The Twelve-Dollar Flamethrower

[Timm]

That thing you see in the pic is a highly evolved version of the Twelve dollar Flamethrower; Anyone can make one, and they can be fairly dangerous.. But are reasonably safe, and definately in comparison to other home-made flamethrowers!! That said, don't do this: obtain two 1-lb propane tanks, one with a normal torch head on it. Tape them together, securely, with the tip of the torch pointing towards the axis of tank #2, when seen from above.

A square metal shish-kabob skewer works best for the key, but can be hard to find; a good metal coathanger works pretty good...straighten it out, cut it off squarely as you can on one end (dremel tool, hacksaw then a file.. flat!), and bend that end of it into a half-circle-ish shape..you'll figure it out..

Put on cotton clothing, mask, whatever it takes to be safe, gloves are good, go someplace where a giant flame burst will attract no attention.... light the torch.. point away from you.. and push the little magic valve in the top and center of propane tank#2 with the coathanger.

Holy shit! Awesome. See how the flame is big, when pointed up, but gets huge when you point it down? Thats the liquid propane difference!! Whooo! Thats enough now, don't want it freezing open... One of my favorite toys, but trouble.. and propane ice is still flammable. Blow out the flames that linger on the bottle top!! Usually after a good few second blast I'm cracking up, and(depending on clothing) i give the ground around me a near full-circle squirt, for good flames to stumble out of to match the crazed laughter... Thats pretty much how I roll! Everyone thats seen one in action totally digs it.

BE CAREFUL with this thing.. especially when your dumb-ass buddies are handlin it!!

[Timm]

So... Did anyone try this? I figured at least SOMEONE would say they tried it and it was awesome... Hard to beleive that nobody gave it a shot..

[David5534]

It might help to get some pictures of the steps if you can.

[shetlan]

Whatever happened to a super-soaker full of turpentine with a small gas torch on the end?

[Timm]

This method is different, by using propane there is no messy and usually way more dangerous flammable liquids...so inclined, one can just about shoot it inside.. burns pretty clean.

And other guy, I figured the lack of pictures would kind of "weed out" those too young or not experienced enough to handle a regulation close-quarters combat flamethrower.. Trust me, its bad-ass, and dead simple; just tape an extra tank to a propane torch, and find a good thick wire that is strong enough to push down the lil stem valve thing on the extra tank! Pictures, really? Do it and take your own! You'll be glad you did.

[shetlan]

"Close Combat Flame Thrower"? Seems like a contradiction of terms. How do you "throw" flames in "close" combat without being burned yourself? Anyway, this seems to be no different than a taping a hairspray can to a lighter and calling it a day - other than being more expensive.

Secondly, I don't see the supposed advantage over the use of a flammable fluid. Fluids can be aimed more carefully than propane, they keep burning longer than propane, and they will hold onto their target - which propane won't.

As far as using it inside - how stupid would someone need to be to use a flame thrower in an enclosed space? For that matter, why would you want to? As far as being "cleaner", again, I don't see the point. The purpose of a flame thrower is to destroy items and spaces too large or too difficult to reach to use other methods ("clean" isn't really a factor). From the sound of it, using this propane flame thrower is little more than using an oversized lighter.

I just don't see an advantage here.

[Timm]

Oh man... Ok, I see your point on nearly all, uh points, but I will try to explain mine in favor of this.. contraption..

1, Close quarters meaning just that; it will only shoot about 8 to 10 feet, and dear god they are no joke.. they are impressive/fearsome in hallways, depending on which side of one you are on!!

2: The flame is small in diameter back by the device and operator, however, fans out in about a 40 ish degree angle. Performance is best with a new bottle, which I must point out probably costs just as much as an average can of hairspray. (and there the similarities end!)

3: Aim? Easy, just point and pull, like a shotgun! Won't shoot too far, but you'll probably get 'em. As far as liquids go, (which can go farther, I know..) I think they're great, you can shop for what kind of burn effect you want... But the dealbreaker for me is always the pressurized vessel of flammable liquid. Pretty much not down with that kind of safety hazard, tactical disadvantage, hellish death trap.. call it what you want to call it.

...But I love flaming gasoline clinging to trees and other various outdoor surfaces, so when I changed my fuel pump on my truck, I tore the pump out of the module thing...hose clamped a 1/4 inch nipple on the output line, and drilled a lil hole in the cap i screwed on there.. poly quart bottle from walmart.. Add a bent piece of aluminum flatbar, some black tape, a battery and trigger switch taken out of a cheap rechargeable drill, plus an extra ni-cad for voltage.. Gasoline squirtgun from hell!!!

That goes in the left hand... while the thing you see in my lil picture goes on the right arm... and i'm set. You want heat and light, an intimidating burst of flame, we got that.... Or one can hose down targets with gas first (watch those eyes!) before igniting the liquid with a burst from the right! And oh god is it every bit as fun as it sounds. You can write your name, make hearts if you're on a date, ect.. (girls love it! If they don't then you're hangin out with the wrong girls.)

And lastly, yeah, that was me shooting it inside.. In this kids dilapidated trailer.. Was pretty hammered, party was getting dull.. Nothin like a burst down the hall to liven things up!! Stupid? In any other place, yeah..assesed the risk... and did it. Whooo! ...An oversized lighter this is not. I hear you but I will beat the this-is-way-fuckin-cooler-than-you-think pulpit all damn day long until you try it, because i guarantee you will be singin a different tune!!

[Vertigo]

You don't like the idea of a pressurized liquid, but you're ok with the idea of liquidized gasses? I think your safety ratings may be a bit off.

For me a flame thrower has always been an ify solution to a problem. However, I could see lengthening the area between the tank and the aperture increasing the safety of the thing. Perhaps a dual triggering system to more efficiently direct the propane. something along the lines of a modeling paint gun. Your valve could be calibrated to close when the internal pressure was low enough to allow flames to blow back into the tank.

Oh, and mapp gas burns hotter.

[S7@1T3D]

I want a photo of this weapon in action, should be a laugh.

[bloodlusta]

The idea of a combat flame thrower is to fire flammable liquid into confined spaces thus making them uninhabitable. E.g. torching a fox hole or pill box

[Timm]

Trust me thats not all that is a little off.. The liquid propane tends to burn less persistently if dribbled, (which hardly ever happens) not nearly as shitty to get on you than flamimg gasoline.. And I know mapp gas burns hotter but also with a lot of excess carbon, a real sooty flame that is just not as much fun to shoot, especially at about 13 bucks a whack! ..that's the gasoline squirt gun in that crazy bastards left hand. I know this picture doesn't show what you wanna see but I'll get a better ones up soon..


And bloodlusta: Quite true. And rest assured if i was havin to dodge bullets from pillboxes and such i'd have somethin totally different worked out! The point is, this is a unique design, nearly in a class by itself; It is part toy, and part serious weapon. It is definately a flamethrower, but less.. deadly I guess is the word.. While it can totally fuck up an adversary with its crazy flamage, it does not "play for keeps" as much as a flammable liquid-spewing device would. The beauty part is this: You can go out to the garage, tape an extra bottle to a propane torch, bend and maybe file a lil on a brazing rod, and you're done! More flamethrower than 95% of your friends will ever see. And it has fast response!! Its quite impressive.

The thing in my lil pic is a more weaponized prototype, its operable one-handed (torch+tank contraption takes two) and has a quick-change deal you slide over to drop the empty and slide back to secure the fresh bottle. Shit it even has spikes on it, the jagged toothy-lookin part from an old, big chainsaw (on the other side). And it uses readily available and cheap fuel!! If you twist one up you will definately see the tactical avdantage of having one in close-quarters storming of corridors and rooms and such.. unless defended by well trained personell. Bottom line is no one expects it! Its fast and suprising, it stops as abruptly as it starts. I dig it, its fun as hell. Awesome toy, and a fearsome weapon in enclosed areas.

[IloveFlames]

Interesting idea, I like it.

Far better than the other flamethrower (Super Soaker with gasoline).
I consider it far safer.. Haven't tried it yet due to some.. complications.

I have a question for you. How close it the flame to the release valve, if I understand correctly. But don't count on it, I don't understand a lot of stuff unless explained explicitly.

There might be a small chance of it heating up too much if you hold in the trigger too long, but then again. Far safer than the super soaker idea, hate the idea of it burning through the plastic and hence letting the gasoline spill onto you... not a good idea.

Hope to try it soon. Great Idea.

[Steve_TPF]

I tried the super-soaker version years ago. Picture taken by my brother showed that the fuel didn't fully burn until about a foot away from the nozzle, owing to its velocity, so the nozzle was in no danger of melting. The greater danger is if the tank runs dry and starts spraying vapour. That could be an explosive hazard. (I was careful to stop before this happened.)

[Montezuma]

Sounds like something I'd like to try and I could actually not fuck up, but is there any chance of getting a decent-sized picture of it? I can't tell shit from that thumbnail.

[N_R_key]

How about making napalm and buying a super soaker? (It's still 12 dollars)

[FPSee]

Gone Done !!!

[teenmafia]

u guys hav gotta expand your horizens.
lighters nd WD 40 thats old.

[FPSee]

Gone Done !!!

[Timm]

There, thats a better shot of it but it was running low on 'pane, it rocks with a new one.

[thatcaffinatedguy]

Wow, That's a real Beauty there Timm.

Even running low on Propane it looks awesome.

I hope to give this a try at some point, Thanks for sharing.