advice before i upgrade

[earlbacher]

i've saved up to go to a big(er) torch, currently on a HH... i dont really want to to a mini cc or a minor, so i was wondering if anyone uses or has used the RedMax? it has a bit of the best of both worlds, and it's fairly cost friendly... i found a local person who reconditions oxycons, so i can get a great deal on two, to run the larger torch...

so what i'm really asking is, is the RedMax a good choice compared to some of the other midsized torches?

[Cosmo]

Two concentrators won't run a Red Max. Three or four maybe, but not two.

I have a MidRange (which is about 60% the size of a Red Max) and two concentrators will run it okay, but not full speed. I used a Red Max in my shop for a while and it runs great on tanked oxygen, but I'd think you would have a hard time getting a good flame on two concentrators.

[Wonker]

I ran a Redmax for about a year. I rigged it to run the centerfire on a oxycon and the outer on tanked. It worked well that way and I saved a little on oxygen running it this way. It's a nice torch and you can do a lot with it. Enjoy!

[Cosmo]

Center fire on a Red Max? I've never seen a Red Max with inner and outer flames. All the ones I've seen are one flame on top, one on bottom.

[kbinkster]

I know people who have run a RedMax on a single 10 LPM machine and were able to do bead work. Of course, when they added a second 10 LPM machine, the difference was night and day.

On a larger torch, a single 10 LPM machine performs better than two 5 LPM machines hooked together, so I cannot say that you would be satisfied. At the very least, you could get a RedMax that has seperate feeds for the top fire (Minor or premix) and the larger bottom fire and feed the top fire with the concentrators and the bottom with tanked oxygen.

What type of work do you plan to do?

[earlbacher]

hmmm, my reply from yesterday isnt here. interesting....

anyway.. right now i do beads, a few pendants, and have tried my hand at some small marbles, most is very frustrating on a HH... so tanked oxygen seems to be in my future... okay... also taking suggestions on what to upgrade to... i'm a bit money lite... i want to be able to do the stuff i do now, only faster and cleaner... but i want to be able to do larger, and shift into boro and pyrex as well... i figure this transition will last about a year, maybe less, till i force myself to an even bigger torch setup... i started out this last feb, with no money at all, so to be able to throw a grand or so at this is a big step at the moment..

[kbinkster]

I think a Lynx would be a great choice for you. I upgraded from a HH to a Lynx because I wanted to work faster and cleaner and get into boro. The Lynx is $435 and can run quite nicely on two reconditioned oxygen concentrators (I recommend the DeVilbiss models). You can run it on one for soft glass (particularly bead work) and it will be an amazing improvement over the HH. You can add a second concentrator later for when you're ready to work hotter (boro).

[G.L.McBead]

I think you would be very happy with the Minicc on two concentrators.
That is what I used till I got my Knight Bullet and it worked great on boro and soft.
Be careful to work far out in the flame till you are used to the heat.
Have fun,
G.

[G.L.McBead]

Whoops I didn,t see that you don't want a mini,A Bullet is a great torch.
I like the Mini better than a Lynx even if they were the same price.
Just my opinion,I have used both.
G.

[neagle]

I have an Oxybox, and my torch is a Firebird. I love it! Never have a problem. The only odd thing is that the oxygen and gas knobs are opposite what they are on a Minor, but I have totally gotten used to it. However, I know someone else who has a Firebird that had Wale switch the knobs for them since they didn't want to fool with trying to retrain themselves....