5 ms·

They can still use a leaf blower but in the future it must be electric powered instead of gasoline.

by TanakaTarou 5y ago

salawat 5y ago
Yes. In the State of regular rolling blackouts, and electrical grid sparked wildfires. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
mmcgaha 5y ago
I can see it now. Some dude sitting around drinking coffee waiting for his gear to charge plugged into a gas powered generator.
- Ekaros 5y ago
  I hope they get to charge by hour, not by job.
  - asdff 5y ago
    And by doing fewer jobs per hour, everyone pays more.
- otterley 5y ago
  Modern battery technology is way better than it used to be. Today, you can use the same battery you use to power your cordless drill to power radios, vacuum cleaners, circular saws/table saws, chainsaws, trimmers, and even lawnmowers. DeWalt's 20V MAX system in particular is pretty neat.
  - mmcgaha 5y ago
    These guys have a job that requires professional tools. They are not piddling around in the yard for a few hours on Saturday morning.
    - otterley 5y ago
      My contractors are already using these today and rave about them. Also, the batteries are swappable. They’ll charge spares wherever they can, often on site where they can find an outlet.
Mountain_Skies 5y ago
Currently they bring their own fuel to worksites. What happens when there's no outlet for them to plug into? There are large numbers of landscaping scenarios where this will be the case. Do they bring a diesel generator? All of my yard tools, including my lawnmower, are electric. For reasons of both cost and power, I went with corded rather than battery powered. Battery tech is constantly improving and maybe at some point it will get to the point where it is viable for a yard like mine but for people who are doing a large number of properties per day, it's going to be quite a while. Seems like the better interim solution would be making the small engines used by these tools emit less. This would of course increase the complexity and cost but seems like a better tradeoff than extension cords with large voltage drops, diesel generators, or lugging around half a dozen times more batteries than devices.
- asdff 5y ago
  It seems like commercial should be granted an exemption here. It's just not realistic to run battery operated hand tools like it is if you are only maintaining one single family home sized lot for all the reasons you mentioned. Plus gardeners can repair and maintain their own gas powered tools themselves, can't do that with electronic equipment that is built to be disposed of rather than fixed.
- dabbledash 5y ago
  “Currently they bring their own fuel to worksites. What happens when there's no outlet for them to plug into?” Gas powered electric generators
  - asdff 5y ago
    Which are evidently going to be banned under this same bill a few years later in 2028. What happens then? Follow the work truck with a second box truck that's absolutely full to the brim of batteries?
- teeray 5y ago
  I, for one, can’t wait to see the plug-in electric mowers with a mount for a generator.
asdff 5y ago
Electric equipment is just not practical or realistic for these landscaping operations where you are working 50-60 hours a week. They would have to replace batteries constantly as they get worn out from being constantly depleted and charging. Not to mention you would have to run your chargers off a generator in the truck bed anyhow, negating any green benefit since these things are noisy and pollute just as much as a hand tool. If they didn't need power offered by commercial grade gas equipment, they would be using cheaper handheld blowers rather than heavier and more expensive backpack models. Plus brands like STIHL are practically bulletproof in terms of reliability.
- wtallis 5y ago
  > Not to mention you would have to run your chargers off a generator in the truck bed anyhow, negating any green benefit since these things are noisy and pollute just as much as a hand tool. One big engine is cleaner, more efficient, and quieter than a bunch of small 2-stroke engines.
  - asdff 5y ago
    A big engine they have to run 100% of the time they are parked to keep the juice flowing. A blower is only running when it's being ran which is just one portion of the job.
    - wtallis 5y ago
      The obvious solution is to use something like the hybrid Ford F-150, which will only run the engine as-needed while still providing continuous 7.2kW power for battery charging or directly powering tools.
      - asdff 5y ago
        That's going to be a tough sell for landscapers currently getting by with a 25 year old F150. If the state is forcing these costs onto working people like this, they should also subsidize the cost to get newer legal equipment. The state of california already offers funding for wealthy people to buy Teslas, they should do something for day laborers too.

They can still use a leaf blower but in the future it must be electric powered instead of gasoline.

salawat 5y ago

Yes. In the State of regular rolling blackouts, and electrical grid sparked wildfires. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

mmcgaha 5y ago

I can see it now. Some dude sitting around drinking coffee waiting for his gear to charge plugged into a gas powered generator.

Ekaros 5y ago
I hope they get to charge by hour, not by job.
- asdff 5y ago
  And by doing fewer jobs per hour, everyone pays more.
otterley 5y ago
Modern battery technology is way better than it used to be. Today, you can use the same battery you use to power your cordless drill to power radios, vacuum cleaners, circular saws/table saws, chainsaws, trimmers, and even lawnmowers. DeWalt's 20V MAX system in particular is pretty neat.
- mmcgaha 5y ago
  These guys have a job that requires professional tools. They are not piddling around in the yard for a few hours on Saturday morning.
  - otterley 5y ago
    My contractors are already using these today and rave about them. Also, the batteries are swappable. They’ll charge spares wherever they can, often on site where they can find an outlet.

Mountain_Skies 5y ago

Currently they bring their own fuel to worksites. What happens when there's no outlet for them to plug into? There are large numbers of landscaping scenarios where this will be the case. Do they bring a diesel generator? All of my yard tools, including my lawnmower, are electric. For reasons of both cost and power, I went with corded rather than battery powered. Battery tech is constantly improving and maybe at some point it will get to the point where it is viable for a yard like mine but for people who are doing a large number of properties per day, it's going to be quite a while. Seems like the better interim solution would be making the small engines used by these tools emit less. This would of course increase the complexity and cost but seems like a better tradeoff than extension cords with large voltage drops, diesel generators, or lugging around half a dozen times more batteries than devices.

asdff 5y ago
It seems like commercial should be granted an exemption here. It's just not realistic to run battery operated hand tools like it is if you are only maintaining one single family home sized lot for all the reasons you mentioned. Plus gardeners can repair and maintain their own gas powered tools themselves, can't do that with electronic equipment that is built to be disposed of rather than fixed.
dabbledash 5y ago
“Currently they bring their own fuel to worksites. What happens when there's no outlet for them to plug into?” Gas powered electric generators
- asdff 5y ago
  Which are evidently going to be banned under this same bill a few years later in 2028. What happens then? Follow the work truck with a second box truck that's absolutely full to the brim of batteries?
teeray 5y ago
I, for one, can’t wait to see the plug-in electric mowers with a mount for a generator.

asdff 5y ago

Electric equipment is just not practical or realistic for these landscaping operations where you are working 50-60 hours a week. They would have to replace batteries constantly as they get worn out from being constantly depleted and charging. Not to mention you would have to run your chargers off a generator in the truck bed anyhow, negating any green benefit since these things are noisy and pollute just as much as a hand tool. If they didn't need power offered by commercial grade gas equipment, they would be using cheaper handheld blowers rather than heavier and more expensive backpack models. Plus brands like STIHL are practically bulletproof in terms of reliability.

wtallis 5y ago
> Not to mention you would have to run your chargers off a generator in the truck bed anyhow, negating any green benefit since these things are noisy and pollute just as much as a hand tool. One big engine is cleaner, more efficient, and quieter than a bunch of small 2-stroke engines.
- asdff 5y ago
  A big engine they have to run 100% of the time they are parked to keep the juice flowing. A blower is only running when it's being ran which is just one portion of the job.
  - wtallis 5y ago
    The obvious solution is to use something like the hybrid Ford F-150, which will only run the engine as-needed while still providing continuous 7.2kW power for battery charging or directly powering tools.
    - asdff 5y ago
      That's going to be a tough sell for landscapers currently getting by with a 25 year old F150. If the state is forcing these costs onto working people like this, they should also subsidize the cost to get newer legal equipment. The state of california already offers funding for wealthy people to buy Teslas, they should do something for day laborers too.