Piranha vs Carlisle mini cc

tabriz · #1 2006-07-05, 11:46am

I'm sorry to beat a dead horse, but could you experts compare these two torches for me?

Thanks
Lee

SpitFire · #2 2006-07-11, 5:32am

Lee -

I am not an expert, but I will chime in for you. I have used a Minor, a Mini CC and Piranha. My recommendation would depend on what type of glass you plan to work with. If you are only interested in soft glass, then the Mini CC will work great. The only drawback I saw to the Mini was that the manufacturer does not recommend that you turn the torch up more than it takes to get a 3/8" flame. With my Minor I could crank that baby when I needed a larger flame.

The Piranha will work great for soft glass and you could use it for small-medium boro work. The flame is hotter and more concentrated. Since this torch is not being made anymore you will need to find someone who is selling theirs or a shop who still has them in stock.

All of this is just my limited experience.........so the experts might want to give their 2 cents......

meister1981 · #3 2006-07-11, 6:13am

The Mini CC can actually be turned up more then 3/8 cones if you want to work small/medium boro. In the DVD that comes with the torch you are instructed to turn up the cones to 7/8 for boro work so in the end it will still be pretty versatile. The only thing that I don't like that much is the knobs getting hot! They won't burn you but you do feel they are hot. In the end it is a great torch to work with. I'd say the best is to try out all the ones that you are interested in if possible and see which one will suit your needs and style.

Cosmo · #4 2006-07-11, 6:30am

I have used all three a pretty good amount. I prefer the Pirhana, but honestly I think you will be fine with any of them. I have worked both soft glass and boro on all three, and there really isn't enough of a difference to make one really stand out above the others.

I will say that if you are using a concentrator, the Minor seems to require the least oxygen to get a hot neutral flame.

meister1981 · #5 2006-07-11, 8:11am

I'd agree that the Minor tends to use less oxygen then the others. The only difference is that the Minor has less adjustability and radiant heat then the other 2 torches. You really have to try the torches if possible and see which one suits you the best. It's a little like bead release where you have to find the perfect one for your style of work!

I hope you end up with a torch that will suit your needs and a great price!

Emily · #6 2006-07-11, 10:20am

Quote:

Originally Posted by meister1981

I'd agree that the Minor tends to use less oxygen then the others.

My comparison is with the Beth Bead Burner, which is the predecessor to the Piranha, but I really can't agree with this statement. I get a much bigger flame with my Bead Burner than with my Minor using the same oxygen supply.

Sorry -- can't help you with the comparison with the miniCC. I've used a miniCC a few times (mostly soft glass, but some small-scale boro), but haven't really been thinking about the torch characteristics enough to give you an intelligent comparison. Clearly, though, there was nothing about it that really bugged me, or I would remember.

Do not turn yourself inside out over this decision. They are all excellent torches and you will be pleased with whichever one you choose. If you find yourself wanting a larger torch some day, it's not because you chose badly initially -- it's because these are all small torches.

DFS · #7 2006-07-11, 8:53pm

I can only talk about the mini cc. I love thetorch except, as someone mentioned above, the knobs get really hot. I am not sure why, but I have tried many things to no avail. It is a great torch regardless of the hot knob problem.

Joyce

msritaa · #8 2006-07-12, 6:18am

I use a Piranha and love it, but it took me a few weeks to adjust to the small concentrated flame, after using a hothead. I use only soft glass right now, and make small to medium, very detailed beads. I love how I can crank it down to a tiny flame and heat only what I'm working on. However, the flame is never very wide even turned up high. I am getting used to moving my bead around in the flame to keep it all hot. This is a good thing to learn to do as second nature I think. I have never used the mini cc, and used minor only a couple of times. When I spent time on the Piranha before buying it, I fell in love and didn't even want to try another torch. Hope this helps some.

Superagathe · #9 2006-12-29, 6:53am

Dear you all !
First of all : Hello from Paris !

I have seen many posts about the Mini CC carlisle getting very hot.
I have just bought one and I am quiet anxious of the way mine get really really hot even on metal parts that link the Gas Tubes (propane and O2) which seems to me quiet dangerous.
Is it a problem if my tubes get hot too ?

Did you find a solution in order to limit the risk ?

Could you tell me more about this phenomenon ?
I wish you all a very happy new year
Agathe

kbinkster · #10 2006-12-29, 3:22pm

The longer you run your candles on a Mini CC, the better.

Here's what happens:

with shorter candles, ignition of the fuel and oxygen happens near the face of the torch
heat from ignition heats up torch face
heat from torch face is conducted through brass body of Mini CC back towards the user
the torch body overheats, causing hot knobs

So, the longer you run your candles, the further away from the face of the torch the ignition takes place. The further away ignition takes place, the less the face heats up. The less the face heats up, the less heat gets conducted back to the body and the knobs.

This torch can radiate a lot of heat from the body. Don't confuse this with radiant heat from the flame. A torch can have good radiant heat from the flame without radiating a lot of heat from the torch body.

G.L.McBead · #11 2007-01-04, 6:22pm

When I had a Mini cc I went to home depot and got some 1/4" copper tube and fitings to conect to a garden hose and wraped the copper around the torch up by the head and turned on just a little drip and it stayed nice and cool.
G.

kbinkster · #12 2007-01-05, 12:30pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by G.L.McBead

When I had a Mini cc I went to home depot and got some 1/4" copper tube and fitings to conect to a garden hose and wraped the copper around the torch up by the head and turned on just a little drip and it stayed nice and cool.
G.

That's pretty clever to get the fitting and run the garden hose. Whenever you don't want to run the hose (like if your studio is somewhere where you cannot do that easily enough), you can get a bucket, some tubing, and an aquarium pump to recirculate the water. If the water gets too warm, you can add frozen bottles of water to the bucket. I have heard of some people adding anti-freeze to their water to keep it from freezing in the winter. I think that there are other ways around this, though, if you have pets or kids that could get into the bucket. Heck, you could always empty the bucket after each use so you don't have water sitting around.

Anne Londez · #13 2007-01-05, 3:58pm

I love the Mini-CC too. I don't know the pirhana so I can't compare directly but one feature of the Mini-CC that I like is that the flame is designed to be softer than most (certainly softer than the Lynx, which I had before) with a lot of lateral heat, like the Muranese torches. The flame is very similar to that of the torches I've worked with in Lucio's studio. It is still quite a hot flame and very versatile, from pinpoint to great flame. I don't find the hot knobs much of a problem, mine never get hot enough that I can't handle them. It's an excellent torch for soft-glass off hand sculptural work, where you really need the lateral heat. And for any kind of sculptural work that requires that you keep part of the piece warm while working on another for that matter. Did I say I love it ?