Weed burners

Finding land, working a small plot or anything else countryside related
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Inakappe
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Weed burners

Post by Inakappe »

Hey guys,
I've noticed on here that some of you use weed burners and am wondering about if they're worth getting.
I read they're really good for working around cracks in driveways etc but are they worthwhile in a more open area and around fruit trees etc?
Also in Japan would kerosene ones be the best to use?
If I have a field full of weeds could I realistically get rid of them? Or is it better just to mow them down with a lawnmower?
Any insight, advice and answers would be appreciated.
I'd never heard about them until seeing them mentioned here but after looking online they seem to be reasonably common overseas. They also seem to be quite environmentally friendly too which is always a plus.
Cheers :)

NickinGunma
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Weed burners

Post by NickinGunma »

I have a kero fired one. Really useful for getting rid of weeds in the driveway and rock walls. I stick to a lawn mower for the fields though. Be careful when using them, the get fairly hot....

Shizuman
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Weed burners

Post by Shizuman »

Hey mate I've got a kero weed burner as well and its great for knocking off small newly sprouted weeds but it struggles with anything that has been in the ground awhile or has a tap root, itll kill the tops but it will regrow after that.

If you've got a field of weeds and they are established mowing them might be the way to go.

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Zasso Nouka
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Weed burners

Post by Zasso Nouka »

As the others have said they are very useful for areas where a brush cutter can't work but for a large area a lawn mower would be better.

You can get either kerosene powered or one that runs on propane with the propane one being more expensive initially but you won't have to replace the heating coil so in the long run may work out cheaper although I've no idea how much it costs to refill a tank of propane.

If you go with kerosene then get one with a tank as it's lighter and easier to work with, the wand types run for less time and are heavier to use. For ease of lighting you can also get one that has a small gas canister that will heat up the coil somewhat faster.

Inakappe
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Weed burners

Post by Inakappe »

Cheers for the replies guys.

So it sounds like they're best to use around concrete and stone etc.
Is there any damage done to the concrete when you use them? Discoloration or stains?

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Zasso Nouka
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Weed burners

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Not used ours around stone much but do use it on our packed gravel/asphalt driveway and not noticed much discolouration there. We mainly use it to kill off weed seedlings before seeding vegetables.

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Weed burners

Post by donguri »

We borrowed our neighbor's kerosene unit and it was a waste of time! Tried to get rid of weeds coming through gravel in an area we have for dealing with tree trimmings, fire pit and Mr Donguri's chainsaw art projects. As others have said, they are probably useful for burning off young weeds, but I was disappointed in its performance in our situation.

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Weed burners

Post by Zasso Nouka »

If the weeds have established roots then a burner will just kill off the top growth and they will sprout again. However if you keep doing this as new growth emerges you will gradually exhaust the roots and they will eventually die but it does take a while, that's how we kill off sugina.

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