Thanks for checking out our information on the best weed burners UK advice. No gardener or home owner likes the sight of weeds in their lawns, gardens, borders, yards, driveways or anywhere else they tend to grow. They are just unsightly and more often than not difficult to get rid off, at least in a permanent way.
Most people in the UK will initially try some form of weed killer and some of those can work. Weed killers can be an issue though if you have kids or pets around the home. There is also the time that you have to wait for those to work, and they may take several applications.
Some other people, myself included, have been down on our hands and knees simply trying to pull them out by the roots to get rid of them. That works faster and better, but your back and knees usually pay the price.
The first time I came across a weed burner was actually watching some TV program about people living in Alaska. They produced one of these weed burners to blast away large areas of weeds. There is no doubt that they are highly effective and work really quickly.
Some buyers also use these to help de-ice frozen paths in the winter time. Some also use them on frozen pipes though some care is required when doing that. Some users also use these for lighting BBQs though we think that is a little extreme.
When we looked into these in more detail, we also found that they were surprisingly cheaper than we would have imagined.
What is a weed burner?
A weed burner, sometimes called a flame burner, is a tool that can generate a flame. That flame is then directed at the weed to burn it and prevent it from growing again.
The heat of the flame over a weed to heat destroys the cells of the plant, causing them to burst. The idea is that the heat from the flame destroys the stem of the plant, effectively killing the weed. This method of weeding can kill some annual weeds for good, however perennial weeds will require several weed-burning treatments.
They can also be used for de-icing pavements, de-freezing brass water pipes and lighting BBQ grills.
Why use a weed burner?
The heat from the weed burner destroys the internal cell structures of the weeds causing them to wither and die within 1-2 days. It leaves the garden completely safe for children and animals immediately after use.
The main benefits of using a weed burner are as follows:
- Time saving:- The process doesn't take long so you can get the job done really quickly.
- No weed killer:- You don't have to worry about using weed killer which is ideal if you have kids or pets around the home.
- Very effective:- It is crude process but it works like a treat.
- Fun:- Many people get great satisfaction about burning out annoying weeds.
Buying Tips
The information we have provided just below will really help you make the best buying choice as the types of weed burner vary in design and how they work.
How much do they cost?
They vary in price from around £14-£60. That is a huge variation in price. To explain this the most popular price range for a home owner sits between £14-£40. Any model priced over that is used by professional landscapers or on farms and are commercial and industrial. Most homes need nothing of that size or price.
When we researched we found that the big sellers were all priced around £25 which seems to be the price most people are prepared to pay in the UK.
Which brands make weed burners?
There are not that many popular garden brands making weed burners. They appear to be made by Tool brands such as Draper, Sherpa, Marksman, Wolf ASAB and Vivo. No single brand seems to dominate the UK market
Types of weed burners
This is probably the most important decision for you to make and will require the most thought before you buy one.
- Gas Canister Wands - a blowtorch on a long handle with a butane canister attached. One of the cheapest options with average prices of £14-£25 These are often called cordless but that is not a true definition as no batteries are used
- Electric hot air burners - these plug into the main's electricity and blow out hot air to burn the weeds. These are more expensive with prices around £25-50
- Flame Thrower Weed Burners - these operate like a propane torch and connect to a gas cannister. Typical price range is £50-60.
Gas Canister Weed Burners
These remain the most popular simply based on the lower price points. Their main drawback is that they need butane gas cannisters to work. That means of course you will have to buy a new one when the old one runs out. That can be a pain because it is easy to forget to buy them and there is of course a cost to do this. On average expect to pay at least £1-2 a cannister if you buy in bulk and a cannister will last for about 45 minutes of burning.
These work by attaching a gas canister to the weed burner. You then use an ignition switch (similar to a BBQ) and that pushes flames down through the nozzle and on to the weeds. They are pretty simple to use and they are also light in weight.
The gas weed burner we would recommend is the best seller online which is the Bond Hardware butane gas burner wand, which is available at Amazon UK. It's a good value for money burner and comes with 4 canisters to help get you started.
1. Bond Hardware Gas Burner
Check Amazon UK - Price when reviewed £18.09 - 80% buyer satisfaction based 0n 4,000+ online buyer reviews
Comes with 8 canisters to get you burning right away. It's really easy to use and controlling the flame strength is really useful
Electric Weed Burners
Electric weed burners are our preferred choice as you take gas completely out of the picture and never have to worry about buying refills. They are about £10-15 more expensive to buy, but you quickly save that by not having to buy gas canisters.
Most of these also offer you a couple of heat settings which is important when using this in a garden or lawn. These also have cone heads which push he hot air directly onto the weed without damaging the surrounding areas.
The disadvantage is of course that there is an electrical lead and most people will also need an extension lead to reach the weeds. You also have the running costs of the electricity. Most of these use 2,000 Watts of power so can be expensive to run. An average kWh (unit of electricity) in the UK at the moment is 19p, so a 2000 watt weed burner will cost 38p to run for an hour.
The electric weed burner that we would recommend is the ToolTronix 2000W Electric Weed Killer Hot Air Burner available at Amazon UK. It is a very good price and overall gets very good reviews from buyers.
Which is best - gas or electric?
There is truly not any great difference between a gas or an electric weed burner. The electric weed burner is a little slower to blacken the weeds but you do have more control over the heat and the damage that they may cause to the surrounding areas.
Some people do have a fear of flames and a gas canister. At the same time with an electric burner you do have lots of heat and a trailing electric lead to worry about. When using either version you just have to be careful when using them.
With a gas burner you have to keep buying gas canisters. Those are not always readily available and you can also forget to buy them which can get frustrating. You also have to pay for these so just be aware of that.
With the electric weed burner you have the electric cost which at the moment in the UK is around 38p an hour for a 2000 watt burner.
The gas version can be used anywhere as no power supply is required, whereas with the electric version, you do need a main's power supply, and almost always an extension lead.
FAQ
As a general rule not they won't damage or blacken most types of paving. Most weeds just need a quick blast until the leaves blacken. You should not overdo the heat though as prolonged use could affect the paving. If in doubt, give the weed a short blast and then repeat if it doesn't work the first time.
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Weed burners work on moss really well. It can be stubborn though as moss has spores which grow very easily. So moss doesn't have roots but it is a very strong plant that can survive in all types of conditions. That means you may need to burn it a few times before getting rid of it.
We think weed burners are definitely worth the money. When compared with other gardening equipment a weed burner costs around £25 on average. In the bigger picture it isn't a huge amount of money. They save you having to use chemical weed killers and also save you having to try and dig them out.
