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How Quiet is a "Quiet" Leaf Blower

How Quiet is a “Quiet” Leaf Blower

How Quiet is a “Quiet” Leaf Blower? Whether you’re a professional landscaper or a homeowner, leaf blowers are some of the most efficient tools for clearing an area of debris such as leaves and grass clippings. Unfortunately, they also tend to be very loud, operating somewhere between 70 and 90 decibels (dB). Some gas-powered models can even get all the way up to 100 decibels, which is about as loud as an airplane taking off 300 feet away from you. As you can imagine, that amount of noise isn’t just annoying to your neighbors, it can also be dangerous for you if you’re exposed to it for too long. Luckily, in response to noise complaints and leaf blowers being banned in certain cities, many lawn tool companies have started creating quieter models. But how quiet are these, exactly? The Decibel Levels of Quiet Leaf Blowers To answer that question, it’s important to note that there’s no such thing as a silent leaf blower, but there are leaf blowers that produce very little sound. The quietest ones clock in at about 59 decibels, which is around the same volume as a typical conversation. That’s much less likely to annoy your neighbors, and it’s also likely to be less harmful to your own ears. Look Out for Sneaky Marketing Keep in mind, though, that companies can be a little sneaky with these decibel ratings. Often, the amount that they give on the box is the measurement from 50 feet away (and if they don’t give a decibel amount at all, that’s a big red flag). To the person using the equipment, it could be much louder. That’s why it’s a good idea to wear earplugs when using a leaf blower or other garden tools and to do independent research before making a purchase so you can be certain that the product you’re buying will work for you.

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Are leaf blowers noisy

Are leaf blowers noisy

Are leaf blowers noisy? Leaf blowers are an incredibly convenient tool for clearing out all the leaves that fall on your property. Are there any drawbacks when using this kind of equipment? For example, are leaf blowers obnoxiously loud? They absolutely are! Notorious noisemakers As anyone who has ever used one can tell you, a leaf blower is not just loud. They are insanely loud. You can easily, and clearly hear a leaf blower from several blocks away because of how loud they are. The higher pitch tone that they produce allows the sound to carry through nearby windows with little dampening. Exactly how loud are leaf blowers? Sound is often measured in decibels (dB). If you are at least 50 feet away, you will hear the leaf blower at roughly 64 to 78 dB. For the operator, who is right next to the noise, a leaf blower clocks in at anywhere from 95 to 115 dB. That is almost as loud as a live concert! Extended exposure to sound at that amount of dB is going to cause permanent hearing loss for the operator. That’s crazy! Why is a leaf blower so loud anyway? The reason a leaf blower is so loud is because of how it is designed. In general, there are two sources for the noise that a leaf blower makes. The first one is the air that is blowing through the leaf blower. That air is moving with such a high velocity that it is making a lot of noise as it passes through. The other reason for the noise is due to how the gas-powered engine in the leaf blower works. As the fuel combustion occurs, it causes the engine to vibrate which adds in the higher pitch part of the annoying loud noise that a leaf blower produces.

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Are leaf blowers bad for your health

Are leaf blowers bad for your health

Are leaf blowers bad for your health If you happen to have one or more large trees on your property, you can expect to have a lot of leaves to clean up. It goes without saying that in a situation like this, it is incredibly convenient to have a leaf blower. Where it can take hours to rake up a bunch of leaves, a leaf blower can do the same amount of work in a shorter amount of time. But is there a cost for such efficiency? Are there any health risks with using a leaf blower? Convenience has its price Unfortunately, yes there are some various health risks that you need to keep in mind when you are working with a leaf blower. When you use a gas-powered leaf blower, the exhaust it produces can cause a lot of problems for the operator and other people nearby. This exhaust is especially harmful to those who have asthma. In the short term, you can get headaches and some dizziness from the extended use of a leaf blower. With long-term exposure, however, using a gas-powered leaf blower can increase your risk for cancer, lung disease, and even dementia. It’s in the air A leaf blower, as the name implies, uses airflow to blow leaves off your property. However, this isn’t the only thing that gets blown away. It is common for pesticides, dust, pollen, and fertilizers to be kicked up into the air when you use a leaf blower. As a result, those particles hang in the air and can easily be inhaled by the operator and other people nearby. Prolonged exposure to these particles can also cause diseases, including cancer, in the long run for anyone that breaths in that polluted air. What? Speak up! Of course, one of the more immediate issues with using a gas-powered leaf blower is that they are very loud. Permanent hearing loss can occur for the operator within two hours. Not only that, but this can affect nearby people as well.

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Are Leaf Blowers Bad for Insects

Are Leaf Blowers Bad for Insects

Are Leaf Blowers Bad for Insects? Leaf blowers are a fast and efficient way of tidying up your garden, however they do have some repercussions to the small creatures living within your lawn. Insects such as spiders, bees, and flies all play a vital part in the environmental balance. However, they are suffering a rapid decrease in numbers, especially in built-up areas. How do leaf blowers kill insects? Insects are in danger of being sucked in, or blown away from the impact of the leaf blower. This will cause damage to their limbs or wings, and could lead to the insect dying. Leaf blowers can also cause harm to soil biology, and create noise pollution. Decline percentages In Germany, an undergone study suggested that flying insects had declined by more than 75% in the year of 2017. Whilst leaf blowers are not the main cause of this decline, it is certainly a factor, and something we should be aware of. Climate change, pesticides, and agriculture are top causes. Bees help us by pollinating plants, whilst flies and beetles help to naturally decompose dead wildlife. Data shows that each year, the bee population is dwindling more and more. Between 2018 and 2019, the bee population decreased by 40.7%. Other species of insects have suffered a similar decline figure, reducing in 40% around the world. Conclusion – How can we help? Whilst there is no call to ban leaf blowers, ministries are advising to minimise their usage, utilized only as a last resort. Small insects have a large role to play, and their population numbers have significantly declined. Insects provide benefits to many other species, including humans. To help protect them, less invasive ways of gardening should be attempted before getting out your leaf blower. Alternatively, search for leaf blowers that leaves minimal damage.

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Are Leaf Blowers Bad For The Environment

Are Leaf Blowers Bad For The Environment

Are Leaf Blowers Bad For The Environment? There’s recently been a massive online outcry against using one of the ideal tools that you need to maintain a garden. For landscapers, a leaf blower is a handy tool. It sits at the hip and allows the user to blow through leaves, light snow, debris, and most small obstructions in their garden. With many places now enforcing a ban on leaf blowers, it’s important to illustrate how they aren’t bad for the environment. Why Are Leaf Blowers Considered Bad For The Environment? The primary issue that arises is with the use of inefficient two-stroke leafblowers. These use gasoline, but the burning of the fuel is inefficient. Gas and oil tend to mix, and that produces very harmful pollutants. However, modern four-stroke leafblowers and electric leaf blowers are alternatives that do not contribute to environmental damage. Environment Friendly Leaf Blowers Leafblower manufacturers are increasingly moving towards engine solutions that have EPA approval. These leafblowers meet the emissions standard set out by the agency and are incredibly inefficient. Additionally, modern leafblowers have multiple different settings. The manuals recommend using the leaf blower on medium power to ensure the most efficient use of fuel. On the other hand, electric leaf blowers are very environmentally friendly. A lot of modern companies include filters in the powerplant that help reduce harmful emissions. Another reason why certain leafblowers get such a bad reputation is people don’t maintain their equipment. Without proper maintenance, a leaf blower, just like a car, will become louder and emit more harmful emissions. It’s essential to put your leafblower through the necessary maintenance routinely. Make sure that you regularly change the engine oil and give the air filter a proper cleaning. Electric lawnmowers require even less maintenance and just need a thorough cleaning of the air filter every once in a while. Conclusion Leafblowers aren’t the most significant contributing factor towards environmental damage, like many people would want you to believe. When used correctly, they’re efficient and powerful tools that’ll keep your garden in the best shape possible.

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What is CFM for a Blower

What is CFM for a Blower?

What is CFM for a Blower? Lawn maintenance is a hectic job but thank heavens we don’t have to rake leaves these days anymore. With sophisticated leaf blowers in the market, garden-keeping has become a whole lot easier. However, while buying a leaf blower that is suitable for you, it is important to read up a bit on what those specifications on the box actually mean. This will make the buying process less confusing and ensure you end up with the right machine for a spotless lawn. One of the main specs on any leaf blower is its CFM (cubic feet per minute). But what does it mean, and how is it different from the MPH (miles per hour) value that is also written on the box? What is CFM? CFM is an abbreviation for Cubic Feet per Minute, and cubic feet is a unit of volume. So, essentially, the CFM value tells us what volume of air is thrown out by the blower every minute. This is a measure of how powerful the blower is – the higher the value the better. So, a blower with a CFM of 120 would be able to displace 120 cubic feet of leaves every minute (given that the air is also coming out at high enough speed). The volume of the air expelled would depend largely on the size of the nozzle. A blower with a tiny nozzle may be expelling air at an extremely fast rate, but the thin, tiny jet of air simply would not have enough amount or “volume” of air to blow the leaves off. On the contrary, a blower with a bigger nozzle would be able to push more air out every minute, hence providing more force to do the job. So you need to look for high CFM specification on a blower. How is CFM different from MPH? MPH (miles per hour) is the speed with which air is ejected from a blower. In the above examples whenever we talked about blowing air faster or slower, we meant the MPH. So MPH is how fast, while CFM is how much. We need high MPH for better performance too. Imagine a blower with a huge nozzle and considerable CFM rating, but very low air speed. If the air isn’t moving fast, it won’t be able to move leaves fast, or at all. Overall power To judge the overall power of a blower, one way is to multiply the two readings (CFM and MPH) and judge which blower has a more powerful combination. You should also look at them separately since some types of loads might require more of one over the other. Generally, CFM values above 300 are considered good power, and MPH values above 100.

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Leaf Blower MPH Versus CFM

Leaf Blower MPH Versus CFM

What’s More Important in a Leaf Blower MPH or CFM? You think you have found the perfect leaf blower for your yard. Then you notice the blower’s CFM and MPH ratings. You are pretty sure you know what MPH is, but what about CFM? And what’s more important in the leaf blower – MPH or CFM? We’re an affiliate We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Thank you if you use our links, we really appreciate it! Generally speaking, CFM is more important than MPH as it determines the leaf blower’s overall power, rather than speed. However, there are many factors you should consider when looking at CFM and MPH, including yard size, tree count, the weight you can handle, and your budget. Let’s take a more in-depth look at leaf blower MPH versus CFM. Leaf Blower MPH Versus CFM First, let’s define MPH and CFM, so we understand what’s going on in the world of leaf-blower numbers: MPH, or miles per hour, measures the speed at which air passes through a leaf blower’s nozzle. CFM, or cubic feet per minute, measures the volume at which air leaves a leaf blower’s nozzle per minute. So, MPH is all about speed, while CFM is all about power. Obviously, go with a higher CFM number, right? Well, it depends. A leaf blower with a higher CFM rating means you are looking at a bigger, heavier motor that’s full of horsepower. So you’ve got power, but you have to determine if you can handle equipment that weighs more and might be more challenging to operate. Helpful Tip: Buy the most CFM you can afford, as long as it is comfortable. But keep in mind that you may not need the highest-rated CFM leaf blower if you have a smaller yard. Once again, CFM and MPH ratings depend on your specific needs. Here are a few helpful numbers when it comes to CFM: 200 – 400 CFM: If you have a few trees and only need to occasionally clear your yard of leaves or grass clippings. Most homeowners likely only need this much CFM. 400 – 700 CFM: If you are on an acre of land with plenty of trees and need to clear often and quickly. Up to 1,000 CFM: If you own your own commercial business or have over an acre to clear. Keep in mind that CFM and MPH affect each other as they are related. So the more CFM a blower has, the harder it is to keep MPH. On the other hand, the lower the CFM a leaf blower has, the easier it is for MPH to do its thing and provide maximum speed. In Conclusion While CFM might seem like the more important of the two ratings, both matter, and ultimately, CFM and MPH ratings depend on your needs. Make sure you consider both when purchasing a leaf blower.

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