Cajun Dragon fire starter

cheez59

cheez59

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I have been looking at the various fire starters to replace the pos weed burner that died. A couple weeks back someone posted on here about the Cajun Dragon fire starter by Mathews Outdoor Products. I looked at them but they didn't come with a hose or valve so I wrote them off. Well Mathews Outdoor Products has taken off and now they have three models. I bought the "mini" version. It runs off of a one pound propane Coleman type camping bottle. It comes complete with hose, valve and wand.

I ordered it 2/23 and received it 2/25. Great service! I screwed it onto a bottle and fired it up. Well folks in my humble opinion this is the ultimate fire starting tool. I had some soaking wet firewood that I put in my cowboy pit last night. It took 5 minutes to get a raging fire. Very impressive. I lit up my Lone Star this morning in just over a minute to smoke up a chuckie for some PSB.

The Cajun Dragon is American made right down in Houma LA and comes with a lifetime warranty. I highly recommend one for anyone who plays with fire.
 
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Interesting. Not sure if I would switch over to it. Still like my point and shoot flame thrower...
 
THoey1963 said:
Interesting. Not sure if I would switch over to it. Still like my point and shoot flame thrower...
Click to expand...

I liked mine too until it broke. The weed burner is a one way tool. In other words you can only apply fire to the top or side of what you want to burn. Plus the fact that you have to lug around the big tank. The Cajun Dragon Mini can apply fire from the top, bottom and sides. It hooks up to a one pound tank that is way more portable than the big 20 pound propane tank.

If you go to Mathews Outdoor Products Facebook page you can see a video I made lighting a fire in my cowboy pit.
 
What advantage does the mini have over a propane torch? The torch has the ignitor built in whereas the mini requires a separate lighter.
 
Propane is a lot more expensive in the mini tanks unless you are willing to do your own refills. Might be worth it for the light weight...if they built in a push button igniter.
 
m-fine said:
Propane is a lot more expensive in the mini tanks unless you are willing to do your own refills. Might be worth it for the light weight...if they built in a push button igniter.
Click to expand...

The little tank runs the mini for about 2 hours wide open. It took 5 minutes for me to light several pieces of wet firewood and less than 2 minutes to light the charcoal in my cabinet. That is a lot of easy fire starts for $3-$4. The portability makes it worth the extra cost. Like you said, the mini tanks are easily refilled. A push button igniter would be nice but they have a very high failure rate and would not last long under a brush pile or campfire.
 
I've been looking at these. I can't decide if I want the portable one or one connected to the tank. I have three kamados on the deck and the Shirley Fab to light in the driveway and a fire pit down by the pool.

I'm leaning toward the portable but just wish I could hook up to a big tank from time to time
 
Chrisc133 said:
I've been looking at these. I can't decide if I want the portable one or one connected to the tank. I have three kamados on the deck and the Shirley Fab to light in the driveway and a fire pit down by the pool.

I'm leaning toward the portable but just wish I could hook up to a big tank from time to time
Click to expand...

I took the hose off of my weed burner that has an OPD fitting on one end. . It hooks up perfectly to the mini wand. Best of both worlds and on the big tank it has more than double the BTU's of the weed torch.
 
Chrisc133 said:
I've been looking at these. I can't decide if I want the portable one or one connected to the tank. I have three kamados on the deck and the Shirley Fab to light in the driveway and a fire pit down by the pool.

I'm leaning toward the portable but just wish I could hook up to a big tank from time to time
Click to expand...

You can get an adapter to hook it to the big tank, and while you are at it, another adapter to re-fill the little tanks.
 
cheez59 said:
and on the big tank it has more than double the BTU's of the weed torch.
Click to expand...

This is hard for me to believe. You said about 2 hours on a 1 lb tank which holds just under 22,000 BTU's worth of propane, so call it 11,000 BTU per hour give or take.

A typical weed burner is 400,000 - 500,000 BTU/hr and will run out a 20 lb tank in close to 1 hour on full blast. To double that, the switch from a small tank to a 20 lb BBQ tank would increase output close to 100x and it would only last 30 minutes on full. The only way that is happening is if you have no pressure regulator, and the flame would be intense!

That said, I can't imagine anyone wanting that kind of BTU output. Directing a smaller flame where you want it seems to be the advantage of this tool. If it fits through the lower vent on a kamado and lets you light the fire from under the coal grate, it could be a quick and efficient way to start with less BTU's and less propane.
 
m-fine said:
This is hard for me to believe. You said about 2 hours on a 1 lb tank which holds just under 22,000 BTU's worth of propane, so call it 11,000 BTU per hour give or take.

A typical weed burner is 400,000 - 500,000 BTU/hr and will run out a 20 lb tank in close to 1 hour on full blast. To double that, the switch from a small tank to a 20 lb BBQ tank would increase output close to 100x and it would only last 30 minutes on full. The only way that is happening is if you have no pressure regulator, and the flame would be intense!

That said, I can't imagine anyone wanting that kind of BTU output. Directing a smaller flame where you want it seems to be the advantage of this tool. If it fits through the lower vent on a kamado and lets you light the fire from under the coal grate, it could be a quick and efficient way to start with less BTU's and less propane.
Click to expand...

I'm just passing along the manufacturers claims. Watch their videos. I've never seen any weed torch throw an 8" diameter flame 3-4 feet out. The BBQ people would not need that much but if you were lighting up a big windrow of brush and stumps it would come in handy.
 
m-fine said:
You can get an adapter to hook it to the big tank, and while you are at it, another adapter to re-fill the little tanks.
Click to expand...

Great idea...going with the mini. I'm fairly certain I have a hose that would work for a big tank.

And come to think of it, I have an adapter to refill the small tanks somewhere at the house...
 
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