Air compressor and Hypertherm Powermax 30

I myself like Hypertherm Powermax plasma cutters, so I believe that you are making a good choice. That is a little guy, with a modest air requirement. From the specifications: "Flow rate recommended 4.0 scfm @ 80?140 psi"

So all you need is a compressor able to meet that spec.

Be very careful when buying an air compressor, as their specifications are often wildly overrated. It is good if you can hear one running, as some are very loud and run very hot. Other than that, you can find a whole lot of advice on buying air compressors and you shouldn't have any trouble with that part.

However, you may want to consider doing something to dry the air before it goes to the plasma cutter. I have a small Speedaire refrigerated air dryer which works very well - there's usually a small puddle of water drained from the air it passes to my plasma cutter when I'm done cutting. Air dryers can be a little spendy but they should greatly increase the life of your consumables which are even spendier.

GWE

It should be sufficient to produce the required CFM at required pressure. Check the manual for your plasma cutter for the numbers.

i

I thought that a dryer was a requirement?

i

Thank you for a responding. I have air compressor like 2.5 cfm 116psi ,is this going to work?

Thank you.

No, sorry. Too small.

GWE

It's not a requirement, but it's highly recommended for longer consumable life and cleaner cuts.

The refrigerated air dryer that Harbor Freight sells for about $300 is quite popular for this and seems to work fine even with the big cutters like the Powermax 1000 and 1650 which take a lot of air. I have one feeding my 1000 and it seems to work well.

Any air compressor capable of running a full sized air nailer is sufficient to run that size of plasma cutter. The one you have should be god enough.

It will be running continuously while you are cutting so you can't run it from the same circuit as the plasma cutter.

Thank you for a responding. But the one I have is NOT free-oil . Do you think Its OK?

Thank you . Yoshi.

Just use an air filter inline with the plasma cutter.

Thank you. Do you know any online shop selling an air filter ?

Yoshi.

Any store that supplies autobody paint supplies will sell high quality air filters.

Hi everyone

I wrote about air compressors back in 2005 when I faced the same problem - knowing what compressor to get. I got one, gained experience and here is what I wrote.

initially appeared on a SEJW FAQ's website (no longer existing) and was checked out as OK by people respected in the group. Basically, a "3HP portable" is good to go for - read the article to see the whys and wherefores.

Rich S