Bernzomatic TS4000 Trigger Start Torch 361524 (TS4000 Torch)
$ 10.53
- Before buying this on Amazon, I read many of the reviews for the product, including many from seemingly qualified plumbers discussing how to sweat copper and so forth. Let me just say that I have absolutely no professional need for a blowtorch and will not presume to discuss this product’s utility in that context. To my layman’s eye, it seems very sturdy and has worked well.What I will say is that I have tried a few blowtorches in various settings and this one has functioned flawlessly for several months – including resolving a problem on another blowtorch: the lack of pressure regulation which causes the blowtorch to go out when aimed downward or inverted. Without this feature it is next to impossible to sear steak, glaze creme brulee, or do other things made more fun with a blowtorch that require a flame directed downward. This torch is able to used in any position, including upside down. Just today I did an experiment with my kids to verify that older pennies have a much higher copper content and thus get hot but don’t melt, while newer pennies are mostly zinc and melt in seconds.Several reviewers noted that the internal ignition mechanism stopped working after a while. That hasn’t happened with mine (yet) and it always lights on the first or second try. You can also light it externally with a standard flint spark igniter – the kind your father or grandfather would have used (I also use these for my gas stove as I’m too lazy to fix the sparker and they are more reliable, cheaper, and last longer than the long-necked butane lighters). If this ever happens to me, it won’t affect my ability to use it, but for professional use you can see how the ability to quickly activate and deactivate the torch on selected spots would be key.****UPDATE JAN 2015****I try to periodically update my reviews to provide some insights on how a product has (or hasn’t) held up over time. I’ve now been using this blowtorch regularly for about 2 years and it has functionally flawlessly. The push-button trigger still ignites on the first or second try and the pressure regulation continues to let me use the blowtorch in any orientation. WARNING: once you start keeping a blowtorch handy, you are going to start using it on a lot more than you ever imagined.
