Lotos LT5000D Plasma cutter deal from Amazon

[hutchman]

Handy as a butter knife spreading jam. I havent had to do any mods to it, except i did trade the 3/8 all thread for 3/4. The smaller screw would flex and shake the track as the torch ran over the track. I am fixing to set it up and rip about 30ft of flat plate to use on my wood processor hbeam. Shoulder surgery 2 weeks ago so waiting on the doc to say I can use my arm.

purty nice!

 

[Big Barn]

Handy as a butter knife spreading jam. I havent had to do any mods to it, except i did trade the 3/8 all thread for 3/4. The smaller screw would flex and shake the track as the torch ran over the track. I am fixing to set it up and rip about 30ft of flat plate to use on my wood processor hbeam. Shoulder surgery 2 weeks ago so waiting on the doc to say I can use my arm.

I LIKE it!!

Terry

 

[teg]

FYI.....Newegg has reduced the price again of the IGTP Pilot Arc LTPD5000D to $339
Andy

Thanks for the heads up Andy... I couldn't pass it up for that price. Teg

Anyone else get it for that price?

 

[hutchman]

Thanks for the heads up Andy... I couldn't pass it up for that price. Teg

Anyone else get it for that price?

Two guys I work with got it from newegg at that price. One arrives today and the other tomorrow!

 

[cobracnvt]

I ended up returning the Lotos plasma cutter. The torch components didn't seem like they were going to last at all and seemed to be pretty self destructive to it's consumables and internals of the torch head.

I tried cutting a total of about 2 feet of 18 gauge metal during the time that I had the plasma cutter and it wasn't doing a good job at all. I had ground the surface of the metal clean prior to cutting it. The plasma wouldn't stay going.

This was the second time I used the plasma cutter after my first initial test of it which was cutting about 6 inches off practice in other thin metal. Very poor results in my opinion, so I sent it back.

I've attached a couple of pictures of the torch head after two uses trying to cut only a couple feet of thin metal.

 

[hutchman]

I ended up returning the Lotos plasma cutter. The torch components didn't seem like they were going to last at all and seemed to be pretty self destructive to it's consumables and internals of the torch head.

I tried cutting a total of about 2 feet of 18 gauge metal during the time that I had the plasma cutter and it wasn't doing a good job at all. I had ground the surface of the metal clean prior to cutting it. The plasma wouldn't stay going.

This was the second time I used the plasma cutter after my first initial test of it which was cutting about 6 inches off practice in other thin metal. Very poor results in my opinion, so I sent it back.

I've attached a couple of pictures of the torch head after two uses trying to cut only a couple feet of thin metal.

View attachment 443303View attachment 443304

May have not had the correct air pressure. The manuals aren't great with that. Whatever pressure it says, that's not the pressure you dial in on the machine regulator while it is just sitting there idle .... you dial that pressure in while air is flowing out the torch.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Got an air dryer mounted inline?

 

[FredH]

Have to Agree with previous post on Air pressure . Mine is set I think at about 68 psi with the Handle Depressed . Handle not depressed , it is like 75 or higher .
Mine is similar torch and I have only burnt tips like that if I touch it to off to metal I am cutting . That will cook that tips fast .

Fred H.

 

[cobracnvt]

I'm not sure what was going on with it. My 30 gallon air compressor's regulator was set at 90 psi and the regulator on the plasma cutter was dialed in at 65. I don't have an air dryer, just the filter bowl that came on the plasma cutter. The plasma wouldn't stay "lit", so I had to keep contacting the metal to restart it. That likely caused the tip to get so fried. I've used another pilot arc plasma cutter that behaved much better than my experience with this non pilot arc one. I was trying to look past the issues I had with it (including a torch button that was falling apart and a bent ground camp out of the box) as it didn't cost a lot, but I decided to cut bait and return it while I still could. Maybe others with different environments from mine and experience will have more success. I'm not a expert at this by any means and just wanted to share my experience with it, since I started this thread.

 

[hutchman]

I'm not sure what was going on with it. My 30 gallon air compressor's regulator was set at 90 psi and the regulator on the plasma cutter was dialed in at 65. I don't have an air dryer, just the filter bowl that came on the plasma cutter. The plasma wouldn't stay "lit", so I had to keep contacting the metal to restart it. That likely caused the tip to get so fried. I've used another pilot arc plasma cutter that behaved much better than my experience with this non pilot arc one. I was trying to look past the issues I had with it (including a torch button that was falling apart and a bent ground camp out of the box) as it didn't cost a lot, but I decided to cut bait and return it while I still could. Maybe others with different environments from mine and experience will have more success. I'm not a expert at this by any means and just wanted to share my experience with it, since I started this thread.

I don't know how long your hose is but I'm using like a 25ft. one and I have to crank the air compressor up to it's max to have enough range to then be able to dial the plasma's regulator to the right range. I can assure you that if you set the plasma regulator to the required psi then hit the go switch the pressure fell well below what you had it set at. The air is pretty key ... not enough - no plasma ... to much - blows out. Dryer's are pretty important too. You can laugh at my struggle with them here http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ions-please-post-post4260589.html#post4260589 ... I have one at compressor and a small inline one just before the plasma separator.

I bumped into one of my co-workers that bought one when I was at Harbor Freight today. He said something on his torch was cracked (I think it was the cup that holds the tip) and the standoff wire was bent. He hasn't fired it up yet.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Several things:

1) No air dryer means you will chew through consumables faster than bad Mexican food will run through your system.
2) A non pilot arc Plasma cutter has to be nearly dragged to stay lit, at least on these cheap lotos type units.
3) If your air pressure drops because you don't have a large enough compressor, then the unit may have a feature which will stop the arc to prevent damage to the torch or overheating of it. If the compressor is marginal, then the brief second or two that it takes to build extra pressure between refires may have been enough to reset it to cut.

 

[cobracnvt]

What air dryers do you recommend?

 

[hutchman]

What air dryers do you recommend?

I think the better question is how much $$$ do you want to spend? I bought the cheap desiccant dryers but quickly found that if you are doing a lot of cutting where the air compressor is pretty much running all the time to keep up ... it heats up everything and really causes a condensation problem. I recently cut about 25-30ft. and had to change my desiccant dryer twice during that time.

So $60-150 will get you a dryer like:

Campbell Hausfeld Desiccant Dryer-PA208503AV - The Home Depot

... and if you order a bunch of indicating (changes color when it soaks up moisture) desiccant you can just keep changing it until you run out and then put all your saturated desiccant in the oven and dry it out again and then repeat. Make sure you put your 'fresh out of the oven' desiccant in an air tight container. I recently had some in the oven and told the wife to take it out as I had to go somewhere and she just pulled it out and left it on top of the stove and by the time I got back that evening it soaked up the humidity in the air and needed to be recharged again!

If you have $$$ and don't want to fool with the above headache ... be prepared to fork out $400-1,000+ for a refrigerated dryer! One that looks like Compressed Air Dryer - Save on this Compressed Air Dryer

Indicating desiccant like this:
Amazon.com: 1 Gallon Blue Silica Gel Replacement Desiccant Beads: Automotive

 

[cobracnvt]

I think the better question is how much $$$ do you want to spend? I bought the cheap desiccant dryers but quickly found that if you are doing a lot of cutting where the air compressor is pretty much running all the time to keep up ... it heats up everything and really causes a condensation problem. I recently cut about 25-30ft. and had to change my desiccant dryer twice during that time. So $60-150 will get you a dryer like: Campbell Hausfeld Desiccant Dryer-PA208503AV - The Home Depot ... and if you order a bunch of indicating (changes color when it soaks up moisture) desiccant you can just keep changing it until you run out and then put all your saturated desiccant in the oven and dry it out again and then repeat. Make sure you put your 'fresh out of the oven' desiccant in an air tight container. I recently had some in the oven and told the wife to take it out as I had to go somewhere and she just pulled it out and left it on top of the stove and by the time I got back that evening it soaked up the humidity in the air and needed to be recharged again! If you have $$$ and don't want to fool with the above headache ... be prepared to fork out $400-1,000+ for a refrigerated dryer! One that looks like Compressed Air Dryer - Save on this Compressed Air Dryer Indicating desiccant like this: Amazon.com: 1 Gallon Blue Silica Gel Replacement Desiccant Beads: Automotive

Thank you, good info.

 

[hutchman]

Thank you, good info.

For my current setup .... I have this at compressor 3/8" Desiccant Dryer with Oil Removal Filter (caution, this will more than likely need mods to work right ... the service indicator leaks!)

At the end of the line before my plasma I have this one Inline Desiccant Dryer/Filter

 

[sd455dan]

almost bought the LT5000d that was mentioned earlier, but really wanted pilot arc and missed the order date on New Egg and then the combo model- LTPDC2000d came down in price on Amazon prime from a high of almost $800 to $399.99-
Looks like it has the same ratings for plasma cut function as the LT5000D model, but also includes the dc 200 amp tig and 200 amp stick welder and has the pilot arc

I must be nuts- (especially since the company cut the warranty down to 1 year on these units from 3... not a great sign)

buying a combo unit but sold my old Lincoln tombstone 225 buzz box years ago ( reliable as an anvil) after buying a mig and always wanted a tig for finer welding of steel and would have been nice to have a stick welder several times after all, but really need a plasma cutter So going to give this a try,

will not hold it against other more expensive (quality) plasma cutters, if this unit is not up to the task or fails prematurely- its price is bordering to low to be a usable plasma cutter-let alone welder.

as pointed out previously


(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!)

no doubt Good advice

that being said

does anyone have a Lotos LTPDC2000D the non pilot arc CT520d or even the LTP5000D?

and if so- has it been an OK unit and not had a major problem?

 

[katoomed00]

I've owned a Lotos 3 in 1 unit over 3 yrs. now (purchased on Ebay), and all I can say best machine for the money. The duty cycle is what I look for in a welder and I never been able to over heat it while stick welding. The plasma cutter is really nice to have, It will cut 3/8" plate like butter and looks like I used a utility knife when cutting aluminum. I have not used the Tig welder yet, only because I haven't had a need for it yet. The capability of going from 110v to 220v is a really nice feature. But what impressed me the most is how light it weighs for a 200amp welder.

 

[sd455dan]

Good to hear katoomed00, that will be great if stick welder performs well also.

the LTPDC2000d showed up ( amazon overnight for $21) and I got it wired for the plug style i have for 240vac and also installed the connections for the plasma cutter

Started with some .030 and it did fine and also some .065 also good, then some .125 rectangular steel and it did a good job to.
I do really like the pilot arc feature -

Thanks to those that suggested it.

So far so good :thumbsup:
in the morning will pick up some 6013 rod and give it a test.
fingers crossed

 

[dntfxr]

Good to hear katoomed00, that will be great if stick welder performs well also.

the LTPDC2000d showed up ( amazon overnight for $21) and I got it wired for the plug style i have for 240vac and also installed the connections for the plasma cutter

Started with some .030 and it did fine and also some .065 also good, then some .125 rectangular steel and it did a good job to.
I do really like the pilot arc feature -

Thanks to those that suggested it.

So far so good :thumbsup:
in the morning will pick up some 6013 rod and give it a test.
fingers crossed

I'm thinking hard on that LTPDC2000D combo unit. As you mentioned it's actually on sale cheaper than the regular plasma only model but has all the same specs and hardware. I've been looking for a cheap plasma and the other features would be nice in case I needed to bring it with me to work. My old Miller HF Dialarc isn't so portable lol. Any updates on its performance?

 

[dntfxr]

Good to hear katoomed00, that will be great if stick welder performs well also.

the LTPDC2000d showed up ( amazon overnight for $21) and I got it wired for the plug style i have for 240vac and also installed the connections for the plasma cutter

Started with some .030 and it did fine and also some .065 also good, then some .125 rectangular steel and it did a good job to.
I do really like the pilot arc feature -

Thanks to those that suggested it.

So far so good :thumbsup:
in the morning will pick up some 6013 rod and give it a test.
fingers crossed

I'm thinking hard on that LTPDC2000D combo unit. As you mentioned it's actually on sale cheaper than the regular plasma only model but has all the same specs and hardware. I've been looking for a cheap plasma and the other features would be nice in case I needed to bring it with me to work. My old Miller HF Dialarc isn't so portable lol. Any updates on its performance?