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This might be a hard sell. ICE lawn equipment might be slightly heavier, but it also performs much better in my experience. Total run time and emitted particul

by R0b0t1 5y ago

This might be a hard sell. ICE lawn equipment might be slightly heavier, but it also performs much better in my experience. Total run time and emitted particulate matters, do you actually have reason to believe the total output of lawn equipment is comparable to vehicle output?

thomasqm 5y ago
From trustworthy wikipedia: "A 2011 study found that the amount of NMHC pollutants emitted by a leaf blower operated for 30 minutes is comparable to the amount emitted by a Ford F-150 pickup truck driving from Texas to Alaska. The two-stroke engines used in most leaf blowers operate by mixing gasoline with oil, and a third of this mixture is not burned, but is emitted as an aerosol exhaust. These pollutants have been linked to cancer, heart disease, and asthma," cited with https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-car-vs-truck-vs-leaf-blower.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-... and https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaf-blowers-are-loud-ugly-and-dangerous-1539903772 https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaf-blowers-are-loud-ugly-and-...
- R0b0t1 5y ago
  Ah, you're right. I remember seeing these ages ago, I wonder how I forgot. There's 4-stroke lawnmowers though, how bad are they?
froggy 5y ago
I've had an electric lawn mower for about 10 years now and I can tell you that it has reduced my maintenance costs. For the ICE mower, I had to take it in every spring or every other spring to get it tuned up so it would start (from memory those bills were ~$75 each tune up). Same with the ICE snowblower that I bought back when I was young and dumb seeing all my neighbors with one, so I bought one - what a maintenance nightmare. I use snow shovels now which are way better for the environment and my health.
- Thlom 5y ago
  My neighbor has one, but I think he often uses more time working on it than with it. I've considered one, but honestly, it's just my driveway and I'm (still) relatively young so I can shovel for now.
robocat 5y ago
> ICE lawn equipment If you are going to ban one thing, why not just ban lawns ;-p Although to support your point, “Quantification of the environmental and economic benefits of the electrification of lawn mowers on the US residential market”[1] abstract says “Gasoline-powered lawn mowers and garden equipment [in the USA are] accounting for a quarter of all non-road gasoline emissions.”. [1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-021-01917-x https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-021-01917-x I inherited a large lawn mower which I use for the overgrown uneven driveway. I could replace the mower with a weed whacker, however that would then take many hours longer (for a chore I really hate doing and do as little as possible!) I hate the noise but it works. An equivalent electric mower would be completely unaffordable for me. I thought the majority of PM2.5 emissions was due to two-stroke engines? The only two-stroke device I own is a chainsaw. I wanted to get a battery powered chainsaw, but they are at least 3 times the price. I also own a mains powered electric chainsaw, but an extension cord is frustrating, and only reasonable to use within tens of metres from a house.
- fogihujy 5y ago
  A good old scythe is much faster than a weed whacker for larger areas. Once you get the hang of it, it's not much slower than a lawn mower. It's good excersize too.
  - robocat 5y ago
    Interesting. I think my parents have one I could use - I will try to remember to give it a go. However I don’t have a flat lawn: instead I have verges/edges with stones, holes, and fences, so maybe less useful for my case.
    - fogihujy 5y ago
      I assume you'd cut around the fences. Once you get the hang of it, a scythe is quite precise. Stones can be difficult if they're tall enough and everywhere. Otherwise you'd just make sure to keep the blade higher than the stones.
  - 5y ago

by R0b0t1 5y ago

thomasqm 5y ago

From trustworthy wikipedia: "A 2011 study found that the amount of NMHC pollutants emitted by a leaf blower operated for 30 minutes is comparable to the amount emitted by a Ford F-150 pickup truck driving from Texas to Alaska. The two-stroke engines used in most leaf blowers operate by mixing gasoline with oil, and a third of this mixture is not burned, but is emitted as an aerosol exhaust. These pollutants have been linked to cancer, heart disease, and asthma," cited with https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-car-vs-truck-vs-leaf-blower.html https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-... and https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaf-blowers-are-loud-ugly-and-dangerous-1539903772 https://www.wsj.com/articles/leaf-blowers-are-loud-ugly-and-...

R0b0t1 5y ago
Ah, you're right. I remember seeing these ages ago, I wonder how I forgot. There's 4-stroke lawnmowers though, how bad are they?

froggy 5y ago

I've had an electric lawn mower for about 10 years now and I can tell you that it has reduced my maintenance costs. For the ICE mower, I had to take it in every spring or every other spring to get it tuned up so it would start (from memory those bills were ~$75 each tune up). Same with the ICE snowblower that I bought back when I was young and dumb seeing all my neighbors with one, so I bought one - what a maintenance nightmare. I use snow shovels now which are way better for the environment and my health.

Thlom 5y ago
My neighbor has one, but I think he often uses more time working on it than with it. I've considered one, but honestly, it's just my driveway and I'm (still) relatively young so I can shovel for now.

robocat 5y ago

> ICE lawn equipment If you are going to ban one thing, why not just ban lawns ;-p Although to support your point, “Quantification of the environmental and economic benefits of the electrification of lawn mowers on the US residential market”[1] abstract says “Gasoline-powered lawn mowers and garden equipment [in the USA are] accounting for a quarter of all non-road gasoline emissions.”. [1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-021-01917-x https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-021-01917-x I inherited a large lawn mower which I use for the overgrown uneven driveway. I could replace the mower with a weed whacker, however that would then take many hours longer (for a chore I really hate doing and do as little as possible!) I hate the noise but it works. An equivalent electric mower would be completely unaffordable for me. I thought the majority of PM2.5 emissions was due to two-stroke engines? The only two-stroke device I own is a chainsaw. I wanted to get a battery powered chainsaw, but they are at least 3 times the price. I also own a mains powered electric chainsaw, but an extension cord is frustrating, and only reasonable to use within tens of metres from a house.

fogihujy 5y ago
A good old scythe is much faster than a weed whacker for larger areas. Once you get the hang of it, it's not much slower than a lawn mower. It's good excersize too.
- robocat 5y ago
  Interesting. I think my parents have one I could use - I will try to remember to give it a go. However I don’t have a flat lawn: instead I have verges/edges with stones, holes, and fences, so maybe less useful for my case.
  - fogihujy 5y ago
    I assume you'd cut around the fences. Once you get the hang of it, a scythe is quite precise. Stones can be difficult if they're tall enough and everywhere. Otherwise you'd just make sure to keep the blade higher than the stones.
- 5y ago