I've got a rock "lawn" and I would like to quit using herbicide for killing weeds, and try scorching them instead.
There are a lot of weed / roofing torches on ebay and I was wondering if there is anything to choose for or against in buying one. The one I'm leaning toward getting says: "3000+ Fahrenheit" - that's enough, right?
We use a weed barrier fabric beneath rock in the desert and still have superficial weeds pop up in the rocks. A torch has been good when I needed or used one. They are not routine for me, as I don't own one.
-- Oren
"The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!"
I like the company Leevalley. I went with their advice to water the target plants. I quick hit of heat with no smoke and moss was dead on my brick patio in a few days. Boiled I guess ? I purchased to deice our walk .
Have someone standby with a hose just in case as dry tinder seems to be about these days.
It's really a simple thing. No need to make so many guesses. Just get a flame thrower and give it a whirl. What's the worst that could happen using a device that can melt steel and then some? (2500F) A little fire? Some nasty burns? The OP asked for opinions. I am sorry that by stating mine, I made you so angry.
Guessing that's about the temperature the bonfire 2 years ago burned at its height of heat. Cutoff lumber from the builder, juniper ashe, a little live oak. All dried for about 2 months first. Pile was over 10 feet high, 30 foot around, teepee fashion. Fire laughed at the garden hose at its height. Absolutely nothing grew there for a full year. Put a raised bed garden over the site.
There was nothing within 50 feet that was a potential for burning, no wind, overcast, drizzly off and on that day. Watered down the area around the fuel dump anyway, prior to lighting off. Aluminum cans, and glass bottles were melted flat. Some steel in some nails melted. Used magnetic pickup tool to get all the steel remaining afterwards.
You don't have enough propane to do that. Plus, the roots are hiding under rocks instead of flat ground.
Something that will work for a a year or two is used motor oil. But, weeds will come back with vengeance. It won't kill them entirely. But, its no worse than the chemicals and consequential runoff from herbicides that you have to pay additional money for.
They weren't guesses. I was being facetious. You apparently didn't read the OP's post very well.
Now we're going to get out a 'flame thrower'? I thought they only wanted to use a propane torch on some weeds, not remove some jungle. There's a bit of a difference, you know.
In order to 'melt steel' with a propane torch, you'd have to keep it in one place, with the flame feathered properly, and positioned in the optimum place, for quite some time. Much longer than it would take to kill a weed, which is what the OP wanted it for.
From a rock? Again, tell me a rock that's going to burn, in the amount of time that it kills a weed.
Your chances of poisoning or burning by a 'better herbicide' are far greater than that of burning yourself with a propane torch with a spreader on it. And, with a spreader on a torch, you've little chance of melting steel, btw.
ROFL nothing you say could possibly make me angry. Your reply was quite a source of amusement, trust me. The OP didn't ask for your opinion about their choice of herbicides. They stated that they wanted to get away from herbicides. You tell them get a better one. I called you on it, simple as that.
Propane torches are safe for use on weeds in rocks. Where I work, there's a lot of brick, concrete, and flagstone. A torch makes quick work of any weeds that germinate in the cracks. You only need to wilt them, not hold the torch on them until nothing is left. Do a bit of homework before spewing drivel, next time, please. And, I'll add to please read the post you're replying to, a bit more closely, in the future. Thanks.
Sounds a bit like my annual event. Here's the before-and-after from the 2005 one (the most impressive to date:
Before:
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used a big magnet in a sock to pick up a 20 litre bucket full of nails from the site a few weeks later, and I'm still getting a handful from time to time (I have a post there so that I know not to drive over it).
This years was a little less impressive, but only a little:
Used motor oil is a LOT worse than an EPA approved herbicide like Roundup. You need to recycle the stuff carefully, not spread it around in the environment.
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