Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters

   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #1  

Budweiser John

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Apr 9, 2013
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Location
Dewitt, Michigan
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New Holland TC45D
I am considering investing in a plasma cutter.
I would seldom be cutting material over 1/2 thick and generally like to purchase American made quality equipment. My preference would be either Miller or Lincoln however, I could be swayed to other brands with enough TBN endorsements.
Now a few questions. How well does plasma cutting work on rusty, dirty, or painted steel?
How fussy are they in regard to compressed air? I have plenty of shop air capacity but no drier on the air network.
What about cutting vertical or overhead? Thinking trailer or grain box repair.
Are consumable parts expensive or more or less fall into the same catigory cost wise as mig welding tips?

Thanking all for whatever insight however trivial. I recognize a plasma cutter is not a casual purchase and will not replace my mid century Kalamazoo 8 x 16 horizontal band saw but for cutting notches, panels, miters or plate, it appears plasma cutting solves a lot of problems.

B. John
 
   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #2  
Hypertherm is the brand you want. It meets your criteria and is the “industry standard” in a lot of ways. They also have figured a way to bump voltage a bit from most others so it will cut more for a given amp draw- you will have to dig deep in the specs, watch some YouTube videos or call them to fully understand how it’s done.
 
   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Hey, thanks I will add them to my shopping list.

B. John
 
   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #4  
I have a Hypertherm Powermax 45. It's an incredible machine and will cut thicker than its spec'd to.

They now make the 45xp. It's even better and if I were you I'd look no further. Hypertherm is where it's at.

1/2" will be easy.
 
   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #5  
John if you're going to do a lot of cutting, and or painting. Think about building an intercooler, and after cooler. I took 50-feet of copper tubing, placed it in a plastic garbage can, filled the can with water. Then plumbed it to my compressor. Inside the shop I used pipe to build the after cooler. You can see how it drops the temperature of the air. That way it is dryer and saves on tips.
 

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   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #6  
John if you're going to do a lot of cutting, and or painting. Think about building an intercooler, and after cooler. I took 50-feet of copper tubing, placed it in a plastic garbage can, filled the can with water. Then plumbed it to my compressor. Inside the shop I used pipe to build the after cooler. You can see how it drops the temperature of the air. That way it is dryer and saves on tips.

That's excellent! I'm definitely doing this!
 
   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #7  
I've been happy with my Everlast plasma. I don't use it a lot, but the price was good & it's good quality for an import.

Plasma NEEDS clean dry air. Otherwise you burn up torch consumables quick & have poor quality cuts. Personally I'm in Colorado, so that means I don't have to worry as bout it. 20 hours of runtime on my new 5hp Quincy in the past month or 2. Despite trying to drain it every few hours I have yet to get any water out of the tank. A little fog on the glass on the coalescing separator on the regulator, but no real accumulation. My desicant tank is still showing as green as the day I got it severasl years ago. Places with actual humidity will have a much harder challenge though.
 
   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #8  
i have a hypertherm unit and have used it for 10+ years. if you dont dry the air you go thru tips fast. the moisture plays havoc with the unit. mine is a table mount unit so i added a harbor freight $399.00 dryer years ago, and ti traps 99% of the moisture. my post filter stays clean.

consumables start to add up. mine uses both fine and rough consumables, and there not cheap. sometimes i swap out tips before a large job just incase so i dont get a mess up during cuts. i think my machine tops out at 3/8" if i use the machine head, but 1/2" if i free hand cut.

rusty metal cuts ok on mine, as long as ground plate is clean. cant cut thru paint as it cant make arc connection to tip.
 
   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #9  
i have a hypertherm unit and have used it for 10+ years. if you dont dry the air you go thru tips fast. the moisture plays havoc with the unit. mine is a table mount unit so i added a harbor freight $399.00 dryer years ago, and ti traps 99% of the moisture. my post filter stays clean.

consumables start to add up. mine uses both fine and rough consumables, and there not cheap. sometimes i swap out tips before a large job just incase so i dont get a mess up during cuts. i think my machine tops out at 3/8" if i use the machine head, but 1/2" if i free hand cut.

rusty metal cuts ok on mine, as long as ground plate is clean. cant cut thru paint as it cant make arc connection to tip.

If he's looking a new Hypertherms, cutting through paint isn't an issue. I can cut through powder coat, paint, rust, whatever with my PM45. Do you have to drag the tip on yours? (newer HT/PM machines don't need to drag the tip to cut) Just make a shiny spot for the ground.
 
   / Questions for TBN members who own plasma cutters #10  
That's excellent! I'm definitely doing this!
I bought an Ingersoll Rand air dryer. Believe it or not the garbage can full of water works better! :confused:
At the bottom of the after cooler you need to install ball valves, so you can drain the water out of the pipes. Also a drain at the bottom of the copper coils, to drain the water out.
 

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