Gas Powered Leaf/Snow Blowers (Minneapolis, Eden Prairie: houses, neighborhood, buying)

[Single Sparrow]

Everyone, I've been giving serious consideration to relocating from the Bay Area to a Minneapolis suburb. Particularly, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, and Woodbury. However, one thing has come to mind. I absolutely detest, abhor would be more accurate, leaf blowers. In my current suburb, our ears are constantly assaulted by their infernal noise almost every single day, except on Sundays.

What is the situation like in the MLPS suburbs? I know it snows a lot there and wanted to ask if gas-powered snowblowers are as noisy as leaf blowers. Are either snowblowers or leafblowers used a lot in the MLPS metro area? If yes, where should I move if I want peace and quiet? Thank you!

[demtion35]

More than a few homeowners use snowblowers. Good luck though> I think leaf blowers are dumb. Those are noisy. I just bought a snowblower last winter, October really, used it three times last winter, this winter have used it at least 8 times so far. Lots of fun though. Unless you like to shovel get a snowblower, or live where other folks do that stuff for you.

[wamer27]

When I cut a lawn commercially I use the air blower to blow off all the grass clippings and debris on the paved surfaces, it takes only a few minutes. I’d be embarrassed and fired if I didn’t do it. My air blower is worth it’s weight in gold when cleaning leaves up in the fall and spring. Eden Prairie has many homes being cut commercially, so air blowers will be used. Snowblowers are not as loud. Sounds like you should live in woods somewhere where it’ll be quiet.

[Yosh01]

Originally Posted by wamer27

When I cut a lawn commercially I use the air blower to blow off all the grass clippings and debris on the paved surfaces, it takes only a few minutes. I’d be embarrassed and fired if I didn’t do it. My air blower is worth it’s weight in gold when cleaning leaves up in the fall and spring. Eden Prairie has many homes being cut commercially, so air blowers will be used. Snowblowers are not as loud. Sounds like you should live in woods somewhere where it’ll be quiet.

The issue is noise. How loud is your leaf blower? Commercial lawn care companies tend to use extremely loud gas powered blowers and in my Saint Paul neighborhood you hear them every day. Every single day. And they are annoying as hell.

Many cities have specific ordinances that limit the noise a leaf blower can make and there are many that don't rattle the neighborhood.

[wamer27]

Originally Posted by Yosh01

The issue is noise. How loud is your leaf blower? Commercial lawn care companies tend to use extremely loud gas powered blowers and in my Saint Paul neighborhood you hear them every day. Every single day. And they are annoying as hell.

Many cities have specific ordinances that limit the noise a leaf blower can make and there are many that don't rattle the neighborhood.

The more powerful blower, the louder, I only buy the best stuff, it makes my work time less. The thing is my lawn mower is also loud, so an air blower isn’t out of the ordinary in products I use. Lawn cutting along with any other commercial outside work can only happen from 7am-7pm unless a few cities allow longer. I’m sorry but I don’t buy into the leaf blower ordinance, thus it ever enforced. There are commercial electric (battery) blowers now, I’ll be buying into this in the very near future.

[Steamhammer]

Originally Posted by Single Sparrow

Everyone, I've been giving serious consideration to relocating from the Bay Area to a Minneapolis suburb. Particularly, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, and Woodbury. However, one thing has come to mind. I absolutely detest, abhor would be more accurate, leaf blowers. In my current suburb, our ears are constantly assaulted by their infernal noise almost every single day, except on Sundays.

What is the situation like in the MLPS suburbs? I know it snows a lot there and wanted to ask if gas-powered snowblowers are as noisy as leaf blowers. Are either snowblowers or leafblowers used a lot in the MLPS metro area? If yes, where should I move if I want peace and quiet? Thank you!

I recommend staying out of the suburbs [Mod cut: politics/trolling]

[elnina]

And I recommend that you stop trolling about politics here.

[Steamhammer]

Originally Posted by elnina

And I recommend that you stop trolling about politics here.

How am I trolling ? I live in this state and when someone (OP) wants to move here from California complaining about our gas powered machinery policy because it differs from Cali , then I will voice my opinion. If someone doesn't like noisy snow blowers then don’t move to Minnesota .

[Yosh01]

Originally Posted by Steamhammer

How am I trolling ? I live in this state and when someone (OP) wants to move here from California complaining about our gas powered machinery policy because it differs from Cali , then I will voice my opinion. If someone doesn't like noisy snow blowers then don’t move to Minnesota .

This is not about snow blowers, it's about gas powered leaf blowers that are an order of magnitude louder.

I've lived in Minnesota 71 years, 55 of which have been in Saint Paul. This scourge of horribly loud leaf blowers has only become a problem over the last 10-15 years or so. In the summer, it's a problem every day. Every single day.

To tell someone not to come to Minnesota because a few irresponsible commercial lawn care companies disturb the peace for their own benefit is wrong. The better solution is for the commercial guys to clean up their act with quieter equipment before the city imposes specific leaf blower noise limitations.

[WoodburyWoody]

Originally Posted by Single Sparrow

Everyone, I've been giving serious consideration to relocating from the Bay Area to a Minneapolis suburb. Particularly, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, and Woodbury. However, one thing has come to mind. I absolutely detest, abhor would be more accurate, leaf blowers. In my current suburb, our ears are constantly assaulted by their infernal noise almost every single day, except on Sundays.

What is the situation like in the MLPS suburbs? I know it snows a lot there and wanted to ask if gas-powered snowblowers are as noisy as leaf blowers. Are either snowblowers or leafblowers used a lot in the MLPS metro area? If yes, where should I move if I want peace and quiet? Thank you!

I am in Woodbury, been there for more than ten years.

On my block of the street with 14 houses, I believe all but two has/uses a snowblower and only one is not gas-powered (again, I believe that is the case). One guy shovels, one family has a service. And when using a snowblower is needed - sometimes it is just a easy to shovel - I will hear snowblowers going from adjacent streets when I am outside.

But, this comes to mind ...

1. When I am in my house and the neighbor is blowing snow, I do not hear it. Houses here are well-insulated and windows are closed in the winter. The past two winters are atypical because so many people are working from home, but there are still a number of people out blowing snow at 6 or 7 a.m. because the need to get out. I never hear them unless I am one of them. I am talking about SFHs on lots of about 5-9K square feet - the closest driveway to our house is still 40 or so feet from our outside wall.

2. Also, people only blow snow when they need to do it. I have use my snowblower maybe six times this winter. A few neighbors have used theirs a couple of times more.

As for leaf blowers, I don't see a lot of use on my street or behind us by the homeowners. There are a couple of houses who hire a crew for mowing/trimming and those crews always use leaf blowers. And the crew hired by the HOA. Those leaf blowers that are gas-powered. Again, that is just my street.

And we do hear lawnmowers - mostly gas-powered in our case - as lawns get mowed at least weekly from sometime in April to sometime in November.