ProDarwin said: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.
You are supposed to do that? I just leave them. Wind blows and rain get rid of them eventually.
93EXCivic said:ProDarwin said: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.
You are supposed to do that? I just leave them. Wind blows and rain get rid of them eventually.
You're definitely supposed to blow them off the street back into your yard. What you do with your driveway is your business.
Honestly, can we just get rid of our lawns already?
In reply to CrustyRedXpress :
But what would the kids get off of then?
CrustyRedXpress said:Honestly, can we just get rid of our lawns already?
This.
David S. Wallens said:CrustyRedXpress said:Honestly, can we just get rid of our lawns already?
This.
Looks like you boys need to move to the desert.
I've got my eyes on a 60V dewalt, because the rest of my tool lineup runs the 20V battery ecosystem. String trimmer too. Hoping they go on sale this fall when inventory needs to be cleared out for snow tools.
In reply to Run_Away :
A little off topic but I broke my flip flops one fall. I couldn't find any in the stores. They kept telling me that flip flops were out of season in berkeleying Florida.
Run_Away said:I've got my eyes on a 60V dewalt, because the rest of my tool lineup runs the 20V battery ecosystem. String trimmer too. Hoping they go on sale this fall when inventory needs to be cleared out for snow tools.
I use mine to blow light snow off the sidewalk; this doesn't work once it reaches a certain depth or moisture level.
I work for Parks and Rec. We use the backpack blowers for everything. Move gravel on parking lot? Leaf blower. Dry off grass to line a field? Leaf Blower. Saw dust all over you? Leaf blower. They are used for everything we do. The great Irony? Try blowing leaves with one on a windy, blustery day. I hate them.
I'd love a battery powered blower. But, like Ian F, I have a RedMax gas blower. None of the battery stuff comes anywhere near close to it, power-wise. But they're getting better, and I'm hopeful that the increasing number of bans on gas blowers will force the battery blower makers to produce truly competitive commercial battery blowers, like they have done with mowers. Until then, I'm making noise and stinking up the neighborhood every Fall.
Duke said:93EXCivic said:ProDarwin said: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.
You are supposed to do that? I just leave them. Wind blows and rain get rid of them eventually.
You're definitely supposed to blow them off the street back into your yard. What you do with your driveway is your business.
That depends entirely where you live. City of Greensburg Boro, for example, which is a bunch of row houses and apartment buildings with tiny lawns, sidewalks, and almost exclusively on street parking, has it regulated that everyone is supposed to pile all their leaves and E36 M3 on the road, where they're supposed to park, so that sometime before snow the city will come collect it.
One of the stupidest berkeleying things I've ever seen, but if you live in PA you say that a lot.
CrustyRedXpress said:Honestly, can we just get rid of our lawns already?
Amen. There is nothing I hate more in life then dealing with lawns.
Maintaining flower beds I enjoy. Mowing and weedeat I hate with the burning passion of 1000 suns.
Duke said:93EXCivic said:ProDarwin said: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.
You are supposed to do that? I just leave them. Wind blows and rain get rid of them eventually.
You're definitely supposed to blow them off the street back into your yard. What you do with your driveway is your business.
I have a bagger attachment on my mower. Also what I use for leaves in the yard. I may get a little Ryobi electric though to blow out beds.
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :
Came here to say this. I have the second-largest commercially available backpack blower. Gutters? 20 seconds. Grass creeping up on the driveway edge? 1 minute. Want to dry your car after a wash with no spots? Hold my beer. That thing will rip sod right off the lawn if you're not careful. It will also put you flat on your butt if you don't lean into it before throttling up. Between the thrust of the blower and the centrifugal motion of the flywheel on your back, it takes some body english to keep yourself upright.
The whole "let the leaves compost" isn't a thing where I live. I tried that the first winter and ended up re-seeding the whole yard and starting from scratch. The foot-thick dry leaves became a wet 4" blanket of leaves in the spring and killed everything. With this thing I can start at the back of the yard and 20 minutes later I have a 6' tall x 30' long pile of leaves on the street waiting for the compost vacuum truck.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :
Want to dry your car after a wash with no spots? Hold my beer.
I do that all the time. My daughter declared it "the most dad thing ever".
Our first leaf blower was on wheels and had an 8 hp engine. Fan was like 2 feet in diameter. It would push a 4' high pile of leaves. Now that was a leaf blower.
CrustyRedXpress said:Honestly, can we just get rid of our lawns already?
Working on it. The front yard is pretty much wild at this point. I dumped a truck load of wood chips over the grass to kill it. Now I'm just picking and choosing which stuff gets to grow at is pops up. Once the kids get big enough to not need a place to run around I'll let the back yard go feral too.
chandler said:Run_Away said:I've got my eyes on a 60V dewalt, because the rest of my tool lineup runs the 20V battery ecosystem. String trimmer too. Hoping they go on sale this fall when inventory needs to be cleared out for snow tools.
I use mine to blow light snow off the sidewalk; this doesn't work once it reaches a certain depth or moisture level.
I do the same with a Milwaukee 18v; as well as all the cars that are outside. Also works for de-pollenation, drying, and one short-lived experiment with jet power when we found an old Razor scooter in the garage.
slefain said:CrustyRedXpress said:Honestly, can we just get rid of our lawns already?
Working on it. The front yard is pretty much wild at this point. I dumped a truck load of wood chips over the grass to kill it. Now I'm just picking and choosing which stuff gets to grow at is pops up. Once the kids get big enough to not need a place to run around I'll let the back yard go feral too.
One of those lawn care companies showed up at my door one day offering their services to get rid of the crabgrass and all the various species of wild strawberries, geranium, ivy, and other junk in my yard. I just said "what color is it?" He said "green." "That's all I care about."
It stays short, I don't have to mow frequently, and it's green. I don't want a perfect lawn that leeches chemicals into the storm drain and needs to be mowed twice a week like the Joneses. I want dandelions and snowdrops and violets. I want wild strawberries and ivy. The bugs, toads, salamanders, butterflies, and worms love my lawn.
I pretty much just keep the grass short enough that Dog doesn't lose his ball in it. It has taken (and continues to take) a long time for me to get used to not having a "just grass" lawn but I'm getting there.
I still like my 2 stroke Stihl blower, but honestly this is the one piece of yard equipment I would probably electrify, followed by the chainsaw if I find one that actually works with a decent length bar. I need gas power for the weed eater with the brush cutter blade, and electric mowers don't last long enough yet.
In reply to gearheadE30 :
Our dog might be alergic to grass, so another reason why I'm not in love with it.
I have a nice one, back pack model Stihl and it gets the job done. I try to use it sparingly because I know they are irritating. How do I know that? Well the person that owns the property behind me uses a really loud one, he uses it for weeks in the fall, literally everyday, chasing every leaf off his lawn (and blowing them down a hill that is between our yards). His house is at least 300' from mine, I can't even see it in the summer but I hear it for weeks everyday for hours everyday, every year. People can be real inconsiderate shiny happy people.
CrustyRedXpress said:Honestly, can we just get rid of our lawns already?
I believe CA is paying people to remove their lawns.
Leaf blowers are useful for dusting off an autocross site lol.
But really, they are annoying in my neighborhood, everyone just uses it to get the leafs off their yard and onto the streets, thus clogging the sewers and/or making it dangerous to bike on the street.
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