Hot Or Not? BernzOmatic QUICKFIRE Torch
By Gordon DeWitte
I tried to stop myself, I really did, but in the end I couldn’t resist and just had to put the BernzOmatic® QUICKFIRE® Torch in the Hot-Or-Not category. The recently-released and patent-pending QUICKFIRE® claims a 40% height reduction (compared to “standard” cylinder hand torches), and 30% faster soldering time (via the Ultra Swirl nozzle and the Max Power Propylene fuel in the QUICK-CONNECT gas cylinder). It has a trigger ignitor switch with lock button and adjustable flame control. The QUICK-CONNECT gas cylinder, with its Max Power fuel capable of producing a 3,600° F flame, will also fit all Propylene and MAPP gas hand torches on the market that use a CGA600 thread connection.
MSRPs are $69.99 for the QUICKFIRE® and $6.99 for the QUICK CONNECT cylinder. It was supposed to have been available in all major home centers in North America by November 15.
Does this new torch offer significant advantages? What do you think?
QUICKFIRE® [Manufacturer's Site]
December 3rd, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Saw this the other day at the big orange box. It’s interesting, but $70??? and a 1/4 of the gas/fuel?
srry not for me
December 3rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I’ll stick with a $25 MAPP gas torch but i am just a DIYer
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Don’t all the people who really care use air-acetylene torches?
This looks like a useless gimmick. I can’t see what need this satisifes that wasn’t served via either a MAPP gas torch with a hose, or an air-acetylene setup. It’s like the worst of all worlds: small tank, expensive to buy, expensive to operate, and less manuverable than all but the largest option (torch directly mounted to tank).
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Neat for 45 bucks. I’ll wait for clearance time.
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
With no apparent compatibility with tanks that you can pick up anywhere(MAPP, or propane), and a price that is way too high for the extra convenience,I’ll stick to the old school units.
(HF had a nice trigger light type unit for far less)
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:25 pm
@Dave P - Clearance time torch price will be great, but what about finding those tiny fuel tanks?
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
DOH! I stand corrected, it apparently can utilize the standard tanks, but it’s still too pricey for me.
December 3rd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
@ Mark
We do most of our work with just an acetylene tank (no oxygen) a hose and a torch head
December 4th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Just a thought about the HF torch- be aware these things can leak. Not bashing HF specifically, but quality matters where flammable gas is concerned. I have an older trigger torch, a quickfire, I think, that’s served me well for years. I use it for all sorts of things, but it’s winter job is to get the woodstove started. I leave it in the house without a second thought. We came home from Thanksgiving to a house that smelled faintly of propane, due to a small leak that developed in the torch head. Never occurred to me that a good quality torch would just up and start leaking, and I’m a really safety-conscious type. I’d keep a HF torch in my shed, but nowhere near my house. Come to think if it, I might just store my torch on the porch from now on.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Looks cool but… $70!?! Not!
Dave P has deeper pockets than me. ‘Not’ at $45 either.
‘Maybe’ at $30ish.
Like some of the others, if I need more heat, I just use MAPP sans O2 first.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Bill,
I too have seen quality torches (as well as inexpensive ones) that leak. I would think that no valve is really infallible. Since I don’t sweat pipe joints all that often I simply store the halve head separate from the gas source.
December 12th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
The 14oz cylinder was comfortable in the hand for ease of use, the Fat Boy cylinder is worthless. This attempt at ease of use by BernzOmatic is overpriced and does not equal what they had with the normal cylinder. My opinion is that of an engineering tradesman and I will not purchase BernzOmatic products again.