Ignitor for Mole killing

[DeereDoc]

Need help with an ignitor idea for a Mole killing project.

I made one with a spark plug attached via 15 feet of wire to a cattle prod. Seemed to spark pretty good but would not touch off the oxy-propane mixture I had pumped into the tunnels.

I was using 5psi propane and 30psi oxygen so maybe that mix was the problem? Maybe I didn't pump it in long enough - I only did about 20 seconds on these first few attempts.

First tried a bbq ignitor but it wouldn't spark as reliably.

 

[Diggin It]

Yet another 'Hey Bubba, watch this, and hold my beer' moment coming up.

 

[Jstpssng]

You need to call Bill Murray, the expert on impromptu rodent extermination.

 

[Diggin It]

By the way, did you know that he and Chevy Chase were never on set together? All of their scenes were shot separately.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
I'm not surprised, they both seemed like Prima Donalds.

 

[RNeumann]

You need to perfect your mixture and time under a cardboard box or something similar. If you have spark but no bang the mix is either too lean or too rich....likely lean since you are adding O2.

 

[rgr33]

I have a gophinator, and that is the gas mixture recommended by the manufacturer.
I do pump in the mix for 45 to 60 seconds though.

I don’t know if you are concerned about this, but I never use it after the grass turns brown, due to fire danger out in the fields.

 

[dfkrug]

I experimented a number of years ago with a "Varmint-Gitter", very similar to the "Rodenator" product. These are both Oxy-Propane tools to blow up underground burrows. When you get the mix just right, they work great. Getting the fuel-oxy ratio right takes a bunch of practice, we found out.

Also, finding the air hole and using it or blocking it is key to success. Around here, some folks contract out their services with these tools, esp for vineyards, which get devastated by gophers.

 

[DeereDoc]

Thanks all. The ignitor, in the end, is not the problem. I made the mix more rich at about 6psi propane and 25psi and am getting much better concussion. Still needs perfected though.

 

[Alan W.]

Come on at least post a video. Everybody enjoys a good explosion especially if a varmint gets killed in the process.

 

[Alien]

One guy on you tube used a extension cord. He stuffed steel wool between the prongs and shoved it down the hole. The other end he bared the wires and touched them on a battery.

 

[oosik]

I see another "Bubba" may be in for a wild ride. The pocket gophers found the newly buried trenches for my neighbors automatic lawn watering system as easy digging. The explosion from his "propane adventures" ripped most of the buried piping right back out of the ground. WHOOPS.

 

[tjkubota93]

It would be cool if you could blow up your yard like bill Murray did the golf green at the end of the movie

 

[Tractor Seabee]

For you guys with big acreage and gopher/mole problems: The commercial model is still manufactured by a company in ID. I have one of them that I no longer need so will sell it cheap. They currently retail for $1400 w/o regulators or tanks. the folks there are very helpful and sent me a copy of the owner manual which I have somewhere around here.

They sell a lot of them to ranchers, farmers, and pest controllers doing a lot of rural properties. It would be easy to set up on a 3p hitch carryall. They have been in business a long time so must be a god product. Private me if interested.

Probably the same unit Oosik's neighbor has being close to the ID border.

The manufactured unit has a built in igniter.

Ron

 

[two_bit_score]

:drink:

Come on at least post a video. Everybody enjoys a good explosion especially if a varmint gets killed in the process.

:drink:

 

[dfkrug]

Go to any Ag show and you will likely see several brands for sale. At $1000+ for this tool (sans gas cylinders) they are not cheap, but they do work. Like many things, skill and practice are needed to be successful.

 

[DeereDoc]

Killing moles - YouTube

Quick video I made tonight

 

[BHD]

a piezo inginer line on some BBQ grills,
or I have a BBq with a battery igniter, something like this one
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-El...ocphy=9028963&hvtargid=pla-348391030982&psc=1

as far as setting the torch, light the torch adjust to a neutral flame and then snuff it out and the mix will be near perfect fro a bang,

I discourage using acetylene as it is much more aggressive than propane.

 

[MossRoad]

By the way, did you know that he and Chevy Chase were never on set together? All of their scenes were shot separately.

Yeah, uh.... no.

 

[John White]

Would hooking a hose to your tractor or lawn mower exhaust kill them?