Has anyone used nitrogen with a Hypertherm 380? I'm wondering how much cut time I can get off of a 40 or 80cf cylinder when shop air isn't an option. There are those occasions that small selfcontained unit would be great.
I don't recommend it. Modern Hypertherm torches are designed for compressed air. We tried nitrogen on our hypertherm plasma cutters at school and it did not work well.
Plasma cutting with nitrogen is for old plasma cutters.
You can get bottles of compressed air.
I tried to run a Pakmaster 38 on nitrogen wih poor results. A 250cf cylinder lasted a little over an hour and the cuts on steel were messier than with air. I did not try any other metals.
Bob
I tend to blindly believe the master - but I find it odd that 75% nitrogen is better than 100%. I doubt the cut needs the O2 to burn with - might.
What I think - having worked with LN2 (liquid Nitrogen) and other compressed gases - I'd suggest that the line or internal to the Hypertherm filter/water trap - froze up and limited the flow. - Somewhere anyway. Air from our compressors expand, but are typically hot or at room already. (Not -273C or so.)
Compressed air will do much the same - much cheaper - might want to put an in-line heat pickup coil or a heater so the inlet won't freeze down. Think moonshine still!
Maybe Ernie can give it a try with an auto radiator as the heat transfer station
- maybe if the room isn't hot enough - a heat source - high intensity flood lamps.
Martin
Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
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