Discussion Leaf Blowers: CFM vs Speed?

[13Gigatons]

Extension cords, I generally dislike but if your property allows dragging them around,

.

The outlets are conveniently placed, 100 feet of cord covers the front or backyard.

 

[Midwayman]

Both. Low CFM high speed it'll move a leaf a time, but move it for sure. High CFM low speed means you can only really work on dry stuff effectively.

I have the cordless version of this (The 56v one)
https://www.worx.com/blowers-mulche...s/turbine-600-electric-leaf-blower-wg520.html

It works pretty well. Cordless is nice, but only lasts 15-20 minutes. That's generally enough to clean up what I need to but if you have lots of leaves or a really big yard you'd want the corded version or more batteries. (The corded version is also waaaaaaay cheaper.)

 

[mindless1]

What model do you own?

A Craftsman 358.794740, no longer made so I can't link to it, but same thing was sold as a few different brands with slight cosmetic changes, and is typical of the hand-held type, where the impeller chamber is not completely sealed, nor is the exterior completely covered (couldn't be, would overheat) so the fine dust produced from leaf mulching gets into everything, and the disassembly process to get it all clean is practically taking every single piece apart except the internals of the engine. Granted some people might never clean theirs out then declare it had an early death but I'd rather keep stuff running than add to a landfill. It's very similar to this:

 

[13Gigatons]

A Craftsman 358.794740, no longer made so I can't link to it, but same thing was sold as a few different brands with slight cosmetic changes, and is typical of the hand-held type, where the impeller chamber is not completely sealed, nor is the exterior completely covered (couldn't be, would overheat) so the fine dust produced from leaf mulching gets into everything, and the disassembly process to get it all clean is practically taking every single piece apart except the internals of the engine. Granted some people might never clean theirs out then declare it had an early death but I'd rather keep stuff running than add to a landfill. It's very similar to this:

View attachment 9543

Gas powered leaf blowers are the most obnoxious version. Every landscaping crew seems to use these and they deafening. I can deal with battery/electric....I wish they would outlaw the gas ones....or limit there use to one day per week.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Gas powered leaf blowers are the most obnoxious version. Every landscaping crew seems to use these and they deafening. I can deal with battery/electric....I wish they would outlaw the gas ones....or limit there use to one day per week.

They should start outlawing gas stuff just for environmental reasons imo. Force the industry to move to electric. Small motors are actually super inefficient too.

 

[mindless1]

Gas powered leaf blowers are the most obnoxious version. Every landscaping crew seems to use these and they deafening. I can deal with battery/electric....I wish they would outlaw the gas ones....or limit there use to one day per week.

The main reason the electric are quieter is they are so weak. The industry is trying to solve that by making them brushless and 40V or higher to equal the performance, then you'll hear more and more noise from them.

The thing about outlawing things you don't like, is there's bound to be something you do that someone else would like to have outlawed too.

The only real way to get out of tolerating your neighbors is don't have any.

Environmental concerns? Meh, those container ships delivering crap (now a substantial % of products) from China pollute far more than 2 cycle lawn equipment. It's entirely possible that buying a nice new electric leaf blower, polluted more to make and deliver it, than my continuing to use the same 2 cycle blower I bought over a decade ago, and use on average, maybe 4 hours per year now that I no longer mulch leaves with it.

For commercial landscapers, using them all day every day, I do think there's a fair argument to be made for them using 4 cycle instead of 2, because the rate of localized pollution can exceed the dissipation rate.

 

[sdifox]

I find it's bagging that takes the longest. Raking is no biggie. Would be fun to mod a paper shredder to run faster and have a bigger chute and use it for leaves then just let it go into the ground in tiny pieces. Could maybe even set it up to be fed by a shop vac then you can vacuum the leaves!

I don't really care about leaf blower noise myself but after realizing just how loud they are when a neighbour was using one I'd almost feel bad using one myself. suposedly they work well to take snow off the car too. Tempting to buy one just for that... but it means fireing it up at like 6:30am lol.

It's called a lawnmower with mulching blade.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's called a lawnmower with mulching blade.

Some years I've been lazy enough to actually do that. lol.

 

[13Gigatons]

The thing about outlawing things you don't like, is there's bound to be something you do that someone else would like to have outlawed too.

I wasn't serious about outlawing gas-powered leaf blowers but I am serious about only having one day per week for both lawnmowers and leaf-blowers. They use both 7-days a week here.

 

[13Gigatons]

This one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Toro-Po...Electric-Handheld-Leaf-Blower-51624/304083248

• Move large piles of leaves with air volume up to 725 CFM
• Maximum air speed of 140 MPH for heavy lifting of wet leaves
• Delivering more power to do more work - up to .728 Air Horsepower

 

[mindless1]

I wasn't serious about outlawing gas-powered leaf blowers but I am serious about only having one day per week for both lawnmowers and leaf-blowers. They use both 7-days a week here.

There's no way that is reasonable. You think everyone can take the day off work to mow that day? What if it rains that day, or is raining so often in spring that lawns need mowed twice a week?

What if your neighbor is gung-ho about fertilizing so his needs mowed every 7 days but yours only every 10? Someone else will come along and say you don't maintain your lawn if you wait the extra 4 days for the weekly "day".

Nope, that might wash if you agree to it in a HOA contract but otherwise, I'm very much against a restriction on mowing or blowing any *reasonable* time of day, say between 8:AM and 10M, but that doesn't mean that noise ordinances shouldn't be enforced if some tool decides that their lawnmower/etc doesn't need a muffler on it.

Ironically a month ago I got my first cordless electric leaf blower, and it is every bit as loud as my 2 cycle gas leaf blower. These days you can get cordless that are quite powerful with a corresponding increase in noise over yesteryear's cordless that could barely get out of their own way.

That doesn't mean I'll stop using my gas blower for larger jobs as it has about 3X the runtime per tank and a tank refill takes 20 seconds opposed to over an hour charging the cordless, but for quick driveway/sidewalk/etc after mowing, or blowing a car off after washing, it's perfect.

 

[mindless1]

Some years I've been lazy enough to actually do that. lol.

Here it's not about lazy, our high clay soil benefits a lot from leaves mulched to regenerate topsoil. I don't bag when I mow either.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I just realized I never even got a chance to rake this year. The time just went by so fast. It's like "boom" it's November. I've always been curious to see how well a lawnmower runs in snow so I still have a chance to "rake" but I think my neighbours would think I'm insane, if they don't already think that.

 

[Red Squirrel]

There's no way that is reasonable. You think everyone can take the day off work to mow that day? What if it rains that day, or is raining so often in spring that lawns need mowed twice a week?

What if your neighbor is gung-ho about fertilizing so his needs mowed every 7 days but yours only every 10? Someone else will come along and say you don't maintain your lawn if you wait the extra 4 days for the weekly "day".

Nope, that might wash if you agree to it in a HOA contract but otherwise, I'm very much against a restriction on mowing or blowing any *reasonable* time of day, say between 8:AM and 10M, but that doesn't mean that noise ordinances shouldn't be enforced if some tool decides that their lawnmower/etc doesn't need a muffler on it.

Ironically a month ago I got my first cordless electric leaf blower, and it is every bit as loud as my 2 cycle gas leaf blower. These days you can get cordless that are quite powerful with a corresponding increase in noise over yesteryear's cordless that could barely get out of their own way.

That doesn't mean I'll stop using my gas blower for larger jobs as it has about 3X the runtime per tank and a tank refill takes 20 seconds opposed to over an hour charging the cordless, but for quick driveway/sidewalk/etc after mowing, or blowing a car off after washing, it's perfect.

Yeah over regulation is bad. If you want tons of regulations then go live in a HOA. In most cases when someone is using a lawn mower or leaf blower etc, it is temporary, they do the job and then stop so at worse it might be like an hour. If someone is being unreasonable then treat it on a case per case basis.

 

[13Gigatons]

There's no way that is reasonable. You think everyone can take the day off work to mow that day? What if it rains that day, or is raining so often in spring that lawns need mowed twice a week?

You misunderstood. Here they all use Lawn services. Every single day of the week one house on the block has a different Lawn Service with an entire crew. Lawnmowers, gas powered weed trimmers, gas powered leaf blowers.
Monday = NOISE (next door neighbor)
Tuesday = NOISE (across the street)
Wednesday = NOISE (other next door neighbor)
etc.

Maybe two days per week be allotted say Wednesday and Saturday.

 

[lxskllr]

I was on a construction site today in a subdivision. It's a stream restoration project. There were chainsaws, excavators, dozers, and a huge tree shredder. The most irritating sound I heard all day was the Stihl blower a lawn service was using around the houses. I hate that machine.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You misunderstood. Here they all use Lawn services. Every single day of the week one house on the block has a different Lawn Service with an entire crew. Lawnmowers, gas powered weed trimmers, gas powered leaf blowers.
Monday = NOISE (next door neighbor)
Tuesday = NOISE (across the street)
Wednesday = NOISE (other next door neighbor)
etc.

Maybe two days per week be allotted say Wednesday and Saturday.

Could regulate the lawn services themselves, rather than the home owners. Make it so they can only operate between 10am to 5pm or something. (when everyone is at work)

 

[mindless1]

You misunderstood. Here they all use Lawn services. Every single day of the week one house on the block has a different Lawn Service with an entire crew. Lawnmowers, gas powered weed trimmers, gas powered leaf blowers.
Monday = NOISE (next door neighbor)
Tuesday = NOISE (across the street)
Wednesday = NOISE (other next door neighbor)
etc.

Maybe two days per week be allotted say Wednesday and Saturday.

How is this lawn service supposed to get all the work done in one day? One house after another, one day after another, is the only thing that makes sense.

You expect them all the synchronize and glut up the roadway with several different trucks and trailers?

Go ahead and petition your local government... but it's not practical. You'd have more luck trying to convince your neighbors to sync the schedule instead. We can't do diddly squat about it, nor would I want to.

I like quiet too, but when you write 1 day per each neighbor, a different neighbor on a different day, that short period of time each day seems just as good to me as an entire day long, disrupted. What if one of your neighbors works the night shift (or is a vampire) and can handle an hour deprived of sleep per day but not an entire *mowing* day deprived?

This is the price one pays for having nearby neighbors. Maybe the guy who gets his lawn done on Tuesday is hating you for not getting your lawn done on Tuesday too, lol.

 

[Midwayman]

Could regulate the lawn services themselves, rather than the home owners. Make it so they can only operate between 10am to 5pm or something. (when everyone is at work)

Probably easier to regulate the home owners. A fair number of landscapers around here aren't strictly legal operations. They'd probably be hard to pin down.

 

[13Gigatons]

How is this lawn service supposed to get all the work done in one day? One house after another, one day after another, is the only thing that makes sense.

You expect them all the synchronize and glut up the roadway with several different trucks and trailers?

They all seem to use different companies and sometimes they do show up on the same day.

 

[13Gigatons]

Just to update the MPH is really important. While CFM works well with dry leaves, wet leaves and more heavy debris relies on MPH.

After testing I would say 150+ MPH is definitely required. Anything beneath this will struggle with heavy debris.