Using co2 gas with plasma cutter

[Erie Fred]

Correct but a 50l tank at 1800psi is only 102 cubic feet of air pretty sure my plasma runs about 5CFM at 80psi so will use it up pretty quick, can be done but very expensively. 1-2hrs of use probably buys a compressor

You missed the "CO2 is a liquid" part sir.
Buying a compressor ? Op might not have enough powerline to run both the compressor & plasma.

 

[Erie Fred]

Ain't never seen liquid CO2.....
Must be quite sublime.....

Why do they fill the bottle when it's sitting on a scale ?
Just like propane.

 

[dieselsamurai]

You missed the "CO2 is a liquid" part sir.
Buying a compressor ? Op might not have enough powerline to run both the compressor & plasma.

Very true i forgot about that

You could charge compressor then cut until below pressure and charge again still think using bottles would only be good if you have access to very cheap ones

from original post I think he's hoping to run both of the same bottle and yes can be done but wont last very long but could be enough to get job done

 

[henry Kadzielski]

Ie, if you use pure nitrogen you get a 20% increase in cut at the same power setting.

Sorry to be a party pooper, this is not correct. In fact the reverse is true. With no oxygen in the air stream there is no exothermic reaction, hence the cutting is slower for steel. Stainless is also slower, not quite as much and aluminium there is no noticable change. Aluminium is purely a thermal cutting process so speed doesn't change. This is all compared to the cut charts from Hypertherm. I have a nitrogen generator, which I cut S/S and aluminium with and have directly noticed this. Haven't tried (as far as I can remember ) steel with nitrogen, but S/S is about 80% of the cut charts cutting speed. Edge finish is on S/S is varstly better and alloy is also but a little better. My two cents worth