Plasma cutter advice needed...

With annual bonus and tax refund time approaching I'm seriously looking at getting the plasma cutter I've lusted over for years.

I'm figuring something in the $1,500 +/- range that seems to be the mid range for capacity and am looking for suggestions as to which units to consider and why.

I'd like to be able to sever up to 1/2" AL though most work would be

1/2" steel and below where I'd expect a pretty clean cut. I also want a machine that has enough duty cycle to handle up to about 1/4" steel on a CNC table without having to stop and rest. A quick disconnect torch connection would be a plus though I suppose it's not critical.

I've got an adequate compressor, but knowing how sensitive plasma cutters are to moisture, it the standard desiccant filter adequate or is it worth the modest investment in putting one of the HF refrigerated air dryers ($250 or so on sale / coupon) before a backup desiccant filter?

This is for basic home shop use, not any sort of "real" use but I'd prefer a quality unit (like my Syncrowave 250) that will last several lifetimes and handle whatever I may throw at it. Power isn't an issue (240V 100A 1ph), but it would be nice to be able to operate on 240V 20A from a generator occasionally for light material. Anything else I'm missing?

Thanks,

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.
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The closest to your price range would be the Hypertherm Powermax

1000. However some of your specs sound like a Hypertherm 1250 might be a little better. As far as I'm concerned there's no reason to go with anybody but Hypertherm at the moment. The new torch design they've got out is simply amazing regarding clean cuts and long consumable life. I just got to see a side by side comparison of cuts made by the new and old Hypertherm torch designs using the same power source (Powermax900) and the difference is night and day even on a CNC system (which this was). I'm totally in awe of my Powermax 1250 and I've run several different brands of plasma cutters before. My 1250 will handle 1/2" plate with ease and will cut 1" cleanly (but you have to have a very steady slow travel). I've cut a piece of 1" plate and then went right to cutting some 16ga with the same tip and settings (the only difference was travel speed) the cut quality on both was outstanding.

The reason I feel that the 1250 would be the better choice is your

1/4" plate on CNC requirement. I know that Hypertherm states the 1000 is good to 3/8" on CNC but my friend with the 900 feels that 1/4" plate pushes his machine to hard.

As far as filters goes well that depends on many factors. The one thing I can recommend is to get a Motor Guard (toilet paper) type filter for the final or second from final filtering. If you feel you absolutely have to have a desiccant filter then put the motor guard in front of it. Otherwise put it right before the machine. Any filtering before these will extend filter life. My personal favorite setup is to have a cooling coil between the compressor and tank. I have mine setup with a separator between the coil and the tank and a solenoid valve unloader which drains the separator each time the compressor cuts off. At any rate this will dramatically reduce the amount of water that gets into the air lines making it much easier to filter. If you cool the coil below ambient air temperature in some fashion then you'll basically have a refrigerated air dryer but for most things I don't feel this is needed. However I'm in a fairly dry area. Extreme humidity may call for more extreme measures.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

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Wayne Cook

Thanks for the advice, I'll look at the Hypertherm units. Any recommendations for suppliers? I'm not too far away in Denison, TX so your moisture control should be pretty applicable.

Thanks,

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

Wayne..are you buying those drawers from Dennis at Arco? If so..Ill stick your mig cable in with them when they ship, unless you are coming out to California

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

Reply to
Gunner

Hmm. Probably close enough though you have a little more humidity down there than we do up here. As far as where to get it well that depends. I happened to get the best price from my welding supplier. They tend to have great prices on equipment like this in the first place and since I'm a drop dealer for them I may of gotten a even better price. At any rate I got a cheaper price than the bulk sellers on ebay.

BTW if you want to see my compressor setup it's on my home page below under "portable compressor" (I must say that was a bit of a joke :-)

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

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Wayne Cook

That looks pretty portable to me, you wouldn't even need a CDL to move it.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

I'll probably be getting something from him soon. I've not had time to get all the info he needs yet (hopefully this week). We'll work out something along those lines when the time comes.

You've never sent my your address so I can send the plasma torch and consumables to you.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

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Wayne Cook

Doing a quick search online for prices it seems the Powermax 600 is the one that's at my $1,500 +/- price target, the Powermax 1000 seems to be about 33% more. The 1000 certainly seems nice, but I was hoping to stay under $2k with tax and accessories. Any suggestions on where I could get a better price?

Thanks,

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

I wont, until you have the MIG stuff in your shop. Due to various factors...I tend to be unable to sent stuff when I wish to, so it would be completly unfair to you to go the mile in sending stuff and having to wait and wait.

But things here are getting better a little at a time. Let me know via phone if he is going to ship you anything and Ill get the torch assembly down to him.

That big Hobart CyberTig 2 is still available btw.

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

Reply to
Gunner

I know you won't like the 600 for what you describe. It might get you by but one thing you learn about plasma's when using them is to get more than you need. Otherwise you have to push things to hard and they don't work as well pushed to the limit. I know that a 600 would cut 1/2" but it's pretty slow going and machine cutting 1/4" would definitely push it to it's limit (it's 50% duty cycle at that thickness). One other thing is that I notice that at least some of the

600's on ebay are selling with the older PAC123 torch. I think you want to definitely make sure and get the newer torch which I believe should be a T40 for a 600. Ok I just checked and they don't make the new torch for the 600 yet. It's still using the older torch which while a good torch doesn't compare to the new design in ease of use, cut quality, and consumable life.

As for cheaper I'm pretty sure I could get you a 1000 for less than $2k but you'd have to come up here and get it. It looks like you can get one for $1945 on ebay with free shipping. I can probably beat that price but I'm not sure it would be enough to pay for the trip up here. Actually I think my price would be pretty close to the same after the tax that I would have to charge but I'd have to check to make sure (I'm basing this on memory of the quote I got about 8 months ago for one).

Believe me that this is one time when you don't want to scrimp. I was going to get the 1000 myself but they didn't have one in stock and I had to have it now so I went with the 1250. It really hurt the pocket book at the time but I'm very happy that I did.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

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Reply to
Wayne Cook

Speed isn't a big issue for my hobby projects, but I've certainly learned it doesn't make sense to skimp on the big tools. You might save a couple hundred dollars but it's rarely worth it long term for a tool that will outlast you anyway. Better to buy a good one once and never think about it again. Certainly my Syncrowave 250 is far more that I really need, but it does everything so well that even a mediocre welder like me can produce decent results.

It's taxed pretty much anywhere. I'm not one to try to skip sales tax, it's hardly worth the effort and my accountant wouldn't like it. A quick calculation indicates about $120 in gas for the RT between Denison and Shamrock. Got anything else I might need like pieces of pipe to plasma cut and weld a smoker out of?

I do like to buy quality tools. I'd rather spend more for something that will always be reliable and keep good resale value than save a few $, limp through a project with an inferior tool and have it fail on the next project.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

Speed isn't a issue for hobby alright however it's much easier to maintain a steady cut speed at the faster rate the larger machine runs. Slow speed cuts take more skill and don't lend themselves as well to drag cutting against a guide. In other words the slow speed cuts are more like using a cutting torch.

Agreed though the rate does vary some. As for other things I've got lots of stuff including two pieces of 30" pipe and some smaller pipe and tanks perfect for smoker/barbeque projects. There's also machines I need to get rid of including a 3 hole hydraulic feed paper drill, a micro form grinder (anything but micro in size), a 20" shaper, and other assorted stuff. Many things can be gotten pretty darn cheap.

Definitely though I also know the problem of having enough money for the quality tools.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

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Reply to
Wayne Cook

Actually at the moment I'd rather get the box out of my way in the shop.

I don't believe I've got your phone number.

I figured it was. The problem is still the shipping on that one.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

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Reply to
Wayne Cook

Oooh

Gunner

326 Olive Ave Taft, California, 93268
805-732-5308

I thought someone was coming this way?

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

Reply to
Gunner

Ok. I'll get that printed out and shipped as soon as a get a chance.

I've not heard anything on that in a long time. I suppose that it's fell through the cracks. My problem is that I can't come up with a heavy duty enough trailer to make the trip worth while.

Reply to
Wayne Cook

I have a HY 600 and use a RT60 torch to cut through 1/2 BHN 400. The standard torch was a little light weight in power with hard 1/2. It is specked for soft 1/2".

I plan on upgrading myself.

Martin

in Lufkin

Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH & Endowment Member NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member

Pete C. wrote:

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

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