this post was submitted on 20 May 2024

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464

Students’ Leaf Blower Suppressor To Hit Retail (hackaday.com)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 90 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (36 children)

was posted 3 days ago in /c/Technology, here :
https://lemmy.world/post/15468260
what they did :

"Our product takes in a full blow of air and separates it," said team member Leen Alfaoury. "Some of that air comes out as it is, and part of it comes out shifted. The combination of these two sections of the air makes the blower less noisy."

... "It ultimately dampens the sound as it leaves, but it keeps all that force, which is the beauty of it."

Their design cuts the most shrill and annoying frequencies by about 12 decibels, which all but removes them, making them 94% quieter.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 months ago (9 children)

about 12 decibels, which all but removes them, making them 94% quieter.

This "conversion" from decibel to per cent is more than ridiculous.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Why? dB is logarithmic so it's difficult for people to picture how loud something is, if that's the only number given.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And so are our ears. That's why we use db. So 12db is not perceived by us to be 94% quieter.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago (2 children)

So its 94% less sound because this seems sound calculated -12db in % with conventional formulas?

How would we describe perceived sound exactly, not many people can imagine something when given a db value? Maybe we should?

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 5 months ago (1 children)

If it were me that designed this, I would license out the design for manufacturers to use in their production models instead of making some kind of attachment that is unlikely to work on all models. That seems much more likely to achieve the goal of reducing noise from leaf blowers long term. Get like 3 manufacturers on board that could even charge a premium, and you have reduced the noise potentially forever while still making a tidy profit.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago

It was a collaboration with the company. They probably helped fund it for exclusive licensing to start.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

MAKE GAS LANDSCAPING TOOLS ILLEGAL

Give away free electric tools if they trade in their gas ones. It's so bad for health to be huffing 2 stroke fumes all day every day.

Edit, I realize that this is meant for a electric leaf blower since it would do fuck all for a gas one. Doesn't change my opinion about landscaping tools tho

[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 months ago

"Electric leaf blowers are already far quieter than their gas-powered peers, but they still aren’t the kind of thing you’d like to hear first-thing on a Saturday morning. Looking to improve on the situation, a group of students from Johns Hopkins University have successfully designed a 3D printed add-on that manages to significantly reduce the noise generated by a modern electric leaf blower without compromising the amount of air it’s able to move."

First two sentences of the article.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I don't know mate, I wouldn't replace my electric tools–drills, grinders, saw... with gas ones. But these outdoors tools are a different kind of beast. I've only used an electric chainsaw and it was an absolute crap, maybe there are better ones but it was crappier than the smallest and shittiest gas chainsaws I've used, and a cord around you in that setting isn't great either.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

The problem with electric gardening tools is they aren't that feasible for contractors.

Batteries don't last long and take a long time to charge, so it's just not an option when you're working all day. Corded means at every location, you have to figure out outlets, extension cords, fuss with tangles and obstructions, etc.

If you're doing your own lawns, yeah, you can probably get into a workflow that works for you. But a lot of people hire out for landscaping.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Swappable batteries resolve this issue pretty well. The energy density is far from comparable, but if you're already hauling a van or trailer to the job site, then a dozen spare batteries isn't an issue.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Except being very expensive, wear out after a few years (at best), and being sensitive to being in the hot sun all day every day. All in a profession mostly worked by under privileged people where frugality is a necessity of life.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 5 months ago (5 children)

Electric is so much quieter. They have them in Singapore

[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago

The gardener in my last apartment replaced all of his powertools (mower, blower, trimmer, …) with electric ones powered by an accu-pack he carries on his back. This is an absolute game-changer! I could actually sit outside again and even do stuff for work, when he was there.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago

This thing influence how air moves through it, so it would make electrics more silent too

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

Pretty sure when I saw the original post talking about the design, they said the students were only working with electric leaf blowers. So this was designed to make electric leaf blowers even quieter.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

This was designed for electric leaf blowers, not gas leaf blowers.

Electric leaf blowers are much much better, but they’re still loud, and that’s what these students were attempting to address.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I still say replace them with rakes.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I get what you're saying, but leaf blowers are also commonly used for cleaning up extra grass clippings from the roads, etc.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Why do leaf blowers exist in the first place?

[–] [email protected] 77 points 5 months ago (2 children)

To blow leaves.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And clean up after mowing.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

I also use mine when starting a fire. Way easier than using a pot lid for stoking.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I often see those things with a sack on public workers here. They suck leafes. 🤯

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Some leaf blowers are also leaf suckers but it can get a bit messy since they usually mulch the leaves, too.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

seems like snake oil. whe using my electric leaf blower all the noise sounds to be coming from the big fan at the top of the device and not the nozzle

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Now pretend your electric blower is actually a super loud and inefficient two stroke motor.

The movement of air isn't noisy, the motor is.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (3 children)

So it's taking some of the air out of the stream, slowing it down, and putting it back in the stream... How does this not affect the performance?

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Companies know they can make tools quieter. They didn't do it because louder sounds more powerful to consumers.