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Nortel Hydra Glass Torch
Hybrid (surface and premix)
US price not confirmed
Confirm with Nortel
Overview
Best for: Large boro, Sculpture
- Mount
- Bench
- Fuel
- Propane, Natural gas
- Oxygen (estimate)
- Not confirmed
Specs
The Nortel Hydra is a mounted boro torch built around an Arrow center fire, surrounded by outer rings of 22 and 32 ports. Nortel describes surface and premix operation and aims it at larger sculptural work. Its store listed it at CAD $2,813 on 2026-10-06.
Advanced borosilicate workers moving into larger sculptural pieces who want a narrow flame, a mid-size flame and a big outer fire on one mounted torch.
- Jets
- Not confirmed
- Stages
- Not confirmed
- Mount
- Bench
- Mix
- Hybrid (surface and premix)
Specs
- Mix type
- Hybrid (surface and premix)
Manufacturer page · checked 2026-10-06 · source
- Mount
- Bench
- Oxygen (estimate)
- n/a
- Fuel
- Propane, Natural gas
Manufacturer page · checked 2026-10-06 · source
- Skill level
- Advanced
- Glass
- Boro
Manufacturer page · checked 2026-10-06 · source
- Best for
- Large boro, Sculpture
- Price
- US price not confirmed
Figures come from Nortel's own pages and manuals where we have them; the oxygen figure is a rough estimate, not a specification. Confirm the current spec with Nortel before you buy.
How we source these figures
Treat the oxygen figure as a rough sizing estimate. Depending on the model it may be manufacturer full-flame consumption, a converted flow figure, or a documented estimate, and delivered pressure and purity matter as much as flow. What actually drives a torch choice is the glass, the work, and the flame, so size your oxygen supply after you pick the torch.
Prices may be manufacturer list prices or observed dealer references. Where a cell carries an evidence line it says where the figure came from, the date we checked it, and links the source where we hold one; a cell without one rests on the sources at the foot of the page. On a phone those lines show while this note is open. Confirm the exact configuration with Nortel before buying.
Spec provenance: 3 of 6 spec fields on this page cite the manufacturer's own pages or manuals.
Overview
The Nortel Hydra is a mounted borosilicate torch built in layers: an Arrow center fire inside outer rings of 22 and 32 ports. Nortel describes surface and premix operation and aims it at larger sculptural work. Its store listed the Hydra at CAD $2,813, Arrow center included, on 2026-10-06.
Three flames on one torch
Nortel describes a narrow flame, a flame about the size of a Minor’s, and a larger outer flame. You work fine detail on the center, bring in the middle flame for general shaping, and open the outer rings when a piece gets big. That range is the case for buying one torch instead of two.
The stage count is muddled on Nortel’s own page. The same listing calls the Hydra 3-stage and also a two-stage design. We leave the stage count as not published rather than pick one; ask Nortel how many valve sets you will be running.
Our catalog files the Hydra as hybrid: the Arrow center brings the premix side, and Nortel describes the torch as working both ways. The surface mix vs premix guide covers what that means at the bench.
Where it sits in the Nortel line
On Nortel’s CAD price list the Hydra sits above the Rocket and Medusa and below the Goliath. It is the most completely described of Nortel’s newer big torches. Our Nortel torch lineup shows the whole range.
What to confirm with Nortel before you order
- Stages and valves. The listing contradicts itself.
- Fuel and pressures. The listing names no fuel. Nortel’s torch index says its torches run natural gas or propane with oxygen.
- Oxygen. Nortel gives no concentrator count or flow. A torch with outer rings this size will want a serious supply; size it with how many LPM does my torch need and oxygen concentrator vs tanks once Nortel answers.
- Price in your currency and what ships with it.
Before you buy
Budget for the whole system: oxygen, regulators, flashback protection matched to your torch and gas supply, boro-rated eyewear and ventilation. Nortel takes orders and repair questions at service@nortelmfg.com.
Editor’s note: everything here comes from Nortel’s own store listing and torch index as read on 2026-10-06. Nortel’s listing gives two different stage counts and no fuel, pressure or oxygen figures, and lists the price in Canadian dollars, so confirm those details with Nortel before purchasing.
Fit and tradeoffs
Best for: Advanced borosilicate workers moving into larger sculptural pieces who want a narrow flame, a mid-size flame and a big outer fire on one mounted torch.
Not for: Beginners, soft-glass beadmakers, and anyone who needs a fully published spec sheet before buying.
Pros
- + Arrow center fire inside outer rings of 22 and 32 ports
- + Three flame sizes on one torch: narrow, Minor-sized and a larger outer flame
- + Nortel aims it at larger sculptural boro work
- + Barb or B fittings, chosen when you order
Cons
- − Nortel's listing calls it both 3-stage and a two-stage design
- − No fuel line, pressures or oxygen figure on the listing
- − Price is listed in Canadian dollars; no US figure recorded yet
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet. If you have worked on this torch, yours would be the first, and it is read by the editor before it appears.
Write a review of the Nortel Hydra
Flame notes
Mounted boro torch with an Arrow center fire inside outer rings of 22 and 32 ports; Nortel describes surface and premix operation and calls it both 3-stage and a two-stage design on the same listing. Narrow flame, Minor-sized flame and a larger outer flame for larger sculptural work. Barb or B fittings chosen at order. Nortel's store lists it at CAD $2,813 with the Arrow center fire (2026-10-06); no US price recorded yet.
Maker
Nortel Manufacturing
Canada · Founded 1967
Focus: Soft, Boro, Beginner
Toronto manufacturer founded by Peter Norton. The current mounted line is surface mix; selected hand torches and optional top burners are premix.
Related reading
FAQ
- How many stages does the Nortel Hydra have?
- Nortel's own listing says both: it calls the Hydra 3-stage and also a two-stage design. We record the stage count as not published until Nortel settles it. Ask Nortel how the valves are laid out before you order.
- What is the Arrow center fire?
- It is Nortel's Arrow torch, a single-port flame that Nortel says combines surface-mix and premix characteristics, mounted at the center of the Hydra's outer rings.
- How much does the Hydra cost?
- Nortel's store listed it at CAD $2,813 with the Arrow center fire on 2026-10-06. We have not recorded a US-dollar figure from Nortel yet, and we do not convert currencies ourselves.
- What glass is the Hydra for?
- Nortel names borosilicate and describes larger sculptural work.
Researched and edited by Joe Blanchard, sixteen years on the distribution side of the glass industry.