Skip to content
← All guides

Herbert Arnold Zenit Hand Torch vs GTT Delta Elite Compared

Herbert Arnold Zenit Hand Torch vs GTT Delta Elite hand torch: a single-grip 40 mm German head on hoses against GTT's 57-jet two-stage. Gas, oxygen, price.

By Joe Blanchard, sixteen years on the distribution side of the glass industry · Updated

On this page

Short answer: The Herbert Arnold Zenit Hand Torch is a single-stage surface-mix hand torch: a 40 mm Zenit head weighing 1.2 kg, fed through 1.6 m hoses from a separate control unit with one twist grip, rated by Arnold for borosilicate (and quartz in the hydrogen version). The GTT Delta Elite in its hand version is a 57-jet, two-stage torch with an on/off switch on the handle for the inner and outer fire, which GTT rates for solid boro up to 2.5 inches and for soft glass, boro and quartz. Compared hand torch to hand torch, the Delta is on sale at $2,630 without the switch and $3,080 with it; the Zenit Hand Torch lists at EUR 2,719 excluding VAT for propane, against our US reference of $3,695. Pick the Zenit for one simple control and a light head on hoses; pick the Delta for two fires, more jets and a wider glass range.

If you are still deciding between a bench and a handheld setup in general, start with the bench vs hand torch guide; this article is the head-to-head between these two premium hand torches.

How each torch builds its flame

Both are surface mix: fuel and oxygen stay separate until they meet at or just past the face rather than blending inside the head. (For the background, see surface mix vs premix torches.) They differ in how much you control.

Herbert Arnold calls the Zenit Hand Torch a high-capacity hand torch (Hochleistungs-Handbrenner). It is the 40 mm head of the Zenit bench burner taken off its base: ball valves and one twist grip change the flame continuously, from a needle point to a large flame of up to about 40 mm. There are no stages to balance. Its reputation, like the bench Zenit’s, is a quiet, even flame; that is the burner’s reputation and Arnold’s earlier framing, not a figure on its data sheet, and neither maker publishes a decibel number.

The Delta Elite is one of GTT’s Triple Mix torches: a 7-jet Lynx center fire inside 50 outer jets in three rings, on two stages. As GTT describes Triple Mix, the fuel is first surrounded with oxygen and a second oxygen stream is then injected down the fuel stream, so the fuel burns more completely; the two oxygen streams have their own valves, which is how one head covers a wide range of flame sizes and chemistries without swapping tips. The full mechanism is in the GTT Triple Mix technology guide.

Head, handle and build

The Zenit Hand Torch’s defining feature is that the burner head is separated from the control unit. The control unit mounts on a bracket at the burner support and gas reaches the head through flexible DW-tested hoses 1,600 mm long. Arnold gives the torch a length of 470 mm and a head weight of 1.2 kg, with 6.1 kg for the whole propane set and 5.2 kg for the natural-gas and hydrogen sets. In practice the valves stay on the bench and only the light head is in your hand. Community reports on Lampwork Etc. describe Herbert Arnold torches as easy to adjust and heavily built, and note they melt boro more slowly than a comparable GTT; treat those as community impressions, not tested figures.

The Delta hand torch carries a far denser face, 57 jets on two stages, with the valves on the torch itself. The with-switch version adds an on/off switch on the handle that changes between the inner and outer fire; the without-switch version uses adjustable valves only, and GTT offers the switch as a later upgrade. Both carry a hook hanger, and GTT lists neck-length choices for the switch version without giving the lengths. GTT publishes no weight or length for the hand Delta, so we cannot compare what each puts in your hand by the number.

Fuel, pressure and oxygen

The Zenit Hand Torch is sold as 114/21 PS (propane), 114/22 ES (natural gas) and 114/23 WS (hydrogen), each with oxygen. A given torch runs the fuel it was built for, and unlike the propane and natural-gas bench Zenits, Arnold’s catalog lists no compressed-air connection for the hand torch. Arnold publishes pressures and maximum consumption for each version (psi and LPM are our conversions):

VersionFuel pressureOxygen pressureMax fuel / oxygenMax oxygen in LPM
114/21 PS, propane50 mbar (about 0.7 psi)2 bar (about 29 psi)0.5 / 3.5 m3/habout 58
114/22 ES, natural gas22 mbar (about 0.3 psi)1.5 bar (about 22 psi)2.2 / 4.4 m3/habout 73
114/23 WS, hydrogen500 mbar (about 7 psi)1.5 bar (about 22 psi)7.2 / 4.0 m3/habout 67

The propane figure is the ~58 LPM in our catalog. Arnold publishes no jet count for the Zenit Hand Torch.

For the Delta Elite, GTT’s Flow Rate Chart gives 10 psi of fuel and 35 psi of oxygen, with 65 CFH of oxygen at the largest usable flame on propane, which is the ~30 LPM in our catalog. GTT says natural gas consumption runs about two and a half times the propane figures and actual use is generally lower. The chart names models without separating hand and bench versions, and GTT’s hand-torch pages give no pressures, fuels or oxygen figures of their own, so confirm the hand version’s settings with GTT. Our catalog lists propane or natural gas for the Delta Elite.

Do not read the two oxygen numbers as a head-to-head. Arnold’s is a ceiling at the largest flame; GTT’s is a rounded flow at the largest usable flame. Both say this class of hand torch wants a real oxygen supply. Whichever you buy, the maker’s manual governs setup and pressures, along with the flashback protection your torch and gas supply call for; Arnold recommends protection against reverse gas flow and flashback on its burners. For how demand scales with torch size, see the borosilicate torch guide.

Editor’s note: Zenit Hand Torch figures come from Herbert Arnold’s burner catalog and 02/2025 price list; Delta Elite figures from GTT’s product pages, hand-torch page and Flow Rate Chart, all read on 2026-10-06. Pressures in psi and flows in LPM are our conversions (m3/h x 16.67, CFH x 0.4719). Confirm current specs and configuration with the maker before you buy.

Glass and work size

Arnold rates the Zenit Hand Torch for borosilicate in every version and for quartz in the hydrogen version; it names no soft glass. Its published capacity is the flame, up to about 40 mm.

GTT’s hand-torch page rates the Delta hand torch for soft glass, borosilicate and quartz, and for solid borosilicate up to 2.5 inches. Our catalog records the Delta Elite family for boro. The two capacity figures measure different things, a maximum flame size against a solid-rod rating, so they do not rank the torches; they do say the Delta is the one sold for soft glass as well. The Delta’s two oxygen valves also give a spread of flame chemistries from reducing through neutral to oxidizing, which is the practical payoff GTT claims for Triple Mix. If your work is careful boro assembly and rework with one quiet, predictable control, that is the Zenit’s lane; if you want one hand torch to cover more glass and more flame types, that is the Delta’s.

Price and configuration

Price the hand versions against each other; the headline numbers mislead.

Herbert Arnold Zenit Hand TorchGTT Delta Elite
Hand-torch priceEUR 2,719 PS / 2,588 ES / 2,585 WS list, ex VAT; US reference $3,695$2,630 without switch, $3,080 with switch (sale; list $3,300 and $3,850)
Bench priceNot applicable (the Zenit bench burner is a separate model)$2,575 (standard four-stud bench)
MixSurface mixSurface mix (GTT calls it Triple Mix)
Stages1, one twist grip2, optional handle switch
JetsNot published57 (7-jet Lynx center plus 50 outer)
MountHandBench or hand
FuelSeparate propane, natural gas or hydrogen versions; no air connection listedPropane or natural gas (our catalog)

The Delta Elite’s $2,575 is the standard four-stud bench torch, so do not read it as the hand-torch figure. GTT shows its hand prices as sales against a higher list, so confirm the current price with GTT before budgeting. The Zenit Hand Torch is a euro list price from Germany; our $3,695 is a US reference figure, not Arnold’s, and a landed US price will include shipping and any import costs the euro list leaves out.

Who each one is for

Choose the Herbert Arnold Zenit Hand Torch if you work boro or quartz and want one simple control, a light head on long hoses with the valves left on the bench, and a quiet, steady flame. The costs are a slower melt on heavy boro by community account, no compressed-air option, and euro pricing from Germany.

Choose the GTT Delta Elite hand torch if you want one torch to cover the most ground: two fires, 57 jets, a handle switch between inner and outer fire, and a maker rating for soft glass, boro and quartz. The trade-off is more valves to learn and a busier torch in the hand.

For a broader look at torches chosen partly for a quiet flame, see the quiet glass torches guide.

Sources

About the author

Written and edited by Joe Blanchard, who spent 2007 to 2023 on the distribution side of the glass industry in Asheville, North Carolina. GlassTorches.com is his independent, manufacturer-first buyer's guide. More about the editor.

How this guide was sourced: figures come from the manufacturer's own pages and manuals where we have them and are labelled as estimates where they are ours; the catalog on this site is the source of truth, and where sources disagree the guide says so. Confirm the current spec with the maker before you buy. How we work.