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Old 2006-08-15, 2:18pm
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Join Date: Jun 24, 2005
Location: Spatula City
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cosmo
Yeah. We run them on propane as well. We are getting rid of all our Minors and going to Bettas for teaching. I have heard rumors that Bethlehem is going to redesign all their torches to have a Betta center fire (like they did with the Pirhana). Not sure if that is truth or just a rumor, but it does sound very interesting...
I had asked Marci if they were planning to do that, and at the time, she said no, but that it was a good idea. So, who knows.

But what's the point? The only difference between the Betta and the Piranha is the pirated cooling system and bigger manifold/valves (oh, and $$$$).

The theory behind the Betta is that the less restriction there is (hence the bigger inlets, manifold, valves, etc.), the more free-flowing the gas, and the lower the pressure you need. But the funny part is that all the big valves and stuff means nothing as soon as you get into the actual body of the torch because the jets are THE SAME SIZE/NUMBER/CONFIGURATION AS THE PIRANHA. All that free flowing gas gets restricted after all. It still requires the same old pressure to get the gas through those tubes.

I have not seen anyone post a side-by-side comparison of the Piranha and the Betta. All I hear is hype like, "This torch rocks!" and "It runs well on low pressure." I'm not saying that it doesn't, but I would love to hear someone actually quantify those claims.

And for the record, other small torches run on low pressure, too. The Mini CC, Minor, Bobcat, and Piranha ALL will run on household pressure natural gas and a 5 LPM concentrator.

If someone wants to say that the Betta actually runs better than these torches under those conditions, then they ought to back it up with some numbers. How long does it take to cut through a rod of boro with the Betta? How long does it take you to cut through the same sized rod on those other torches? Answers to these and similar questions would certainly be more useful than the subjective one-liners out there now.
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