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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.
