Preparing for blower ban-Which would blow drive better?

[casey]

Looks like blower ban will pass:
Pick the best one for blowing drives clean:

Toro 36 SFS with double high-lifts

or this linkThis looks like a mower but has a blower attachment; Could claim we were using it as a vac if stopped. (http://www.cubcadet.com/scripts/common/generic_nav.asp?brand=1&content=120&nav=2)

Also do you think we could get away with using an Echo Shred & Vac without the bag & blowing with the outtake tube. If stopped we could say we were vacuuming.
Thanks.

[kutnkru]

Casey I know of many LMO who use their machines wb and Zs alike to clear off drives and the like. If you have a ban for blowers than this would seem to be the appropriate course of action if I were in your shoes.

You could check into vacs (parker/billygoat/etc) for commercial propertys where they may have a more stringent policy, but I would think done correctly you could pretty much get away with your machines.

I have also seen guys use a line trimmer for a quick dust off of debris too.

Kris

Maybe you could take the housing off your Toro CCRs and put your sno crews to work during the green months too -LOL!!!

[TGCummings]

Originally posted by kutnkru
I have also seen guys use a line trimmer for a quick dust off of debris too

Yup, we used to do this in the 80s before the old man bought us our first blowers. It was difficult but better than sweeping and we got pretty good at it with practice.

Still, nothing beats the blower for this. I can't believe they would ban 'em. Makes me feel pretty low on the totem poll as a landscaper...

[65hoss]

Does the ban also include 4 stroke motors and w/b blowers?

[casey]

As far as I know yes.
What I was wondering was if the ban included handheld blower/vacs set up as a vac. An Echo shred&vac set up with the vac attachment & no bag could be used to blow steps clean with the output tube. An extension could be put on the output tube to make it more effective. This would technically be a vac & not a blower.

[thelawnguy]

You need to let your customers know that a blower ban would not be in their best interest, as there is no other way for YOU as a LCO to clear debris from their lawns and paved areas effectively and ECONOMICALLY. When these folks realize that cost of a mow and blow (er, sweep and rake?) is going to double maybe they will get their lazy butts off the Barcalounger and to the public hearing.

Blower ban? If it were my market Id just let the chaff set there, when the customer beefs let em contact their alderman or whoever.

[gusbuster]

I forget the model numbers, but if your backpack blower is an ECHO, some can be converted to VACs. I would look into this. I know and have seen some LCO's in Santa Barbra, CA that went this route. Thank god their ban was thrown out by the courts, but it took over 3 years.
John

[casey]

Originally posted by gusbuster
I forget the model numbers, but if your backpack blower is an ECHO, some can be converted to VACs.

Just checked & there is a vac attachment avail for our Echo PB6000's. I've never seen one in action. I assume the bag attaches where the blower tube is but how would the vac intake attach, the frame blocks the fan housing??
Did they have any problems running their BP's as vacs in terms of the law? Did the law distinguish between the vac & blower?
Did these guys blow with the output tube without a bag or did they put the bag on & vac?
Thanks.

[65hoss]

maybe its time all you guys get together and hire a lawyer to fight for your freedom to earn a living. Even in Canada you guys have rights don't you? There has to be some sort of legal loophole someone can challenge.

[casey]

Originally posted by 65hoss
Even in Canada you guys have rights don't you?

In Canada we have the right not to get shot & the right to free health care.
Just want to be prepared, looks like a loosing battle right now.

[Paradise Yard Service]

If it was not for hormones and antibiotics the price of beef would easily double. If I had to go back to broom and dustpan (never had to in the first place),you can be sure my price would more than double. Imagine trying to get the same results w/o a blower? Even if you could hose the driveway/sidewalks off you still would need to double/triple the price.

My suggestion, go with a good side shooter lawn-boy-full throttle. Sounds like you will need to have a designated worker to 'mow' the driveways.

Is it the noise thats the problem? Well when a tree falls on the roof of the neighborhood noise grouch, tell him can't use the chainsaw because it is too loud. Looks like we will just have to let the tree rot on your house.

Ban my blower and I'm outa here bruddah.

Aloha,
P.Y.S.

[GrassChopper]

Oh boy :angry:

Look at this: http://nonoise.org/quietnet/cqs/leafblow.htm

[GrassChopper]

and you will love this :


And on the far end of the alarmist spectrum comes this: Leaf blowers are killing babies. At least so claims an attorney for an anti-blower group in Los Angeles, arguing in a recent court brief: "Approximately 45 babies a year die from SIDS [Sudden Infant Death Syndrome] in Los Angeles due to airborne particulate matter and many of those deaths are attributed to dust from gas-powered leaf blowers."



But I also found this remedy:

Meanwhile, industry-supported proletariat gardeners in Los Angeles are indulging in a clever form of civil disobedience. They are circumventing the limits on gas-powered blowers by converting their tools to use methane

[SCAPEASAURUSREX]

If it's too loud , Your too Old !

If they are so bent on finding all the adverse effects of Back pack Blowers, why dont' they (since they apparently have alot of time on their hands), also come up with solutions.. They say dont' use blowers, Well then come up with another solution before you create a ban.. Dont' people have anything better to do.. There are probalby 10 million other things in the world that have far worse environmental effects than leaf blowers >>>>>>> How about cleaning up toxic waste.. or ending hunger and poverty first , Drug and alcohol abuse.... Make your selves produtive ....
Maybe they could work with power equip companies to make them quieter and more productive through some other form of power like how a bout propane ?? or ?? They could start a fund for the developement of quieter power equipment and pay for the R & D them selves and then come to us with the alternative..

But the thing I still dont' gt about blowers is .... My walk behind mower creates alot more noise than my B/P ?????

[bubble boy]

converting to some other fuel wouldn't matter-the ban is on all leaf blowers, incl. 4 stroke(ive never seen one) i believe even electric.

but a vac would concieivebly work within the bylaw.

the issue that the do-gooders use is that the noise pitch is what is the problem-the whine of a blower is more disturbing than a mower:rolleyes:

and it was pointed out that a mower has use a blower doesnt.:mad:

wait till they decide mowers are useless. these people obviously have no idea what we do on props. half of the people raising the issue are form the well off areas of toronto, and they claim they hear blowers 6 days a week.(probably true) too much money too little time, so they need a cause.

what is even more frustrating is that comparisons were being made to vancouver and their ban. thing is in vancouver you can bag grass and the city takes it-keeping mess to a minimum. here we half to mulch which is unbelievably messy in the spring.

maybe i better stay in the suburbs.

[65hoss]

Grandmother proves rake and broom as fast as a blower. hahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahaha
hahahahahaha
hahahahahahahah



hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, some people need to get a life. Worry about their own problems and not everyone else.

Next time they need a carpenter at their house I guess they better use hand tools only.

[Double D]

I have a 3in1 vac made by MTD (mine is craftsman) that works great for use on driveways and sidewalks. Thats all it is good for, but it works for clearing the hard surfaces. Cost is about $400. Just an idea if worse comes to worse.

[Got Grass?]

This is just crazy. No plans for bans in my area as everyone uses them including the law makers, who all want thier property looking nice for the lowest cost possible. There are laws about maintaing your property, including removal of excess yard waste (leaves, branches etc....) Mowing your lawn, etc....

These people prolly hire some landscaper to take care of thier lawn and have no clue how it is done as thay spend all thier time at city hall coming up with dumb bills. I bet the same people let landscapers use blowers on thier own property.

The real problem is weak handhelds that people spend hrs' blowing a twig 10 ft. Not good blowers that can get the job done in 1sec. Yeah, ya could rake faster then using a bad blower and this is all the bill makers see or use themselves.

If the sound is such a big problem then come up with something to solve it. How about better quality, longer lasting mufflers?
Are thay complaning about quieter eletric blowers too? If not, Hell come up with a rechargable or 12vt one. How about requireing the towns to install power outlets in front over everyones property for landscaping/construction use only.....
Hell my solutions sound just as bad as the ban.....

[cantoo]

Wonder what the lawn guys who service these people who want the blowers gone think of the ban. I hope they start charging the heck out of them. Use reel mowers, brooms, maybe even goats to eat the grass. Of course no chemicals on their lawns either. No old growth trees for lumber on their house,, the list goes on and on.

[mowahman]

I think that all these "Ban Wagoners" should be made to do without electricity, phone, cable, SUV's, computers, palm pilots, cell phones, and if they are doctors, lawyers, and Indian Chiefs, then, do away with operating rooms, scapals, X rays, research books, judges, clerks, and wig-wams. Now, let's see them do their jobs "professionally" while they are riding their donkeys to their jobs. We need to take a stand on this and inform our clients that if something like this happens in our area, we will be seeking additional "work release personel" from the County level so we won't upset or offend any quiet loving persons. Just think, 10 persons in "uniform", raking, sweeping, and clipping around their houses.....close to the windows and doors. All of a sudden, back pack blowers and mowers aren't that awful after all.
These machines were made to make ourselves a living and these people with nothing better to do are stealing our livelyhood !!!!

[casey]

Every time I try & bring this up I get philosophical answers to practical questions. Please refrain from this practice,
Thank You.

[Got Grass?]

Originally posted by casey :alien:
Every time I try & bring this up I get philosophical answers to practical questions. Please refrain from this practice,
Thank You.
:eek:


Ok, we will no longer respond to anything you post unless its a direct answer to your thread topics. No one else will be allowed to carry on a conversation slightly diffrent from your topic.
And we ALL expect you to do the same!
If this continues I guess your only option will be to find a diffrent message board that has more strict standards that suit your needs.

:dizzy:

[vipermanz]

i've never heard of canada toronto, i've always heard it as Toronto Ontario Canada, Right Lawrence X????????????(somebody smart to answer)

[lawnman_scott]

I guess now the companies with 3 or 4 people and a big rider dont look so dumb after all do they? a 52 inch mower makes a pretty good blower. If it does pass use the blower anyway, im sure it will be about the same fine as a speeding ticked, and they have to catch u in the act. How long does it take to blow a lawn? 5 or 10 mins.

[kutnkru]

I would think the 5/10 minute rule should apply for Commercial Sites. The average home takes about two minutes to complete. Thank gawd for tract housing. :)

[casey]

Originally posted by lawnman_scott
I guess now the companies with 3 or 4 people and a big rider dont look so dumb after all do they?

They will have a difficult time getting that rider to many of the places that need to be blown. Our combination of 36's & side discharge 21's hopefully will be quite effective for blowing most of the surfaces.

[earthandturf]

Sounds as if the Taliban is making up these rules. Before you know it trimmers and mowers will be banned, we'll have to use machetes and goats! Better start growing those beards now. LOL. :rolleyes:

[casey]

I also have this, which we use for spring growth where the 36 SFS deck will not fit. The extra large discharge chute should make for an effective blower between cars.

[Paradise Yard Service]

I'm sure that unit will do some good between cars. One thing, most of the options you are going to will hurl the debri into cars and such. Be careful and make sure the insurance policy covers damage to autos and such as a precaution. Maybe I'm being too cautious! Anyway I don't know what else to tell you Casey. Hope all goes well.

Aloha,
P.Y.S.

[Got Grass?]

Yeah, he had it imported. as his previous post about this mower would tell ya. And no he dosnt have any insurance.... at least not for "snow blowing"

[joed]

Casey,
Is that picture you posted one of a Honda Mower? Where can you purchase it? (Chain Saw Clinic?) What does it go for?

[casey]

Joe,
That is a Honda UM536. I had it imported from the UK to help with our spring growth cutting.
I imagine you could cut the side off a disposable 21" & weld a deflector on top for safety. Deck integrity should not be a problem if you just use it for blowing between cars.