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Introduction:
A great deal is being said about leaf blowers these days and much of it is negative. That
is, a vocal few have done everything they can to control and in some cases ban the leaf
blower. The stated reason is noise! Landscapers respond that they would not be able to
remain in the lawn care business without a leaf blower, because it would take too long to
do their final cleanup. Thus, profits would be severely impacted.
The leaf blower has been in the spotlight, under the microscope so to speak, and has been
singled out from all other forms of industrial equipment as being too loud. There are
many other commercial and industrial machines or devices that make excessive noise yet
suffer no objections from those that must listen to them. You can read about the leaf
blower in the newspaper, see it on TV and even in movies, nearly always in a negative
light. In some communities, city councils are talking about creating ordinances to
eliminate leaf blowers. It can’t be simply the volume that irritates. There must be more
to this story than just the number of decibels emitted.
One primary factor in the leaf blower issue is none other than the operator himself. Some
are uninformed, untrained or inconsiderate. As with everything, there is a right and
wrong way to use a leaf blower. It is not always the right tool for the job.
The time of day one has to endure the sound, early morning or late in the evening, is
often mentioned as being a problem. Some hate the way the engine is throttled up and
down repeatedly. Maybe it is the proximity to a bystander and the rapid movement of air
that irritates. It could even be what it does to a pet that pushes people to the limit of their
tolerance, making dogs bark for example.
There is something to be said about the type of sound that a blower generates. It has to
do with sound quality. Older blowers do tend to whine, which can be as difficult to
ignore as a crying baby. Even at a moderate volume, this can be an issue.
Some say it is exhaust pollution or the dust that is kicked up by the airflow that is
unacceptable.
So now you know that there is more than one reason why leaf blowers are considered
irritating. It makes sense that it is more than just volume. Because of the mounting
objection to leaf blowers, something had to be done to address this issue.
Echo has taken notice and has done many things to minimize if not eliminate the
unwanted blower attributes. Part of this manual will point out what the physical
improvements to leaf blowers are and what the facts are concerning dust, exhaust
emission and noise, but the rest of this pamphlet talks about you, the operator.
In this guide you will learn the proper way to operate a leaf blower so as to avoid
irritating your neighbor or a bystander. It will illustrate what the complaints are and what
can be done to eliminate them. Finally, it will show you what could happen if leaf
blower issues and community complaints are ignored.