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by sivex 1975 days ago
Landscaping companies will be running gas powered generators to charge their batteries...
8 comments

> Landscaping companies will be running gas powered generators to charge their batteries...

Which, even accounting for charging losses, will be less polluting than backpackable two-strokes, and less close to where workers breathe, so, mission accomplished, whether the pollution concern is environmental or worker health or both.

That might not actually be as bad. Generators are four-stroke.
Fantastic, as I'd rather listen to the even the cheapest Harbor Freight open-frame generator over a two-stroke leaf blower any time you care to ask me. That set up will pollute less, too.
Oddly, the Harbor Freights aren’t the noisiest on the market. Westinghouse is worse, for example.
Could be. Until better battery alternatives come up. I don’t think a battery can be charged very quickly. Even with an on-site generator. So they will have multiple batteries. At which point it might be better off charging them overnight.

It will reduce noise across yards. It will increase efficiency. It will cause more ewaste. And it will definitely raise prices.

Yeah it’s ridiculous.

I think it's not unlikely that they might be charging their equipment off of a truck mounted generator (or the truck itself) which is good news - since most generators and all cars are far more efficient and generally better muffled than leaf blowers.

Leaf blowers churn out a bunch of monoxide due to the generally poor motor design.

More likely they'll have beefed up alternators and battery packs on the trucks and charge between/during jobs.

Which from a pollution point of view is way better than 2-stroke backpacks.

Or you know, plug in to their clients' outdoor power outlets. If it works for contractors, don't see why it wouldn't work for landscapers.
Exactly. If it's a noise ordinance, set time limits during the day. If it's a pollution issue, look at the problem from a wider lens and then slowly introduce standards as we have with improving emissions in cars. This is simply a knee jerk feel good law that won't solve the problem. The 60v blowers are just as loud, the generators just as loud.