[LateBoomer]

here's a thought: Let's not be California. the place is a mess and people and businesses are fleeing the State. I like my Florida, and my TV, just as it is, thanks. If you're really wrapped up in environmental issues, so-called, suggest that Florida may not be the place for you.

[biker1]

I used one for 15 years on Bermuda and Centipede grass. For those grasses it works great, with very little effort. They are not workable with Zoysia and St. Augustine grasses, unless your yard is the size of a postage stamp.

Originally Posted by MandoMan

I used a lawnmower without an engine like this for years when I was a boy. Properly adjusted and sharpened and with a flat lawn, they worked great and were no harder to use than a heavy gas mower that has to be manhandled around corners. They weren’t great on edges near gardens. I still remember the pleasant SHHHH sound they made and the wonderful smell of the just-cut grass.

[OhioBuckeye]

I say it’s up to the individual or who can talk the consumer into what they can sell. Everything I have is battery. The only thing I have that’s gas operated is lawn mower. I say if you go to everything battery use one brand other wise you have 10 to 15 different kinds of batteries sitting around & 3 or 4 different kinds of chargers. Yes I like battery operated things, except cars, but that’s another subject!

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

Thank you for bringing that up. I plan on getting a jacket from Amazon that will say it is my support goat. Think that will work?

Dunno. It didn't work with Spike (my support monitor lizard). But then again, some airlines just don't understand...

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

But this would directly affect the air quality and noise pollution on your street, despite whatever China does. So many people complain about the noise. Dropping from 110 decibels (that will cause hearing loss for users without protection) to 80 decibels (normal speaking volume) is a huge difference. Yes, the crews would need many batteries over the course of the day and would need to recharge them at night.

My lawn guy died, and thinking both of my waistline and the money paid out for lawn maintenance I decided I'd to it myself. I considered battery powered stuff but a trip to Lowe's ended in buying a weed whacker, hedge trimmer, and mower--all 110 volt. Also a 100' extension cord. All items work wonderfully and at a noise level much less than gas-operated, though the mower sounds like my wife's Cuisinart on steroids.

Total for all three plus the cord: about $350.00. And the waistline is looking better too.

[valuemkt]

Best to relocate to California where there are plenty of environmental rules and taxes to ruin the quality of life. Keep Florida free.

[donfey]

Originally Posted by Kenswing

I don’t want our state doing anything California does.

ABSOLUTELY! The radicals and wackos control California now. There's nothing wrong with being ecologically responsible, but trying to eliminate that last 10% of pollutants in the air is NOT responsible - it's insane.

[SB8476]

It would also resolve the noise pollution that these devices generate.

[blueash]

Originally Posted by MandoMan View Post
I read this morning that in a half hour, the pollutants spewed by the average two-cycle engine in a leaf blower equals the pollution from a Ford F-150 pickup—over a 3,600 mile drive!

Carl Sagan tells us that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Your statement seems to cry out for such evidence. Perhaps you have a link to what you read?


The closest I could find was a story in the Washington Post

It included links to two studies. One in Edmunds from 2011 which specifically tested leaf blower vs Ford 150 Raptor trucks and included this:

"The hydrocarbon emissions from a half-hour of yard work with the two-stroke leaf blower are about the same as a 3,900-mile drive from Texas to Alaska in a Raptor"

But, being an automotive website they did what seems to be a misuse of data. They measured non methane hydrocarbon output. The EPA does not list that group of compounds as greenhouse gases. The two cycle engine emitted 300 times the amount as the truck. CO [carbon monoxide] output of the blower was 23 times that of the truck. Only by using the non methane figures did they reach their estimate. This is dishonest IMO. Non methane hydrocarbons are a pollutant in haze and smog but they are nothing like CO2 or methane when it come to risk to the planet. And guess what Edmunds did not measure... CO2 emissions. That's why the headline hydrocarbon output. Carbon Dioxide is not a hydrocarbon but it is the major greenhouse gas produced by engines.

The second study from Sweden references a potentially carcinogenic compound in both lawn mower and auto exhaust and suggests that adding catalytic converters to lawn mowers would be helpful. It also states that using a 4 HP push mower, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons output of one hour of use is the same as 100 miles of driving a car, again not looking at CO2

What I could find does support the statement the OP made when only looking at some of the engine output but not looking at all the important chemicals in engine exhaust.

Now having said that, 2 cycle engines are terrible for our air. The stuff they spew is a pollutant especially creating smog. Leaf blowers additionally kick dust, molds etc that are on the ground back into the air, a problem not lessened by going to batteries.

Here are links worth reading IMO:

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default...leaned_ADA.pdf This one shows the data used to inform the decision in California. A summary would include small off-road engines such as those found in gas-powered leaf blowers are a larger source of smog-forming emissions than the state’s 14.4 million passenger cars.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...er-ban/583210/ an opinion piece, a bit short on science about how the ban on gas leaf blowers came to be in Washington DC

[fcgiii]

Originally Posted by DAVES

As far as steam power. I've always found it interesting. The reality, high pressure steam is sort of a bomb. Controlling it is way beyond the ability of most in the villages to control it. Steam locomotives, the big ones were more powerful than modern diesel locomotives. They also were less efficient.

And steam engines had to stop for water every hundred miles or so, which slowed them down and created need for water stations all along the route.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by fcgiii

And steam engines had to stop for water every hundred miles or so, which slowed them down and created need for water stations all along the route.

Too bad there hasn't been more done to adapt the Stirling engine to some modern-day uses. The technology has been around for well over 200 years: it was used in English mines to pump water as far back as 1816.

[Neils]

Originally Posted by Number 10 GI

The developer needs to build a segregated village for all the whining, crying, moaning, groaning, woe is me OLD goats to live in with a 20' wall around it and an armed guard at the entrance to keep out all the riff raff. No lawn mowers allowed, no noisy cars or motorcycles, no dogs, no construction contractors with noisy power tools, and no wind chimes. Did I miss anything?
Apparently some of you lived in Utopia before coming here, so why did you leave? Can old people do anything besides complain?

Yes. We built the country that you now enjoy

[justjim]

Comparing Florida to California regarding air, noise and water pollution is like comparing oranges to apples. However, if Florida keeps growing the difference could be less and less. I’m not too old to remember California was “the place to be” until it wasn’t… For us Florida may be the place to be until it wasn’t for us or our grandchildren. Time will tell.

[Boston1945]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

I read this morning that in a half hour, the pollutants spewed by the average two-cycle engine in a leaf blower equals the pollution from a Ford F-150 pickup—over a 3,600 mile drive! California has recently banned gas-powered leaf blowers, edgers, trimmers, lawnmowers, etc. use by lawn care companies because the pollution they put out is equal to the pollution from ALL the cars in California. It seems that battery-powered equipment, recharged at night, has reached the level where by having multiple batteries, crews can work all day without recharging. (All of my power tools are now battery-powered, including my Sawsall and my full-size circular saw and my big drill.) Battery-powered tools are also much quieter. For homeowners in The Villages with lawns, an electric mower with a cord may make more sense.

Should the appropriate governing units here follow the lead in California and require lawn crews to use battery-powered tools?

FYI. California did NOT ban all gas mowers and other equipment used by commercial firms. We are a long way off on such equipment for the lawn industry. For the homeowner YES this does work. Take this with a grain of salt from someone who is in the business for over 30-years. Yes, Cal. has some tuff regulations in some towns as to the hours of use for such equipment on the books.

[b0bd0herty]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

I read this morning that in a half hour, the pollutants spewed by the average two-cycle engine in a leaf blower equals the pollution from a Ford F-150 pickup—over a 3,600 mile drive! California has recently banned gas-powered leaf blowers, edgers, trimmers, lawnmowers, etc. use by lawn care companies because the pollution they put out is equal to the pollution from ALL the cars in California. It seems that battery-powered equipment, recharged at night, has reached the level where by having multiple batteries, crews can work all day without recharging. (All of my power tools are now battery-powered, including my Sawsall and my full-size circular saw and my big drill.) Battery-powered tools are also much quieter. For homeowners in The Villages with lawns, an electric mower with a cord may make more sense.

Should the appropriate governing units here follow the lead in California and require lawn crews to use battery-powered tools?

I use all battery operated tools and a Honda Lawn mower but/AND I will never follow California's lead... I've a brain. I would pay extra for the manufacturers to add catalytic converters to their tools to assist in reducing pollution.