Nortel Rocket Glass Torch

The Nortel Rocket is the high-output end of Nortel’s bench line, the burner you reach for when large borosilicate and production work outstrip the Major and Red Max. It’s a two-stage, surface-mix torch with a separately controlled center-fire jet, precision needle valves, geared tilt control for positioning the head, and a flame that runs from small up to about 2 inches wide. (Nortel also markets it under the trade name “Red Rocket.”)

What the Rocket gives you

The Rocket’s job is heat with control. The separately controlled center fire lets you run a focused central flame for detail or thrust while the larger flame does the soaking, each on its own valve, and the geared tilt control makes repeatable head positioning easy during long sessions. It’s a surface-mix flame, fuel and oxygen meet at the face, so even at high output it stays comparatively clean, quiet, and color-friendly; see surface mix vs premix torches and, for how big flames drive heat, soaking vs penetrating flame.

Who the Rocket is for

This is an advanced torch for large boro and production. It’s more burner than a beginner should start on, and its strength is heat rather than pinpoint detail, though the separate center fire and the optional premix burner cover finer work when you need it. If your work needs more fire than this, Nortel’s newer Hydra wraps a center fire in two large outer rings, and larger multi-stage production burners from other makers are worth weighing too; our how to choose a glass torch buyer’s guide walks through that decision.

Options: premix burner and foot pedal

Two extras round out the Rocket. An optional premix accessory burner runs a quiet N11 multi-orifice tip with a flame to about 3/4 inch and accepts National-style tips, giving you a calm detail flame on the same setup. An optional foot pedal is also available for hands-free control.

Nortel’s store sells the torch as the Rocket Bench Burner in 2 Port and 4 Port versions, both listed at CAD $2,158 on 2026-10-06. The listings do not say what the port count refers to, so ask Nortel which version suits your bench. Both run 3/8 inch hose, with barb or B fittings chosen when you order.

Glass, fuel, and oxygen

The Rocket is built for borosilicate, burning propane or natural gas with oxygen. Nortel’s suggested regulator pressures are roughly 7 to 15 psi on the oxygen and 2 to 6 psi on the fuel, but those are line pressures, not flow rates. A high-output flame like this draws a lot of oxygen, and Nortel doesn’t publish the Rocket’s exact LPM (or jet count), so plan your oxygen supply carefully around it: see how many LPM does my torch need and oxygen concentrator vs tanks.

Where it sits in the Nortel line

The Rocket sits above the Major and Red Max as the line’s big surface-mix burner, the place Nortel makers go for production heat without leaving the brand. It is no longer the top of Nortel’s price list: the store now lists the Medusa, the Hydra and the Goliath above it, and of those only the Hydra’s listing describes the torch so far.

Before you buy

Budget for the whole system, not just the torch: oxygen (a concentrator or tanks), the correct propane or natural-gas regulator, flashback protection matched to your torch and gas supply, boro-rated eyewear, and ventilation. New to plumbing a torch? Start with the fittings, hoses & connectors guide and the glass torch safety setup guide.

Editor’s note: spec details reflect Nortel’s own materials for the Rocket (flame width, the separate center fire, suggested pressures, and the optional premix burner and foot pedal). Nortel doesn’t publish the Rocket’s exact jet count or oxygen flow (LPM). Its store prices the Rocket in Canadian dollars; the price on this page is the US-dollar figure Nortel’s own store shows for the 2 Port version, read 2026-10-17, a conversion that moves with the exchange rate, so confirm the current price and specs with Nortel before purchasing.