a tale of tails, tenacity, and tedium, as told by me, usually barefoot and bellowing

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Dad's Flame Thrower

I remember
when he told of flame throwers in the War,
not in great detail, but just how they worked.
My mind put the horror in without any help.
He talked about how handy they would be around the farm.  I always thought he made it because he invented many items to help work go easier.  I didn't ask.  I would watch him clear a fence row of underbrush and was amazed at the power of a small flame thrower.  I could not imagine the effect a larger one had in war.  Today we found it.
The cylinder is removed, diesel added, top tightened, pressure pumped, 
turn the valve and light it.
The little diesel remaining was still good
but you have to pay attention to the wind direction. 
This is the perfect thing for that patch of grass burrs!

16 comments:

Cynthia said...

Nice to know it has a useful life in peace as well as war! I don't think I've ever seen a flame thrower before.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I haven't seen one in use in a long time, but I think my grandpa used to clear fence rows with one. I bet it will annihilate those burrs!

Marty said...

Actually, that would be healthier for the environment (assuming you don't start a wildfire!) than the chemicals people are always spraying around.

MadSnapper said...

where oh where is scotty? if only i could find him I would BE RIGHT THERE.. a flame thrower. yowsa... JEALOUS

LindaG said...

I've read they are real good. A lot of people use them to clear fence lines.
I think you have to be careful when you're under a burn ban though.
Have a blessed week, Gail!

Arkansas Patti said...

I have seriously thought of buying one but the fear of out of control fires makes me a chicken. I remember newsreels about them in the war. Horrifying.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Oh wow - you got it to work! The guys from American Pickers will be knocking on your door soon.

Truedessa said...

I have never heard of this before today, but to be honest I would be clueless as to how it worked. Cool that you got it working though..

Far Side of Fifty said...

Now that is a heavy duty weed whacker:)

Anonymous said...

Bring it on over. We hsve persistent burrs up here, too. Interesting post.

LilliStJohn said...

sent a comment a moment ago, but not sure if you got it??

Sandy Livesay said...

A great weed killer, and ice melter :-)

Debbie said...

it's a mystery to me!!!!!

Ida said...

Wow one would certainly need to be cautious when using that contraption. Cool photos though.

Lynne said...

You be careful though, don't want you to burn up the place . . .
Winds come up fast!

21 Wits said...

That is very cool! Fun photos.

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