How much would you need to spend on a plasma cutter

[Barking Mat]

I'd go transformer every time over inverter stuff, seems to last.

 

[James1979]

I'd go transformer every time over inverter stuff, seems to last.

“True dat” as the kids say

I personally think it’s because the circuits are more sensitive and prone to shorting etc in the inverter ones. IGBT plasma went pop after a couple of months.

 

[Robert Weaver]

Inverter technology can be made to a budget that means life expectancy is poor. It can also be made with a higher reserve factor, making it more robust and failure rate is lower. This is an example of mass production to achieve a compromise and balance of profit and performance.

Transformer welders, like basic hand tools, don't rely on fragile electronics.

Can't rely compare spanners and socket sets with plasma cutter for longevity.

 

[Barking Mat]

“True dat” as the kids say

I personally think it’s because the circuits are more sensitive and prone to shorting etc in the inverter ones. IGBT plasma went pop after a couple of months.

I'm starting to confuse IGBT, and LGBT, bloody political correctness.

 

[James1979]

I'm starting to confuse IGBT, and LGBT, bloody political correctness.

Yeah I made that quip to the guy at R-Tech. Wasn't impressed. Bl**dy snowflake!

I'll have you know I'm a big supporter of the Liquor, Guns, Beer and T1tties movement

 

[Barking Mat]

Yeah I made that quid to the guy at R-Tech. Wasn't impressed. Bl**dy snowflake!

I'll have you know I'm a big supporter of the Liquor, Guns, Beer and T1tties movement

Excellent, not heard that one.

 

[James1979]

It was funny till they added QA+ or whatever else on the end...

 

[skotl]

Well I am going to buy oxford plasma cutter in the next month. Its not a inverter and the weight of a packet of fags , it copper core transformer. Transformer guaranteed for 5 years but spares for 20 years . If its anything like there welders it will out last you. I got a oxford 330 single phaze , from the moment I got it till now perfect from car body to spray. I know where I would put my money . Rtec are Chinese go and look about allibaba ect and you will see the exact same welder/plasma. I contacted the seller to buy one and he told me they already had a supplier in my country and I should buy from them , ie rtec its Chinese crap, thery won't last. In my life experience buy expensive you won't regret it . Stay away from inverters they are all circuit boards. I have bought cheap inverter plasmas waste of money. Oxford welder are built right, I am not sponsored by them or anything but their oil-filled mma welder are still going after 40 years

Welcome to the forum, I guess.

You're not going to win a lot of friends with sweeping statements like these. Happy for you and your oxford but attacking technology (inverters), an entire sub-continent, and a vendor that a lot of people rate is irrelevant to your choice of purchase.

 

[bricol]

I bought a second hand no-name plasma 16 yrs ago at auction - had to fix an internal air leak from a crap bit of nylon pipe inside it last year - well, actually, it has always had that air leak, it was just last year I decided to spend some time to find it Used intermittantly, and dry stored when not. So don't necessarily discount the cheap end.

Now if it was for paid work, when downtime, or crap performance, cost money, then a different story . . .

 

[James1979]

I bought a second hand no-name plasma 16 yrs ago at auction - had to fix an internal air leak from a crap bit of nylon pipe inside it last year - well, actually, it has always had that air leak, it was just last year I decided to spend some time to find it Used intermittantly, and dry stored when not. So don't necessarily discount the cheap end.

Now if it was for paid work, when downtime, or crap performance, cost money, then a different story . . .

I think that’s the thing I forget sometimes. I tend to look at things as a ‘will it earn its keep’ and downtime, backup etc view rather than a part time user.

 

[Matchless]

My BOC mig went wrong last year, thinking back I bought it when a local industrial estate was redeveloped into housing, it was well old, I paid I think £60.00 for it, with a cylinder, I had it at home for a few years, then took it to work when the work one died, then it came back home, it has done a lot of work, trailer, truck, motorcycle builds, used several times a week, it must be 40 years old, I will repair it, no wire feed, may be just a relay, fortunately I had a spare welder so just swopped the wire and gas over, the spare was free and probably only 20 years old......

 

[Joe 90]

Welcome to the forum, I guess.

You're not going to win a lot of friends with sweeping statements like these. Happy for you and your oxford but attacking technology (inverters), an entire sub-continent, and a vendor that a lot of people rate is irrelevant to your choice of purchase.

I disagree, I found his post very helpful, I think it is relevant to know its just a Chinese machine you can buy from Chinese website and not a better machine that you are buying. From what I read on here their is a lot of machines coming from rtech that dont even work when new. Only for those reviews on here that is were I would have purchased and would have thought it was their own machine.
I didn't know that plasma cutters was inverters and transformers the same as welders. So I'm glad he did point that out. I bought a transformer welder due to this website saying they were far more reliable and will outlast inverters.
Do you disagree with his statement that transformer plasma cutter are more reliable?

 

[Hood]

...
Do you disagree with his statement that transformer plasma cutter are more reliable?

As I mentioned earlier I have had 2 plasma cutters, the TecArc (transformer based) and the Jasic (Inverter). The Jasic I can't say much regards longevity as I haven't had it too long but it has a 5 year warranty, whether that will be needed or how good it will be if it is needed I don't know.
The TecArc lasted me 3 or 4 years although thinking back it was giving issues long before that and may actually have been doing so from new, the reason I never really noticed was it was gradual. One thing worth noting is even though TecArcs are transformer based they still have some circuitry and an IGBT, the latter is what I think is wrong with mine. Big problem for me was to send back for repair would have been a half pallet and that is not the cheapest of things up this way, pallet companies class me as Highlands and Islands even though I am definitely not, add on insurance and it gets very pricy.
Also worth mentioning that the Oxford, from what I gather, has even more electronics than the TecArc. That is not a bad thing as long as the quality of the electronic components used is good which it likely is although, as mine has shown, that is not always a guarantee that you won't have issues.

Will a transformer based machine outlast an inverter, I would say that depends. Have a good brand transformer based machine and a low cost inverter then it is most likely it will, have it the other way round then the inverter will likely last longer.

 

[daleyd]

To add some balance to the inverter/transformer debate where I worked previously our tame fabricator had a cebora plasma that lead a dogs life. He’d had it a few years when I started there and it was still going when I left 9 years later - it was dragged up and down inside small burner chambers, run off long extension leads, dropped, full of dust and generally abused terribly...

A transformer based machine just wouldn’t have even been a consideration due to the size/weight for the type of work he does.

Also for hobbyists the only transformer based machines available are probably way over budget for most - I appreciate it’s not comparing apples to apples but Lidl selling them for £80 has opened the use of a plasma to an audience who just wouldn’t have been able to afford to splash out on an Oxford.

 

[Robbie260]

It all depends on how much your willing to spend, there is plenty of transformer machines out there that are basic and will get the job done but will keep on soldiering on until dooms day. Conversely there are plenty of inverter machines that have been used for donkeys years in industry and hire fleets from the top manufactures like EWM, Fronius, Castolin etc etc that are still soldiering on 10 years later but these are usually big money machines. I haven't really ever heard of a hypertherm going pop but then again I don't have one or use one everyday so can't really say one will last. There are plenty of both styles of machine which are utter rubbish butat the end of the day you usually get what you pay for. I'm on relatively the same mission looking for a mig and I'd say that if you want any machine that will last you just have to be willing to ignore the price tag. It might not garuntee a problem free machine but it should make for one that at least has good customer support and will be fixed quickly if and when it gose wrong but hopefully never will, though you can never discount getting that Friday afternoon machine just by pot luck.

 

[Robbie260]

AirJet Compact plasma cutting

AirJet compact is a portable plasma cutting unit. Thanks to its compact construction and low weight, it is the ideal partner for mobile interventions. No external compressor is required for high quality cuts of up to 6 mm in steel (up to 10 mm split cut). The performance can be increased to 10...

www.castolin.com

A machine like this would be my personal choice as it has an internal compressor for site work but still has the ability to connect an external compressor for an increased cut capacity and to save the life of the internal compressor when possible. Its also made by a well established manufacturer with a good reputation, ready backup and a reputation for machines that have a long service life.

 

[Turbo]

No matter whether a plasma is inverter or transformer based it will still have quite a lot of electronics, you can't generate the plasma flame or HF start any other way!
Whilst I agree that a transformer should be more reliable long term that can be affected by the power supply. An inverter based plasma or welder will run happily on a less than ideal power supply or long extension lead without affecting performance very much.
But trying to run a transformer based unit on the same setup will seriously affect the performance of the machine & could shorten the life of the transformer due to it running hot.

I had to have my old buzzbox welder set at 180a to run 3.2 rods when I was welding in the cattle sheds due to having to run long extension leads. The first time I used my inverter set in the same location I kept having to turn it down as I was cutting holes in everything!

Though I did discover the downside of inverters when that same welder fell off the bench onto the floor, damaging it beyond economical repair! I went back to my old reliable oil cooled pickhill for a good while before buying another inverter!

 

[Bornfree]

I have a Air Liquide mig which is 20 years old.

I thought I was the only one to have an air liquide mig. Don't see many about.

 

[printcom]

My vote would go with the Oxford cutmaker, I have only had a CM700 for a couple of years now but as yet no complaints, it just feels like its going to last longer than the Hypertherm it replaced - only time will tell.

 

[henry Kadzielski]

Mt two cents worth. I have a PM125 (Hypertherm) and have had it since 2013. Now it was purchased for the CNC table that I was to build. The CNC table was built, however in the early years the cnc didn't do much work. I also have two 3phase transformer machines (one 40/80 amps the other 60/90/120/150 amps the more amps the better). Now the transformer machines I have had for over 20 years, but have done more kilometers in the back of the truck than centimeters of cutting material. The transformer machines still work, but are mostly dust collectors. The PM125 has started do do some work now , cutting alli for boats, S/S and steel plate for playground equipment. The point of this post is even thought the PM125 is a Hypertherm, which are supposed to be long lasting and reliable I have had trouble. Don't have it completely located but either a control card or the pressure regulator inside the machine. For a CNC attached plasma it still had not done much work for it's life (internal log of arc hours) but it had problems, they were resolved but not without some headache. Is it a good machine, well I would say yes, it does what it claims on the box. The consumables last quite long and it has the ability to be controlled by the CNC software all the things that I wanted / needed. Unfortunately you ultimately will only find out over time regardless of what you buy, it depends upon you own individual requirements. If you are getting a machine to make a living out off, then you get the best you can afford, that way you limit the possible problems later. Enough said!