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blowing up gophers

To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: blowing up gophers
From: Eric Murray <ericm@lne.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 13:48:04 -0700
Hi y'all.

I've got a serious gopher problem.  The little fuckers are doing a real
number on my large lawn.  I've tried the smoke bombs, chewing gum and
poison bait, with little success.  Even pissing on the mounds.  I think
that just get 'em riled up.  The current set doesn't seem to be eating the
bait; I think I have managed to breed smarter gophers.  Waiting around
for them to stick their little heads up so I can shoot them with the
pellet rifle doesn't work either, just doesn't happen often enough.

This Rodex 4000 thing (http://rodexindustries.com/r4000.html) is supposed
to be the (excuse me) final solution for gophers... but the fucker
costs $1500!  For a hunk of pipe, some hose, and a couple regulators!
Maybe if I had a couple hundred acres to deal with it'd be worth it,
but not for my 1/3 acre lawn.


Since I could use an oxy-acetylene torch anyhow, I am thinking that
I could buy one of those portable o-a setups, and make a pipe with
igniter that connects to the end of the o-a torch replacing the tip.
The R4000 uses propane and oxygen, some earlier info I have read and which
seems to have disappeared from the web site is that it uses 3% propane.
The large can is a mixing chamber, and presumeably also causes a decent
sized explosion so there's a good jet of flame out the end to ignite the
gasses in the burrow.  (the old FAQ also said "no, flaming gophers will not
shoot out the burrow, sorry", which is a great disappointment to me).

My wife already thinks I'm a maniac, mentioning this to her seems
to have convinced her that she's right.  But it seems pretty harmless
to me.  It's on the lawn so there wouldn't be any fire danger, and hopefully
I'll wipe out the gophers before fire season anyhow.  I used to be a forest
fire fighter, so I think I've got a clue about this.

I figure that I would use low pressure, heavy pipe and of course turn off
the gas valves before I trip the igniter switch.  Besides, I live out
in the sticks and the only people who can see my yard are on
a ridge about five miles away.  So it not like I'll make a fool of myself
in public, or get noticed by officialdom.


So my questions are:

1) am I a dangerous lunatic?

2) what difference will using acetylene vs propane cause?  I don't
remember enough chemistry to be able to work out the reaction, but
it seems to me that as long as I keep to a very 'lean' mixture
it ought to work about the same.

3) d'you think that the mixing chamber is important?
Or would a length of 3/4" iron water pipe do just fine (less volume
means less pressure & less chance of rupturing the pipe).

4) how about valving?  It's been years since I used a cutting torch
so I can't remember if it switches all the oxygen or just some of it.

Anything else?

Thanks.

Eric

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