Flamethrowers, given up by military, are now being sold to the public

[KamaAina]

Not The Onion!!

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/13/smallbusiness/flamethrowers-public-sale/index.html

A Cleveland startup called Throwflame is selling flamethrowers for $1,599 that can shoot fire for 50 feet. Another company, Ion Productions Team of Detroit, is selling $900 flamethrowers that can eject flames for 25 feet. Both companies started selling them this year.

The flamethrowers are marketed not as weapons, but as fun devices.

"We always have the people who just want it for fun. Impress the neighbors at the BBQ," said Throwflame founder Quinn Whitehead. ...

Are flamethrowers legal? A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it doesn't regulate them because they are not guns. That means buyers don't need to go through background checks from the FBI.

Hours of family fun!

[closeupready]

1. STOP with the FLAMING-SHAMING!

Only in Puritanical America.

Seriously though, seems fine. What could possibly go wrong?

And finally, just in case.

[Octafish]

2. Perfect for Home and Homeland Defense!

I'll take one of each, please!



For the man who has everything...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

64. Isn't that a George Carlin quote?

I could swear it was. But I can't find it.

Something like: a guy says gee I sure would like to set those people over there on fire. Then he mentions it to a friend who is handy with tools...

I thought about it when I saw the flying drone-gun.

[hifiguy]

66. That's the Carlin quote alright!

You got it.

[NuclearDem]

81. Guess we're no longer fucked if we have to go up against the Army

[Octafish]

70. Thank you for the heads-up, Hassin Bin Sober!

BTW: That FDG is something. From what I've gathered, if one is outside my window, the law is on the drone's side. Then would be the time to shoot first and ask questions later.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

75. Thanks for finding that! I've been looking for it.

[TheMastersNemesis]

3. Can They Be Open Carried Anywhere?

[hifiguy]

4. What could POSSIBLY go wrong there?

[KamaAina]

5. Not a thing

as long as the good guys all have flamethrowers.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

76. A good gut with a flamethrower stops a bad guy with a flamethrower and...

...everybody within 200 yards is fucked.

[jberryhill]

6. Beats shoveling snow

[haikugal]

9. .

The male mind at work!! Assuming your male that is...

[Mojorabbit]

47. I am female and totally want one!

Would make burning leaves easy peasy. Flame grilled steak. The possibilities are endless!

[haikugal]

48. That's even funnier!

It works on stereotypes too!

[hifiguy]

20. Speaking as a Minnesotan,

I think you are on to something here.

[jonno99]

26. Mosquito control too! nt

[cloudbase]

38. Keep those nasty tailgaters at a safe following distance. n/t

[sarisataka]

43. I'll take two

One for summer and one for winter

[Brother Buzz]

65. A Fargo Man Beta tested the idea, plus he got to ride in the back of a Black Mariah

Fargo Man Arrested For Clearing Snow With Flamethrower

February 18th, 2013 | by Nick

Fargo, ND – Local resident Todd Fox has been detained for “reckless endangerment” and “illegal use of high-powered fire-breathing weaponry” for attacking snow with his flamethrower. Fox reportedly became so fed up with the week-long blowing snow epidemic in his area that he decided to KILL IT WITH FIRE.

The neighborhood was treated with quite a show last night as Fox unleashed an inferno upon the mountainous snow palace that was his front yard. Neighbors to his immediate right and left noticed a bright orange cloud and could hear what they thought was “puff the magic dragon spewing mayhem all over hell,” which prompted one of them to notify police.

Fox stated that he was simply “fed up with battling the elements” and that he did not possess the willpower necessary to move “four billion tons of white bull shit.”

Police say that Fox surrendered his efforts immediately upon their arrival and that his front yard “looked like a hydrogen bomb had gone off.” They think he was just happy to be done with snow removal, even if it did mean a trip to jail.

http://fmobserver.com/fargo-man-arrested-for-clearing-snow-with-flamethrower/

[yuiyoshida]

72. oh yea

[Brother Buzz]

74. LOL, short bus people with a flamethrower! Win!

[HassleCat]

7. Similar devices

There have been similar devices available for years. They are essentially drip torches with a pressurized tank, capable of shooting a burning mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline for about 40 feet. A drip torch, by the way, is a canister filled with a mixture of 3 parts diesel fuel and 1 part gasoline, used to intentionally light grass and brush on fire.

[zappaman]

8. I can't wait to get one!

Oh the fun I will have!

[jberryhill]

12. I'm waiting for ones that can be mounted on a drone

[arcane1]

77. Yeah, it's probably a good thing they didn't have drones when I was a kid

[Recursion]

10. They've been sold for years. You can buy them at Home Depot

They're very good for taking out hornet nests and heavy brush.

[Xithras]

15. Garden Dragons are shorter range.

I own one of those, and use it as a poison-free way to kill the weeds that pop up in the gravel driveway alongside my house and in the seams on my sidewalks. Short of manually digging the weeds out, they're the most environmentally friendly way to keep an area weed free. They're also a GREAT way to kill wasps!

Oh, and I bought mine at Walmart.

But they're a very different thing than the flamethrowers in the OP. My garden dragon can shoot a flame about two feet. These flamethrowers can throw fire over twenty feet.

[Xithras]

11. People spend money for these?

Flamethrowers are like potato guns. Any idiot with a few hand tools can make one if they have $75 and a Home Depot and Harbor Freight nearby. A small air tank, a small kerosene tank, a hand valve, and a few pipes, bits, and parts to hook it all together is all it takes. There are plenty of Youtube videos that will show you how to do it in under an hour.

Why would anyone spend $1600 on this?

[Maedhros]

13. They also required jellied gas fuel, which would need to be manufactured as well. [n/t]

[Xithras]

18. Jellied gas isn't required

The military used jellied gas because they wanted the fuel to stick to a target and continue burning. Most homemade flamethrowers run on kerosene, which simply goes out once the fuel has expended (usually within a second or two). Kerosene is used instead of gasoline simply because it disperses and evaporates more slowly, giving the flamethrower better range.

Most people who build flamethrowers do it either because they want to clear brush, or because they want a "toy" to show off. You don't need jellied fuel for either of those.

[Maedhros]

19. Jellied fuel adds to the range.[n/t]

[backscatter712]

30. That's easy.

Last edited Thu Aug 13, 2015, 06:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Mix gasoline with styrofoam. The polystyrene in the styrofoam dissolves and turns into goo, and makes your gasoline all gooey.

[hifiguy]

44. Well, now

THAT is certainly good to know!.

[LanternWaste]

25. I'd imagine anyone purchasing one would rather have a professionally manufactured device

I'd imagine anyone purchasing one would rather have a professionally manufactured device with warranty than a slap job done in the man cave one testosterone-filled evening.

[hifiguy]

45. I'd think the chances of blowing up the house

would be far higher with the home-brew special. In the 90% range.

[jmowreader]

14. Fifty feet? Hmm...

A fella of a certain mindset could use one of these to clear his neighborhood of Confederate and Teabagger flags from the sidewalk.

[KamaAina]

16. Nice!

[lpbk2713]

17. Great for those weekend get-togethers and tailgate parties.

Adds a little petrol flavor to whatever you're cooking.

[hifiguy]

32. I shudder at the thought of Eagles or Raiders fans

with access to flamethrowers.

[KamaAina]

34. Good thing they're in separate conferences

they only get together once every four years, the Super Bowl, obviously, being out of the question.

[ileus]

21. They don't seem to be abused that much.

When was the last time you remember a flame thrower story in the news???

[KamaAina]

23. Both companies started selling them this year.

Give it time. Give it time.

[EL34x4]

46. Christmas Eve, 2008.

Last edited Thu Aug 13, 2015, 09:15 PM - Edit history (1)

Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed as Santa Claus and armed with a handgun and a home-made flame thrower murdered his ex-wife, 8 of her family members and then killed himself at a Christmas party.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covina_massacre

[Amishman]

22. this is news? my friends made something similar out of a super soaker when 13.

amazingly we didn't burn anything down or kill ourselves. Still was a terrible idea, but we did it on our own with crap from our parents garage and a little creativity. Pre-internet days too.

[KamaAina]

24. I always wondered what would happen if someone filled a Super Soaker with sulfuric acid

[hifiguy]

33. Wouldn't the Super Soaker melt

from contact with the sulfuric acid.

[KamaAina]

35. Not sure. I thought acid mostly dissolved metal.

And skin, of course.

[Thor_MN]

52. No, but any springs and metal bits in contact with the liquid would be fairly quick gone.

The plastic tank and tubing would be fine.

And before it comes up, if it hasn't already a Super Soaker filled with gasoline would probably have some parts soften or craze.

[herding cats]

27. It could come in handy to start the BBQ pit.

I admit I'm terrible at that chore! Or, as a way to finally eradicate that nasty pigweed infestation on the back of my property. There was this one time I was considering just torching the entire area to finally be rid of the stuff.

Other than that I suppose one could be useful when the zombie apocalypse takes place.

[backscatter712]

28. They're not weapons, they're cooking utensils!

Chicken a la Napalm, anyone?

[backscatter712]

29. Or better yet, market them as musical instruments

[jonno99]

36. That was a great scene!

LOL - I hadn't noticed that the guy had floor mounted flood-lights. Now THAT is a music venue to die for...

[backscatter712]

61. You know that some group is building the Doof Wagon for Burning Man.

I'll be shocked and sad if that doesn't happen.

[Codeine]

53. The best thing about that Doofwagon rig

is the instrument isn't just a prop, it is both a fully-functional guitar AND a fully-functional flamethrower.

http://www.avclub.com/article/read-doof-look-man-behind-mad-maxs-doof-warrior-219752

George Miller is fucking lunatic.

Lots of edits because links are acting stupid today

[Rex]

31. Did they explain how they know it is a family fun toy? So it's like a swimming pool

cept completely the opposite?

[jmowreader]

39. Moichandising!

[One_Life_To_Give]

37. Because you never know when an ALIEN might be around

[WDIM]

40. The Spaceballs flamethrower

The kids love this one.

Merchandising merchandising merchandising.

[nc4bo]

41. Perfect for arachnophibics, ophidiophobics and general attic and crawlspace cleaning.

Fast and efficient, no icky dead critter clean up.

[backscatter712]

50. Yep. No more attic, no more crawl space, no more house. But no more spiders!

[dembotoz]

42. Somewhere some terror guy is gonna see this. Much cooler than a pressure cooker

[Liberal_in_LA]

49. not a good idea to sell to public

[gordianot]

51. I remember when you could buy a surplus Norden Bombsight.

Of course no one used them but really a flamethrower. Would like to have a real used hummer not the weenie civilian model.

[brooklynite]

67. Of course, the bomber was extra...

[gordianot]

69. The bomber went cheap in the 60's.

Worth a small fortune today in scrap.

[X_Digger]

54. They've always been classified as agricultural devices.

I hate it when a writer makes an assumption about something then is outraged when it isn't as they assumed it would be.

[KamaAina]

55. But now they seem to be classified as fun devices.

So agriculture is fun?

[jberryhill]

58. Agriculture is a lot more fun with one of these!

[X_Digger]

60. Some who've used one to burn a fallow field would agree.

[olddots]

56. since our tax dollars paid for these shouldn't they be free ?

[KamaAina]

68. I don't believe these are surplus

"given up by military" in the headline means that the military stopped using them, although they're apparently okey-dokey for Joe Sixpack.

[PoliticAverse]

57. Are these more or less dangerous than lawn darts? n/t

[jberryhill]

59. Lawn Darts?

What are you, some kind of terrorist?

Don't confuse dangerous weapons like lawn darts with toys like these.

[madinmaryland]

62. What could possibly go wrong?

[Warren DeMontague]

63. File me under "wants one", too.

It'll go great with my rodenator.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

71. Maybe they can mount them on private drones

and send them over neighborhoods for even greater gonzo fun for the masses.

[yuiyoshida]

73. Hornets killed with homemade flamethrower!

[Eleanors38]

78. "Another NFA talking point!"

If this keeps up, some folks will harken back to the good ole days of guns.

[leveymg]

79. Just the thing in case a campaign Meme morphs into a full-grown Blob attack!

[Hoyt]

80. The lethal weapons fanciers will snap those up.