propane weed torch

I saw a propane weed torch in one of my catalogs, and now i can't find it. Has anyone recently come across it?? It's around 50$

thanks !!in advance jfrost

Reply to
jfrost
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google search for "propane weed torch" brought this up right on top at $34.95. There were pleanty more to select from.

Tom J

Reply to
Tom J

Flame engineering Co also makes torches

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The ones I use are more expensive (seems to me they were around $70 several years ago) but they're industrial strength torches rather than the little dinky homeowner style. They make both vapor and liquid propane torches. I use mine with a 20 lb tank of propane on a backpack.

The one in the link supplied by Tom J is lighter than mine, but for limited work that's probably just fine. I use mine on a farm with 250' rows, so it gets a lot of use. I found that the handle with the torch (mine is longer than the picture on the link) was really tiring on my wrist, so I added a counterbalance. The liquid propane torch works better for large scale operations, since the tank will freeze up after

15-20 minutes of use with a vapor torch.

Note that when killing weeds, it's not necessary to toast the weed to a crisp. All you have to do is to heat it enough to boil the fluids in the leaves of the weed. That kills the weed, although it sometimes doesn't realize it for 5 minutes or so. If you want to toast the weed for the psychological boost it might give you, go ahead, but you're wasting fuel.

The weed burner doesn't work on grasses. The growing point of grass is underground, so the burner just kills the leaves, and more will sprout later. You can probably discourage grass if you hit it twice a week, but it takes work to do it. The burner works best on broadleaf weeds.

Also, the burner doesn't work well on large weeds. If the weeds get larger than 2-3" high, or the second true leaf stage, it takes too much fuel to kill them. You're better off chopping them with a hoe at that point.

Reply to
Dwight Sipler

I'm not sure where you are from, but if you are in the midwest part of the states, Menards carries them for about $30.00 I'm not sure if Lowes or Home Depot does, but Menards has the larger one for a 20lb LP tank as well.. about 50.00....

ask around our local hardware store. they could tell you where to get one otherwise...

email: dallyn_spam at yahoo dot com please respond in this NG so others can share your wisdom as well!

Reply to
Dave Allyn

I saw one at Harbor Freight for a few dollars - REAL cheap.

Gene

Reply to
Gene

"jfrost" wrote in news:bup1tu$i04$ snipped-for-privacy@news.tamu.edu:

Is there something special about a propane weed torch or will a plain one do?

Reply to
Salty Thumb

Nothing special. All you need is this for ~ $20 and a normal 5 gallon or larger BBQ propane bottle...

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Reply to
Gene

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the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make.

Reply to
dr-solo

snipped-for-privacy@wi.rr.xx.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news-server.wi.rr.com:

years ago I help my dad retile a bathroom floor, and I'm pretty sure it involved holding the propane tank upside down (valve-side down) or at least at an angle at which you could conceivably burn weeds.

Reply to
Salty Thumb

We called them weed burners when I was a kid, the neighbor carried the tank with a shoulder strap and hoses to the burner which seemed to have an air mixer. Either the tank carried its own oxygen supply, or it had some way mixing air with it. It's probably modeled after flame throwers as I recall the spraying out streams of flame, so this may not be what you're looking for.

Reply to
Janice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List

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the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make.

Reply to
dr-solo

And if you tried it with 100 other hand held propane torches with the angled burner attached directly to the can, they would all go out too. They would all flood the flame when used upside down.

Tom J

Reply to
Tom J

"Tom J" wrote in news:bv1843$mjuk7$ snipped-for-privacy@ID-76114.news.uni-berlin.de:

Did you try turning the flow rate adjustment knob until you got a steady flame? It's not just an open-close valve. This was probably 15 years ago, so I don't know about any new fangle doodads on propane tanks (like the OPC(?) valve on ones for grills), but IIRC, the one I used was just a angled burner attached to a ~12" long, 3" diameter cylinder, and was used, valve side down to either burn crap off the floor or to heat vinyl bathroom tiles so that the glue holding them to the floor would 'melt' making them easier to pry up. Chances are that the house wasn't turned upside down so that the torch could be used upright and I'm sure I didn't have some sort of contraption to reroute the gas.

Reply to
Salty Thumb

The torch was being used with the cylinder at an angle so the torch flame could hit the tile, not upside down. Those type torches just don't work with the bottom of the cylinder up and the torch end down. If you don't own one, most likely your neighbor does, so try it yourself.

Tom J

Reply to
Tom J

"Tom J" wrote in news:bv1nvl$n99mt$ snipped-for-privacy@ID-76114.news.uni-berlin.de:

Maybe I'm a little confused. Wouldn't the torch you describe work just as well for tile as for burning weeds? It's not necessary to hold a tank precisely vertically to burn weeds.

Yeah, my neighbors have blow-torches. Two married guys on either side that don't even have toolboxes and 3 single girls across the street. I think I might have one in the garage, but not sure if the tank has any propane in it.

Anyway I was just curious. I don't have anything so pernicious that can't be eliminated by manually pulling out or dumping vinegar on.

Reply to
Salty Thumb

You could also just sprinkle with salt! ;-) Tom J

Reply to
Tom J

I bought one from Harbor Freight for 20$. It hooks up to a propane tank (like one used for grills)

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Reply to
Nicole H

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