Lotos LT5000D Plasma cutter deal from Amazon

[woodlandfarms]

I have the Everlast as well. For Hobby / Light work it is pretty darn great. Mark on the forum you should talk to if you order as he can cut you a bit of a deal. But yeah, a chop saw might be a better purchase if all you are doing is tube. I seldom have luck with a plasma in that regards.

 

[rmully]

I was merely asking for more details. Didn't cut right, how. Arc not stable? Too weak for the metal being cut? No arc at all? Don't plan on buying another Plasma, but you never know. BTW, how much did you pay for the Lotos?

. I paid $550 from Amazon. The unit would not cut 1/4 plate, it would burn the tips...machine had a bad hum and I could never get a straight answer, it would take days to return emails. I messed with this for 2 months, then bought an Everlast and no problems.

 

[jimcolt]

A plasma system pilot arc is an arc that will fire without metal in front of the torch. With no pilot arc you must touch the nozzle (tip) of the torch to the metal that your work clamp is connected to. When you do this the air flow ionizes and the plasma arc starts.

The advantage of a pilot start is that the torch will burn through paint, dirt, rust, even porcelain. The non pilot arc will require that you grind off an area to clean metal every time you go to start the arc. Another issue with non-pilot starting is that when the arc starts (in contact with the metal) the power immediately ramps up and starts piercing through the metal.....the metal blows back and damages the nozzle on the very first cuts...the result is ugly cuts with rough edges and bad angularity. With a pilot start you can hold the torch a bit away from the material, pull the trigger and it will fire and transfer....the molten blowback will not damage the nozzle.

So.....yes the low cost import plasma cutters will cut metal, however they do not cut nearly as clean or as fast as the major brand units (Hypertherm, Victor (Thermal Dynamics), Miller, Esab, etc) and the consumable parts life (tips, electrodes) is terrible at best. If you cut 1/4" steel with a small (30 amp Poweermax30XP) Hypertherm expect the nozzle to last for 600 to 1200 feet of cutting......which for a hobbyist could be years! With an exposed nozzle plasma torch without pilot start...expect maybe 50' (at best) of cut before you change the tip.

For cutting square tube? Chop saw is by far the best way. Cutoff discs on an angle grinder are dangerous (watch your fingers and eyes....be careful!) and do not last long. The low cost plasma may cost less to use as compared to cutoff discs (the discs break easy and don't last long even when they don't break). I do cut larger structural tube with heavier wall with my Hypertherm plasma.....especially when I need to do miter cuts or odd shapes. I have a few jigs that I made for repeat jobs that guide the shielded Hypertherm torch for miter cuts, works very well as this style plasma can be dragged right on the material with no effect on consumable life.

I always say...if money (or the lack of it) is your primary purchase criteria for a plasma...then go ahead and buy a low cost import. Just don't let it's performance and reliability form your opinion of all plasma cutters! The good ones that will last long enough for your kids inheritance will work better, will be easier to use, will cut at a lower cost (less grinding, less consumables) and will be more reliable....and will have direct technical support from the factory that built it.....if needed.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

 

[Raised on a Deere]

This entire discussion has been most helpful. I have recently gotten tired of not being able to do some of the repairs and customizations on my equipment and purchased a Hobart Mig Welder. A lot smoother that the stick welding I did 30 years ago on a Lincoln tomb stone AC unit. But it has been confusing to know what equipment to buy after being away from welding for 30 years. I got the Hobart because it was popular but not exactly cheap. Hows that for a major purchasing decision rule?

 

[roadhunter]

A plasma system pilot arc is an arc that will fire without metal in front of the torch. With no pilot arc you must touch the nozzle (tip) of the torch to the metal that your work clamp is connected to. When you do this the air flow ionizes and the plasma arc starts.

The advantage of a pilot start is that the torch will burn through paint, dirt, rust, even porcelain. The non pilot arc will require that you grind off an area to clean metal every time you go to start the arc. Another issue with non-pilot starting is that when the arc starts (in contact with the metal) the power immediately ramps up and starts piercing through the metal.....the metal blows back and damages the nozzle on the very first cuts...the result is ugly cuts with rough edges and bad angularity. With a pilot start you can hold the torch a bit away from the material, pull the trigger and it will fire and transfer....the molten blowback will not damage the nozzle.

So.....yes the low cost import plasma cutters will cut metal, however they do not cut nearly as clean or as fast as the major brand units (Hypertherm, Victor (Thermal Dynamics), Miller, Esab, etc) and the consumable parts life (tips, electrodes) is terrible at best. If you cut 1/4" steel with a small (30 amp Poweermax30XP) Hypertherm expect the nozzle to last for 600 to 1200 feet of cutting......which for a hobbyist could be years! With an exposed nozzle plasma torch without pilot start...expect maybe 50' (at best) of cut before you change the tip.

For cutting square tube? Chop saw is by far the best way. Cutoff discs on an angle grinder are dangerous (watch your fingers and eyes....be careful!) and do not last long. The low cost plasma may cost less to use as compared to cutoff discs (the discs break easy and don't last long even when they don't break). I do cut larger structural tube with heavier wall with my Hypertherm plasma.....especially when I need to do miter cuts or odd shapes. I have a few jigs that I made for repeat jobs that guide the shielded Hypertherm torch for miter cuts, works very well as this style plasma can be dragged right on the material with no effect on consumable life.

I always say...if money (or the lack of it) is your primary purchase criteria for a plasma...then go ahead and buy a low cost import. Just don't let it's performance and reliability form your opinion of all plasma cutters! The good ones that will last long enough for your kids inheritance will work better, will be easier to use, will cut at a lower cost (less grinding, less consumables) and will be more reliable....and will have direct technical support from the factory that built it.....if needed.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

Amen.

One look at the manual of a foreign machine can tell you all you need to know. If they don't correct spelling issues in the manual what else have they failed to correct? If the website is filled with mistakes/typos/wrong pics/etc is the machine any different? Do they have a dealer network or are they cutting the dealers out to try and sell direct?

All major red flags IMO.

Meanwhile my Hypertherm is over 10 years old with no problems whatsoever.

 

[KubotainNH]

Recently I've been doing some research on the cheapo Chinese plasma cutters mainly for sheet metal. I'd like a really good brand but can't justify the cost and don't have the dough to buy one anyway so it's either cheapo or none at all. The "Colossal" brand CUT50 by Ebay seller "usaprovidersinc" seems to have good ratings and there's a few youtube videos on it plus some good reviews on a couple welding forums. The seller has almost 13k of feedback at 99.6% and they give a 1 year warranty on their own and not the manufacturer. They also sell the consumables for them which seem to be standard. The letter after the "CUT50" means other things like D is dual power, F is Pilot Arc. The cost is between 250-300 shipped. I've asked the seller some questions and they seem quick to answer. Anyhow, I figured I'd share what I have found so far and I will probably give it a try just can't decide whether I want the Pilot Arc or dual voltage.

 

[Fawken]

Recently I've been doing some research on the cheapo Chinese plasma cutters mainly for sheet metal. I'd like a really good brand but can't justify the cost and don't have the dough to buy one anyway so it's either cheapo or none at all. The "Colossal" brand CUT50 by Ebay seller "usaprovidersinc" seems to have good ratings and there's a few youtube videos on it plus some good reviews on a couple welding forums. The seller has almost 13k of feedback at 99.6% and they give a 1 year warranty on their own and not the manufacturer. They also sell the consumables for them which seem to be standard. The letter after the "CUT50" means other things like D is dual power, F is Pilot Arc. The cost is between 250-300 shipped. I've asked the seller some questions and they seem quick to answer. Anyhow, I figured I'd share what I have found so far and I will probably give it a try just can't decide whether I want the Pilot Arc or dual voltage.

I'd rather have Pilot arc as dual voltage is relatively useless to me. I looked at the one with pilot and it says MOSFET board with Toshiba IC's. Others here have said IGBT is better than MOSFET, other than that the thing looks decent.

 

[alchemysa]

Recently I've been doing some research on the cheapo Chinese plasma cutters

I recently bought this thing on Ebay. 'Rossi CT 312'.
30 amp cutting and 120 amp welding. $339 over here, complete with welding cables, plasma torch, tig torch, and air regulator.

I've seen virtually identical machines in different colors with different brand names so you probably have the same ones over there. At this price I didnt expect much but my first impression is very good. Actually, to be honest I'm thrilled with it. After 15 years struggling with a $90 AC welder this is heaven. And the plasma cutter just plain makes me smile. Its only 30 amp but I'm cutting 6 mm easily (but slowly). More importantly for me it sails through 3mm stuff. The only real negative so far is that the welding cables are very short. The earth is only 1 metre and the electrode holder is 1.5 metres. If this gets too annoying I'll buy some longer cable. (The plasma cable is already at least 2 metres).

I don't know how long it will last. Thats always a gamble with Chinese stuff, but I'm feeling positive. Its only for backyard stuff, not continuous work.

I'll be modifying a sack truck to carry this and a 30 litre compressor together.

 

[hutchman]

If you look at enough of them you start to see parts that are the same, just different colors. And specs that are near identical (same inverter/psu etc.) so its obvious the same factory is supplying all these guys. I guess it comes down to support, quality standards and availability of parts or you can just toss and get another one for that price!

 

[KubotainNH]

I've read the MOSFET thing but can't touch the other type on cost. I see Everlast's cheapest unit is MOSFET and is $600. I do like the idea of being able to run it out away from my house on 110v but having more power when needed. The Rossi unit looks good but only if the seller will guarantee it for awhile and be in the US. Hutchman is correct on many of them looking identical. I'd like to try TIG but that would mean more stuff to buy to make it work.