Hand-held torches have been on the market for a long time, and just when you would think there is not much room to improve, the folks over at BernzOmatic have come up with something completely new. With a profile and design that looks more like a battery-powered drill, the new BernzOmatic BZ9400QFK Quickfire Hand Torch is trigger operated, super compact, and packs in a 3600ยฐF flame. With the gradual phase-out of MAPP gas fuel for hand torches, this torch is designed to use the new Max Power Propylene fuel, which operates at about the same temperatures.
BernzOmaticย Quickfireย Torchย Features
Our test torch kit arrived in a clear plastic clamshellย package complete with the torch head and a fuel cylinder. The overall body ofย the torch is entirely made of black plastic with a gray rubber overmold on theย back of the handle for added grip. The only visible metal part is the silverย colored nozzle on the front. BernzOmatic claims that this nozzle produces a 30%ย more efficient flame as compared to their very popular TS4000 MAPP gas torchย head because of its โUltra Swirlโ feature.ย We will take a closer look at this claimย later.
Controls for the torch are easy and very straightforward. There is aย trigger that, when pulled, starts the flame and keeps the flame on as long asย it remains depressed. Just above and behind the trigger is a lock on buttonย that can easily be activated by your thumb once the trigger is pulled. On theย rear of the torch head is a flame adjustment knob. The knob is clearly markedย to show which way to turn it to either increase or decrease the size of theย flame.
The included fuel cylinder is about 1/3 the size of most full-sizeย cylinders of propane or MAPP gas fuels. This smaller cylinder is what helps makeย this torch so compact and lightweight. One of the interesting features of theย BernzOmaticย Quickfireย Torchย is that the cylinder does not use a threaded connectionย but rather a 1/4 turn feature to hold it in place. The torch is designed inย such a way that it will only accept the new Max Power Propylene fuel cylinders.ย The new Max Power Propylene fuel cylinders are also threaded so that you canย use them with virtually any hand torch that has a CGA600 connection.
So, for us, one of the first questions we had to ask was why a new fuel? Maybe the best wayย is to give a little history lesson on hand torch fuels.ย Propane for a hand torch fuel has been aroundย for a long time. Propane is made from refined crude petroleum and natural gas.ย It is relatively inexpensive, but it is considered a slow heat source when itย comes to heavy-duty soldering work since it has a lower flame temperature.ย Propane is often the choice for the homeowner or do-it-yourselfer because itย works well for small projects, is readily available, and is cheap. Flameย temperature in air is 3450ยฐF.
The next hand torch fuel isย MethylAcetylene ProPadiene, or MAPP gas for short. This gas is made from combiningย liquefied petroleum and Methylacetylene-Propadiene. MAPP gas produces a hotter flame than propane, which makes it a better choice for heating, brazing, soldering, and flame hardening applications. The biggest disadvantage of MAPPย gas is that it costs about double to triple what propane costs. MAPP gas is being phased out in industry because one of the gases in the mix, propadiene, is becoming more valuable to the plastics industry than the metalworking industry. Flame temperature in air is 3650ยฐF.
That brings us to the new fuel that the BernzOmatic Quickfire torch is using: Max Power Propylene fuel, or MAP-Pro as it is sometimes called. This new fuel is a mixture of propane and propylene gases. MAP-Pro has nearly identical burning temperatures to MAPP gas and is now widely available. The flame temperature in air is 3600ยฐF.
Testing and Use
The firstย thing we had to do was check the claim of a 30% faster soldering time due toย Quickfire Hand Torch having an โUltra Swirl High Intensity Flame.โ In the smallย print, they compare this to their very popular TS4000 hand torch, which I justย happen to have. What we did is simply took both torches and a stopwatch to seeย how long it took to heat up a piece of 1/2โณ type L copper pipe from roomย temperature to red hot. We did this test three times with each torch headย and averaged the times. While the scientific merit of this might be inย question, all we wanted to see was if in fact the new torch is faster.
- The TS4000 average heat-up time was 19 seconds.
- Quickfire Hand Torch heat-upย time average was 12 seconds.
By doing some simple math, we were able to see that we figured it took 37% less time with the Quickfire versus the TS4000.
To test theย Quickfire Hand Torch out in the field, we gave it a go on a bathroom remodelย project. In this particular instance, we were working on remodeling a masterย bathroom that originally had a toilet, bidet, and a single four-foot vanity all in aย row against a wall. We replaced the toilet, demolished the bidet, and the single vanity with the goal of installing one seven-foot-long double vanity. Well,ย since the plumbing supply for the old bidet was not in the proper place for theย new vanity sink, we had to reroute the supply piping. We took this opportunityย to solder up about 10 different fittings to reconfigure the water supplyย piping.
Using this torch was a breeze; one of the simple and easy-to-useย features we really appreciated was the trigger quick start on and off feature.ย We liked this because you only use just as much gas as required, but as soon as you are done soldering your joint, you just release the trigger, and the flame stops.ย Another thing that we noticed was that the nozzle very quickly cools off, seriously reducing the possibility of burns should you accidentally comeย in contact with it after use. The flat base of theย cylinder made it very convenient to be able to stand the torch on end when weย were not using it.
Conclusion
Theย BernzOmaticย Quickfire torchย is definitely a great addition to the already extensiveย line of hand held torches from BernzOmatic. While we were at first put off byย the all-plastic body, we quickly got used to it and realized that all theย lightweight materials make this torch a joy to use. For our Performance rating, we gave the torch a 9/10 because it was easy to use, produced a fast, hot flame, and had excellent ergonomics. For Value, the Quickfire Hand Torch does cost more than other MAP-Pro torch heads that have quick-start triggers and flame adjustment knobs. The good news is that this kitย comes complete with one fuel cylinder.
