't even get me started about being on a motorcycle and being stuck behind a coal rolling diesel.

 

[Wamsutta]

I use one of these EGO blowers at work to blow in front of the store at 5:00AM in the morning. It blows 530cfm at 110 miles per hour. That really gets the dirt and debris moving FAST. The only con is that the run time is 15 minutes.

They have a new model out that'll blow 650cfm at 180 miles per hour. That's mind blowing if you've ever used the previous model above.

 

[ddawg16]

It's not really the pollution - it's the damn noise!

I know they banned them in Beverly Hills decades ago, all the Vietnamese landscapers went back to rakes and brooms.

2 of my neighbors have those things and they use them for hours at a time - drives me nuts after a while.

^^ Yup ^^

In the summer, a lot of gardeners like to start early to avoid the heat....nothing like having a late night and a loud leaf blower is running next door.

I have a cordless one....about 1/5th the noise of my corded one....and about half the performance....but for me, it works just fine....

 

[ericlar80]

I am going to make some assumptions.
car = 25 mpg, 60 mph = 2.4 gallons per hour
43 cars x 12000 miles per year (each car)= 516000 miles
516000 / 60mph = 8600 hours
8600 hour * 2.4 gph =20640 gallons

my gas powered lawnmower will cut grass for an hour on 20oz of gas.That equals 6 hours of cut time per gallon of gas.

So my lawn mower that takes 6 hours to burn 1 gallon produces about the same air pollution as 43 cars burning 20640 gallons of gas?
What did I do wrong?

even if you break it down to 8760 hours per year burning 20640 gallons it still comes down to cars burning 14.14 gallons in 6 hours vs lawn mower burning 1 gallon in 6 hours.

Does your lawn mower have a catalytic converter?

 

[kctyphoon]

The landscapers come once a week to tend to the courtyard my condo faces. Mower, hedgeclippers and blower, one guy on each. Between the noise and the two stroke smoke stinking up my living room, I'd be glad to see them go back to rakes and brooms. Put a couple more guys on the job if need be. The monthly cost wouldn't be that much more.

Think about what you just said...

 

[Indexmill]

Nobody can argue that gas powered leaf blowers are f*cking loud. And if the truth be told, we all hate listening to them. Them's the facts...

That does not mean that they should be banned. But, they should be optimized like every other product in the world. Nobody can argue that automobiles of today are far superior to cars of the past; it is not a debate because it is fact. That does not mean that old cars are ****** or should be banned. It's just a fact. Look at phones, computers, flashlights, everything today is optimized and most of it we all love. At the same time, many of us love the old stuff too. Both old and new can coexist. We live in an AND world; not an OR world.

F*ck the politicians and the banning of Big-Gulps and all of the PC ****. Just use you gas powered leaf blower but be mindful and respectful of your neighbors.

 

[kctyphoon]

nobody can argue that gas powered leaf blowers are f*cking loud. And if the truth be told, we all hate listening to them. Them's the facts...

That does not mean that they should be banned. But, they should be optimized like every other product in the world. Nobody can argue that automobiles of today are far superior to cars of the past; it is not a debate because it is fact. That does not mean that old cars are ****** or should be banned. It's just a fact. Look at phones, computers, flashlights, everything today is optimized and most of it we all love. At the same time, many of us love the old stuff too. Both old and new can coexist. We live in an and world; not an or world.

F*ck the politicians and the banning of big-gulps and all of the pc ****. Just use you gas powered leaf blower but be mindful and respectful of your neighbors.

^ this. I’m TIRED of people complaining that what THEY dont like should be “banned”..
I have an idea - let’s BAN condos. Problem solved.. welcome to California.

The level of self importance in this world has risen to the point that masses of people feel as if THEY shouldn’t have to be “inconvienced” by the rest of society.