Moving FROM Minor TO HH?

[tartanknickers]

I'm moving soon, and have managed to find someone to buy a lot of my lampworking stuff (international move... too expensive). I'm considering selling her my Nortel minor and buying a HotHead when we get back to the States (have to save money now).

Has anyone done this? Was it an easy transition? I have absolutely no experience in anything other than the Minor, which I like.... i think!

Ta indeed,
Emma

[zen-mom]

You could ship it back to the States probably for the same price as buying a new Hot Head when you get here... just a thought.

[tartanknickers]

Hi Donna!!!

Do you remember me at all? I took my first class with you in April 07 and haven't looked back since! Every time we're in RB I've looked to see if you've had classes going and always just miss 'em. Now we're coming back for good. NOW I'll be able to come down, leave the kids with my inlaws and come to a class hehehe

We're trying to buy a house, so all cost cutting is being considered. I thought the outlay for fuel was much less with a HH? BTW, you're the one I'll be coming to (again) to buy a minor... if I can save up...

Emma (still in Switzerland)

[bclogan]

I learned on a Minor, then used a Hot Head at home. It was hell. I had gotten used to the Minor, and the Hot Head was distressingly slow. I'm sure if I had learned on the HH first, it would have been OK. But it's hard going backwards....

[zen-mom]

Hi Emma! Of course I remember you
I didn't take long to give up on my Hot Head when I first started... maybe one or two bottles of MAPP... then the hubby bought me my Minor torch. Maybe someone else can chime in here about the cost to run one on a regular basis. But I still think you should keep your Minor...
I get my big oxy tanks for about $20 and propane (that lasts forever!) for about $22... so depending on how much beadmaking you'll be doing. It takes 8 torches to go through one of my big oxy tanks in 6-7 hours... my smaller oxy tank would last me about 15-20 hours by myself.
If you need some place to ship to let me know.

[Carolyn M]

I learned on a Minor, and have used a Hothead once. It was so bad I had to give up

[DesertDreamer]

I'm glad you asked this! I may end up teaching a small class in a few months, and the only way I can think of doing it cheaply and safely is to require my students to provide their own HH (and cheap glasses). I hate doing this but I don't know how often I'll be teaching so I'm reluctant to buy multiple torches/glasses for myself. It's a heck of a quandary. Plus, I'm used to a much hotter Midrange, so I'm going to have to practice! I haven't touched an HH in 11 years. Eeek!

[artsyuno]

I learned on a Minor, then used a Hot Head at home. It was hell.

Same here.

[Sherena]

I found it frustrating, I have a mega minor and bought a HH just to try, and well that lasted about 5 minutes.....

I admire anyone that can produce on a HH!!

[tartanknickers]

Well thanks all for the input. I'm getting the impression that it's rather frustrating to go in that direction.... Does anyone have an hourly cost for HH use? The Oxy and propane seem to be a lot cheaper in the US than Switzerland. There's a bonus

[LouiseI]

I've been on a hh since I started and just now switching to a mega minor.

I don't think I would like to step backwards either. The hh is very noisy for one thing!

As for gas consumption, when I started out I was using the 1lb propane cannisters and they lasted no time at all. I'd say I was lucky to get an hour or hour and half out of one of them and was paying $13 Canadian for three of them. That led me to go to bulk propane and I know there are differing thoughts on how safe it is to do that, and if your insurance will cover you. The hh uses propane at tank pressure, it's definitely more economical with the big tank, but I am anticipating my gas lasting longer still once I get my mega minor up and running.

[angelique_redhead]

Your minor is small enough you could probably put it in your checked bags. I love my HH but I love my minor more. My HH won't do boro. My minor will. My DH, Paul Ewing, watched me on my HH and was so frustrated with the HHs slowness that he started out with a bigger torch. Angelique

[Lisi]

Wow, I'm a minority here! I LOVE my HH, and I've been using a Mini CC/Bobcat and a high pressure oxy generator (a lot of heat, torches are maxed out) for about 3 1/2 years. I used my HH for 18 months before that.

Of course the HH is a lot slower but sometimes I don't mind that when I'm not in such a rush to get beads made. I can make a lot of certain types of beads that I can't do on the oxy/propane torches. For example:

HH doesn't burn pixie dust
HH doesn't overcook and spread out silvered ivory when I don't want it to
HH doesn't burn reds into brown colors nearly as bad as Bobcat does
HH doesn't burn out the color in Bullseye pinks
HH doesn't get core bead so hot that when making large round focals, it's difficult to keep them evenly round and holes evenly dimpled before popping in kiln....

I miss my HH, and the only reason I don't use it now is that it will cost me about $300 to get set up with a $60lb bulk tank account.

[lunamoonshadow]

I switch back & forth between a hothead (at home) & a bigger torch at the studio & don't have that much of an issue either. Yeah, I'd the $$ to upgrade everything @ home, but it's just not there Yes, the hothead is slower & won't strike Raku & isn't adjustable for reduction, etc...but it's way more useful than a lot of people give it credit for!

However, like Angelique said, I'd still keep the minor & just throw it in your suitcase--I mean, the torch *itself* (and regulators) are relatively small--why not just sell off the really BIG stuff (tanks/oxycons/hoses) & replace those once you get over here--bring the tiny stuff with you--torch & regulators aren't particularly large in & of themselves & they're really the most expensive part of the deal anyway--the hoses are readily available here, as are fuel tanks!
~luna
lusting for a miniCC, kiln & barley box...

[Kalera]

One of the first things I noticed when I went from a Hot Head to a Midrange was how much less my fuel costs were. if you're trying to cut costs and you already have the torch and regulators, keep them! A Hot Head will cost you more in fuel.

[Nitadee]

The difference for me, I started on a huge torch, then went to a HH. Like driving a Porche and then to a beat up station wagon. I'm having to "relearn" everything, and i wasn't that good to begin with
Nita