Get Trash Out of Crevices
Tip sent by Clifton Thomas of Cabin Craft Parking Lot Maintenance, in Indiana:One of the problem areas when blowing off sidewalks is getting out the cigarette butts and other stuff that accumulates in the cracks and crevices. We recently hit upon a solution which works great. What we did is to attach a 5 inch hardened pole barn nail to the top side of the backpack blower tube outlet, fastened on with a couple of cable clamps.
This enables our operators to get the cracks clean, get litter out of otherwise hard to reach places and, we found, keep noise down. Because the operators are able to 'nudge' out something that's stuck, they can now run the machines at a lower rpm level to do the same job.
One of our female employees also says she feels like she has a weapon at her disposal if she runs into trouble with someone. That might be helpful in some situations.
A caution seems in order, though, centering around the fact that if you use this Tip you will have a nail sticking out of the nozzle of your backpack blower: You will, indeed, have a weapon. Although it might conceivably come in handy in an attack situation, it seems more likely that an operator or other employee might get stabbed if everyone isn't cautious in handling the blower. A possible solution is to fit a piece of rubber or plastic tubing over the end during transport and at any other times when it is not being used in its digging function.
Editor's Note: With this Tip, his third published, Clifton Thomas deserves recognition as a most prolific contributor of Tips. Thanks Clifton!
Have an idea that would be helpful to others in the industry? Please let us know what it is.
