Short answer: These are two flagship production bench torches priced within about forty dollars of each other, and the real decision is architectural. The GTT Delta Mag ($4,250) is an all-Surface mix Triple Mix torch that layers 3 separately controlled fires to build a large, adjustable, even envelope of heat. The Carlisle CC++ ($4,286) is the largest torch in the CC family and takes a Hybrid (premix centre) approach: a hot, tightly defined premixed center fire sitting inside a broad surface-mixed outer fire. If you want a wide, layered, operator-tunable flame for fast melt-ins on big boro, the Delta Mag is built for that. If you want a concentrated premixed center for pinpoint heat wrapped in a soaking outer, the CC++ is built for that. Both are advanced tools that assume you already have the oxygen and bench to feed them.
How each torch builds its heat
The two torches reach a similar price from opposite directions.
GTT’s Triple Mix is a surface-mix design. It surrounds the fuel stream with oxygen and then injects additional oxygen down the stream, with the extra oxygen streams independently controllable (GTT’s green and blue valves), so you can move the flame chemistry from reducing to oxidizing across a wide range. Because the gases meet at the surface rather than inside the head, the flame runs quiet and bushy for its size. The Delta Mag stacks this idea in 3 stages: a 7-jet Lynx center, a middle fire that is either the Phantom (15 jets) or the Mirage (33 jets), and a large outer fire (66 jets behind a Phantom middle, 50 behind a Mirage middle). GTT frames it as the torch for glassworkers who already love the Phantom or Mirage flame size but need more heat for fast melt-ins and rapid heating in production work. See our Triple Mix explainer for how the layered mix behaves in practice.
Carlisle takes the opposite path. Every torch in the CC family produces two distinct flames: a premixed center fire that behaves like a single-ported tip (much like a Carlisle hand-torch flame) and a surface-mixed outer fire around it. The CC++ is the largest member of that family, with four rows of outer-fire tubes against the base CC’s two and the CC+‘s three, so its outer fire is bigger than even the CC+. That premixed center gives you a hot, defined point of heat for detail and melt-in, while the surface-mixed outer supplies the broad, gentle soaking envelope. The surface mix vs premix guide covers why those two mixing styles feel so different at the bench.
Flame architecture and control
On the Delta Mag, the three fires are separately valved, and the two supplemental oxygen streams add another axis of adjustment. That means the flame is genuinely tunable: you dial the center for your workpoint, feather the middle, open the outer for size, and shift the whole thing reducing or oxidizing without changing torches. The trade-off is that there are more valves to learn, and getting the most out of it takes time.
On the CC++, control is organized around centerfire tips plus color-coded metering valves. The torch comes standard with the Air Optimizer and a stainless heat shield; the outer shell is brass (stainless optional) threaded onto a machined brass body, with four color-coded metering valves on the mixer. It ships two-hose standard, or with four separate inlets if you run foot controllers. The center flame changes character with the tip you install rather than by feathering a second oxygen stream: the #5 tip has the largest orifice of the piloted tips (more BTUs), the #3 is smaller and more defined, and the hydrogen tip is unpiloted with the same orifice as the #5.
Because Carlisle does not publish a jet count for the CC family, our catalog leaves that field blank rather than guessing; the meaningful number there is the row count of outer tubes, not a jet total. GTT does publish a layout, and the catalog records 88 total jets for the Delta Mag with the Phantom middle (GTT states the maximum flame size is the same on the Phantom and Mirage configurations).
Heat, oxygen supply, and what to plan for
This is where the two torches diverge most on paper, and where you need to size your shop.
Editor’s note: the oxygen figures below are estimates, not published specs. The Delta Mag figure is derived from GTT’s own flow table at the largest usable flame; the CC++ figure is our owner-judgment placement. Treat both as planning estimates and confirm your real demand against the maker and your own regulator and flow gauges.
Our catalog lists the Delta Mag at about ~54 LPM of oxygen at the largest usable flame and the CC++ at about ~33 LPM. Those are different bases, so do not read the gap as a precise ranking, but the direction is real: a fully open Triple Mix Delta Mag is a thirsty torch, and a shop feeding it wants serious oxygen behind it, typically a multi-concentrator or bulk-oxygen setup rather than a single small concentrator. The CC++ estimate sits lower, but it is still a flagship torch, not a starter. If you are sizing concentrators, our oxygen concentrator LPM guide walks through how to match output to a torch this size.
| GTT Delta Mag | Carlisle CC++ | |
|---|---|---|
| Reference price | $4,250 | $4,286 |
| Mix type | Surface mix | Hybrid (premix centre) |
| Mount | Bench | Bench |
| Oxygen (estimate) | ~54 LPM | ~33 LPM |
| Glass range | Boro | Soft glass and boro |
| Flame concept | Layered center, middle, outer surface-mix fires | Premixed center inside a surface-mixed outer |
Fuel and gas options
Both torches run on propane or natural gas with oxygen, so either fits a shop plumbed for house gas or running bottled propane. Carlisle publishes pressures per gas in the shared CC-family manual: natural gas at roughly 5 psi gas and 10 psi oxygen, propane at 5 psi gas and 25 psi oxygen. The manual’s “maximum cubic foot per hour” numbers are capacity ceilings, not working-flame figures, so do not read them as your everyday demand. Manufacturer manuals always take precedence over any figure here, and you should set pressures from the manual for your exact torch and gas.
Hydrogen is the one fuel where they split. The CC++ supports hydrogen with its dedicated unpiloted tip (same orifice size as the #5). The Delta Mag is a Triple Mix boro torch on oxygen with propane or natural gas; do not assume hydrogen support it does not document. If hydrogen is central to your work, that alone can decide this comparison.
Shop fit, build, and ergonomics
Both are bench-mounted torches that expect a permanent station, not a torch you clamp on for an afternoon. The CC++ is a substantial brass assembly: a brass outer shell on a machined brass body, a stainless heat shield, and either two hoses or four inlets for foot control. That mass and the foot-controller option suit a repetitive production bench where you want to modulate gas with your feet and keep your hands on the glass. The Delta Mag’s draw is the opposite kind of ergonomics: a lot of flame-shaping happens at the torch through its multiple valves, so the operator interface is richer but there is more to manage in the flame itself. For a broader look at mounting a torch this size and setting bench angle, see the thick-glass bench burner guide.
On noise and backfire, both makers build these as serious tools and neither is a beginner torch; follow each maker’s lighting and shutdown sequence exactly, since the premixed center on the Carlisle and the layered fires on the GTT each have their own startup order. The community Melting Pot wiki documents GTT Phantom-class flame behavior and the Hive13 wiki documents hands-on CC operation; both are useful as community knowledge, not measured fact.
Which buyer each one suits
Choose the Delta Mag if you want a large, even, highly adjustable envelope of surface-mix heat for fast melt-ins and rapid heating on big borosilicate, you value shifting flame chemistry at the torch, and you already have the oxygen to feed a thirsty three-stage flame. It is a boro-focused production tool that rewards an operator who wants to tune the flame constantly.
Choose the CC++ if you want a hot, defined premixed center for pinpoint work sitting inside a broad soaking outer fire, you work soft glass as well as boro, you want per-gas tips (including a hydrogen option) and foot-controller inlets, and you like a heavy brass torch built for a repetitive production bench. It reaches a similar price with a fundamentally different flame.
Neither is a wrong answer at this tier; they are two different philosophies of a big flame. If you are still deciding how much torch your work and oxygen supply justify, start with the complete buyer’s guide.
Related guides
- GTT Triple Mix technology explained
- Surface mix vs premix torches
- Best bench burner for thick glass sculpture
- Oxygen concentrator LPM guide
- How to choose a glass torch
Sources
- GTT, “Delta Mag”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/delta-mag
- GTT, “Triple Mix Torches”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/triple-mix-torches
- GTT, “Delta Mag (Mirage inner)”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/product-page/delta-mag-mirage-inner
- Carlisle Machine Works, “CC++ bench burner”: http://carlislemachine.com/as_benchburners/ccplusplus.php
- Carlisle Machine Works, “CC bench burner”: http://carlislemachine.com/as_benchburners/cc.php
- Melting Pot wiki (talkglass.com), “Phantom”: http://www.talkglass.com/wiki/index.php?title=Phantom
- Hive13 hackerspace wiki, “Carlisle CC Torch”: https://wiki.hive13.org/view/Carlisle_CC_Torch
Editor’s note: model names, configurations, and prices reflect public manufacturer information and community sources as of 2026, and the oxygen figures are estimates rather than published specs; confirm current lineups, tips, pressures, and pricing with the maker before purchase.