New-Sheen-X300-Weed-Flame-Gun-Flamegun-Organic-Weed-Control-Paraffin-fuel

When I fired this up for the first time, today, I had the advantage of some prior knowledge. My father had a very similar thing when I was a boy and in those days parents seemed to have a much more Darwinian approach to bringing up children than is the case today. I had hours of fun attacking nettles with Father's flame-thrower, but knew that it was always a temperamental pig to get going. I thought that was because our old flame-thrower was an ancient rusty contraption but it seems it's inherent in the design, based on today's experience at any rate.I put in about 3/4 of a tank of paraffin and found the first flaw. The filler, very sensibly, is funnel-shaped to assist filling, but the neck of the filling apeture stands slightly proud of the funnel-like surround so that any spills stay in the funnel, ready to trickle down the side of the tank and on to the ground. It would be prudent to have old rags on hand when filling but, obviously, be careful with them when they are soaking in paraffin...Suitably filled, I started pumping and quickly realized that I was getting nowhere fast. After a lot of fiddling, to no avail, I took the rubber washer off the pump and fitted the spare that came with the flame-thrower. That did the trick but it was a bit annoying that the fitted washer had failed straight out of the box.On to lighting and squirts of paraffin everywhere. I think it would be better to prime the wick with a small bottle of paraffin kept for the purpose, rather than trying to direct the jet on to the wick. And, I hadn't over-pressurized the tank, nor opened the control valve too wide, I simply found that the flow of paraffin was either "on" (as a jet) or "off".I think I wasn't sufficiently patient in allowing the coil to heat up because when I started using it, I was shooting out jets of burning fuel which, while dramatic, was not the desired effect and probably very bad for the soil indeed. I was about to give up when, suddenly, the lovely roar of burning paraffin vapour started and I went on a weed-killing spree.Except that after my thirty seconds my spree came to an abrupt end. The mighty jet of flame died and the burner started dribbling out burning paraffin again. After some cooling I removed the jet nozzle and stuck in the little pricker (again, thoughtfully provided) and out came a small piece of grit. Now, this was a brand new machine, straight out of the box, filled with fresh paraffin from a new container. I'm pretty certain that the grit was factory-fitted and not something that I'd introduced. Again, it's not really what one would expect from a brand-new piece of apparatus.Sans grit the flame-thrower was soon back in action, dealing death to weeds like nobody's business. It's the sort of equipment that puts a smile on one's face, much like the sight of an old Land Rover or the music of a V8 engine.I'd suggest a careful reconnoiter of the proposed killing field before you get going: the flame is merciless and indiscriminate. Nylon netting, plastic sheets and pots, wooden handles all need to be moved safely out of harm's way before unleashing the purifying flame. It's probably wise to have a bucket of water on hand, just in case. Keeping the flame low down seems to be the way to do it: the aim is to cook the bottom of the weeds' stalks and then go back, a few days later, to burn up the (now dead) plant remains.Would I buy one again? Like a shot. I should have bought this years ago instead of spending my time on my knees, trying to pull up the weeds, or wandering around, spraying weedkiller and hoping that the rain wouldn't wash it away. Could it have been better? Yes: I found three problems that could all have been avoided in the factory if they'd put a little more care into checking the flame-thrower before sending it out into the World.I'm still goint to give it five stars because it's simply so much fun to use. Who would have thought that I'd look forward to weed control?

Wow powerful easy to use cost effective

Arrived with cosmetic damage, slight dent and chipped paint. If bought in a shop wouldn’t have sold but decided to keep.Instructions aren’t brilliant, however once you work out how to use it does the job

Great machine does a good job

Does what it says, arrived very promptly