Wildcat vs Redmax

[Bluebird]

Which one would you prefer and why?

[HiAltitude]

Wildcat runs okay on a Hurricane size oxycon. Makes 1-2 inch marbles if you're very patient. Has NO PINPOINT FLAME! And it was a pain to mount a marver on it. But really, those are my only complaints. I'm happier on a CC with tanked oxygen, but the Wildcat is a nice mid-sized torch that runs on an oxycon.

Never used a RedMax, but I really liked my Nortel minor burner. As I understand it, the RedMax is comparable to the Nortel major burner, but round instead of square. It can come with a minor burner on top.

Hope that helps.

[Icarus]

Only used a wildcat once, wasn't impressed with it. Part of that was due to the way they had oxygen plumbed to each torch, so you would get variations in line pressure, which wasn't the fault of the torch, but even still, I just wasn't wild about the flame or the fact that I couldn't vary the angle of the torch.


The Red Max on the other hand is a torch that COULD conceivably last you your whole life. You get a nice wide shouldered flame with the lower torch, and depending on if you get the pre-mix or the surface mix, you can get tiny pinner flames on the top burner. Plus, if you get the pre-mix, the tips are interchangeable with the a national, which is convenient if you get a national hand torch at any point. My biggest complaint about it is that I feel like a lot of the lower flame is wasted as radiant heat, but at the same time, at least it's got a big ass flame available to you when you need it.

However, you can't really run a Red Max off any oxy con unless you got a few of them daisy chained together or you got a super strong ass concentrator. However, you can retrofit a red max to be a 4 stud torch so the top and the bottom torch are fed independently. Then you can connect the bottom torch to a bottled oxygen source, and connect the top torch to an oxygen concentrator. Then just get a Y fitting and some extra hose to split to the gas feed so it goes to each torch. An added benefit of that is that you you can then hook up a foot pedal to it.

Plus you find people selling them all the time in the glassifieds section.

Personally, I love my Lynx, and would get that rather than either torch, but I mostly do smaller work, and when I need a large flame, I just run a big tip on my hand torch, but if I had to choose between the two you mentioned, it would be a red max hands down. You'd find yourself growing out of the wildcat ages sooner than you would the Red Max.

[Midas]

one of my apprentices starting out on a carlise cc, when set up his own shop he purchased a red max, and loves it! Red max is great for the price, if your beginner it is a torch you can grow into.


MiDaS

[Cosmo]

I would chose the Red Max. The Wildcat is fine if you are using it wide open all the time. It doesn't have a narrow flame so it's hard to work small stuff on it.

The Major is not in the same league as the Red Max. The Red Max is a much hotter and cleaner running torch than the Major.

If you can afford it, the Hellcat is the same as the Wildcat, but has a separate inner and outer flame.

But, in that price range, I'd have to recommend a Lynx. The flame may not be as wide, but it's plenty hot and you can work pretty big with it.

[HOSS]

Red Max FTW.

[Dglassman]

I use a redmax all day and night sometimes. It is a great torch plenty of fire when cranked. seems a little slow to transfer heat and cant get an oxidizing enough flame for a lot of colors. Overall for the price its good for the beginner but when i have the money its on to the gtt phantom or in best scenario mirage.

[Slimy-E]

I use a redmax all day and night sometimes. It is a great torch plenty of fire when cranked. seems a little slow to transfer heat and cant get an oxidizing enough flame for a lot of colors. Overall for the price its good for the beginner but when i have the money its on to the gtt phantom or in best scenario mirage.

this is a problem i had with nortel torchs, never used a red max, but others and ive used gtt and carlile. with the nortels i never got the color the way i liked it, always kind of dull and reduced. with the carliles i cranked up the o2 regs and can get that flashy bright striking color i love.

[Bluebird]

Man you guys are the shit! Thank you.

[GlassFreak]

redmax i would say has alot more range on it.

[smutboy420]

I can't add any input about the Wildcat being I have never ran one to know how they work. But size wise The redmax is a bigger torch and I have worked on a nortel major and a redmax and can say. the redmax burner part is a MUCH better torch then the one that the major/minor had for the bottom burner.

The major and redmax compare that they are about the same size torch range.
But stops right there. You can get basically the same size flame out of them but the redmax is more focused then the major and puts more of the heat in to the glass and not in the air then the major. While making better use of fuel and o2 then with a major burner. So they put out better heat and use less o2 and fuel.
You can actually work bubbly colors on a redmax that would just foam up on a major.

[slave]

I would chose the Red Max. The Wildcat is fine if you are using it wide open all the time. It doesn't have a narrow flame so it's hard to work small stuff on it. [snip]

If you can afford it, the Hellcat is the same as the Wildcat, but has a separate inner and outer flame.

[snip]

I can't give input from experience as I don't run any nortels.. however (and some of you red max owners i'm sure will agree) the redmax has A large and piggy backed small flame.. giving you instant switch capability (without a foot peddle; though you don't get the gas saving of a foot pedal) this I'm sure will give advantage over a wildcat and EVEN a hellcat or other two stage torch at times.... (if you don't own a foot pedal)

just my thoughts.

[Slimy-E]

now they have a major-max, it is a red max with a major minor top mount, nice upgrade.

[GlassFreak]

just get the rocket?

[loco]

For me the wildcat was great for soft glass sculpture. I managed to work around the lack of a pinpoint flame. For boro I wouldn't even try it, but then I am spoiled and love heat! I always had it on tanked O2 and it is a hog, hell it used more O2 than my CC.

My wild cat sits under my bench not hooked up but I may give the soft stuff a try again so I keep it around.

If your looking at doing boro I would take a pass on the wildcat. I have never worked on a redmax so I'm unable to comment on that torch.

[HiAltitude]

Right, there is a size difference between the torches. The Wildcat is a mid-range torch. The Redmax is a major burner.

The Wildcat has some real size limitations, working boro. But I can't run a CC off my oxycon, so the Wildcat is a good fallback for when I run out of tanked oxygen. I just have to plan on making smaller things, on those days that I use the Wildcat + oxycon.

If you will always be using tanked oxy then maybe you will want to go with the bigger torch. If so, then definitely get something that will take a foot pedal. It made a huge difference with tanked oxygen consumption.

Which torch is better for you will depend on your resources (oxycon vs tanked) and what types of glasswork you want to make. Usually bigger is better, or at least less frustrating when you need the heat.

[Cosmo]

I can't give input from experience as I don't run any nortels.. however (and some of you red max owners i'm sure will agree) the redmax has A large and piggy backed small flame.. giving you instant switch capability (without a foot peddle; though you don't get the gas saving of a foot pedal) this I'm sure will give advantage over a wildcat and EVEN a hellcat or other two stage torch at times.... (if you don't own a foot pedal)

just my thoughts.

I'm not sure I follow. On a Red Max or other Nortel torch, there is one flame on top of the other. On the Hellcat there is one flame inside the other.

How is being piggybacked better than an inner and outer flame?

[Icarus]

I'm not sure I follow. On a Red Max or other Nortel torch, there is one flame on top of the other. On the Hellcat there is one flame inside the other.

How is being piggybacked better than an inner and outer flame?
...

[slave]

I'm not sure I follow. On a Red Max or other Nortel torch, there is one flame on top of the other. On the Hellcat there is one flame inside the other.

How is being piggybacked better than an inner and outer flame?

I was just observing the ability to switch from wide to small flame without touching knobs (when you don't have a pedal). :puzzled: