[TheForge] Propane burners, of the weed type

[Bob Ehrenberger]

Last week I needed to clean up a downed tree in one of my hay fields.  So I
borrowed a weed burner from a friend to burn the tall grass and brush around
it.  It didn't take long to figure out that I really liked that tool. After
cleaning up the tree I cleaned off the garden and the weeds around my scrap
pile (resource center).

When my friend said thet he needed the burner back I was a little
dissapointed because I still had a couple areas left to clean up. So
yeaterday I started making my own weed burner.  Before sending back the
borrowed one I measured the oriface on it to give me a starting point (#54
drill). I didn't measure the rest of the burner which I regretted as soon as
I started.  I took a guess at the dimentions and started digging through the
stuff on my shelves. I had some valves that I had salveged off of an old gas
stove (save everything you never know when you'll need it).  To my delight
they they have adjustable orifaces (#53-#60) which gives me a little more
flexibility. The biggest chalange was to be able to connect the burner to
the valve, there was enough threads showing behind the tip that I could put
a thin nut on and attach it to the burner.

Most of my time was spent trying to come up with the right combination of
fittings to connect the valve to the gas line/regulator I had.  All total it
took about two hours and I have a working weed burner.  I started with the
oriface all the way shut down and it is a little weak, first thing today
I'll open it up some more.  The burner I'm copying has a baffle in it which
I haven't put in yet.  I think I'll put one in but not weld it until I see
it it helps the performance.

General design, 2" pipe 6" long. 6 - 1/4" holes drilled in the back plate,
4 - 1/4"x1" slots in pipe by the oriface, the baffel is a disk with a large
hole in the center and a bunch of small holes around the edges and is about
half way down the burner.  Pretty simple, throws a good flame, seems to be
resistant to side winds.

Robert Ehrenberger
Shelbyville, Mo.