The Cricket
 

Has anyone out there had a chance to try out a new GTT torch, the Cricket? I know it says on their site that it will not be released until mid-September, but I was wondering if anyone has had a chance to try one out at a show or something. I'd love to hear what you think! Thanks a bunch!

The 1st batch was just sent out, I can't wait to get mine. I alrady have a lynx and a bobcat. I love GTT torches they are the best. I'll let you know when I get mine.

mine is being delivered in the morning!!!!

Mine too!

Mine got rescheduled for some !@#$ing reason and is still in NC. Won't have it until the 17th.

why on earth would your torch be in NC? It is coming from PA.

You all should post pics of your new torches. :D

Frankly I'd like to ask that of Mr. Most-sophisticated-sorting-system-on-the-planet-UPS myself.

My uber-polite email to GTT to find out if *maybe* they've opened a new manufacturing area in NC:

"Before I call and offer to eviscerate someone at UPS, is there any good reason my torch would be on it's way to Auburn via North Carolina?

Here's the tracking number I was sent: "

No plants in NC. Everything gets shipped out of PA. Maybe Hurricane Ike had something to do with it. We'll find out what's going on.

My card was charged on Thursday for a sparkley purple one for my daughter. Hopefully it will show up soon.

Mine was "rescheduled because it was mis-sorted at the hub". Didn't show it in NC, Menty, but still in PA, then VA. Will be delivered on the 16th. I'm in GA.

I see alot of rescheduled deliveries from UPS in my biz..I do alot of ordering and use UPS alot. Not to worry, but it can be annoying!

Reached out and smacked the truck off course? ;)

As long as it gets here I suppose but ugh....

No, but UPS did have some disclaimers that service could be interrupted due to Ike and who kows how they'll use that. I have had overnight deliveries here postponed due to adverse weather conditions - even though the conditions here were not adverse. It's frustrating!

Mine was delivered to me today at work -- it sure looks purdy. It was supposed to arrive yesterday, but was rescheduled, like a lot of others. I was so anxious to come home and try it, but then started getting a monster headache as I was fixing dinner. Ughhh.

We got ours! Pretty, pretty sparkley purple, great packing. I can hardly wait to try it and see if the MU likes it. It was rescheduled to arrive today and went to the main hub in NC first. :roll: However! We have it!!!!! :love: Angelique

I tried mine today!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy crap is it a great little torch, especially for a 5 lpm concentrator. I hadn't had a chance to hook it up at home so I brought it with me to the studio today to let everyone see it. Everyone was super impressed with it. Ed rolled out the very old little 5 lpm concentrator and we hooked it up to see what it would do...WOW!

It has a very penetrating flame (with some actual pressure behind it unlike hooking a minor up to an oxy con) that can melt through boro no problem. The heat is very focused and the pinpoint flame is incredible. I am beyond impressed with it. I can't wait to play around more. I can see myself doing a lot of my smaller work on this torch for sure! For comparison's sake, the torch I use at the studio is a Mirage and the torch I use at home is a cheetah.

GTT ROCKS!!! :kiss:

Dumb questions, I'm sure....
 

Okay, how do the hoses hook up to the cricket? Are they just "pushed on" and clamped?

The reason I ask is because I have a mini CC now and would like to maybe get a cricket, but my CC has the screw-on thingies on my hoses and that is where I have my flash back arrestors. Is it safe to have the "pushed on" hoses? Do they leak at all? Where do you put your flash back arrestors?

I am still a newbie so forgive me if these are really stupid questions. I'm just worried about hoses just being "pushed on" and new screwed on tightly. I want to be safe, ya know!

Thank you for posting about your results from the Cricket Pipyr! Anyone else whose had a chance to use it, I would love to hear what you think.

I use tanked oxygen now, but some day, when I actually have some money, I would like to get an oxycon. I think the cricket looks great!

Happy torching! Thanks in advance for any help you can give this newbie!!

I got mine yesterday! After a false start with a leaking propane joint (leak test folks!) I fixed the hose and got to try it out. Very cool!

I hooked up to my concentrator instead of the tank and I managed to make a small boro marble and then I tried it on my BE and 104 stash. Except for one instance where I wasn't far enough out from the face, I didn't burn the soft glass. For me that's saying a lot since I'm very much a bo ho. But I may play with soft a little more now since I have something that won't reduce it to ash. It's an awesome little torch! I can only imagine what it's like hooked up to the tank instead of my 5 lpm.

Oh, and for Debi...I have the barbs on mine instead of the threaded B fittings. This was because I took the hoses off of my National to use this. Push fittings are safe, just make sure you clamp them. If you can find the dog ear clamps instead of the worm drive ones they're better since they won't do as much damage to the hose over time, but I have the worm drive ones and they work.

So for my first real torch go with the cricket or spend a little more and get the Bobcat or even more for a Lynx???

I use 104 but have really wanted to try boro and I'm tired of the slow pace of my HH....

I would get the cricket given the low price (it has an introductory price right now). If you decide you need more torch, it will resell readily. The cricket is plenty hot for small to medium boro.

I got to try Pipyr's cricket on 2 oxycons & OMG it's HOT HOT HOT!!! Liquified 104 silver-glass (I was playing with a half-rod of luna2 eeked out over some vetro black that Nikki hates :lol:) & it was liquifying the vetro black to the point where it was as transparent as the luna2--I couldn't tell where the luna was vs. the black base bead! From what I put in the kiln (I did 3 beads on the cricket?) I was getting some really nice colors from the Double Helix & I had the torch turned WAY down--I couldn't BELIEVE how hot it was! Much much, much hotter than Sue's mini cc that she runs on 2 concentrators (which I get to play on when I visit her @ home!) & a REALLY nice flame--much nicer than the minor (I'll admit, I DON'T like the minor--I can't get a "soft" enough feel to the flame--I like a little more "fluff" feel after working on my hothead--and I was able to get just a little bit of "fluff"--not a lot, but enough to make me happy, from the cricket.)

Downside? I WANT ONE (and...I have no oxy supply @ home :lol:...my hothead & BBQ tank doesn't "upgrade" that easy :lol:)
It's a really sweet little torch!
~luna

So awesome to read everyone's comments! I've been running a mega minor on a 5 lpm oxycon. I've had no trouble, but sometimes I ache for more heat when I'm working slightly bigger pieces, but I really want to play with boro. I'm sold. I'm ordering mine tomorrow!!

Becky

I used a Cricket this weekend at Hot Time in the Mountains. Now I'm ordering two of them...

Butt-head! I want! So ya do need to run some sort of oxygen, it snot a HH upgrade cure for the poor........deaaaammm.

Yeah, but if you can swing a concentrator you're set for a while. I ran it on a single 5 lpm unit and it was pretty rockin. I'm finally going to have some time this week to try it on the tanked oxy, but it was quite workable on the single machine.

I'm running a piranha on one concentrator right now, and sometimes when I try and crank up the oxy it actually seems to be losing heat - I get a couple of long yellow candles poking through. Does the Cricket do better with an oxycon than the Piranha? I'm wondering if it might not be a better torch for me right now.

Hooked my Cricket up and love it!
 

I received my purple Cricket last weekend. Just hooked it up, along with my new kiln and oxycon and made my first batch of beads. The Cricket is packed with power and I ended up turning the gas and oxygen down and got plenty of power.

The flame is blue and I had 1/4 inch candles--plenty. Getting used to it now. I learned on a Minor.

Let you know how everything goes. This Spitfire Girl is totally addicted and the GTT people couldn't be nicer in answering all my "newbie" questions!:waving:

absolutely agreeing with Cosmo - at Hot Time we had them hooked up with tanked 02, so I can't make a judgement about concentrators, but I tried out the boro icicles I make every year and I know I was able to cut a minute or more off the time for each one. They're also really, really pretty torches!

Marjorie

I can say it was INCREDIBLY hot (on concentrators) compared to the mini cc on concentrators. For such a "little" torch, it packs a lot of heat!
(I wanna play with it more....might have to go visit Pipyr :lol:)

I have the same set up you do with the same problem. Hopefully someone will have an answer.