British Columbia: Weed flamer, anyone??

Does anyone have any experience with one of these propane powered weeding "appliances?'' We are looking at purchasing one to use on annual weeds, and wondered if it is worth the money spent on it. Our property is fairly large and we have a mother of a weed problem. So far I have been hand weeding and hoeing, but am not making much headway in spite of bark mulch etc. Any suggestions???

 

I have a friend with a ceramic "weed heater". He says it works great on small areas & recommends me to get one on my 1/4 acre lot. However, he has 5 Ac. & says it is too small & slow to be effective.
If you want to raise the stakes, I know several people that use a regular Tiger Torch (like the roofers use). Apart from the obvious fire hazard they get great results on larger areas. I can only assume that they are very careful when, where & how they use them.

gb.

 

The one I am considering buying is called a Weed Dragon, made by Flame Engineering and it is a 100,000 BTU burner, which sounds to me like it will adequately cope with our 37,000 sq ft lot. There is a model with a squeeze valve which saves on propane, so may go this route. Thank you for your input...I was hoping to hear from someone who had experience with this garden tool!!! If it is efficient, it is by far the most environmentally friendly and labour saving option.

 

I am interested too. It's on my Xmas list! Vinegar has it's limits.

gb

 

I have done a lot of research this morning, on various brands, options etc, but overall conclusion is that it is definitely worthwhile. Here on Vanc Island a few retailers sell them but I am having difficulty finding one with a squeeze valve. For your purposes Home Hardware sells one for $70 w/o the valve that is quite strong enough to cope with an average suburban lot. I will probably end up going this route as well. Good luck!!!

 

You should be able to put a trigger in the hose yourself. Check it out with your local industrial suppliers. One of them will carry this kind of harware.

gb

 

My family has used on for years. You can usually buy the torch separate from the tanks. We just use the normal pig tanks. It can be a pain lugging a tank around so here is what you do: Buy an old frame backpack and remove all the nylon. Get some black bungees or rope and attach you tank to the frame. We actually made an L shaped wood bracket to rest the foot of the tank on. The torch has a simple turn nob to regulate the flow. We use an sparker (easily found at a welding outlet) to ignite the torch. Be careful. These things can get out of hand. Always have a 5 gallon bucket of water on hand and watch the wind. I have attached a link of the setup below. Just copy/paste

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs148.snc1/5493_584700139477_40610536_34411170_2539821_n.jpg

 

Excellent! Canadian Tire Man - eat your heart out, you ain't got one of these!

Thanks. I love it. I want one.

gb.

 

I have the "tiger torch" style and like any other weeding operation it works best on very young (4 leaf stage) weeds. Various sorts of sheet metal guards can be helpful as the flames are definitely non-selective. Less than a second can completely kill a valuable seedling, while (of course) a 4" or 5" thistle will bounce right back.

If you turn a bed and prep it for planting, a few days to a week later is an excellent time to kill all the sprouted weeds. After seeding (if you are sure of your germination times) you can give it another quick shot just before your crop emerges. For both of these operations about a minute of fast moving flames will do a 3ft x 30ft bed.

Always with a hose or a bucket or a "piss can" full and nearby!

Ralph

 

Ralph, Had a good chuckle at your last sentence!! I borrowed a Tiger type torch from neighbours and have been doing "Operation Weed Extermination" today. From a gal's point of view, it is very heavy and after only about 15 mins of use, my arm was pretty tired, but it seems effective. A longer hose would also be an advantage, saving having to move the dolly so frequently. One with a squeeze valve will also be great, saving propane and preventing setting fire to necessary body parts whilst moving the dolly. So I will order a Weed Dragon from Rittenhouse.ca which only weighs 5.5 lbs and has the squeeze valve. And get some metal guards for shrubs etc. Amazing that 1 min will get a 3 ft X 30 ft bed done...I am reading that correctly...???? I'm still a newby so am not running the torch at anything like full burner capacity. Any other tips gratefully noted.

 

Well OK, 2 minutes, but only when all the sprouted weeds are small (there can be lots of them, like a carpet even, but small). I run it full blast - you can hear it anywhere on the property (30 acres). I have 30 feet of hose, so I can do 2 x 30' beds without moving the tank.
Ralph

 

My weed burner uses a small propane tank like the ones on camping stoves. Excellent! Particularly useful on the brick patio. I wanted to know if anyone had tried it on snow-on-the-mountain or gout weed and eradicated it after a few treatments. I wasn't sure if its propagation style would simply outdo this form of attack. I'm about to give up that section of my yard...