While I can't say the same for other countries, here in America many families hire out maintenance workers to keep their lawns in check. Every single one of them end up using a leafblower. Every single one. And of the few days I'm allowed the sweet solace of sleeping in, I'm woken up as early as 6am to these infernal contraptions, and for what? To shuffle a few leaves around while polluting the air? Genius. Absolutely genius whoever designed this thing.

I came to the conclusion that there should be an entire topic dedicated to how pointless these things are.

blindsk
I came to the conclusion that there should be an entire topic dedicated to how pointless these things are.

Yes, every so often there should be a thread that examines pure hideosity. Usually we resort to zombie discussions, but leaf blowers are Even Worse!.

For those who have not been awakened on a sweet Saturday morning by these monstrosities, you can pretend by listening to this:

ayesinback
For those who have not been awakened on a sweet Saturday morning by these monstrosities, you can pretend by listening to this:

Gahhh!
That has more of a throaty sound though, the ones here have that sharper, higher pitched, jet engine whine that goes through you like a bone saw.

I Hate all leaf blowers and suckers. Get a %&$%# broom and a rake you lazy polluting *#@%$*!^&*!!! >:[

ayesinback
For those who have not been awakened on a sweet Saturday morning by these monstrosities, you can pretend by listening to this:

Yeah, I wonder if that man is proud of his double leaf blower! *sighs*

ozoneocean
I Hate all leaf blowers and suckers. Get a %&$%# broom and a rake you lazy polluting *#@%$*!^&*!!! >:[

My thoughts exactly! If anything, I've even found better efficiency with a rake!

I don't have this problem, I'm happy to report. Since I live out in the country, and people don't really care about the state of their drive ways nor the state of the leaves in those driveways.

U mad?

ayesinback
-A 3 minute version of “Gone with the wind”-

Seriously. What was the point of that?

I mean, sure, he uncovered the sidewalks… by dumping it on the ground right next to it.

…ever heard of something called wind? This stuff is gonna be covering the sidewalk again the very next day.

Broooooooo you must live in a ritzy area, everyone around rakes or bags leaves with their lawn mowers~ Even the professional landscapers who take care of the businesses in town either do it by hand of by mower.

I always wanted to know if you could push yourself off a park bench with one though… Spongebob makes them look like a lot of fun!

Dodger
Broooooooo you must live in a ritzy area

Not after it's full of leaf-blower noise. T__T

blindsk
I've even found better efficiency with a rake!

That's true- It would be scientifically verifiable pretty easily. The difference in efficiency would be massive! The leaf blowers typically have a motor which runs on fuel so already that's a colossal loss of efficiency (how much energy is lost in the conversion of the fuel to mechanical power in one of those little engines?), PLUS some idiot has to walk around carrying the thing and directing it, so two sources of energy usage.
-Not to mention the materials involved in the manufacture of the device.

Whereas a rake is very easy to make and the energy is much more efficiently employed by the raker, with each swipe of the rake being deliberately directed with just enough power to do the job, rather than some device spraying air willy nilly all over the place at high speed and with the same force no matter what it's directed at; against the ground, empty air, walls, or the leaves and dirt it's supposed to be moving. In the end the rake could be as high as maybe 80% efficiency while the blower would probably be something like 10%.

-That's a guess.

ozoneocean

Dodger
Broooooooo you must live in a ritzy area

Not after it's full of leaf-blower noise. T__T

blindsk
I've even found better efficiency with a rake!

That's true- -That's a guess.

I worked doing this stuff for a more than a few years and experimented.

It's a question of speed and effectiveness. One guy good with a leaf blower can clear an entire parking lot of leaves and clippings in ten minutes.

You can't clean pavement effectively with a rake and broom. Ever. Unless you need a chickenshit job for a bunch of privates on a boring morning.

Everywhere else use a blower.

Raking leaves and clippings over ground is different. That is more effectively done with a rake especially if you have lots and lots and lots of leaves because then for all the blowing to collect the leaves you won't be able to manage the resulting mound. And then there's wind. I love watching guys with their leaf blowers blowing against the wind. If there is a heavy thunder storm with high winds expected; don't use the blower! Nature will handle it just fine and undo everything you try to do.

But it is certainly annoying. OSHA says the user has to have long pants and hearing protection and goggles. What about the poor sap who is out getting his paper while you run by with your blower?

Never blow it off your lawn and into the street. It's supposed to be blown onto the lawn as compost.

And you with the leaf vacuum! Where's your filter mask? Here's a tissue, blow your nose…
Ever see black snot before?
I don't use the leaf vacuum anymore.

bravo1102
Ever see black snot before?

I have.

…it's called the London Underground. My god, using that thing for 3 years turned my lungs into that of a chain smoking senior citizen, judging by my coughs. Thankfully my lungs cleared up once I moved out of that dreadful place.

Product Placement

bravo1102
Ever see black snot before?

I have.

…it's called the London Underground.

There's also the wonderful ground leaf chunks in there when you use a leaf vacuum.

I collected leaves for public works with a leaf vacuum trailer. You cough up leaves. Everything smells like leaves. And you have little contests to see what will and what won't go up the shoot. Corn stalks don't but squirrels do.

And I am a master with a pitchfork. Rake? A hardcore leaf and refuse collector uses a pitchfork.

bravo1102

ozoneocean

blindsk
I've even found better efficiency with a rake!

That's true- -That's a guess.

I worked doing this stuff for a more than a few years and experimented.

AH, you may have misunderstood… The part that was a guess were the exact percentages, not the fact that raking is actually far more efficient than blowing or sucking. That was in terms of actual overall energy use, which is why I mentioned fuel, motors, manufacture power conversion etc.

If you take out all other factors and just consider the humanonly- then yes; if they have to do a lot of leaf clearing they'll use much less of their own energy if they employ a mechanical device.
And it is also true that mechanical assistance there is more efficient the bigger the job.
———-

BTW, I'd imagine you're used to breathing in bad stuff from all that riding around in tanks you used to do? The air can't have been that fresh either inside or out and I'd dread riding behind another one going cross country… o_O

ozoneocean
AH, you may have misunderstood… The part that was a guess were the exact percentages, not the fact that raking is actually far more efficient than blowing or sucking. That was in terms of actual overall energy use, which is why I mentioned fuel, motors, manufacture power conversion etc.

If you take out all other factors and just consider the humanonly- then yes; if they have to do a lot of leaf clearing they'll use much less of their own energy if they employ a mechanical device.
And it is also true that mechanical assistance there is more efficient the bigger the job.
———-

Not quite I was adding in the human factor because at the end of 10 hours of raking that's the only thing that really matters. :)

Using a blower for my postage stamp lawn is overkill except for the pavement. Most landscapers use it because of speed. Five minutes with a blower is worth every penny because time is money and that overkill to do it fast more than makes up for whatever energy is lost. My brother-in-law is a landscaper. You figure out the fuel down to the last drop. And you need to work fast so you can do as many jobs a day as possible.

The assumed waste of energy is actually more efficient at the end of the day.

ozoneocean
BTW, I'd imagine you're used to breathing in bad stuff from all that riding around in tanks you used to do? The air can't have been that fresh either inside or out and I'd dread riding behind another one going cross country… o_O

Ever see that scene in The Good the Bad and the Ugly when the cavalry rides up and the guys think they're Rebels because of the grey uniforms until the cavalry started beating off the dust… It's real.

Any road is either dusty or muddy. But your snot is not black. After the first road march you learn. You have goggles and a dust mask. I started out with a bandana, then an old tee-shirt and finally got the issue arm sling which is a huge OD triangular rag that'll completely cover you head.

Ever wonder why all those guys in Iraq and Afghanistan have those Arab headdresses hanging around their necks? For dust. The Arabs have lived in it for millenia and their solution works. You can even arrange the folds so you don't need goggles. I wear glases, I need the goggles.

After the first few trips on the leaf trailer I started wearing an erstaz Arab headdress with my entire head covered using that issue arm sling. My snot wasn't black anymore.

There were plenty of roadmarches where as a gunner (and inside the tank) I was somewhat dust free compared to the poor loader and tank commander. Driving was the worst until we got M1s because on that tank the driver is always buttoned up.