Posted on 01/10/2020 5:05:04 AM PST by karpov
The next frontier in California’s battle against pollution: lawn equipment.
State air regulators are laying long-term plans to phase out gasoline-powered devices like leaf blowers and lawn mowers, saying they can produce more noxious emissions than cars.
Plenty of Bay Area cities are already acting: At least eight have banned gas-powered blowers, and more restrict their use during times of day or up to a certain noise level. Novato may soon join the list.
“What I think we need to realize is that we have to do something different for climate change in the world,” said Novato Mayor Pro Tem Pat Eklund, who proposed a ban on gas lawn mowers and leaf blowers in December. “If not, we are going to see a different world than we do today. Every little bit is going to help.”
Such restrictions force people to use cleaner, quieter electric machinery instead. But they are not universally popular.
Jose Vaca, who owns Vaca Construction and Landscaping, which has locations in Novato and Petaluma, said he would have to buy up to five batteries — costing an average of $100 to $200 each — to finish jobs on large properties like homeowner associations or shopping centers. Electric leaf blowers would make tasks longer and more expensive, he said.
Vaca said he has already ended contracts in Mill Valley because of the city’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. If Novato implements a similar restriction, he’ll do the same.
“We would just start canceling more contracts and moving up north,” he said.
While cars produce more carbon dioxide, small engines can emit more of other problematic gases.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfchronicle.com ...
Ever hear of mind your own business?
So does sh-++-g on the sidewalk.
I really want to hire a flock of goats to clear areas of our small farm. It’s actually something you can do.
For the small amount of fuel they use, finding/going to a real gas distributor is not really a big deal.
I drive ~5 miles, buy 3 gallons @ $3.25/gallon and it lasts most of the summer for my Stihl string trimmer and blower to maintain this house/acre.
Perhaps if replacement lithium batteries were $15-20 instead of $80-100 and would last a few hours, I'd consider converting.
For the time being though, there's a bit of extra satisfaction in causing palpitations to the Watermelons.
cheers :-)
Needs goats
Electric versions don’t wake up the neighborhood, and will soon be getting very price-competitive. Probably the biggest problem will be some state attempt to make money off of the need to “grandfather” existing equipment. Just don’t sell new ones; black-market imports from Nevada won’t be worth it in most of the smog-prone areas.
Exactly - grab a damn rake. I work at home and hear these stupid blowers for 1/2 an hour on a 1/5 acre lawn, when these armies of landscape workers could rake and bag the same amount in 10-15 minutes. I’ve tried to blow leaves before, it’s very inefficient.
Or the lazy homeowners in my neighborhood could just do the work themselves on the weekend or after work.
But banning gas blowers, no.
Last summer I bought my first battery operated outdoor power tool. A Stihl battery operated hedge trimmer.
I upgrade to the most powerful battery available for that series of power tools. The battery alone was $100. It is the size of a motorcycle battery. The first time I used it was over 2 1/2 hours. It still had power left. Second time, same story. I probably will never buy another outdoor gasoline engine tool.
However, I am not throwing out all my 2 cycle & 4 cycle engine machines I already own until they die:
Stihl Leaf blower(1999)
Stihl straight shaft brush cutter(1995)
Stihl Chainsaw(1990)
Echo curved shaft trimmer(1990)
Echo straight shaft trimmer(I got this free at the transfer station)
Toro 16” snow blower(used to belong to my Mom)
Honda 4 cycle 20” snow blower(2001)
John Deere 15 HP riding mower (1999)
DR 10hp 4 cycle chipper(bought used at garage sale $400)
Troy built 48” sickle bar brush cutter with 5 HP 4 cycle engine (bought used at garage sale $50)
Honda 7500 watt Inverter generator(2009)
This looks frickin’ awesome!
And a great way to get rid of unwanted gophers, moles, cats, stupid neighbor kids...
(I figured it must exist by now, but I live in a “community” so I don’t worry about mowing my laws.)
AAH Neither the image nor the link showed up. (Must be my error.) :
This looks frickin’ awesome!
And a great way to get rid of unwanted gophers, moles, cats, stupid neighbor kids...
(I figured it must exist by now, but I live in a “community” so I don’t worry about mowing my laws.)
Doesn’t look like the current electrical grid will be adequate
as it is & now they want to make the grounds equipment all rechargeable. After they get done fouling their nest & it’s full....then what?
“”””Fine for you and me, and probably fine for most homeowners, but not so fine for commercial lawn care companies who work 8 hour shifts. That’d be a lot of batteries to haul around from job to job, and then put on a bank of chargers overnight. “””””””””””””
I use all kinds of battery powered stuff on the jobsite. Seldom use anything with a cord anymore.
To keep the batteries charged I run a gas powered generator much of the time.
The lawn service people would need to do the same thing.
Tom,
The NEW Lithium batteries do last several hours. See my post (48).
I believe the battery I have is the Stihl A40.
I used it for over 2 hours each time and still had power left over.
Keep in mind when you are using a GAS engine chainsaw, leaf trimmer, hedge trimmer you leave it idling even when you are not actually cutting. With a battery operated unit, you let go of the trigger and it stops. You press the trigger and the blade moves. So, the actual run time is only when you are actually cutting. Not when you are walking from on spot on your property to the next.
My brother in law has the same battery system on a new Stihl chainsaw. The idea is you have the same battery to power all your outdoor machines. Then you do not have to worry about buying non ethanol gasoline, or fuel stabilizers.
Right now, the battery and charger is sitting on a shelf in my basement. I charged it before I put it away.
I do not think a professional landscaper is going to be satisfied with a battery operated machine. I think the newest battery machines are more than good enough for 90% of homeowners.
| I agree that 2-cycle engines were trouble-makers before. But 2 years ago I got a Toro 22" No need to choke the engine. Great exercise, and a |
I've never liked the things myself, but the only lawn tool I've been able to replace is my trimmer/edger. I got a very nice WORX model that has a powerful battery that lasts as long as it takes to do my entire yard without going all wimpy on me, like the Black and Decker that I had before. It works for me because my circumstances are just right for it. If I had more property, or did the work commercially, it would have to be gasoline.
That's my pet peeve as well. One can't go outside and enjoy the fresh air in peace and quiet without the noxious VRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOM VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM VROOOOOOOOOOOOM of those infernal things going up and down the residential streets. It's like cigar smoke for the ears, and it's calculated, not for safety, but to thrust a metaphorical middle finger in the face of polite society.
They don't understand things like power generation. They think electricity comes out of the wall and there's a never-ending supply of it.
In lots of municipalities the leaves are gathered into large piles on the sides of the streets and large municipal vehicles come along periodically and suck them up. That’s the way it works where I live. Leaf blowers make it much easier to gather up the leaves into those piles; it’s a lot quicker and less labor-intensive than raking. At least that’s what they say, because I don’t rake leaves. I let them sit on the lawn and decay over the winter, providing nutrients for the soil.
Thanks for that info, WB.
I’ve seen Stihl’s Kombi line of stuff with interchangeable attachements/batteries, but since my gas stuff still works fine and may just outlive their operator, I’ve not really been tempted.
But, if they should ever need replaced, I’ll definitely consider the battery setup/s.
Good point also about run/usage time with batts vs gas.
Now if they’d come up with some kind of laser head for the trimmer to obviate messing with string I might just rethink things sooner .. ;-) lol
Hey Mexico... Take California. It is all yours.
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