Gas-powered leaf blowers are being banned across US

This becoming the next faux-outrage, Republican/conservative wedge issue in...3...2...1.

They’re coming fer yer gas lawnmower!
Like the police will come round and take them.
- well, pretty sure ICE has rounded up many a white person's lawnmower.
- Counties near me already banned two-stroke engines. Gas leaf blower ban is on the books for a month or so from now.
Tell them they're made in China or Mexico

Good, they aren't needed anymore since electric ones do the same job.

The amount of people I hear discussing their surprise satisfaction with electronic tools is pretty astounding, even coming from electrical engineers and similar. The skepticism and doubt, propaganda from Big Combustion is real 🤠
- I’m not sure if it was intentional or if brushless motors are really that much more powerful but electric tools are far better now than they were even just 10 years ago.
- I was an early adopter of an electric lawnmower, which I regretted. That thing had so little power that I had to mow like every 3 days or it would just push the grass over. I went back to gas after one season. However I went back to electric 5 years ago or so, and it's FAR better. But for a blower, or weed eater, electric has always been superior.
- You absolutely don't need to buy garden tools that run on gas. The electric equivalent is at the same level or even better.
- A landscaping crew would require more batteries and/or a method to charge on the go. Cost might be prohibitive to do that now but in time it might work out. Imagine if you have a large battery in a trailer that charges up all the small batteries between sites or solar on the roof.
  Considering most landscaping work is done in the summer months maybe a move to a different Lithium chemistry that is cheaper but doesn’t like cold as much could be beneficial for pro tools.
- Why wouldn't those crews just charge their equipment from the alternator? It's additional wear and tear or the alternator, but far cheaper than a generator
- Don't forget electric weedeater and mowers are not designed for constant use. My buddy and I back in the day had a mowing business in Dallas, Texas. We had gas mower but electric weedeater. We had to replace it twice because it burn up after using it constant for 3 days. Don't know why we didn't buy gas one. I remember we used electric to begin with because all we had. But later? Guess they were cheaper back then.
As a homeowner, sure. However, if I had a landscaping business, I would need something that can run all day.
- Carpenters do just fine all day with electric tools. Replaceable batteries are a thing!
- There's plenty of landscaping businesses in my area that advertise as fully electric and seem to be making a profit.
- And it's a thing with batteries on your back. Cities around here have these and it works well.
I have an even more effective proposal that can run for centuries with minimal repair and does just as good a job on fuel that is practically free.
- And it makes you healthier, and uses far less resources.
- Let's see your ass rake for an 8-10 hour shift, come on now!

Good riddance!

Agreed! The weekly parade of leaf blowers from lawn to lawn is abysmal.
Why?
- Pollution inefficient, higher maintenance, Loud.
- Do you not have ears?
  I live in a high rise in a metropolis and wish they would be banned. The maintenance crew of the university the other side of the street is using those things in the spring and fall. Exactly the time of the year when I want to open my windows, they, with their ear protection are blasting their engines on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off, while I'm trying to watch a video or listen to some music. Whiiiiiiiiiiir, pap pap pap pap pap pap whiiiiiiiiiir whiiiiir whiiiiiiir whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir pap pap pap pap pap whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir.
  There's a hundred windows in front of them, and another high rise just the other side of the street. How many people are just as annoyed as I am because those lazy fuckers can't be bothered to use a rake?
  Worse, the maintenance of my own high rise joins them a few times a month to blow the gravel off the fucking concrete around the building. So again, windows open, all you can hear for an hour is those fucking blowers on and off and on and off and on and off.
  The other day I was eating on a terrasse and the handymen were replacing pieces of wood. Well, instead of sweeping the wood chips, he used a fucking blower among the people eating, to "clean up".
  Those things can go to hell for all I care.

Got rid of my gas weed trimmer 3 years ago. I’ll never go back. I got a good quality electric. It has enough power to do all the necessary yard work 2x over on a charge. It doesn’t get bogged down. I don’t have to mix two stroke fuel. I don’t have to clean the fuel system after not using it for the winter or store gas over the off season. No worries about spills. Just swap out the batteries and go.

Blowers have suffered from insufficient power when battery operated. Maybe that’s changed. I’d love an electric mower, but they’re crazy expensive for a decent one.

My 40v leaf blower is better than a gas blower, because it's just as strong as one and doesn't use gas or oil at all. Also lighter weight and no maintenance. But if you tried an 18v or 20v leaf blower it might not favor as well.
I love my electric mower. I can do my yard *2 on a battery charge. Worth. Also yes it was like 600$ CAD but no more hassles like you mentioned. Peace of mind is a thing AND it's better for the environment.
Electric leafblowers should do a better Job than Gas powered. Linear motors are just better. That's why basically any EV let's Gas powered cars behind at traffic lights.
A lot of lumberjacks use electric saws more and more.
The downside obviously is that you cant just refill it on the spot.
My 38v pushes leaves and rubbish around well enough in my eyes. It does chew through the batteries however, which ended up tipping one pack unable to charge without manual intervention.
Same batteries go in my electric mower, I can mow my backyard on a single cell if I don't leave it too infrequent between.
If you don't mind a little more effort, a manual lawn mower is fantastic! Plus it's incredibly quiet
- My neighbor has a manual mower. Its so cute! I wanna mow the lawn just so I can push it! Also, it doesn't hurt to push (I'm so old haha)!
- Unfortunately our lawn is not suitable for a manual push mower.
- Plus you get to be amused by apparently declaring the reality of your lawn maintenance equipment!

the number of people who deliberately use those things just to annoy everyone is ridiculous

Leaf blowers in general need to be banned. They cause too much soil erosion.

Also, they don't clean up the mess, they just relocate it next door or onto the street.
- I guess we should ban brooms then too with that logic.

I mean if the maintenance crew can't wake up the whole apartment complex work the leaf blower what's even the point? /s

A number of states and cities are banning gas-powered leaf blowers due to pollution, noise and health risk concerns.

🧐 Cars are next, right? Riiiight????

I have come to love gas powered leaf blowers this past month. There really is nothing better for trail maintenance. If you have to clear a couple miles of trail a gas powered leaf blower makes it a literal walk in the park. Electric ones just don't have the kind of power that the backpack ones do and run out of battery too quickly. Or you have to rake the whole thing by hand which could take a day or two.

That being said in some areas you're not allowed to use a leaf blower (electric or gas).

While I disagree on the power (try the Ego commercial backpack leaf blower), the battery life is no question. People don't realize how much energy it takes to blow that much air that quickly.
- Maybe I'll give it a try when it makes sense to buy a new one. For now the Stihl is still chooching
- I love that you suggested something actually professional, but please don't kid yourself, at 56V you're not going to get anywhere near a 2-stroke/4-stoke or even household AC current.
  I do an absolute shitload of electronics repair, and I need people to understand that you cannot ever get close to other solutions with battery power. There are many complex reasons, but the basic answer is: forget it.
This supports my stance for the electric vs gas argument. Which basically boils down to use the right tool for the job. Is using an electric blower the correct tool to clear miles of trials, not really. Use gas. Does that Amazon delivery vehicle running stop and go all day need to be gas, no. Use electric. It’s not hard.
- For those ev vans specifically they are better but they have some issues with sandy roads in rural areas because they're so heavy.
I haven't seen a comparable backpack electric blower, but for my backyard the one I got is more than enough and I have a lot of overhanging trees.
Things are progressing quickly though, soon enough you should be able to get one for your needs. Also the lower noose level is nice.
- The little ones were great for clearing snow off roofs and used the same batteries as the tools we used. But if you buy a big one now you've also got to Invest in a new battery ecosystem. Then you may as well buy an electric chainsaw and pole saw/weed whacker. And now does the entire ecosystem make sense to switch yet?

Fuck yes about time

The scythe returns...

Glad I just got one from a yard sale. I don't really have a use for it, just fixed it and think it is nice to stand in my front yard at the beginning and end of each day (within the legal noise ordinance) revving it up and blowing nothing. Just for my neighbours.

Leaf blowers - converting gasoline into neighbourhood disharmony since 1955
- A long and rich tradition
- My neighbor is OCD about cleaning his electric dirt bike. He’ll pressure warsh it for thirty minutes and then spend an hour blow drying it with a gas blower. Dude it’s good enough.

Cool with new sales being banned but as far as the existing ones go it's kind of a whatever for me. Sure it's a touch louder but we use an electric in this neighborhood and the blower part is plenty loud too. As far as emissions go I'm sure they're dirty as shit but it's probably not even the worst offender as far as landscaping equipment goes and in the big picture is probably meaningless. If people want to keep the old gassers going as long as they can before buying an electric I don't really give a shit.

Iirc the two stroke engines commonly used on leaf blowers and string trimmers are among the worst polluters for lawn equipment.
- Not only very dirty for the air but so loud. Gas leaf blowers are 80-100dbs while electric is 60-85dbs. Decibels are logarithmic so that increase is quite substantial.
- Look up how batteries are made.

Yea I gotta walk away from this thread the ignorance stinks so badly

Lotta comments from folks without callouses. Electric tools suck, you never have enough batteries, they might have speed but the torque sucks, and who's gonna replace the thousands of dollars worth of gas tools I have? Keep yapping softhands, I'll eat your downvotes for breakfast and go burn 5 gallons of mix before days end Monday.

I rebuilt my house from the ground up, from the foundation to the studs to the drywall, by myself, it was the cheapest on the market for a reason. So don't worry, the callouses are plenty.
You'll do fine with an electric leaf-blower. If you have a landscaping business or maybe 20 acres, I'd say you're in a pickle and frustration is definitely justified.
The batteries can be a pain and a lot of the cheap ones die quick, buy a few extra quality batteries and remember to charge them. With the cost of gas alone you'll end up saving money in the long-run if you're out there as often as you suggest. I built a solar generator that powers my garage which is where I charge my batteries, so it litterally cost me nothing but the initial investment. I have a quarter acre and do my neighbors half acre, 2 batteries ~$30 a piece let's me weedwack and blow. My mower goes through 2 and I have an extra one just encase I need it.
Having to replace everything you have definetly sucks, I feel like they should just stop selling them and let the ones out there go until they die instead o prematurely going in a landfill.
- ....what electric tool batteries do you have that are $30 apiece? 🤨 I'm terribly curious. Because I've paid $350 for currently top of the line Milwaukee M18 Forge 12.0 batteries. Each.
That's not to mention how your precious batteries are even fucking made, if you want to talk about ecological travesties. This is typical liberal pearl clutching.
- In the United States alone, 350,000 premature deaths can be attributed to fossil fuel pollution on a yearly basis. Then there is the impact of offshore oil spills, leaky pipelines, and the occasional refinary explosion.
  All you have done in this whole thread is pearl clutch. This is a big part of why leftists and liberals all hate conservatives.
- Damn, it's so cool that oil drilling and oil refining are famously such a clean and non-destructive processes, otherwise you would look like a complete idiot right now.