Weed burner - any recommendations please?

KittenChops

Hi all,

I am considering buying one of these - can anyone recommend one please?

This is primarily for use on our drive - it looks to be old tarmac (ish) with weeds & moss growing through in places. I don't want to use chemicals.

XzavierWalnut

I like the gas ones, but not sure if it may melt the tarmac.
The Parkside plug in electric one that I have, is not very good.

KittenChops

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81929747#Comment_81929747

I hadn't thought about it melting the drive!! I will investigate…

(actually looking at it, it's more concrete - I think I wrote tarmac because parts of it look dark but it is old…)

twopenny

Melting the tarmac will kill the weeds 🫢

Dustyevsky

I can recommend mine…..for starting the barbecue. It's brilliant for that.

None of the 'weed burners' will burn the roots of perennial weeds, so they will soon return. If you don't want to use chemicals, and you'd prefer not to spend hours on your knees, a new drive, or resurfacing. looks like the best option.

Baldytyke88

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6660467/weed-burner-any-recommendations-please

Salt (sodium chloride) effectively kills weeds by dehydrating them and disrupting water absorption, making it a cheap, natural herbicide. It works best on pavement cracks or driveways, typically killing weeds in a few days.

Farway

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81929990#Comment_81929990

No expert on weed burning, but I think they are supposed to just flash fry / wilt the annual weed or seedlings & go back in a day or two to finish the job once the weed had keeled over & dried a bit

KittenChops

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81929990#Comment_81929990

No problem with manually weeding - it's what I do everywhere else - but when I pull the weeds up in the drive, I'm also pulling a bit of the drive up at the same time. And there's nothing in the budget for a new drive!

KittenChops

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81930696#Comment_81930696

That makes sense. But still yet to hear about one that actually works well!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81930178#Comment_81930178

I'm not convinced that salt as a weedkiller is going to be particularly environmentally friendly. I think a lot of our surface water goes into a brook so I don't want to be polluting that, or the flower beds alongside the drive.

Dustyevsky

Have you looked at the Sheen flame Gun? Pricey, but it's been around longer than most of us!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ECKyWrFdc

KittenChops

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937177#Comment_81937177

Now that's a lovely bit of kit, but yes, a bit too pricey