Comments on: Agriculture fire-guns of yore

By: D2S

D2S — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

except the guy melting ice in the red dragon site is really battleling trying to teach water not to freeze…

By: mdh

mdh — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

of course, when you rtfa, you see it burns kerosene. This is a good deal cooler than a simple propane torch.

By: -3-

-3- — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Forget weeds! I want it for clearing the sidewalks this winter.

By: JoshP

JoshP — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I, too, was thinking why noone was sending Cory a Harbor Freight catalog, I mean, who knows when you’ll need bulk casters, unlimited plastic shelving or access to practically the entire range of hardware produced in the Southeastern Chinese Provinces? I mean, HF is like maker mail order budget Q drop… anyway.
Now if someone can combime the pressure washer with the propane torch… :)

By: EvilSpirit

EvilSpirit — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

As long as the area he’s working has sufficiently good drainage, he’s fine. The water can refreeze all it wants somewhere else, after the torch has dried the pavement.

By: sapere_aude

sapere_aude — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

My father used to have one of these things, which he used to clear brush and weeds on his farm. I always thought it was kinda cool when I was a kid (though he never let me play with it, of course). I don’t know what ever happened to it. I’m assuming that either he must have sold it, or else it was destroyed when his toolshed burnt down. I kinda wish I still had it; though, to be honest, I don’t really have any practical use for it.

By: GlenBlank

GlenBlank — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’d want a big flame to get rid of the weeds or if Japanese tanks come down the street.

Oh, then you want the Jet Torch:

http://www.flameengineering.com/Jet_Torch_Kits.html

:-)

That’s the one that’s got some real reach. Ranchers use ‘em to burn the spines off of stands of beavertail cactus, so their cattle can eat the cactus. (Don’t try this with teddy-bear cholla, though – the whole cactus goes up like a torch.)

They have everything from pinpoint burners for the home gardener that use little 1-lb. propane cartridge tanks, up to multiple-head rigs that you tow behind tractors to clear weeds between row crops.

And, no, the modern ones aren’t ‘pansy-ass’ compared to the older ones. I linked to the ‘Heavy-Duty Vapor Torch’ page in particular because those models are the same size and functionality as the one in the old ad.

They’re just a cleaner flame, because they burn propane. I’ve used both sorts, and the newer propane models are just as much fun – and they burn even hotter. :-)

By: Gregory Goldmacher

Gregory Goldmacher — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Fun for children of all ages!

By: orwellian

orwellian — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I think that, if you had a second tank of NO2, you’d get both more flame and more range. At that point, though, I think the UN inspectors for WMD stop by.

By: libelle

libelle — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

If there are over 100 farm uses, just *think* how many uses there are in the urban environment!

By: freshacconci

freshacconci — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

That’s what I’m looking for. Take that, Tojo!

By: GlenBlank

GlenBlank — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Why the hell does no one advertise great stuff like this anymore?

Oh, but they do:

http://www.flameengineering.com/Heavy_Duty_Vapor_Kits.html

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Guess what: these devices are still available today, either from a regular hardware store (I got mine from Orchard Supply and Hardware, aka OSH), or online at http://www.groworganic.com/backpack-flamer-kit.html Great for stopping weeds early in the still rainy early spring, when sprouts are still very small. There are also small versions for suburban home use http://www.groworganic.com/red-dragon-home-and-garden-flamer.html and http://www.groworganic.com/red-dragon-mini-dragon-flamer.html when anyone is serious about pesticide-free gardening and/or farming, these things can be the tool to do the job. Luisa Duchaineau, Livermore, CA

By: V

Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Similar devices still available, through Amazon nonetheless:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_garden?_encoding=UTF8&node=1055398&field-brandtextbin=Red%20Dragon

Friends just bought one to clear weeds from their rockery.

Common agricultural tool for controlled burn and clearing undergrowth.

By: Teller

Teller — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Two words: Coen Brothers

By: V

Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Also useful if your neighbor has an industrial fire extinguisher…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqnRoVuiN4c

By: JohnC

JohnC — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Cory, you’re out of touch with your country roots, they are a pretty common item anywhere beyond the street lights and sold all over the place. :)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yeah, these are actually pretty common. I have one I use to burn weeds out of the sidewalk and driveway cracks, but mine uses propane. I got mine at Harbor Freight but there are also available at about any “farm supply” store.

Great fun, sounds/looks like a flamethrower (but without that messy flamin’ jelly) plus I’m ready for The Thing. :D

By: skeletoncityrepeater

skeletoncityrepeater — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Another scary beast is the ‘Hot Pressure Washer’ used to remove graffiti or do heavy-duty cleaning. It’s water, but at 4000 psi and Super Hot!

By: Suds

Suds — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

yea, these things are common. we use them to burn the needles off cactus so that cows can eat the cactus.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

If you use one of these in Albion County make sure your fire protection fee is up to date.

By: Purplecat

Purplecat — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Okay, we get it. There are plenty of these things available.

What we want to know is: why don’t we see any adverts for them? Are flame-throwers just that self-evidently cool and useful that they sell themselves?

By: aaronhirsch

aaronhirsch — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve got one of these. It was $25 and it’s absolutely heinous. 200,000 BTU and it makes a lot of noise. Most fun you can spend $25 on.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

We had one kinda like this as a kid on the farm I grew up on, but it ran on propane. We would hook a huge tank up to the back of the tractor and I would drive the tractor while my dad torched the weeds. It was the most enjoyable chore on the farm by far.

By: Willie McBride

Willie McBride — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Are flame-throwers just that self-evidently cool and useful that they sell themselves?

Non-cool flamethrower is an oxymoron.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I keep one under my bed, just in case I’m ever attacked by giant centipedes.

It also works against bedbugs, although Maw calls that overkill.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

That is so Bioshock.

By: teapot

teapot — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I just love the illustration of the farmer. Look how satisfied he is just burnin’ stuff! I’ve never been suckered in by happy people eating burgers, but his comfortable yet powerful pose just makes me want to be that guy.

Also: c’mon people – do you really think Cory’s Google skills are that much worse than yours? I think this post is really saying “Look at these cool things you can buy. Discuss.”

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Propane, kerosene/paraffin, meh. Panty-waist stuff. Safe as houses.

For real excitement, try a shiny brass gasoline torch.

http://www.blotorches.com

When I was a kid, every plumber had one of these. They’d leave ‘em running under their lead-pots while they got out the oakum and calking irons to make up a bell-and-spigot joint.

That’d be around 1965-75 or so… now get off my damn lawn, you whippersnappers!

By: TimO

TimO — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Harbor Freight Tools still sells them too…