Michigan mayors proposes ban on personal flamethrowers

[shaddack]

@emo_pinata

Then again, I did use WD-40 and a match to get rid of some wasps in a dumpster so I must be in desperate need of a personal flamethrower.

You jury-rigged one. That counts.

[TobinL]

@dragonfrog

what on earth would the cops need flamethrowers for?

Daemon witch vampires back for revenge after 200 years? (spoiler, the cops defeat him with their flamethrower)

[emo_pinata]

Two hands operating two devices independently. I have a hard time seeing the final ordinance being so generic when they are targeting specific products.

[daneel]

@shaddack

no wasps in Detroit?

They moved to Grosse Pointe.

[shaddack]

@emo_pinata

Two hands operating two devices independently.

A length of duct tape can solve that problem neatly. There are lighters/torches that can be locked in enabled position for sustained operation; just perfect for the pilot flame.

[Beanolini]

@pesco

further clarification on what would constitute as a flamethrower

Please, please spare the Pyro-trombone:

Fantastic Polka on the Pyro-Trombone

[Steve_L]

“automatically assuming people will do stupid things with his company’s products” …
comes as a result of knowing people who likely would do stupid things with his company’s products? Sure, there are people who would use a flamethrower responsibly. But who among us can’t name at least one friend and/or relative of theirs who upon being given a flamethrower wouldn’t have the immediate reaction “Let’s roast some < stuff >!” where you can fill in a more or less profane synonym for “stuff”?

[Steve_L]

Were you planning to put the (small) flamethrower on front of your car? You do realize the effect that would have on your gas mileage – down to 17 feet per gallon?

[nungesser]

Whoa, that’s pretty crazy. But no, I was dreaming of a handheld flamethrower to just make a path to my front door. Six feet of snow isn’t easy to carve through.

[dragonfrog]

@noahdjango

@Medievalist uses his to de-ice his creek in the winter. I think he said his wife bought it off Amazon?

I think I understand the ‘what’ of that, but not the ‘why’ - why would one de-ice a creek? It’s winter. Bodies of water ice over in winter.

The usual tools I’m familiar with for making holes in ice are an axe (for thin ice) or an ice auger (for thick ice)

[noahdjango]

there was a reason, but I forget. I’ll try to search for the post or maybe he’ll get in the thread

EDIT: Daneel found it, reposted just below. I remembered the bit about the creek but remembered the rest wrong:

A stream that provides water to the closest town runs right through my yard. I am unwilling to use toxic chemicals on the property to deal with the invasive species that come downstream so I torch 'em

[anon165457]

If you outlaw flamethrowers, only outlaws will have flamethrowers.

[shaddack]

@Steve_L

Were you planning to put the (small) flamethrower on front of your car? You do realize the effect that would have on your gas mileage – down to 17 feet per gallon?

Flamethrowers are good for thinner layers of snow. Everybody knows that ordinary explosives are better for thick layers.

[daneel]

Sounds like more for weeding:

TV: Lobbyist claims Monsanto Roundup ingredient Glyphosate is safe to drink, then refuses to drink it

If it kills weeds or bugs, you probably should not have it anywhere near you. It probably shouldn’t be within ten miles of a growing child or flowing surface waters. The things we call pests are very very difficult to kill, or they wouldn’t be pestiferous. Personally, I control invasive weeds with a propane flamethrower. If I could get one that didn’t use fossil fuels, I would. Fire is cleansing. If I could go back in time and murder Paracelsus before his stupid aphorism became a meme, I …

There is no precedent

I have one; I got it for my birthday. My wife ordered it online and it came in the mail. Totally not kidding. I can shoot blue fire more than ten feet, orange out to near thirty on a still day. A stream that provides water to the closest town runs right through my yard. I am unwilling to use toxic chemicals on the property to deal with the invasive species that come downstream so I torch 'em. It’s pretty effective on bur cucumber, porcelain berry, russian olive, oriental bittersweet, etc.…

Tarantula hawks swarm San Antonio

There was a big yellowjacket nest in a pile of old cedar shingles in the yard, and they were stinging people on occasion. They won’t fly at night, so I went out and tossed a match in there, and stood back to watch the nasty suckers roast. (It was dry cedar shingles, so no need to unlimber my flamethrower.) Yeah, they don’t fly at night. However, they will walk 30 feet in the dark in order to climb your boots and get up inside your pants leg.

[galaxies]

They’re super useful for deicing a sidewalk. Maybe the one depicted here is for killing people/things, so i’m not defending it specifically, but there is no better way to clear a sidewalk than an ‘ice melting torch’ (probably called that for legal reasons), it literally even leaves the path dry afterward. Pretty amazing. I guess emissions are the downside.

[billstewart]

Friend of mine grew up in Oregon. His father would use a flamethrower to kill off invading blackberry vines, and the kids would use shovels to put out any remaining fire. (Obviously that was the wet side of Oregon.)

[dragonfrog]

OK, I suppose I can see that. I mean, where I live, we get quite cold winters, so there is no way anyone is going to try to heat sidewalks hot enough to not only melt but evaporate the ice. Just trying you’d probably burn enough fuel to drive somewhere warm and skip winter altogether.

But if your winter weather is typically only a few degrees below freezing, so any sand you lay down will probably just sink to the bottom when it melts on a warm afternoon, and be visible through the smooth new ice in the morning…

[jerwin]

@Mister44

Fire fighters and farmers both use them to set or control brush fires and prairie fires and farmers us them for weed control.

This is Detroit–urban agriculture has been advocated by those who don’t know the first thing about soils.

As for the police-- ugh. Even if there was a legitimate use,-- getting rid of a wasp nests, the ideal people to supervise would be firefighters…

[Mister44]

I can’t actually get to the article. It just times out. Might be work blocking it. I could see banning within the city limits. I don’t see a state wide ban needed.

And as the part of the article copied: “Council members are seeking further clarification on what would constitute as a flamethrower under the proposal.”

That is important. What exactly does that include? Funny cars that shoot out flames? People with lighters and spray cans? Butane torches people use for all sorts of handy work?

Everyone wants freedom until it comes to actually letting people be free.

[jerwin]

I think this is the intended target of the ban

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