

Tiny Engine Could Make Leaf Blowers Sound Less Like Jets - awjr
http://www.wired.com/2014/11/tiny-engine-make-leaf-blowers-sound-less-like-jet-engines/?mbid=social_twitter

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seanp2k2
How about just leaving the leaves on the ground, because everyone hates leaf
blowers, and blowing them around is pretty pointless due to this thing called
wind. Never understood why apartment complexes don't just use bagging lawn
mowers to basically cut their work in half and piss people off less.

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DanBC
I tend to agree. What about hard surfaces where leaves can cause slip hazard?

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danbruc
Just use a leaf rake - they work on soft and hard ground, are pretty silent,
weigh less than a leaf blower, are cheaper, consume no gas, and are kind of
outdoor workout.

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danneu
But, much slower. And you'd need to follow it with a broom to satisfy my
mother's standards.

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ars
You'll never hear from them again:

“We’re not looking to manufacture engines,” says company president Alexander
Shkolnik. Instead, the company plans to continue developing the engine and
work with a manufacturing partner

That's always a warning sign. To me it means they don't want to make a
company, but are rather looking for a quick sale and exit.

Also: "Because so many potential applications are in the lawn care and
landscaping biz, the current design runs on a mix of gasoline and oil for
lubrication."

I doubt they'll be able to meet emission standards, which is another reason
you'll never hear from them again.

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pan69
This is pretty much how ARM works. They only design the CPU's but don't
actually build them.

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ars
Designing a CPU is very difficult and building one is very difficult, so this
works for ARM.

But engines are not like that, there's little money in the design - there are
tons of designs, they are interchangeable for the most part and one is only
slightly better than another.

And building them is not hard either, so there is little money in being just a
build shop without having an IP.

Usually a design-only firm licenses themselves exclusively to one retail
company - they don't sell the component, only the final product. They goes on
for a few years, then the retail company buys them and that's the end of it.

That's why you'll never hear from them again, some lawnmower or whatever
company will lock them up and that will be all.

If they want to make an impact (and not just a quick exit) they become a
supplier and sell full engines.

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tempestn
This is neat, but it seems pretty clear to me that battery-powered electric
motors are the future for this kind of application. I don't own a leaf blower,
but both my lawnmower[1] and trimmer[2] are now battery-electric, and I would
say both are essentially as good as any gas-powered ones I've used, and _much_
quieter. I listen to podcasts while I mow the lawn now. It's great.

[1]:
[http://egopowerplus.com/products/mower](http://egopowerplus.com/products/mower)
[2]: [http://egopowerplus.com/products/string-
trimmer](http://egopowerplus.com/products/string-trimmer)

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abakker
I'd point out to anyone bringing up Apex seals as a potential problem: You
must not be familiar with using a conventional mini 2 stroke. Chainsaws, leaf
blowers, etc require exceptional levels of maintenance and aren't exactly
known to run well. Most of them are either running too rich or lean at any
given point, and therefore are either building up carbon, or burning
themselves out.

Not to say there aren't some good ones, but small 2 strokes that this engine
aims to replace are not exactly paragons of reliability.

Also, most small 2 strokes have abysmal emissions due to running too rich/lean
all the time, having badly made carburetors, poor tolerances, no catalytic
convertors, low thermal mass, etc.

This looked relatively simple to assemble, and would therefore be pretty easy
to disassembler. My guess is that if there were any seals that needed to be
replaced, it would be a relatively trivial job compared to a standard small 2
stroke.

Source: have rebuild many chainsaws, weed whackers, and leaf blowers. Used to
build go-karts.

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SigmundA
Actually most of the emission are a result of the valveless design of the
typical two-stroke. Small carb 4-strokes have the same issues you describe but
have much better emissions due to the valving, but lacking a cat they will
never come close to and automobile as far as emissions go.

Seals wearing out will cause lower compression and more blow-by reducing power
and increasing emissions but probably not as much as a valveless two-stroke
which simply has intake and exhaust ports full open during part of the cycle.

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strangename
I still like the StarRotor[1] better. No reciprocating, no problems with seals
(which are a big problem/weakness in Wankel-types; rather unadressed in TFA).
Biggest problem for StarRotor is that all the manufacturing chains are already
super-optimized for existing engine designs and don't much care to experiment.

[1] [http://www.starrotor.com/Expanders](http://www.starrotor.com/Expanders)

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bradleyland
The article fails to explain how this will make leaf blowers sound less like
jet engines. Has the author ever heard a Wankel rotary at 15,000 RPM? Not to
mention, the reason leaf blowers sound like a jet is because of the giant
shrouded fan that is used to generate airflow. Electric leaf blowers sound
like jet engines too, and their motors are extremely quiet in comparison.

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post_break
"Sorry hun, I can't blow the leaves because the apex seals are shot in the
leaf blower"

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xorcist
5 hp would actually make a great light weight moped.

I know I could really use one.

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auxym
Have you looked at e-bikes recently? Interesting things going on.

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xorcist
A bit, and it is indeed. Also the light electric scooters are incredibly cheap
now. But a combustion engine would still be great when you need the extra
range.

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cjbenedikt
it's called a broom!

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gumby
Indeed! Leaf blowers are dreadful for the environment: ignoring the noise and
combustion emissions, they blow all the coverage off the soil leaving a packed
result that absorbs no water and can't support plant growth.

No leaf blowers (and low maintenance in general) on my yard leads to thick
grass that doesn't need a lot of watering. My neighbors all use 'em and the
strip of "lawn" next to the road on every other house looks like concrete.

I understand the gardeners like them because it's fun and empowering, but so
would a flamethrower. Neither is much good for the garden.

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melling
If you've got a lot of trees and don't remove the leaves, you'll still have a
lot throughout the year.

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HeyLaughingBoy
Mow them. The last time I used a rake was living on a tiny lot. Moved to a 1/2
acre lot and began to mow the leaves into tiny scraps. Now live on a much
larger, exposed hilltop property and the wind takes care of the leaves for me
:-)

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organsnyder
I feel weird when I mow the leaves every year—everyone else is spending hours
raking, while I take under two hours with the lawn tractor. I keep wondering
why everyone doesn't do it, like I'm missing something. I also don't bag grass
clippings; it seems silly to remove all of this potential fertilizer from my
lawn, only to have to apply artificial fertilizer later on.

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HeyLaughingBoy
I never got the point of bagging grass clippings either, seems like useless
work. Then again, I don't fertilize my lawn or spray it for weeds either. It's
just grass (OK, grass, clover and dandelions in my case), why is everyone so
anal about this shit?

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organsnyder
I don't understand the obsession, either. I keep our lawn watered (no water
shortages in Michigan) and mowed. Beyond that, I just let the fittest
turf—whether it's regular grass, clover, or dandelions—survive. As long as
it's not painful to walk on, it's fine. In fact, I like the variety.

