Short answer: Both the Bethlehem Star and the Nortel Mega Minor are single-fire surface-mix bench torches that sit a step above the very smallest burners, and either one suits a beginner-to-intermediate maker working soft glass and some boro. The difference is heat envelope versus value. The Star is the larger, hotter torch: 11 gas jets and a full-flame oxygen draw Bethlehem lists at about 20 LPM, at a manufacturer-direct list price near $446. The Mega Minor is the tighter, oxygen-thrifty value pick: a 7-port burner with a flame from a needle point up to about 7/8 inch, at a reference price near $268. If you want more heat headroom for larger beads and marbles and you can feed the oxygen, the Star earns its price. If you want a proven step-up starter that sips oxygen from a single concentrator, the Mega Minor is the straightforward answer.
If you are still mapping out your whole first setup rather than choosing between these two, start with the best beginner glass torch guide, which frames the wider first-torch decision.
Bethlehem Star at a glance
The Bethlehem Star is a single-stage, low-pressure, stainless-steel surface-mix bench burner. Bethlehem’s product page lists 11 total gas jets in the catalog record: a 6-jet center fire inside a 5-jet outer ring. Bethlehem quotes roughly 5 LPM propane and 20 LPM tanked oxygen at full flame, and describes the torch working 22 mm boro rod and 36 mm heavy-wall tube. Bethlehem positions it for makers of large beads and 2-inch marbles, says it handles both soft and borosilicate glass, and frames it as a step up from the smaller Alpha for “a little extra heat” while keeping the Alpha’s flame chemistry and fuel efficiency. That last line is Bethlehem’s own framing, not our measurement.
The Star runs propane and natural gas, and Bethlehem says it is compatible with an oxygen concentrator at 7 psi. Its catalog list price is about $446, a manufacturer-direct list figure captured in mid-2026, which places it in the mid price band.
Nortel Mega Minor at a glance
The Nortel Mega Minor is a 7-port surface-mix bench burner. Nortel describes it as being like the smaller Nortel Minor but with slightly larger ports for hotter temperatures and more efficient oxygen use, with a flame that ranges from a needle point up to about 7/8 inch. Nortel’s own framing is that the Mega Minor makes more efficient use of oxygen for a hotter flame from the same resources, and positions it for beads, small sculpture, and marbles up to about 3 inches, primarily soft glass with some borosilicate.
The Mega Minor runs natural gas and oxygen or propane and oxygen, with the oxygen bottled or from a concentrator. The catalog records an oxygen estimate of about 9 LPM, but that is an owner-judgment placement, not a Nortel-published spec (more on that below). Its catalog reference price is about $268, which places it in the entry price band. It is also the burner Nortel often pairs as the top fire on the larger Nortel Red Max.
| Bethlehem Star | Nortel Mega Minor | |
|---|---|---|
| List / reference price | ~$446 (Bethlehem list) | ~$268 (reference) |
| Mix type | Surface mix | Surface mix |
| Mount | Bench | Bench |
| Flame jets / ports | 11 gas jets (6 center, 5 outer) | 7 ports |
| Stages | Single stage | Single fire |
| Fuels | Propane, natural gas | Propane, natural gas |
| Oxygen (estimate) | ~20 LPM full flame | ~9 LPM |
| Price band | Mid | Entry |
Every figure in that table comes from the catalog, which is built from each maker’s own pages and manuals where we have them and labelled as an estimate where the figure is ours. Configurations and prices change, so confirm the current spec with Bethlehem or Nortel before you buy.
Flame size and heat: broad envelope vs tight and efficient
Both torches are surface mix, and that is the most important thing they share. In a surface-mix burner, fuel and oxygen stay separate inside the torch and combine only at or just past the burner face. The result is a softer, quieter, more forgiving flame than a premix torch produces, which is why surface mix is the standard recommendation for makers who are still building skills. Our surface mix vs premix guide covers the mechanism in full.
Where they diverge is scale. The Star’s 11 jets and roughly 20 LPM full-flame oxygen figure point to a meaningfully larger, hotter flame envelope than the 7-port Mega Minor. That extra capacity is the whole reason to consider the Star: it can push into larger work that a smaller burner cannot heat evenly. Bethlehem’s own description of working 22 mm boro rod and 36 mm heavy-wall tube is the practical face of that larger flame.
The Mega Minor trades outright size for a tighter, oxygen-efficient flame. Nortel’s framing is a broad, adjustable flame that leans efficient, running from a pinpoint up to about 7/8 inch. Community melt tests on Lampwork Etc., which we treat as community knowledge rather than measured fact, add texture here. Comparing the Mega Minor against the tighter standard Minor, testers reported the Mega Minor gives a broader, wider flame that makes better use of oxygen for a larger flame at the same supply, while the narrower Minor showed slightly higher heat density on an 8 mm boro rod (one informal test clocked 16 seconds for the Minor versus 17 for the Mega Minor). Those figures compare the Minor and Mega Minor, not the Star, and sources on melt timing disagree, so read them as a hair’s difference and an illustration of flame character, not a spec.
The takeaway: if you run a small, pinpoint flame for beads and detail, the Mega Minor is well matched to that and thrifty on oxygen. If you keep hitting a ceiling on flame size, the Star’s larger envelope is the reason to spend more.
What each can actually work
For soft glass, both torches are comfortable and neither is the limiting factor for typical beads and small work. The interesting differences show up in size and in boro.
Nortel positions the Mega Minor for beads, small sculpture, and marbles up to about 3 inches, primarily soft glass with some borosilicate. That is Nortel’s own framing. Community reports temper the boro side of it: makers describe turning roughly 1.25-inch boro marbles on the Mega Minor that the smaller Minor was not hot enough for, while still finding themselves size-limited on boro past that point. The Mega is “a bit hotter” than the Minor and not much more expensive, but it is not a large-boro torch.
Bethlehem positions the Star for large beads and 2-inch marbles, working both soft and boro, and lists it working 22 mm boro rod and 36 mm heavy-wall tube. Its larger flame is what lets it heat those bigger sections evenly. If your ambitions run toward larger marbles or heavier boro, the Star has more room before you hit its ceiling.
Marble and rod size ceilings vary by source and by the artist’s skill, so treat both makers’ size claims as their own framing rather than hard limits. If marbles are your focus specifically, the how to make glass marbles guide covers technique and where flame size starts to matter.
Fuel, oxygen, and running costs
Both torches are surface mix, both run propane or natural gas, and both work with an oxygen concentrator, so the supply picture is similar in shape but different in scale.
The Mega Minor is the lighter draw. Its catalog estimate of about 9 LPM sits in the range a single home oxygen concentrator can comfortably feed, which is a real advantage for a home studio that does not want tanked oxygen. Nortel names a concentrator as an oxygen option on its page, and community reports back up that the Mega Minor runs happily on one.
The Star wants meaningfully more oxygen. Bethlehem’s roughly 20 LPM full-flame figure is what the torch draws wide open, so feeding the Star at full flame realistically means tanked oxygen or a strong concentrator setup, or running the flame below full. Bethlehem does say the Star is suited to a concentrator at 7 psi, but the higher full-flame appetite is part of the cost of the larger flame, so plan your oxygen supply around it rather than assuming a single small concentrator will keep up at full tilt. To see how concentrator output in liters per minute maps to torch appetite, the oxygen concentrator LPM guide walks through it.
For either torch, match your regulator to your fuel and never swap fittings between fuels. On flashback protection, fit the protection your torch and gas supply actually call for rather than a blanket rule. Both of these are surface-mix burners, and Bethlehem’s own operating instructions state that its surface-mix burners do not require a flashback arrestor while premix torches do, subject to local regulation. That is a maker statement about a class of torch, not universal advice, and the flashback arrestors explained guide covers how to decide for your own setup. Whatever any page says, the manufacturer’s own manual for your torch and your local code take precedence.
Price and value: what the extra roughly $180 buys
Price is the other clear divide. The Star lists near $446 manufacturer-direct; the Mega Minor sits near $268 as a reference figure. That gap of roughly $180 is real money at this level, where much of the budget should go toward oxygen, fuel, and safety gear rather than the torch.
What the extra buys is heat headroom, not a different class of torch. Both are single-fire surface-mix benches aimed at overlapping makers. The Star’s larger flame envelope, higher jet count, and Bethlehem’s larger stated work sizes are the return on the higher price. If you will spend your time on soft-glass beads and small work, that headroom may sit unused and the Mega Minor is the better value. If you expect to grow into larger beads, 2-inch marbles, or heavier boro, paying up front for the Star can save you a second upgrade later.
How to choose
Choose the Nortel Mega Minor if budget matters and your work is soft-glass beads, small sculpture, and detail. At about $268 it is the value pick, its tight flame suits fine work, and its low oxygen draw is friendly to a single concentrator. It is also a natural fit if you might later expand into the Nortel line, since it doubles as the Red Max top fire.
Choose the Bethlehem Star if you want more heat and a larger flame than the smallest step-up torches give you, and you can feed the oxygen. For about $446 you get an 11-jet burner Bethlehem builds for large beads, 2-inch marbles, and heavier boro rod and tube, running propane or natural gas. It is the torch that delays your next upgrade rather than the one you buy to save money today.
If your work will stay primarily in soft glass, the best soft-glass lampworking torch guide puts both of these torches in a wider field of options at the same level.
Editor’s note on the oxygen and price figures
Editor’s note: the two oxygen figures here have different bases and should not be read as a precise head-to-head. The Star’s ~20 LPM is Bethlehem’s own published full-flame tanked-oxygen consumption, a wide-open draw, not a minimum. The Mega Minor’s ~9 LPM is our own owner-judgment estimate, since Nortel publishes no single LPM figure for it. On price, the Star’s ~$446 is a Bethlehem manufacturer-direct list figure, while the Mega Minor’s ~$268 is a reference price, not a Nortel-published list price. Confirm current specs, fuels, and pricing with Bethlehem or Nortel before you buy.
Related guides
- Best beginner glass torch
- Surface mix vs premix torches
- Oxygen concentrator LPM guide
- Flashback arrestors explained
- Best soft-glass lampworking torch
Sources
- Bethlehem Burners, Star product page: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/star/
- Nortel, Mega Minor burner page: https://www.nortelglass.com/mega-minor-burner/
- Nortel, Minor bench burner page: https://www.nortelglass.com/minor-bench-burner/
- Lampwork Etc., Mega Minor / Minor melt-test discussion: https://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241193