5 ms·

What are flame throwers for? Apart from the obvious people killing purpose.

sandworm101 2y ago
In combat, flamethrowers were rarely used to kill. They are meant to terrify. Point a flamethrower at a bunker and those protected inside will surrender.
- shitpostbot 2y ago
  Did you literally just make that up and try to pass it off as an authoritative fact?
  - tdb7893 2y ago
    Welcome to the internet and especially HN specifically, haha. Also I enjoy that someone called "shitpostbot" is the one calling this out
  - sandworm101 2y ago
    Read about their use. Not the propaganda clips. Read about how they were deployed, the issues with them. They had a very narrow use case in combat.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- lupusreal 2y ago
  Who the hell wants to deal with a surrendering bunker? You let rip with the flame thrower and fill that bunker with carbon monoxide. In the wars and battles flamethrowers are famous for, Marines were doing shit like collecting skulls. Neither side was in a hostage taking mood.
OJFord 2y ago
Burning crop stubble (where that's legal) or heath control?
lgeorget 2y ago
Testing the resistance to fire of stuff.
- adamisom 2y ago
  Since the dawn of man we've wondered: can I make fire? Can I set this on fire? And the modern conundrum: is this material flammable, or inflammable?
  - mmh0000 2y ago
    Inflammable means flammable? What a country!
throwup238 2y ago
Clearing forest or jungle for farmland and fallowing fields after the harvest.
hammock 2y ago
Melting frozen driveways (residential). Burning land (commercial)
- sandworm101 2y ago
  >> Melting frozen driveways Please do not do this. Use a propane torch. A flamethrower literally throws burning fluids. It will melt the ice, then a ribbon of fire will flow down your driveway. It may then melt or even ignite your asphalt.
  - foobarian 2y ago
    Does this actually work? I tried using flame once on a 0F day but it barely made a dent. The heat content of water is staggeringly high.
    - QuercusMax 2y ago
      It's not just the heat capacity of water, but also the energy required for phase-change from solid (ice) to liquid (water). That's why throwing salt on ice will melt it but also lower the temperature.
    - sandworm101 2y ago
      Yes and no. To melt/dry an entire driveway would be silly. But if you need to melt/dry a crack to make a repair then a propane torch will work. We have all seen them used by road crews. Million-btu torches are available on amazon for about fifty bucks.
    - mmh0000 2y ago
      Short answer, yes[1] but it's pretty inefficient[2] [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/rkxlz1/clearing_the_snow_with_a_flamethrower/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/rkxlz1/cl... [2] https://what-if.xkcd.com/130/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/130/

In combat, flamethrowers were rarely used to kill. They are meant to terrify. Point a flamethrower at a bunker and those protected inside will surrender.

shitpostbot 2y ago
Did you literally just make that up and try to pass it off as an authoritative fact?
- tdb7893 2y ago
  Welcome to the internet and especially HN specifically, haha. Also I enjoy that someone called "shitpostbot" is the one calling this out
- sandworm101 2y ago
  Read about their use. Not the propaganda clips. Read about how they were deployed, the issues with them. They had a very narrow use case in combat.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
lupusreal 2y ago
Who the hell wants to deal with a surrendering bunker? You let rip with the flame thrower and fill that bunker with carbon monoxide. In the wars and battles flamethrowers are famous for, Marines were doing shit like collecting skulls. Neither side was in a hostage taking mood.

OJFord 2y ago

Burning crop stubble (where that's legal) or heath control?

lgeorget 2y ago

Testing the resistance to fire of stuff.

adamisom 2y ago
Since the dawn of man we've wondered: can I make fire? Can I set this on fire? And the modern conundrum: is this material flammable, or inflammable?
- mmh0000 2y ago
  Inflammable means flammable? What a country!

throwup238 2y ago

Clearing forest or jungle for farmland and fallowing fields after the harvest.

hammock 2y ago

Melting frozen driveways (residential). Burning land (commercial)

sandworm101 2y ago
>> Melting frozen driveways Please do not do this. Use a propane torch. A flamethrower literally throws burning fluids. It will melt the ice, then a ribbon of fire will flow down your driveway. It may then melt or even ignite your asphalt.
- foobarian 2y ago
  Does this actually work? I tried using flame once on a 0F day but it barely made a dent. The heat content of water is staggeringly high.
  - QuercusMax 2y ago
    It's not just the heat capacity of water, but also the energy required for phase-change from solid (ice) to liquid (water). That's why throwing salt on ice will melt it but also lower the temperature.
  - sandworm101 2y ago
    Yes and no. To melt/dry an entire driveway would be silly. But if you need to melt/dry a crack to make a repair then a propane torch will work. We have all seen them used by road crews. Million-btu torches are available on amazon for about fifty bucks.
  - mmh0000 2y ago
    Short answer, yes[1] but it's pretty inefficient[2] [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/rkxlz1/clearing_the_snow_with_a_flamethrower/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/rkxlz1/cl... [2] https://what-if.xkcd.com/130/ https://what-if.xkcd.com/130/