Leaf Blowers Create Giant Ozone Hole

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Edmunds emission-tested a 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Crew Cab and a 2012 Fiat 500 against an Echo PB-500T and a Ryobi RY09440 leaf blower.

The Raptor has a 411-horsepower 6.2-liter V8. The Fiat 500 is powered (if you can say that) by a 1.4-liter four.

The leaf blowers tested receive their blow from a 50.8cc two-stroke air-cooled single-cylinder engine for the Echo and a 30cc four-stroke engine for the Ryoby. Which pollutes more?

NMHCNOxCO2011 Ford Raptor0.0050.0050.2762012 Fiat 5000.0160.0100.192Ryobi 4-stroke leaf blower0.1820.0313.714Echo 2-stroke leaf blower1.4950.0106.445

I guess you saw that coming. Pretty amazing, still. Expect a backlash against leaf blowers.


Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Montyz81 Montyz81 on Dec 07, 2011

    At what speed was the F150 going when those numbers were captured? I think you would have to measure it at 55mph and at 15-20mph as those are probably average speeds for traffic and non traffic driving. Also, the f150 spends far more time running then the leaf blower. I agree that small engines needs some standards around emissions control, but this isn't a fair test unless both items numbers are captured during their normal operating environments.

    • MarkP MarkP on Dec 07, 2011

      If you follow the link in the story, you will find that the test conditions are detailed pretty well. At least for the truck and car, they followed some (apparently) pretty stringent test requirements.

  • Zackman Zackman on Dec 07, 2011

    All I know about leaf blowers is the one my wife and I experienced volunteering for a skit on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" back in late September! That was fun, and when we saw ourselves (and others) on national TV, we laughed our heads off - and so did everyone else! F-150 trucks? Never experienced one of those, either, just Chevy and Dodge.

  • JMII JMII on Dec 07, 2011

    Glad they didn't test my boats 1996 Yamaha 90HP 2 stroke outboard engine. Its spews blue smoke and gets around 4 mpg. To make for the damage it does to the environment I have an electric leaf blower/sucker.

  • Likenissan Likenissan on Dec 08, 2011

    You ask "which pollutes more?". Are you concerned about the concentration of pollution or the amount of pollution? I assume what you are listing here is the concentration measured at the tail pipe, without taking into account the volume of exhaust gases. The 6 liter engine generates a lot more exhaust volume than the 30cc engine. It also consumes a lot more fuel.

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