Nortel Torches
Nortel · Canada · Founded 1967 · Active
Canadian surface-mix bench burners plus specialized hand torches.
- Surface-mix mounted line
- Modular top burners
- Premix scientific hand torches
Nortel Manufacturing says it was established in 1967 in Toronto by founder and inventor Peter Norton. Our catalog carries twenty current Nortel models, eleven mounted bench burners and nine hand torches, covering artistic, scientific, and high-temperature work. If you are trying to work out which one to buy, the table below is the fast answer and the sections under it explain how the line is arranged.
For the full model-by-model lineup guide, read Nortel Torch Lineup Explained: Minor to Rocket, Model by Model. The table below is the quick view.
Lineup at a glance
Every current Nortel model in our catalog, cheapest first. Oxygen is a rough sizing estimate, not a spec. The sourcing note under the table says where these figures came from.
| Model | Price | Stages | Jets | Oxygen (estimate) | Mix | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bench torches | ||||||
 Nortel MinorBench | $325 | 1 | 7 | ~9 LPM | Surface mix | Beginner, Intermediate |
 Nortel Mega MinorBench | $349 | 1 | 7 | ~9 LPM | Surface mix | Beginner, Intermediate |
 Nortel MajorBench | $492* | 2* | 64 | Not published | Surface mix | Intermediate |
| $666 | 2* | Not published | Not published | Surface mix | Intermediate, Advanced | |
 Nortel Red MaxBench | $894 | 2* | 45 | Not published | Surface mix | Intermediate |
 Nortel Mid RangeBench | Mid ($$) | 1 | Not published | Not published | Surface mix | Beginner, Intermediate |
Nortel ArrowBench | Mid ($$) | 2 | Not published | Not published | Hybrid (surface and premix) | Intermediate, Advanced |
 Nortel RocketBench | $1,521 | 2** | Not published | Not published | Surface mix | Advanced |
Nortel HydraBench | High ($$$) | Not published | Not published | Not published | Hybrid (surface and premix) | Advanced |
Nortel MedusaBench | High ($$$) | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Advanced |
Nortel GoliathBench | High ($$$) | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Advanced |
| Hand torches | ||||||
| $172 | 1 | Not published | Not published | Premix | Intermediate, Advanced | |
 Nortel RangerHand | $241 | 1 | Not published | Not published | Surface mix | Beginner, Intermediate |
 Nortel UnitorchHand | $421 | 1 | Not published | Not published | Premix | Intermediate, Advanced |
| $452 | 1 | Not published | Not published | Surface mix | Beginner, Intermediate | |
| $519 | 1 | Not published | Not published | Premix | Intermediate, Advanced | |
| $663 | 1 | Not published | Not published | Premix | Intermediate, Advanced | |
| $663 | 1 | 45 | Not published | Surface mix | Intermediate, Advanced | |
| $697 | 1 | 121 | Not published | Surface mix | Intermediate, Advanced | |
| Mid ($$) | 1 | 64 | Not published | Surface mix | Intermediate, Advanced | |
“Not published” means we have no sourced figure for that model yet, not that it is zero. Prices without a dollar figure show our price band instead.
* Estimate: our reference US figure, not a list price from the maker.
- *Two burners stacked, not two rings in one head: a top fire mounted on the larger lower burner (a Minor on the Major; a Minor or Mega Minor on the Mid Range Plus, which Nortel says can run both at once). On the Red Max the top burner (Minor, Mega Minor, or a premix head) is an add-on to its 45-port head rather than standard equipment. The stage count here counts burners.
- **The Rocket is different: its second stage is a separately controlled center fire inside one surface-mix head. Nortel lists a top-mounted burner as an option, not as standard.
Surface mix, despite the myth
A persistent piece of forum lore calls Nortel's bench burners premix. They are not: the Minor, Mega Minor, Mid Range, Mid Range Plus, Major, Red Max, and Rocket are all surface-mix mounted torches, which means fuel and oxygen stay separate inside the torch and meet at the face. That is a large part of why the entry models are such forgiving torches to learn on. Premix appears in the Nortel line in selected hand torches, the Unitorch family and the Twin Fuel Handtorch, in optional top-burner configurations where Nortel lists them, and in two newer mounted torches: Nortel describes the Arrow as combining surface-mix and premix characteristics, and the Hydra is built around an Arrow center fire.
The line from the Ranger to the Rocket
Nortel's line runs from a light hand torch to a two-stage production burner, and the names do not tell you where a model sits. Here is the whole current lineup, hand torches first, with what each one is for.
Among the hand torches, the Twin Fuel Handtorch is the outlier: a light premix torch with an injector-type mixer and one fingertip control, taking National-style tips, aimed at quartz and high-temperature work and at boosting a lathe. The Ranger puts the features of the Minor bench burner into a hand torch, with precision needle valves and valve bodies that rotate to suit the operator. The Multimix Junior is a stainless surface-mix hand torch with the flame character of the Mid Range burner: a tight pattern, fine control valves, light in the hand. The Red Max Handtorch carries the same 45-port flame pattern as the Red Max bench head, with a flame up to 1.25in and a wooden grip, and it is the one to reach for on borosilicate. The Unitorch is the scientific premix hand torch, six stainless tips, listed by Nortel for lathe work, dewars, fritted discs, round bottoms, ring seals, graded seals, glass-to-metal seals, and flame cutting on 40 mm quartz or 75 mm borosilicate standard-wall tubing; the Unitorch-9 is the same idea with nine tips and roughly 20 inches of length, so the operator can stand back from the fire, and the Unitorch-12 carries twelve tips on a stainless manifold at about 2 lb. The two large Multimix hand torches are pattern torches: the Multimix 8x8 is 64 orifices on the same head as the Major, and the Multimix 11x11 is the bigger 121-orifice sibling.
On the bench, the Minor is the starting point and the model the rest of the line is described against: a single-stage, 7-port surface-mix burner with a flame from 1/8in to 3/4in, built for beads, small sculpture, and marbles up to about 3in. The Mega Minor is its hotter twin, the same 7-port face with slightly larger ports, a flame up to 7/8in, and enough reach to work borosilicate while still behaving on soft glass. The Mid Range is a single burner with a flame up to an inch across for larger soft glass and sculpture, and Nortel says three concentrators are required for optimum performance. Fit a Minor or Mega Minor on top of it and it becomes the Mid Range Plus, a two-burner setup Nortel says can run both burners at once. The Major steps up to a 64-port bottom head with a bushy flame up to 1.5in and a Minor top fire on independent valves, which is where the line starts to suit serious borosilicate work. The Red Max pairs a lower head Nortel labels 45-port with a Minor, Mega Minor, or premix top, and is a favorite for large soft glass and inside-out work. The Rocket is the big surface-mix burner: a separately controlled center-fire jet, a flame from small to roughly 2in wide, and geared tilt control, with an optional premix accessory burner and a foot pedal; it is an advanced torch for large boro and production.
Nortel's store now lists four newer mounted torches, priced in Canadian dollars. The Arrow is a two-stage, single-port torch that Nortel says gives a narrow flame and a flame like a Minor's, with heat Nortel says comes without excessively high gas pressures. The Hydra puts an Arrow center fire inside outer rings of 22 and 32 ports for larger sculptural boro. The Medusa and the Goliath sit at the top of Nortel's price list, but their listings carry no description yet, so we record their prices and nothing else.
Running a Nortel torch
Fuel first. Every current Nortel model in our catalog lists propane and natural gas, which is what Nortel's torch index gives for its torches, and none lists hydrogen. The Twin Fuel Handtorch is no exception: despite the name, its pages name no fuels. Ask Nortel before you plan on any other fuel.
Oxygen is a sizing estimate here, not a spec. Our catalog carries a figure for only two models, the Minor and the Mega Minor at about 9 LPM each, and that figure is our own placement at the largest usable flame rather than a Nortel number. Our records hold no Nortel-published LPM figure for the rest of the line, so those rows read Not published rather than a guess. Nortel's supply statements in our records are about concentrators, not flow: its concentrator sheet says a single 5 LPM concentrator runs the Minor, its comparison page suggests a second concentrator for hotter, faster or larger work, and its Mid Range page says three concentrators are required for optimum performance.
Pressures are published per model, and Nortel's numbers are low. Its Major page suggests propane at 2 to 6 psi, natural gas at 1/4 to 2 psi, and oxygen at 5 to 8 psi; the Rocket page suggests fuel at 2 to 6 psi and oxygen at 7 to 15 psi; the Red Max Handtorch, Multimix 8x8 and Multimix Junior are listed at roughly .25 to 5 psi gas and 5 to 15 psi oxygen. Treat the manual that came with your torch as the authority over any figure repeated on the internet, this page included.
Premix appears only where Nortel puts it. The Red Max page lists a premix top as one of its three top-burner options, the Rocket page lists an optional premix accessory burner with a quiet multi-orifice tip that takes National-style tips, and the Mid Range Plus information page lists Minor and Mega Minor tops while Nortel's store also sells a Mid Range Plus with a premix top. The Arrow and the Hydra are the mounted torches Nortel describes as surface and premix by design. Every other bench burner Nortel describes is surface mix.
For safety, fit the flashback protection your torch and your gas supply call for, following Nortel's instructions for your model rather than a rule of thumb, and pair it with a regulator suited to your gas. Specs and options change, so confirm the current numbers with Nortel before you buy.
Known source conflicts
Nortel calls the Red Max lower head a 45-port burner, but the same page describes rings of 16 and 27 ports, which total 43. We list Nortel's stated headline figure and note the discrepancy. No current Nortel product page we have read lists hydrogen, the Twin Fuel Handtorch included, so we record hydrogen for no Nortel model. The Hydra listing calls the torch both 3-stage and a two-stage design, so its stage count reads Not published. And Nortel publishes no jet count for the Mid Range on its current product page, so we carry none rather than repeat an older figure.
Related guides
- Nortel Torch Lineup Explained: Minor to Rocket, Model by ModelAn independent guide to the Nortel torch lineup: all 20 bench burners and hand torches compared by mix, stages, jets, oxygen, and Nortel's own price.
- Bethlehem Alpha vs Nortel Mega Minor: Entry Bench TorchesBethlehem Alpha vs Nortel Mega Minor: two entry-band surface-mix bench torches for beginners at near-identical prices. Fuel, flame and oxygen decide it.
- Bethlehem Alpha vs Nortel Minor: Two Entry Surface-Mix TorchesBethlehem Alpha vs Nortel Minor: two entry-band surface-mix bench torches. The Minor is the cheaper studio classic; the Alpha adds fuel flexibility.
- Bethlehem Bravo vs Nortel Red Max: Cross-Brand Bench TorchesBethlehem Bravo vs Nortel Red Max compared: both surface mix, two stages, but different jets, flame width, price, and the Red Max's modular top fire.
- Bethlehem Sharp Flame Hand Torch vs Nortel Ranger ComparedBethlehem Sharp Flame Hand Torch vs Nortel Ranger: a defined six-jet boro-assembly hand torch against a Minor-in-the-hand generalist. Price, flame, and fit.
- Bethlehem Star vs Nortel Mega Minor: Which Step-Up Bench TorchBethlehem Star vs Nortel Mega Minor: two surface-mix bench torches a step above the smallest. The Star buys more heat; the Mega Minor is the value pick.
Frequently asked
- Which Nortel torch should a beginner buy, the Minor or the Mega Minor?
- Either is a sound first bench torch, and the honest answer depends on the glass you want to work. Both are single-head, 7-port surface-mix burners with the same reputation for surviving anything a beginner does to them. The Minor is the cheaper of the two, about $325 on Nortel's own US-dollar listing, with a flame from 1/8in to 3/4in that suits beads, small sculpture, and marbles up to roughly 3in. The Mega Minor is about $349 and uses slightly larger ports that Nortel says run hotter and use oxygen more efficiently, with a flame up to 7/8in, which is what makes it the better pick if you already know you want borosilicate. If you are working soft glass and want the lowest-risk start, take the Minor. Prices and options move, so confirm the current figures with Nortel.
- Is the Nortel Minor surface mix or premix?
- Surface mix. Fuel and oxygen stay separate inside the Minor and only combine at the 7-port face, which gives it the clean, quiet flame it is known for. This one trips up a lot of buyers, because forum posts often call the Minor a premix torch: every classic Nortel bench burner, Minor to Rocket, is surface mix. Premix shows up in selected hand torches, the Unitorch family and the Twin Fuel Handtorch, as an optional top burner where Nortel lists one, and in the newer Arrow and Hydra, which Nortel describes as surface and premix by design. If a listing tells you otherwise, check it against Nortel.
- How much oxygen does a Nortel Minor need?
- Nortel does not publish an LPM figure for the Minor, so treat any number, ours included, as a sizing estimate. Our catalog places it at about 9 LPM, and that is a ceiling at the largest usable flame rather than what a small bead flame draws, so smaller work pulls considerably less. Nortel says the Minor runs on bottled oxygen or a concentrator, and its concentrator sheet says a single 5 LPM concentrator runs it; its torch-comparison page suggests a second concentrator for hotter, faster or larger work. In practice you size the supply to the flame you actually run, and if you expect to work near the top of the Minor's range, plan for more oxygen than one small concentrator delivers. Confirm the setup with Nortel before you commit to a supply.
- What is the difference between the Nortel Minor and the Mega Minor?
- They are the same 7-port surface-mix bench burner with different port sizing. The Mega Minor's ports are slightly larger, which Nortel says gives hotter temperatures and more efficient oxygen use, and its flame runs from a needle point up to 7/8in against the Minor's 1/8in to 3/4in. That extra reach is why the Mega Minor is described as good for borosilicate while still being at home on soft glass, and why it is often the top fire on a Red Max. Neither is a large-boro torch. Nortel's US-dollar listings put them at about $325 and $349, conversions from its Canadian-dollar prices that move with the exchange rate; check today's numbers with Nortel.
- Nortel Minor or Red Max?
- They sit at opposite ends of the bench line. The Minor is a single-stage 7-port burner for beads and small work at about $325. The Red Max is about $894 with a Minor top on Nortel's US-dollar listing: a lower head Nortel labels 45-port that takes a Minor, Mega Minor, or premix top as an add-on. With a top fitted you get a large soft-glass flame and a small detail flame on independent valves, which is what makes it a favorite for inside-out work; confirm with Nortel what the price includes before you buy. Take the Red Max if you have outgrown a small flame or work large soft glass; take the Minor if you are starting out. We keep a full Red Max versus Minor comparison in our guides, and the current specs are worth confirming with Nortel.
- What does the Nortel Mid Range Plus add over the Mid Range?
- A second burner. The Mid Range on its own is a single bench burner with a flame up to an inch across, and Nortel says three concentrators are required for optimum performance. The Mid Range Plus is that same burner with a top-mounted Minor or Mega Minor, and Nortel says both burners can run at the same time, which gives you a broad flame for bulk heat and a small one for detail without switching torches. Nortel's Mid Range Plus page lists only the Minor and Mega Minor as tops. Our catalog carries no price for the standalone Mid Range and Nortel's US-dollar listing puts the Plus with a Minor top at about $666, so confirm the configuration and the price with Nortel.
- Do Nortel torches run on natural gas?
- Yes. Every current Nortel model in our catalog lists natural gas as well as propane, and the pressures Nortel suggests are low: its Major page, for example, suggests natural gas at 1/4 to 2 psi against 2 to 6 psi for propane. Whether an unboosted house line actually feeds your torch depends on your pipe size, the length of the run, and what your utility delivers, which is a plumbing question more than a torch question. Natural gas is also less concentrated than propane, so expect to open the fuel valve further for the same flame. Confirm the pressure your model wants with Nortel and with its manual.
- Where are Nortel torches made?
- In Toronto, Canada. Nortel Manufacturing says it was established there in 1967 by founder and inventor Peter Norton, and it still builds the mounted burners and hand torches in our catalog. We publish nothing about current lead times or build options, because those change; Nortel is the place to check both.
- Is Nortel still in business?
- Nortel's own online store listed current torches and prices when we last read it on October 17, 2026, including the Minor, Mega Minor, Red Max, Rocket and the Unitorch hand torches, priced in Canadian dollars with a US-dollar view. Earlier reads of Nortel's store on September 28 and October 6, 2026 also showed priced listings, and the October 6 read found four newer mounted torches, the Arrow, Hydra, Medusa and Goliath. That is what the maker's own store showed on those dates, not a guarantee about the company, its stock or its lead times, so confirm a current order with Nortel directly.
Manufacturer profiles are compiled from publicly available information and are our own editorial summary. Figures come from the manufacturer's own pages and manuals where we have them, and are labelled as estimates where they are ours; confirm the current spec with the maker before you buy. Torch images are product photos where we have them and stylized flame art where we do not.