Herbert Arnold Big Arni Glass Torch

The Herbert Arnold Big Arni, model 126/11, is the bead burner (Perlenbrenner) of Arnold’s bench line: a surface-mix bench burner with two-zone adjustment for beads and small or large glass handicrafts, which Arnold delivers ready to connect. It runs propane or natural gas with oxygen, produces a solid, homogeneous flame (our catalog records the two zones as two stages), and, like other surface-mix burners, gives safety against backfire because fuel and oxygen meet at the face of the torch rather than inside it. Earlier listings call it a 15-jet burner; Arnold’s own catalog page gives no jet count. It comes from Herbert Arnold, the long-established German glass-machinery maker known for precise, quiet burners.

What the surface-mix flame gives you

In a surface-mix torch the fuel and oxygen mix at the face rather than premixing inside the body, which keeps the mixing chamber cooler and is safer against backfire. On the Big Arni that translates to a solid, even flame that’s well suited to controlled bead and detail work. If you’re new to the distinction, surface mix vs premix torches explains the trade-offs, and Herbert Arnold concentric-ring burners covers the maker’s wider approach.

Who the Big Arni is for

The Big Arni is aimed at beads and small handicrafts in soft glass and small boro, at the beginner-to-intermediate level. Be clear-eyed about where it sits in the market: In Joe Blanchard’s sixteen years on the distribution side of the glass industry, the Arnold torches people actually bought were the Zenit, in the 40 mm or 65 mm head, and the Big Arni was a rare order. It’s a well-built burner, but it’s a premium German tool rather than a budget starter, so weigh it against more affordable options if it’s your first torch, our best beginner glass torch and how to choose a glass torch guides can help.

Glass, fuel, and the hardware

Arnold sizes the Big Arni by its head, not by a glass limit: the head measures 28 mm with an 11.7 mm jet ring, and the burner weighs 1.76 kg. Earlier listings put its range at glass up to roughly 40 mm diameter and describe a cast-iron base with a ball joint; Arnold’s catalog page confirms neither, so treat both as unconfirmed. Either way it is sized for beads and smaller pieces, not large tubing or heavy boro.

It is built as two versions, propane (126/11 PS) at 50 mbar gas pressure and natural gas (126/11 ES) at 22 mbar, both with oxygen at 0.5 to 1 bar. In PSI that is about 0.7 psi of propane or 0.3 psi of natural gas, and 7 to 15 psi of oxygen (our conversions). The hose glands are 6 mm on both gases. Arnold’s 02/2025 price list carries the natural-gas version at EUR 856 excluding VAT; the propane version appears in the catalog but not on that list. Arnold publishes no oxygen consumption for it, so match your oxygen supply to your work before you buy, see how many LPM does my torch need.

The same catalog page carries a smaller sibling, the Arni (126/12): a 20 mm head with a 6.6 mm jet ring and a fine flame for bead details, surface mix, 1.25 kg, listed at EUR 398 on propane and EUR 372 on natural gas.

Before you buy

Budget for the whole system, not just the torch: oxygen (tanks or a concentrator), the correct propane regulator, flashback protection matched to your torch and gas supply, eyewear rated for the glass you run, and ventilation. Arnold recommends protection against reverse gas flow and flashback on its burners. Its gas connections are metric, so settle fittings with Herbert Arnold before you order. New to plumbing a torch? Start with the fittings, hoses & connectors guide and the glass torch safety setup guide.

Editor’s note: the model number, head and jet-ring sizes, weight, pressures, two-zone adjustment and euro price come from Herbert Arnold’s burner catalog and its 02/2025 price list, as read on 2026-10-06. The 15-jet count, the roughly 40 mm working size and the cast-iron base come from earlier listings and are not on Arnold’s catalog page. Confirm those, and the current price, with Herbert Arnold before purchasing.