Customer Reviews

Red Dragon VT 3-30 C 500,000 BTU Heavy Duty Propane Vapor Torch Kit

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this thing while I was camping. Our firewood was a bit damp and I was having trouble getting the campfire started. With this handy-dandy roaster, I had a bonfire within a minute or so. Then, I decided to use it on the weeds at home. The instructions warn against using the torch near conifers (like Evergreen-type shrubs, bushes, topiaries), so I stayed about 5 feet away from those. Well, this thing is hotter than the blazes of Hell and Damnation itself! I roasted a few of my bushes, but thankfully, they've started to come back. We just had a few inches of snow here in Chicago and I drove over it in the driveway. I ended up with icy patches of packed snow and figured I'd pull out Satan's air conditioner. Not only did it melt those ice patches faster than a hooker drops her panties, it melted a five foot section of snow (about 3 inches deep) in front of the nozzle. Well, after that, I just had to screw around with it. I cooked a frozen hot-dog in less than 30 seconds. OK, "cooked" is the wrong word. I turned a frozen hot dog into a pile of ash. Since that was fun, I tried it with an old cell-phone I had laying around. It stunk, but man it was cool to watch it turn into a gelatinous pile of stink. Someone else mentioned having to roast your weeds and then come back to weed by hand a week later. That's totally unnecessary. Just hold the flame on the weed for about 10 seconds and it'll kill it, burn it, turn it to ash, and then burn the ash into smaller ash. The roots will be dead and the weed will never return. OK, maybe it will, but I roasted a section of stone in my backyard that had weeds growing up. It's been nearly 2 years and nothing has grown there. Yeah, it sounds like a jet engine when you fire it up, but it's awesome! I highly recommend this for weed burning, camp fire starting, party tricks, and hot dog cremation. And next week, I'm going to head over to my mean, old, crotchety neighbor's house in the middle of the night and burn "A-Hole" into his lawn. Man, I can't wait till my kid's hamster bites the dust!

I bought this to not only kill weeds, but melt snow and ice. We had our first storm, I hooked it up, and only a weak yellow flame came out. It did turn the snow black, but didn't melt it. What I discovered is that our government mandated flow restrictors on all the new 20lb propane tanks. This torch needs high pressure, and the new cylinders can't provide enough flow to make it work. I did hook it to a 100lb tank which doesn't have the new valve configuration. Wow! It not only sounded like a small jet engine, but the snow and ice melted at the mere sight of the huge volcanic blue flame. The 100lb tank hardly makes it portable, but at least it's some solution to bypass the government protecting us. Thanks feds! If you can find a 20lb tank without the flow problems, please leave a comment.

I bought this higher BTU torch because it seemed to be a better value than the lower rated ones. It's power is impressive. I rarely open the valve all the way. When I do, it sounds like the NASA test range. The heat is plenty for the toughest jobs. I had a 4" slab of ice in my parking area this winter and was able to carve a drainage trench in it pretty quickly. Still, the propane consumption seemed very reasonable.

Overall the Red Dragon does the job. What it could have to make handling easier would be a hand grip with perhaps a trigger.

The product works as advertised. I'd recommend a small, inexpensive dolly/handtruck to bring the tank along. The carts specifically designed for the task are expensive. Then, I'd recommend walking backwards, away from the areas just torched, or this puppy will light a fire under your a**!

It only works in areas where you only have weeds (as fire could kill other less sturdy plants) and where it is not easy to start a fire (need to be careful about it - may want to use it after it rained.
Also, don't think it is fast (takes as long as weeding by hand)or that it kills all weeds. Basically you need to flame the weeds, wait a week and finish the job by weeding by hand. I personally prefer then weeding by hand and remove the roots rather than just weakening.

Even though this torch is fun to use, the weeds resist the flame much better than they resist chemical treatment (Roundup). I've found that a week later the same weeds are growing back, even when I burn them to ash. The best way to use this torch is in conjunction with a good line trimmer. You'll be using lots of gas if you don't cut the weeds down first. I'll keep burning them and see if eventually they just give up and die for good but so far it does not look promising.

This product works well. I like the long, 10 foot hose which allows you to move around a good bit without dragging the tank around. Even so, another 5 feet of hose would be nice. Also, another few inches of length in the torch itself would be nice. For tall fellows, the shaft could be a bit longer.

The directions to put the thing together were good, but putting it together was a bit difficult. The fittings are VERY tight. I used a vise and a big wrench, and I still didn't get one seated all the way. Regardless, it works well and doesn't leak.

For $75 does it seem a bit over priced? Yeah, sort of. At the same time, it works well and REALLY throws out some serious flame. I have a 1.5 inch thick slab of ice on my front walk every winter, and using a digging bar and shovel damages the walk and is a pain. This beast melts it nicely. It's an expensive, but quality product.

Okay - I have a lot of brush, ground covering, and etc that I needed to burn. Also I live out in the country and burn large items like cartons of soda and dish detergent boxes. This torch does these jobs great...

So great in fact that I got my woods on fire behind my house, fought it for 2 hours before I relented to calling the fire department who came with a bulldozer and cut me a free nice fourwheeler road through my thick woods.

This thing will incinerate almost anything if left in direct content with the flame. I disintegrated an aluminum can in about 8 seconds. It burns wood almost instantly.

It's easy to assemble ( don't miss the instructions, the package labeling unfolds ) and easy to light. I didn't buy the cart which is like $70! you can buy a nice dolly for $30 and use it for other things as well. Just get you some straps to strap it on. However, I strap the propane tank down to the front rack of my fourwheeler and use that to carry my 20lb tank around. Plus you can get away from fire quick with the tank if you need to. (Trust me, if you're not careful, you can find yourself standing admist of a blazing fire you started only moments earlier)

The adjustable valve that it comes with is easy to use, you can tune it down to barely on to keep it lit and conserve fuel while moving to another location and then you can quickly twist it a quarter turn to make it jet like.

I wish I had this thing this winter so I could have melted all the snow that stayed around forever in our walk path and just basically got nasty. Also it would be good to thaw a frozen hill side of ice that is keeping you stranded. Yeah it might take you a bit, but you could EASILY melt you several patches up and down the hill to make it able to be traveled even without a 4wheel or front wheel drive.

All in all it's a good product. 4 stars out of 5 because they don't include the handle (another $60) and the rod gets ice cold, unbearably cold, when holding it hence the glove requirement.

Oh yeah - I tinkered and burned things all day with it and the tank stills just as full as when I started. I'd say I maybe burned a pound or two.

EDIT: 01/07/11 (9 months later) I'm still using the same tank and I've used it regularly. My wife and I like to take it to the lake bank with us when we ride the fourwheeler down there. You get an instant 'camp fire' and provides heat while you enjoy the lake. You can turn the supply valve down to where you can get a small trickle of a flame, or a bigger flame similiar to a small campfire.

I purchased this item because my husband had brought home a professional torch that was loaned to us. We have an acre of weeds and a torch is the only way to go. I loved the expensive Italian model and was looking for an equivlent torch at a reasonable price. This one, along with the optional squeese handle is just as good as the pro torch. I am so happy with the performance and price. This is my favorite garden tool. I have to admit, it's also fun to use controlled fire to kill weeds. Die weeds, die.