Plasma surprise

Apr 19, 2004 7 Replies
L

I bought a Thermal-Dynamics Cutmaster 75 and a 300 cu ft bottle of nitrogen........ going first class so far right?



I have a 220v/ 30a circuit for my Miller 210 welder and used up one bottle of nitrogen tweaking the psi, using different tips, etc. The results were not good. Alright, I ran a new 220v/ 60a circuit and re-filled the bottle of nitrogen. The results still were awful. I called the store and eventually spoke with the factory rep. "That machine is set up for compressed air." NOW HE TELLS ME. Fortunately I have a compressor that can keep up with the plasma cutter. NOW I'M HAPPY. It really is a nice machine, once you get it set up right. The POWER I now have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I read about using nitrogen here and thought it would work. The boys at Air-Gas were surprised also, that it didn't. I wonder why some of you can use nitrogen & I can't ??? ........ air is fine, the problem is to find more stuff to cut.


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K

did you read the directions or just skip them ??

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R

I used a plasma outfit years ago that operated on two gasses. One was nitrogen and the other was shielding gas. I believe argon. As long as your air is super clean you should have a lot of fun. Can you gouge with your outfit? I got to gouge with a plasma last year and was impressed. Randy.

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L

Did I read the directions? They say...........

3.06 Gas Connections A. Gas Requirements Gases: Single Gas - Plasma/Secondary Compressed Air or Nitrogen (N2) Only Pressure: 70 psi (4.8 bar)

So THERE. (Actually, I did skip them.)

Yes, the machine can gouge - they say. I was cutting bolt holes through a 1/4 flange yesterday. Starting the holes looked like gouging so I aught to be able to remove welds too. They sell a special gouging tip, of course, but I didn't use one, of course. Now all I need is a 55 gal drum to catch the splatter and better filters for the air and a bigger welder for heaver welds and and ...........

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W

plasma cutters are the cats ass! i have a small drag-gun (firepower equivalent) and i have been making all kinds of crap with it. The handiest tool in my garage. Enjoy, walt

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T

I also have a Thermal Dynamics plazma cuuter (a Pak Master 50). I tried both N2 and air when I got it and saw little difference except N2 cost a bunch more. Haven't used N2 since. Are you *sure* you got pure N2?

Ted

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R

Get the gouging tip ... I found that I could realy control my cut and peel layers off just like a carbon. Randy

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T

I have "gouging tips" for my TD plasma cutter. The difference is a somewhat bigger hole. Do I need anything else beside technique? Speeking of which, would you say more about this, please? I have tried plasma gouging with very limited success and would like to get into it a bit more.

Ted

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