Echo LEAF BLOWER User Manual

LEAF BLOWER

A Training Manual in the Proper Use of Leaf Blowers

Echo, Inc.
400 Oakwood Road
Lake Zurich, IL 60047
August 30, 2006 By: Larry Will

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Table of contents Page

Introduction 3

The origin of the leaf blower 4
Leaf blower use 4
How serious is the leaf blower problem 4
Leaf blower concerns 5
Leaf blower ordinances 6

Leaf blower improvements 7
Guidelines for proper leaf blower use 8

Guideline #1…Be considerate 9
Guideline #2…Observe noise ordinances 10
Guideline #3…Run at part throttle 10
Guideline #4…Use only one blower at a time 10
Guideline #5…Minimize dust 11

Guideline #7…Replace your old leaf blower 12

Summary 12

Guideline #6…Never deliberately blow dust 12

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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.

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The origin of the leaf blower:

The leaf blower has been around for more than 35 y
The original blower was designed to spread fertilize
and pesticides over grain fields and fruit trees. A
container was mounted above a centrifugal fan as the
source for the chemicals that would be disbursed evenly
over the area. Versions of this product are still in use
today. Echo’s name for this device was and is the
“Duster-Mister”. It was discovered, back in the 1970’s
that this blower, less the chemical container, would
make an excellent leaf blower, which of course is where
it got its name.

ears.
rs

Leaf blower use:

Today, there are many uses for the leaf blower, including the cleaning of driveways and
sidewalks after cutting the grass and the removal of debris from parking lots, sports
arenas, city parks and construction sites. It quickly became an important cleanup tool,
saving time over alternative methods. It turns out that this product does a far better job
than a rake or broom and at far less cost due to the speed in which it can clean up an area.
The Department of Public Services for the City of Coronado, CA conducted a test
comparing brooms to leaf blowers. To clean the perimeter sidewalk of a downtown park
with a broom took 80 minutes where it took only 6 minutes to clean with a blower. The
leaf blower has become indispensable. Clearly, it is not just a leaf blower. It is an all­purpose outdoor clean up tool.

Note: A leaf blower is NOT intended for use on gravel driveways, dry dirt or other

potentially dusty surfaces.

How serious is the leaf blower problem?

In recent years, there have been several cities around the United States that have taken
steps to regulate blowers. In 1998, the city of Los Angeles passed an ordinance that
prohibits the use of leaf blowers within 500 feet of a personal residence. There have been
other attempts at banning in both large and small cities, but so far, most have failed.
They either didn’t get passed by the city council or after passing, could not be enforced.
Still banning can be a serious problem depending on the penalty associated with violating
the ban and the persistence of the local police force.

Powerful entities have looked into banning blowers. In 2000, the California State
Legislature instructed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to conduct a study on
the environmental impact of leaf blowers based on information and test results available
at the time. The report from this study made a clear statement that there are many
individuals, organizations and municipalities deeply bothered by the leaf blower.