Great responses so far pointing out that leaf blowers produce large amounts of particulates and smog forming hydrocarbons, but not large amounts of CO2. But no one has mentioned the main reason why- leaf blowers are generally two stroke engines. [They produce about twice as much power per pound as four stroke engines, but they exhaust a lot of partly burned fuel and even oil by design.](https://urbanemissions.blogspot.com/2009/12/2-stroke-vs-4-stroke-engines.html) This is way beyond the fact that they lack catalytic converters and pcv systems, it is inherently inefficient and dirty. Two stroke engines are restricted in most parts of the world for most purposes, but leaf blowers have to be light, so they’re exempt.
Great responses so far pointing out that leaf blowers produce large amounts of particulates and smog forming hydrocarbons, but not large amounts of CO2. But no one has mentioned the main reason why- leaf blowers are generally two stroke engines. [They produce about twice as much power per pound as four stroke engines, but they exhaust a lot of partly burned fuel and even oil by design.](https://urbanemissions.blogspot.com/2009/12/2-stroke-vs-4-stroke-engines.html) This is way beyond the fact that they lack catalytic converters and pcv systems, it is inherently inefficient and dirty. Two stroke engines are restricted in most parts of the world for most purposes, but leaf blowers have to be light, so they’re exempt.
because co2 is not pollution, it is the goal product of perfect combustion. the car is designed to burn very cleanly and has filters and convertors to capture non-co2 products created in the cylinder. the leaf blower does not run have any pollution control and nobody cares if it is efficient or not because it does not run enough to put in that kind of effort and expense.
because co2 is not pollution, it is the goal product of perfect combustion. the car is designed to burn very cleanly and has filters and convertors to capture non-co2 products created in the cylinder. the leaf blower does not run have any pollution control and nobody cares if it is efficient or not because it does not run enough to put in that kind of effort and expense.
Two stroke engines, usually what you’ll find in something small like that rev a lot higher, burning fuel that much faster. Two stroke motors are also almost always going to be carbureted, which effects fuel economy and emissions to a degree too. Cars use 4 stroke motors, that are usually monitoring fuel with various (and if you work on cars, they seem to be endless and everywhere!) sensors and tuned fuel injection systems that are fairly precise. The big kicker though, is the catalytic converter. The catalytic converter is past the exhaust manifold way before the muffler in most cases. This turns a lot of the junk and such in the cars emissions into something less harmful. All cars release a little bit of junk in the air, but newer cars are much better at it than oil burning 3 mpg 70’s carbureted dump trucks in the past for sure. The biggest reason is, most people are gonna have a car in their lifetime here in the US. Or, it’s at least part of their daily lives in the form of a bus or taxi. Garden tools, not so much. Our focus on emissions is mostly on the transportation and power generation sectors in my experience and observation, so things like EFI, efficient cylinder heads, exhaust system airflow, ignition systems, catalytic converters, even the design of the body and transmission that effects pollution are implemented into our cars today. Your dad’s backpack leaf blower on the other hand, is a different story. People want to put gas and oil in it and have it run until it eventually spins a bearing without spark issues, sensor issues, and most obviously, a 15 pound catalytic converter. People want fuel efficient and environment friendly cars more than they do efficient leaf blowers and lawnmowers, so engineers have to make do.
Two stroke engines, usually what you’ll find in something small like that rev a lot higher, burning fuel that much faster. Two stroke motors are also almost always going to be carbureted, which effects fuel economy and emissions to a degree too. Cars use 4 stroke motors, that are usually monitoring fuel with various (and if you work on cars, they seem to be endless and everywhere!) sensors and tuned fuel injection systems that are fairly precise. The big kicker though, is the catalytic converter. The catalytic converter is past the exhaust manifold way before the muffler in most cases. This turns a lot of the junk and such in the cars emissions into something less harmful. All cars release a little bit of junk in the air, but newer cars are much better at it than oil burning 3 mpg 70’s carbureted dump trucks in the past for sure. The biggest reason is, most people are gonna have a car in their lifetime here in the US. Or, it’s at least part of their daily lives in the form of a bus or taxi. Garden tools, not so much. Our focus on emissions is mostly on the transportation and power generation sectors in my experience and observation, so things like EFI, efficient cylinder heads, exhaust system airflow, ignition systems, catalytic converters, even the design of the body and transmission that effects pollution are implemented into our cars today. Your dad’s backpack leaf blower on the other hand, is a different story. People want to put gas and oil in it and have it run until it eventually spins a bearing without spark issues, sensor issues, and most obviously, a 15 pound catalytic converter. People want fuel efficient and environment friendly cars more than they do efficient leaf blowers and lawnmowers, so engineers have to make do.
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