Hot Max 500G Big Max 500,000 BTU Propane Torch

The BEST spider slayer...ever...can you say Apocalypse Now? I looked at buying one of these a while back for weeding near my fence. I normally use 3-4 gallons of weed killer in a sprayer and - a week or so later, everything I can't mow is dying or dead. I never brought myself to buy the torch because the weed killer worked. I have a screened in porch/pool area with pavers, a dog who has to be let out and 4 year old twins who like to get into everything. A short while ago, I was taking my dog out at night and saw a few blue flashes of light reflected back at me along from the pavers on my porch. I thought I knew what it was because I had seen it before. To my horror, my dog ran up to it before I could stop him and the tiny blue lights started spreading out over the pavers...quickly moving out to an area 10 feet by 15 feet, there must have been a hundred. I got closer with my flashlight and realized I was right...it was a mommy WOLF SPIDER and her children. For those who don't know...a mother wolf spider carries her babies on her back. If she is startled, she must give off a scent or something, because she will jump and/or run and the babies will spread out like the tide... I had seen this before, OUTSIDE...but was NOT HAPPY to have what looked like a hundred or so baby spiders inside the pool area. I grabbed a broom and killed the mother and as many of the little SOBs as I could...but many of them ran into the small space between my pavers. If you have wolf spiders in your area, if you hold a BRIGHT light up to your forehead, pointed out to the ground, the light will hit the wolf spiders eyes and bounce right back to your eyes...almost like a tiny blue LED...similar to the light reflecting from a dog, cat, alligator or most wild animal's eyes... I grabbed a small hand held propane torch and hit a few of the suckers, but the more I walked around trying to get them, the more they would spread out and hide in the space between the pavers. I remembered this BIG torch and ordered it next day air. The next night, I grabbed my light, started this torch and went to work. I estimated about 60 sets of little blue eyes along the pavers...and to my surprise, they hadn't spread out much further than they were the night before. I walked the pavers forward and backward one time with the squeeze handle at about half, blasting the pavers with the torch flame, not keeping the heat on any area too long...using a sweeping motion. When I got back to my original position (30 seconds later) I used the light trick again and there were 2 baby spiders left. I quickly used the torch on them and was done...and was very happy not to have 60 baby spiders inside my screened porch. I would (and DID) gladly pay the cost of the torch JUST for that one spider job. That weekend I used the torch for my weeds near my fence and was amazed at how fast it wilted them. The next day, the weeds were brown and dead (the grass killer spray used to take 4-6 days before the weeds were brown). The torch worked right out of the box...no assembly except hooking it up to the propane tank. My only MINOR complaint is that The FLINT fire starter in my kit has a burr at the beginning of the steel striker that makes the flint stick immediately...this means using it with one hand impossible. I have used these before...so I know how to work it. It is simply a cheap defective flint starter. That said, the torch works so darned good, I will deduct no points and give it 5 stars. Excellent product.

At first I was a wary of having such a big output in terms of fuel usage, but I was pleasantly surprised to have about half a tank left (filled to 4.5 gallons when I started) after over an hour of straight usage. Considering the cost of spray concentrates compared to propane, this is acceptable to me. In today's market, I estimate cost of use is in the range of $5 per hour. The adjustment valve is for idle flame only. When you pull the trigger you have no choice but to get the full 500kbtu/hr output, but it turns out that's not a bad thing as the work goes faster. I did an experiment where some areas I burned the (green) weeds completely off, and in another area I just scorched them. The next day, the scorched weeds looked almost completely dead. I will report back when I know more about how well the roots kill with that approach. My plan is to save time by just scorching them, and then burn them away once they've dried out. The added bonus to using heat is it kills weed seed on the surface. I'm optimistic that once I go over an area, the weeds won't sprout as quickly after that. The 10ft hose is handy, such that if you're fine with moving the tank along by hand, you don't need a cart. You can cover a decent area before having to move the tank again. The noise is noticeable. I'm in a country area, but have neighbors within 50 yards. I immediately thought they would wonder what the noise is. If you're in a more densely populated area, you might consider that it will draw attention. If you've ever heard a hot air balloon burner, this is approximately equivalent. It's not so loud that you'd ever consider ear protection, but like I said, it's noticeable from a distance. I read another review complaining about the connection to the tank needing an adapter, but this is not true. It threads INSIDE a standard BBQ tank connection (assuming you have the up-to-date OPD style), and it's REVERSE threaded. All you need is a wrench or pliers in a pinch (hehe). It will not connect to, and is not intended for, a camp style tank. My favorite part is the fast results. I don't mind a little hard work, so I would often just pull weeds by hand. This is a better alternative. It kills the weeds and seeds, and is much faster--especially in areas with lots of small weeds. I am happy with the purchase. EDIT: The weeds I scorched will die on the surface, but deeper rooted weeds will start growing back. The good thing is that a scorched weed will burn off quicker on the second round since it dries out a bit. I plan to scorch them first, then go through more thoroughly after a couple days to finish the job and hopefully kill more of the roots. Overall, I'm still happy with the results, and I'm still optimistic that once the weeds are under control, the two-step process won't be necessary. EDIT 2: After a full summer of owning the torch, I'm most happy with its ability to kill weed seeds. I've nuked a couple of different areas on my one acre property, and they remain either gravel or bare dirt with minimal additional maintenance. I'd definitely by this torch again.

I live in the Pacific Northwest, an area with a mild climate, plenty of rain, and lots of sunshine in the summer. In short, weed nirvana. It takes only a month or two for a vegetable or flower garden to become overrun with weeds. Further, the soil at my house is a very dense clay, so once a weed gets rooted, it is a serious struggle to remove it. Since I am not a real fan of herbicides, time for modern methods. === The Good Stuff === * It is about the most fun I have ever had weeding a garden. Some weeds (like certain thistles) almost explode when you torch them, which I admit is somewhat gratifying. (Might want to wear eye protection, that hot sap hurts). * The torching goes pretty quick, and seems about the same level of time and effort as spraying roundup. * There are two settings, the normal flow, and a "turbo" setting. The normal flow worked for about 90% of the weeds, especially the smaller ones. Giant weeds, and those I knew from experience to be more hardy, took a full blast to fricassee. Did it kill all of them the first time? No, but neither does digging, Roundup, or any other strategy. It does kill about 75% of them the first time, and the rest go down easy with another blast after a few days. * In this area, if you cultivate and just "turn over" weeds, it is not uncommon for the exposed roots to work their way back into the soil before the sun has a chance to kill them. A quick shot to the roots with the torch puts a quick end to that. * The connections between the hose and torch seemed a little loose, but did not leak in the first 10 uses. Hopefully that holds up. === The Not-So-Good Stuff === * The instructions missed an important first step. Take the cheap POS striker that is included with the torch, and toss it directly in the nearest trash can. After a use or two it deformed, and was just about impossible to use with one hand ---you have to hold the torch with the other. Easiest thing to use was a long-nozzle lighter, and seemed perfectly safe in spite of the warnings in the instructions. * I don't like the trigger mechanism on the "turbo" blaster. It was easy to inadvertently squeeze it. Since it makes a loud noise, it will scare you if you are not ready for it. Occasionally the turbo blast would extinguish the flame, forcing you to stop and re-light. Wish it had a built-in igniter. * Not sure what the exact weight of the torch is, but it does get heavy. I didn't especially mind it, but I wouldn't want to use it all day long. Of course at the rate it burns propane, I couldn't afford to anyway. (I didn't use it long enough to go through a tank, but my 10 gallon tank was noticeably lighter after about 20 minutes of use). * A couple cautions- it is easy to light grass, bark mulch, or even large weeds on fire. Most can easily be stomped out, or will burn themselves out, but having a hose or at least a bucket of water nearby is probably a good idea. I'd also stay away from desirable plants, woodwork, or macadam paving. I took to wearing eye protection after a thistle "exploded". Also, watch where you set it down, the nozzle stays hot for a while after the flame is extinguished. === Summary === A torch is not a 100% eradicator for weeds, but then neither is anything else. It was very effective for me, and is actually a bit of fun. There are a few things that could be better, but the torch seems well built and reasonably easy to use.

I bought this years ago and still works great!

This torch is an absolute piece of garbage. It has never worked from day one. Don't bother buying this unless you only want to use it on the lowest possible setting. You may as well use a cigarette lighter otherwise if you do get a large flame it will blow itself out.

After you attach this to the tank, and you are ready to light it, OPEN THE VALVE VERY SLOWLY. A quarter of an inch turn is plenty. Just enough to hear the gas and no more. Any more (or faster), and it WILL NOT light properly - if you just crank it open (like I did) you will have to bleed the line by turning off the tank with the valve (knob) on the top of the wand open, and try again. It took me a while to learn this. After the jet engine-like blast that accompanies every lighting, and you look around to see who watched you flinch, you can turn the valve on the tank as high as you like - though barely open seems to have the same result as full. I have never needed the 500,000 BTU blast lever that is on the handle, but I have tried it simply because I'm essentially a middle-aged boy. Here in the SW desert, I use mine for weed control. I hate using poison, and it rarely works anyway. If poison does work, you have wait 3 weeks to find out. After seeing my success with this thing, and how cheap and effective it is, both of my neighbors are using them too. Here, we can use them on burn days only (fireplace and such), unless the breeze is over four miles per hour. Common sense will tell you if it's too windy. Also, we have to have a garden hose handy. I went to a local thrift store and bought an old golf caddy for mine (the tank), and both of my neighbors use small luggage caddies - like stewardesses used before luggage had wheels (and when they were still called stewardesses). Overall, I love it. Check your local laws before you buy one - they're illegal in many areas.

The gas orifice was not drilled straight, flame comes out an angle. Does not really effect it function too much, just not impressed that it burned the paint off one side, but likely going to happen after extended use anyways. Keep in mind that after 10-20 minutes of use the propane tank will get very cold and not produce the volume of gas need to keep 500K BTU. Hot sunny day might be ok, but melting ice or burning plants on a cold day well you will need to buy propane tank heating blanket. This is the nature of pulling gas out of a tank at high volume.

WOW , Unbelievable way to get all the bad weeds out of my grass, It's a great tool, but as with any tool is be careful not to burn anything. A good idea is have someone with some water stand by ,Safety always 1st , IF this if not set right, It can become a high power Flame Thrower in the hands of the wrong user ,Please just be careful ,''that's all''.... Very Strong & you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED ABOUT IT'S GREAT HEAT you get from it on the lowest or just idling just a small flame that barely keeps the flame lite or the more you push the nozzle in the hotter it gets all the way to ,MAX Power, @ 500,000 BTU of raw directioned down at weeds to heat or fry,,,,around nice Flowers use idle & just touch the weed itself, when you are clear of any good plants you can increase the heat at will,,