Need advice...

Cutshaw

Cutshaw

Moderator
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Messages
7,274
[SERIOUS] I'm too cheap to buy a snowblower but icicles have been freezing in my beard both this and last winter when I shovel snow.

I used to own a camper and have more propane tanks then I need for the one Weber. I'm thinking about buying this...:D


http://www.harborfreight.com/propane-torch-with-push-button-igniter-91037.html

image_2330.jpg


Ignoring my juvenile excitement at using a small, agricultural flamethrower on my drive while the neighbor shovels snow... :p

Will this crack my concrete drive with the rapid temperature changes?:(

The fun could be priceless :cool:and maybe, just maybe be a stepping stone to a real surplus flamethrower once I convince the lovely Mrs. Paddling_Man of the virtues of conflagration. :thumbup:[/SERIOUS]

What say you, group?
 
Save your money.

Step one: Dig a small trench in the snow down the middle of your driveway
Step two: Pour copious amounts of gasoline into said trench.
Step three: Light a match, toss it and jump back.
Step four: get a(nother) drink...

:D

But seriously, I can see the concrete cracking, but more than that, I can see the snow melting and then refreezing as slick ice. You're better off with the snow. Now, the surplus flamethrower idea... :thumbup::thumbup: :D:D:D
 
If you are gonna get one, go to a roofing supply store and get one with the dual control knobs and a longer hose. The ones we use have at least 15 ft long hose and make sure it has a rubber o ring on the connector, some of them now just use metal on metal, I don't care for that. I'll take a few pics tomorrow of one of the torches we use if you want
 
I don't think it will crack the concrete, but there is a very good chance of the water just remelting into ice like Jaxx said
 
Man I have always told my wife I wanted a flamethrower to take care of the dang snow.... ever y year I destroy my back shoveling that stuff.

Jaxx I like your suggestion, as long as gasoline stays at a reasonable price and it does not snow every day it will be a cheaper alternative to the Harbor Freight snow destroyer.

Too bad oit is not snowing now, my breath is probably flamible enough to light :eek:
 
My father has one and swears by it.....though we don't have all that white stuff. Mainly uses it kill the weeds and grass in the ditches versus weed eating it.

Also great fun a BBQs!
 
Snow isn't so much the problem around here. How big is that flamethrower...

ATT00017.jpg


ATT00011.jpg


(not really where I live - it's Versoix in Switzerland. Wish I did live there!)


...oh yes, and our 8" thick concrete drive cracked right down the middle last week in the -10 Celcius freeze.. We noticed when the gates wouldn't quite meet in the middle any more. One side has subsided by about 1/2", where the land slopes away at the edge of our property. Looks like water has been finding its way underneath it from the other side. D'oh!
 
Last edited:
foxyrick said:
Snow isn't so much the problem around here. How big is that flamethrower...

ATT00017.jpg


ATT00011.jpg
Click to expand...

This reminds me of a story a guy I work with told to me.

He was in the Navy stationed in Norfolk. A shipmate was LATE getting to the ship for deployment. REAL late. My buddy diagrammed the docks for me and there were parking lots where folks parked before heading out for weeks/months... and some adjacent to the docks/water that NO ONE parked in. Next to the water and all of the spray...

Well, this kid was stoked that, by some miracle, the lot right next to the ship was empty. He parked and dashed on board.

Returning a few weeks later and the chunk of ice where his car had been parked was barely recognizable as a vehicle. Apparently it was nearly a complete right off. Among other things, the suspension was shot from the layer of ice that built up on it.

WalterDavis said:
Trust me, it's slow going:D
Click to expand...

I like how you think, Walter. Yep. :)


For all of you Florida folks... I grew up in Daytona Beach back in the 70s/early 80s. My drive in this morning? 7F. Bare flesh sticks to metal with a marriage that is painful to divorce. Not too many inches of snow on the ground but 40 mph winds on Sunday made stuff drift a bit and cut visibility. Folks spent the night in their cars on Hwy 30 in Indiana a day or so ago.

And I LOVE the winter!!! I dig the change of season!!

We get hail like this in June! It caused me to miss Blade 2009. (Leave my danged Banquet meal alone... this is what happens when Mrs Paddling_Man DOESN'T do the grocery shopping but PM is bach'ing it for the weekend.)

IMG00208.jpg
 
Last edited:
This is the Busse forum if your going to get a flamethrower you may as well go big. Get one like you can rent at knob creek. Yeah that ought a melt your driveway and dry it up pretty good. Just make sure to move all your vehicles far enough away from the area. Ah yeah maybe your neighbors cars too. :thumbup::D
 
Won't work. I've got one of those small screw-tank ones. I've used it to try and melt ice. It's grossly ineffective b/c heat rises.
 
I could see using that to help you break through the ice to get to your concrete. But unless you want to clear your driveway 2" at a time, I wouldn't recommend throwing away your snow shovel.

It wouldn't hurt the concrete.
 
Dennis in MA said:
Won't work. I've got one of those small screw-tank ones. I've used it to try and melt ice. It's grossly ineffective b/c heat rises.
Click to expand...

^ This is exactly what I was going to say. A couple weeks ago I used mine in an attempt to thaw out the ground for an eight foot stretch of dirt/snow. :thumbdn: The snow melts and refreezes very shortly after you move to the next section as nothing removes the water. There was an extension cord that had been buried about 2-4" deep by chicken scratching during the fall that required relocation out of necessity. It was like trying to dig through the steel bed of a dump truck and a shovel was useless at 0*F so I used an S5LE to pick/pry my way across for almost an hour. :eek: While it was tedious, this worked great and only dulled the blade by the tip/belly enough to require a quick sharpening. Sure did scratch up that satin good! :o

Those torches are great on weeds/burnpiles or asphalt repair though and in an emergency can be used for cooking/boiling water! :thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top