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Montgomery County Council introduces legislation banning gas-powered leaf blowers in Bethesda, Maryland

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sidemouse

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
The Montgomery County Council introduced legislation on Tuesday that would ban gas-powered leaf blowers to address environmental, noise and health concerns.

The bill would “prohibit the sale and use of combustion engine-powered leaf blowers and leaf vacuums,” according to the text.

Montgomery County’s noise ordinance mandates that leaf blowers can’t exceed 70 decibels at a distance of 50 feet. The bill states that there were more than 60 complaints to the county’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2021 due to noise from leaf blowers.

The bill states that the sale of the leaf blowers would be banned six months after the legislation is enacted, and the use of the leaf blowers would be prohibited one year after it is enacted.

Read the rest here:
bethesdamagazine.com

County Council introduces legislation banning gas-powered leaf blowers

The Montgomery County Council introduced legislation on Tuesday that would ban gas-powered leaf blowers to address environmental, noise and health concerns. The bill would “prohibit the sale and use of combustion engine-powered leaf blowers and leaf vacuums,” according to the text. Montgomery...
bethesdamagazine.com bethesdamagazine.com
 
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#5 ·
Funny, I’ve been doing big-ish and small leaf jobs well enough with two battery handhelds. Very possibly small suburban lots if neighbors are complaining, if so very doable in my short experience. I recently watched a video showing over 20 newtons of force from some of the best battery blowers, my Ryobi blowers were amongst the strongest. As good as a br800, no, doable with realistic efficiency, I think the early adapters will be perfectly fine.
 
#10 ·
I've realised that since getting the dump from seat bagger I no longer use my br800s flat put for hours anymore. Mostly to blow out beds onto the lawn so I can drive over and suck them up. But there are some jobs I wouldn't be able to do without gas (two br800s and a 9hp walk behind blower for an hour for example). Because the most powerful battery backpack blower on the market, the Stihl BGA 300 with 25 Newtons of force, coming in the fall, requires an AR2000 or AR3000 backpack battery that slots in. So instead of a $650 BR 800C, we are looking at maybe $2k for the blower and battery, for an hour of runtime. I think 4 hours to recharge. How many $1500 backpack batteries would be needed for a full day of cleanups?
 
#11 ·
This might be a case where the early electric adapters will have quite the advantage. Companies that are serious about electrical equipment are already invested in on vehicle charging and batteries. They’ve gone through the trial and error of different equipment combinations and have likely hammered out what works best for their area. Myself, just as an example have 2x22 newton blowers and the charging to back it up. 100ah 12v lithium battery and I start the day with 36ah of tool batteries. The 12v lithium works out to about 25ah recharge power with 40v tool batteries. Last year I just plugged two rapid chargers into the home on bigger jobs, just like any other tradesmen would be doing and ran perpetually.

No doubt this sucks for those that will be blindsided and I feel for those not proficient in electronics, having outside labor install vehicle charging probably gets expensive. When I started I thought battery equipment was a cool idea and gave it a shot. There’s been challenges along the way but I couldn’t help but notice the way the industry seems to be going, so I worked out the kinks. If they banned gas blowers tomorrow, which in a liberal city will eventually happen, I’d not even flinch, I’d get ready to be slammed with work as most other lco’s stumbled to figure it out.

I think it’s mostly doable, I’m demonstrating it in a suburban setting every day. Uber disrupted the whole cab industry, things change and all we can do is keep our eyes open for these coming changes and try to get ahead of the gang.



Self contained charging system with Bluetooth battery monitor attached. Add a second 100ah 12v lithium and be nearly unstoppable. I had to catch up yesterday from missing two days due to heavy rain. I did 15 suburban accounts and had the power to get as much as 20 done.

Image

Image
 
#12 ·
Honestly, anyone who owns a landscaping company in that area should decline to clean up leaves. Let the homeowners do it and see how they like raking.

i would go as far to say if theres leaves on the lawn, they dont get mowing services either.

they want this, then let them deal with it instead of paying someone else to deal with their stupid freaking decisions.

lets see how they like some back pain for a week instead of an hour of noise.
 
#13 ·
Hurryupelectric said:
This might be a case where the early electric adapters will have quite the advantage. Companies that are serious about electrical equipment are already invested in on vehicle charging and batteries. They’ve gone through the trial and error of different equipment combinations and have likely hammered out what works best for their area. Myself, just as an example have 2x22 newton blowers and the charging to back it up. 100ah 12v lithium battery and I start the day with 36ah of tool batteries. The 12v lithium works out to about 25ah recharge power with 40v tool batteries. Last year I just plugged two rapid chargers into the home on bigger jobs, just like any other tradesmen would be doing and ran perpetually.

No doubt this sucks for those that will be blindsided and I feel for those not proficient in electronics, having outside labor install vehicle charging probably gets expensive. When I started I thought battery equipment was a cool idea and gave it a shot. There’s been challenges along the way but I couldn’t help but notice the way the industry seems to be going, so I worked out the kinks. If they banned gas blowers tomorrow, which in a liberal city will eventually happen, I’d not even flinch, I’d get ready to be slammed with work as most other lco’s stumbled to figure it out.

I think it’s mostly doable, I’m demonstrating it in a suburban setting every day. Uber disrupted the whole cab industry, things change and all we can do is keep our eyes open for these coming changes and try to get ahead of the gang.



Self contained charging system with Bluetooth battery monitor attached. Add a second 100ah 12v lithium and be nearly unstoppable. I had to catch up yesterday from missing two days due to heavy rain. I did 15 suburban accounts and had the power to get as much as 20 done.

View attachment 515825
View attachment 515824
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Nice setup. I will soon have an enclosed trailer (7*16), was tossing up between getting a Bluetti solar generator unit or diying with a lithium ferrite battery, inverter and solar charge controller with some panels on the roof. Have the Honda 2kw generator as a backup in case battery runs low. Will need at least a 2kw inverter so I can power a microwave etc. The stihl ap500 seems to take about 500W.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Brucey said:
I've realised that since getting the dump from seat bagger I no longer use my br800s flat put for hours anymore. Mostly to blow out beds onto the lawn so I can drive over and suck them up. But there are some jobs I wouldn't be able to do without gas (two br800s and a 9hp walk behind blower for an hour for example). Because the most powerful battery backpack blower on the market, the Stihl BGA 300 with 25 Newtons of force, coming in the fall, requires an AR2000 or AR3000 backpack battery that slots in. So instead of a $650 BR 800C, we are looking at maybe $2k for the blower and battery, for an hour of runtime. I think 4 hours to recharge. How many $1500 backpack batteries would be needed for a full day of cleanups?
Click to expand...
Same here, my vac-bag mower attachment about made my 10hp push blower and br600/700's obsolete, for all but a few yards where the vac-bag just won't fit. I also don't see batteries having the stamina of gasoline, power isn't a problem, it's the hours...
 
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#15 ·
In this case they are using incentives rather than punishments. The bill would also authorize DEP to create a reimbursement program, which would give a “partial credit” to residents and businesses who return their gas-powered leaf blower or vacuum to the county and buy an electric leaf blower. The credit would apply to those who bought the gas-powered leaf blower before a certain date.

This organization can help you make the transition to battery operated equipment.

AGZA American Green Zone Alliance – The Leader In Zero-Emission Landscape Maintenance Strategies

agza.net agza.net
 
#16 ·
Brucey said:
Nice setup. I will soon have an enclosed trailer (7*16), was tossing up between getting a Bluetti solar generator unit or diying with a lithium ferrite battery, inverter and solar charge controller with some panels on the roof. Have the Honda 2kw generator as a backup in case battery runs low. Will need at least a 2kw inverter so I can power a microwave etc. The stihl ap500 seems to take about 500W.
Click to expand...
My opinion is a solar generator, basically everything in a neat form factor, will be a little harder to expand upon. If you have the ability to diy this you can incrementally upgrade with another storage battery, stronger inverter, ect. A couple solar panels should offset the draw but might/probably need to plug into the grid, which might not be a big deal. I’m growing of the opinion that ample storage capacity is better than enough expensive tool batteries for a given day. What if the tool line becomes discontinued, cough, Echo 58v, cough. Inverter and other infrastructure aside a 100ah 12v storage battery is about $400 and will fully charge about 20-30ah depending on the tool batteries voltage. Loosely over a grand worth of tool batteries depending on the brand and voltage. Thanks, it’s a modest charge system but it’s plenty for my needs currently.
 
#17 ·
Mattster said:
Honestly, anyone who owns a landscaping company in that area should decline to clean up leaves. Let the homeowners do it and see how they like raking.

i would go as far to say if theres leaves on the lawn, they dont get mowing services either.

they want this, then let them deal with it instead of paying someone else to deal with their stupid freaking decisions.

lets see how they like some back pain for a week instead of an hour of noise.
Click to expand...
I agree with you, here!🍺
 
#19 ·
phasthound said:
Turning down business is not a good strategy for success, especially when the industry is (slowly) moving in this direction.
Click to expand...
Then how would you handle holding the morons that make these stupid laws accountable? Raise prices? That will ultimately lead to a decline in business as well for those who wont pay the increased prices.

tell them no…and tell them why. Sometimes people need to be slapped into reality.
 
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