cut 40 for light hobby use?

[pondy]

on the market for a plasma cutter. will only be used for car pannels etc and wont get used a great deal, maybe a few times a month so not looking to spend alot of money on somthing with all the bells wissle. have been reading about the cut 40 for hours, some people have used them for years with no issues and others have alot of issues, red light coming on? im not intrested in sending it back or repairing it everytime i use it!

looking on ebay there are two options.
1,http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PLASMA-CU...921?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2576f90011

says it has everything, 12 month warranty, cheapest i have found so far

2, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/40Amp-Pla...?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item416d506f50

2 years warranty and its been used and 'tested' for an hour before sending it out? is that really worth an extra £150?

will i be able to run these off my little aldi 25l compressor, has an extra 25l tank fitted to it

 

[Shox Dr]

The more expensive listing states; 'It takes up to an hour' SO not everyone, I also think its not so much of a test but a make sure it works before we send it out.

 

[Shox Dr]

Also I not going to go on about 2yr warranties. But everything has a 2yr warranty.

Whether the seller is still around in 2 yrs is another thing, as they well mybe the importer as well so you could be stuck with a machine that doesn;t work and you cant find someone who can.

Having said that there was a guy on here that repaired then around Nottingham

 

[langy]

I bought a cheap cut50 off ebay about 2 years ago, I mostly cut 3mm & 6mm, gets used 3-4 times a week, still working and does a decent cut

 

[FranV8]

Plasma part have a good rep as far as I can tell, plus they specifically say it's a commercial use warranty.

I went for an Eastwood from Frost's at similar money. Nicely designed unit and one of the cheapest with pilot arc.

 

[squazy84]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plasma-cu...607&pid=100009&prg=1013&rk=3&sd=160909819921&

 

[pondy]

Plasma part do a fixed repair price of £100 inc collection and with a 2-3 day tun around. After buying a non working machine you would be better off buying a new machine with a warranty

 

[steve.h]

I have had a cut40 from the guy at plasmapart but before he joined the plasmapart co, the machine has been great, not let me down yet, the seller was very helpful before and after the sale, for diy use I would recommend to anyone, consumables are cheap enough too.
no I dont have anything to do with the company.
HTH
steve.

 

[Windy Miller]

I have had a cut40 from the guy at plasmapart but before he joined the plasmapart co, the machine has been great, not let me down yet, the seller was very helpful before and after the sale, for diy use I would recommend to anyone, consumables are cheap enough too.
no I dont have anything to do with the company.
HTH
steve.

I bought one from the same guy pre Plasma Part, and I can't speak highly enough of him. He's a very skilled and knowledgeable bloke, and probably more importantly, a thoroughly decent chap!

10/10 from me, and I have nothing to do with the company either!

 

[pondy]

Would you say buying from plasma part is worth the extra £150 or get the cheaper one. If it breaks after a year then pay £100 to have it repaired?
Never used a plasma before, looked on youtube to find out what hf and pilot arc is, since the cut 40 only has hf and I req to cut a painted surface do I need to clean the whole area I want to cut to bear metal or just a small bit to get an arc started?

 

[steve.h]

From what I was told they bought them in then tested and fiddled with them, they said there were issues with build quality IIRC, so they fixed them and tested before shiping to you. I only paid £250 for mine, it was 18+ months ago though. When I bought mine he did have a "newer" one, different shape basically, but I was happy with the older shape for less money. Really it is down to aftersales, it does depend on if the seller on fleabay will honer any repairs or not, or if they will even be around in 6 months. When I asked plasmapart if they would still cover my cut40 they were quite happy to look after me..
HTH

 

[pondy]

i think im going to spend the extra £150 and go with the plasmapart one.

has anyone got a cut 40 not from plasma part and had any issues?

also been thinking about the eastwood vera with has pilot arc and it £370

 

[steve.h]

I dont have any experience with eastwood, but I have heard good comments on here, having a pilot arc would be a very useful bonus, I would have gone for that if I had to pay nearly as much for the cut40, try speaking to plasmapart and see if they will do you a good deal based on the fact you can get one with pilot arc for virtually the same money ??
But please dont make a choice based on my thoughts alone, see what others say first, read up about the two and any reviews on machines and afterdsales...
HTH

 

[pondy]

I emailed both frost and plasma part to see if they would Do a deal on some cutters, both emailed me back, frost will do an eastwood versa cut for £330, normally £375, plasma part said they would Do a deal but didn't accually give me a price, I never bothered to give them a call as I'm going to get an eastwood as it seems a better machine,

Now compressors, am I going to to be able to run this machine on my 25l aldi compressor? At home I won't cut over 3mm and that won't be for very long, will mainly be car panels which will have a lower air pressure? I do have another 25l tank that I can link to mg compressor.

 

[steve.h]

I know the plasma part one will run on a small 2hp 25l compressor, it does run all the time after about a minute of cutting, but its fine, You need to look at air consumtion for the plasma machines and compare that to the compressors, the FAD free air delivery is what you are looking at with the compressors, my little compressorgives 4cfm fad so is fine for the cut40.
HTH.

 

[pondy]

i ended up buying a eastwood versa cut from frost auto. i spoke to mohammed via email and he gave me a great deal on one, and had it with my the next day. went with this over the cut 40 as i liked the idea of a pilot arc.

the guy at plasma part was also willing to do a deal on cut 40 aswell

 

[steve.h]

Good stuff, I must say I do like the ideaof a pilot are, although I am used to mine now. I spent ages playing with mine when I got it, reduced lots of steel to little pieces, great fun....

 

[Exuptoy]

The Giant cut 40 is a cracking piece of kit for little money. I got mine used from ebay but they are only £198 with the company in Blackburn on fleebay. For the money I couldn't ask for more. Very impressed, no distortion on car bodywork and still cuts 10mm bar. Cheap consumables too. Got mine from china on ebay real cheap.

 

[geoffdown]

I bought a cheap cut50 off ebay about 2 years ago, I mostly cut 3mm & 6mm, gets used 3-4 times a week, still working and does a decent cut

which plasma cut50 did u get and who from and sorry for all the questions if u dont mind how much did it cost thanks

 

[chevy2]

I also bought the Eastwood,
Had a list of things i wanted in a plasma...
Front power switch,
Front regulator guage and adjuster,
6metre torch,
Pilot arc,
Uk based warranty(3years with frost on this one)
Eastwood had all these, the only i did was add a 2ft extension to the airline so i dont have to climb around the back to plug the airline in.