Leaning towards this one .
https://www.amazon.com/Lotos-LTP500...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
https://www.amazon.com/Lotos-LTP500...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
Plasma cutter recommendation
- Thread starter SS396driver
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I have used a Lincoln for years at work, good thing a bout this one it has a built in compressor so very portable, I have a cheap Sealey at home and it's not very good.
OH_Varmntr
Burner of stored sunlight
It would be interesting to see how it compares internally to my little Chinese inverter unit that's somewhere around 10 years old now. Consumables are cheap, so buy then in bulk so you have plenty on hand.
Let us know what you decide and most importantly post pics when you get one.
I skipped the first page. Most recently I've been using my dad's 65amp Eastwood and my brother got a 50 amp "yes weld" plasma cutter. Really I think they are the same machines, much like the lotus you have linked from Amazon. Just different cases. Either will sever 1/2" pretty cleanly. Both do well under 1/2". Consumables seem to be the issue as they come with cheap stuff that doesn't seem to last very long, especially with the machine maxed out. They are good for home/hobby use. I should really buy my own.
Ol' Brian
ArboristSite Guru
I don't have one (yet...) but I've always heard that moisture in the air supply with eat up the consumables really quickly... have to give them dry air.
Exactly what I'll be using it for. I also ordered one of these
It's only when you have them maxed out it's an issue. Don't know how my brother keeps after his compressor, but dad's has my old water/oil filter system on it. I have a similar, but newer system that includes an dessicnt trap at my place. Moisture isn't a issues at least for me.
i wouldnt mess with anything under 800 lol just buy a oxy acetyl torch
Nothing like a good metal saw.
Have one .
Sierra_rider
Piss revver
I bought my Hobart 40i a few years ago. It's been great, but I see that the price is almost up to $2k now. I'm not up on plasma cutter tech, but when I bought it, one of the selling points was the pilot arc. Makes it easier cutting perforated or expanded metal.
As far as size, mine cuts fairly fast through 1/4" steel. 1/2" is doable and 5/8" is reallllly slow. They claim a max cut thickness of 7/8", but that's laughably optimistic.
For air, I'm running an 80 gallon, 2 stage IR compressor. Right now, my plasma and my compressor share a circuit...so I use them one at a time, but I can get quite a bit of cut time on one tank. I run a desiccant dryer on the air supply to the plasma.
As far as size, mine cuts fairly fast through 1/4" steel. 1/2" is doable and 5/8" is reallllly slow. They claim a max cut thickness of 7/8", but that's laughably optimistic.
For air, I'm running an 80 gallon, 2 stage IR compressor. Right now, my plasma and my compressor share a circuit...so I use them one at a time, but I can get quite a bit of cut time on one tank. I run a desiccant dryer on the air supply to the plasma.
Ol' Brian
ArboristSite Guru
YEP!! I've got an OLD Harbor Freight metal saw... back when their stuff was ORANGE... Chicago Electric?? I think is the brand on it. Anyway... That thing works great. I don't use it much, but it works great. And it hasn't burned up yet.
Automender
ArboristSite Operative
I purchased this over two years ago during Amazon Prime Days and paid the same as the deal you linked. I have only used it on 110 volts and was not to satisfied with cutting anything over 1/8 inch. It will cut 1/4 but not the best finish. I believe you need 220 volts to be satisfied. I have seen machines that cost ten times as much cut super clean but this machine will require some grinder cleanup.
The company seems to be reputable and sent me a new unit when the output meter was stuck on 220 volt scale so it showed 50 amp output when on 110 volts. They paid shipping for the new one and returning the old one plus they sent me a set of consumables.
I haven't used it very much to say how reliable it is or will be. My neighbor has done a ton of research and bought one four years ago and is happy with it. I can say it doesn't cut high carbon steel very well on 110 ac.
I tried 1/4 inch car spring steel and it failed but carbon steel is different. I also had a firepit made from low carbon steel but figured over three years of burning it absorbed carbon or was case hardened. I wanted to cut larger vent holes and a metal hole saw wouldn't scratch the surface. It was dirty and rusted and the plasma cutter cut the holes in the 3/16 inch steel LP gas tank end bell that I used for the firepit. The non contact feature was the only way to cut the rusty/dirty metal.
I’ll be running 220v 90% of the time 110v would probably only be done out in the field at my house with the generator in the bed of the truck
cre73
Always Lurking, never posting
A couple years ago I purchased a Primeweld CT520DP 50A Pilot Arc Plasma Cutter. It is a multipurpose machine. I have used the plasma cutter quite a bit and have been very happy with it, fairly slow cutting 1/2". I also used the stick welder just to test it out and it worked fine. Have not used the tig function yet, not sure if I will due to some issues I have with my hands.
I have had mine since 03, it has cut thousands of feet of plate.
Try to keep material from vibrating as much as possible, vibration kills blade life. I normally try to use 4 rough cut 2x to cut on, it keeps the material supported and the wood helps with the vibration. I cut a lot of 1/4" plate, if I do my part I can get 400ft of cut out of a blade.
The Milwaukee blades have always worked well for me but Sterling blades cut just as good and are half the price.
Dump the chip tray often it holds a lot of heat when full. I cooked mine while still under warranty, so learned a few lessons the hard way.
An unsupported plate will take the carbide off a blade really fast and pushing too hard smokes a motor. They are a very good tool and incredibly useful.
And wear ear protection
and long sleeve shirts to protect from hot "sawdust"? I cut aluminum with a regular circular saw and the chips are HOT.
I did quite a bit of research when I started looking for a plasma years ago and at that time as well, Hypertherm was the one everyone was recommending. I was doing a lot of stainless work along with normal steel fabrication. I ended up getting a Powermax 1100. It's a 70 amp machine. It can cut through pretty thick stuff. Worked great and if you use your head, consumables are pretty minimum. Biggest tip I can give anyone to save $ is to drill a hole to start when doing an inside cut. Back splash will wipe out stuff faster than anything.Hypertherm IMHO is also the best but now retired and my MILLER cutter going dead after 28 hours but 5 years after purchase (couple of continental moves in between) I had to look elsewhere. So I picked a Primeweld CUT 60 it has done everything I've asked of it which include 1/2" steel. Unfortunately I was going to get a small CNC plasma table Langmuir at some future date but after buying the Primeweld Langmuir, the last time I checked, doesn't support the Primeweld 60 pre 2021
Worked great and after about a month I got a letter from Hypertherm offering me an new upgraded torch that was supposed to be better. It was like $500.00 and mine worked fine for me so I passed. Fast forward about 4 years later and went to use it and nothing. Ended up taking it to the dealer I bought it from and talked with the guy who fixed the equipment. He asked me when I bought it and I told him 4 years ago. He told me that I must REALLY take care of my equipment because they had most come back within a year as the torch leads wires broke and there is no fixing the old ones, you have to buy the new torch lead(the same one they offered as an "upgrade". He said Hypertherm knew there was an issue.
I lost a LOT of respect for Hypertherm then and realized why they offered a new torch so quick. When you buy a machine that is over $2500.00 and you have a quality issue, suck it up and make it right. Oh.....all the old consumables naturally won't work with the new torch either so you were out even more. LOL
Another thing people don't talk about with Plasma cutting is the fact that on thicker stuff, your kerf wisth is almost double the size. If you want a starighter edge you have to lean the torch some to have the bigeer ange on the waste side. You get above 1/2" and it really becomes apparent.
Sometimes your edges surface will also become hardened too. They say you can oversome by cutting speeds and such but happens a lot to me. It's just the surface and you can grind that off and then you're good to go.
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