Gas-powered leaf blowers are the devil

That's the tweet. 

I don't understand the point of leaf blowers. All I ever see people do with them is blow leaves and grass clippings into the road.

The art of "making it someone else's problem"

I like leaf blowers as they polish the look of a yard and enable me to clean places other tools cannot reach - like in rock beds.

I use electric - a corded one, because I haven't found a cordless one that can deliver an ample amount of power.

I have a 40v Ryobi one and love it.

1. I haven't swept my garage out in 20 years. I blow it on to my drive then over into my grass.

2. My brick patio sucks - small weeds and moss grow.  I weed wack them then blow the crap into my lawn.  

I actually blow debris and rarely any leaves.   

I concur. I was always of the sentiment of they'll have to remove my 2-stroke yard tools from my cold dead hands, but after experiencing the absolute wind tunnel of the Ryobi 40v, I'm a changed man.

My leaf blower is my favorite tool in my garage. I use it almost daily. For the guy who was unsure of how to use one, it's meant to blow the clippings from the street into the yard. And also handy for blowing the debris out of the garage. It sure beats a broom. 

I also use it to remove the leaves from the pool cover & patio area, blowing them into the yard where I can rake them.

That's because you are not using a Stihl. Mine both blows and sucks and its amazing. 

Our neighborhood seems to have an unwritten rule that says that during mealtimes on pretty days that are perfect for having a quiet meal on the deck, at least one has powered leaf blower and/or mower is required to run the entire time. 

I was at a customer last week that sells hose but also every piece of yard equipment you would need.  On the way out they joked for me to buy something, so I did. 

I debated on gas or electric so I stepped up to my first battery blower.   Charged the battery in my hotel room and was blowing when I got home the next night.  I really struggled on not getting the gas one.  Stihl. 

93EXCivic said:

I don't understand the point of leaf blowers. All I ever see people do with them is blow leaves and grass clippings into the road.

Think of it as a much faster, more efficient broom.

And I lovelovelove my EGO 56V cordless leaf blower.

Ad 2 stroke Weed Whackers to the E36 M3 list. I have a 20v trimmer and I'll never go back to gas.

mostly unrelated:  MI has legalized recreational weed.  my neighbors burn a good bit of it on their deck.  i hate that berkeleying smell, and i have to close my windows when they're out there toking up.  we have a good privacy hedge between us.  sometimes i start the mower and zip-tie the safety handle and just leave it running by the hedge row, because berkeley weed.

I feel the same way about my neighbor smoking cigarettes on his deck, the smell permeates my house when he does. Nothing I can do about it, and I sure wouldn't take that passive-aggressive tactic of starting my mower and leaving it run like that. Maybe a conversation would help, instead?

I just don't understand why my neighbors who have the 2 stroke backpack blowers have to use them for 4-5 hours every damn weekend, year round?

I have an electric that I use occasionally - like others say, it's great for clearing out the garage and shop.....

I have a commercial grade RedMax backpack blower I bought to move leaves around my ex's property.  I haven't used it in years and need to clean it up to sell. It was funny when I bought it. The dealer couldn't believe I was buying it from him - but I wanted to "buy once; cry once" and not deal with a consumer-grade blower.  I figured if it was good enough for landscapers it would last forever with my occasional use.  It's definitely loud AF and I wore hearing protection when I used it.

Then I broke up with the -ex and I don't collect the leaves at my house (I just mulch them into the grass)... I occasionally used it at my mother's house, but even that stopped some years ago.

I have a blower attachment for my 80V Kobalt trimmer for clearing grass clippings off my sidewalk and driveways, which is way easier to deal with. 

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

93EXCivic said:

I don't understand the point of leaf blowers. All I ever see people do with them is blow leaves and grass clippings into the road.

Think of it as a much faster, more efficient broom.

This.  Blow grass clippings off the driveway/sidewalk back into the yard.  And more commonly, blow the dust out of the garage.

I clean off the kids trampolene with ours and they are good at supercharing camp or brush fires.

If they are not illegal now in California they will be soon , maybe it's sales being illegal first and use later....

and only for the 2 stroke ones , well mostly anything 2 stroke will be illegal,

But they must still be legal as the gardener across the street used one yesterday !

93EXCivic said:

I don't understand the point of leaf blowers. All I ever see people do with them is blow leaves and grass clippings into the road.

Leaf blowers are great.  Haven't laid under the truck on top of a stick or a rock since I got mine.

There are some battery power sucker blowers, but they aren't quite great yet.

When someone makes a really good sucker blower, I could see the advantage. Sthil's gas power sucker blowers are sweet. My spray foam guy used one for cleanup, lol.

californiamilleghia said:

If they are not illegal now in California they will be soon , maybe it's sales being illegal first and use later....

and only for the 2 stroke ones , well mostly anything 2 stroke will be illegal,

But they must still be legal as the gardener across the street used one yesterday !

I know they have been illegal in LA since 1998.  Still used everywhere in LA!

There is a huge difference between having a law and enforcing it.

Sale of gas powered lawn equipment will be illegal in CA in 2024.  It's going to be super hard for professionals to manage with current electric mowers and such, so I am sure you will see a lot of legacy (and maybe out of state) equipment for a while.

aircooled said:

I know they have been illegal in LA since 1998.  Still used everywhere in LA!

There is a huge difference between having a law and enforcing it.

Sale of gas powered lawn equipment will be illegal in CA in 2024.  It's going to be super hard for professionals to manage with current electric mowers and such, so I am sure you will see a lot of legacy (and maybe out of state) equipment for a while.

great news for the CA tax base!  businesses moving their corporate addresses out of CA.

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:

That's because you are not using a Stihl. Mine both blows and sucks and its amazing. 

I have the same and highly recommended.  No trouble even with my heavy dose of neglect.  I do mostly use it for suckling up leaves.  

I don't remember momma saying that gas powered leaf blowers were the devil.