plasma cutter, good or bad

[bouzirouge]

hi guys, bit disappointed with the last answer. are these things really worth having? i do a lot of car, and motorcycle work. i'm often left with bare shells/and crashed cars to scap. i cut these up with an angle grinder at the moment and trailer them to the scrap dealer. i'm going to the uk next week and need some idea of the value of this machine(see previous thread for pictures) and it's capabilities. it's a subject i know nothing about. i've searched and even taken to reading all the threads on this subject to try and gain a crash course before i make an offer for it, but it doesn't seem to be as well discussed as most other things are here. i infer from this these are a bit more "special" or specialist than migs n' arcs. any info at all will be adding to my knowledge, so please even if you think it's obvious, say your piece. i can take it! regards, stewart

 

[weldequip]

Not one I've ever heard of so it must be old. Generally, if you are after something for nothing & buying old equipment you can expect headaches & extra costs...that's why somebody is giving them away in the first place.
Cetainly looks a well made machine but you are very unlikely to get spare parts for it, particularly torch spares; although there are common torches on Plasmas they tend not to be like MIGs with industry standard, interchangeable parts.
Certainly a useful tool for your type of work though & would save time.
weldequip

 

[bouzirouge]

hi, thanks for the info. common sense really. i've searched on the net, and these seem to be eastern block manufacture. you get tons of hits on them, just in writing with exotic letters we don't use. company still exists so spares still a possibility. it was more the practical side i had in mind. all i know about plasma cutters is they cut metal. am i using a hammer to crack an egg, or am i throwing tennis balls at battleships type of thing. if it works, can be kept working, and will do what i want i certainly want to buy it if it's affordable. but it's offers and i don't have the first clue how much that should be. 10,100,1000,10000? 10 is good,100 do-able the rest, well i've still got an angle grinder. regards, stewart

 

[weldequip]

Don't forget you'll need a good sized compressor to run it from, you can't just plug em into the mains & start chopping
weldequip

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

how many cars do you need to cut up and is it business 'critical'?

The cheap Chinese cutters will probably be OK for a couple a week and assuming you can get by for while if it fails.

More work and something that /has/ to work and you'd be better off buying a good quality set for three times the price.

Cheapo sets sell new on Ebay for £180 to £280 or so.

Also maybe consider if it's a business then can you put it through your accounts and get something off your tax?

Regards
Peter

 

[R Kraft]

Many of the cheap plasma cutters will stand "No" abuse.
Most are purchased by people who have never run one before.
The buyer does many things wrong and kills them,before they can learn the right way to use them.
Ignoring the duty cycle and depending on the thermal cutout seems the most common.
Robert

 

[bouzirouge]

what's it worth?

hi guys, the amount of cutting i do can vary, some weeks i've a project on the go and there's no room, or no desire to make a mess and cutting has to wait. other times it's far to many for my liking. bl***y hard work with a grinder, and expensive on blades. 1st. my workshop has a good 3 phase supply, second i've an ingersoll rand 270litre 7.5hp compressor that i don't think works hard enough. 3rd. i'm in france so a receipt from the uk in sterling will be of no interest to my accountant. cash is king, in france especially. is this thing worth going to see? can i afford it? i'm leaving sunday so really need some kind of ballpark to be working in. man's selling two identical from a factory closure. go on someone stick their neck out. how much would you pay for one of these? how much would you sell one for? why is the figure different? thanks to all who have contributed so far. regards, stewart

 

[bouzirouge]

saved, or lost out

hi guys, well 100pounds was the selling price, didn't go for it though. still don't know whether i saved myself or missed a bargain. does anyone here know anything about these things? might still look for one but that's the last time i'll be in the uk for a long time so maybe next year. better stock up on the angle cutter blades in the meantime. 3euro a piece over here and 10 might cut up a car. at 4 cars i'd have broken even, but only if this machine was powerful enough for the job. anyone suggest a place in sw france i can get a machine powerfull enough and runs 3 phase for 100euro? is anyone prepared to say how much power i need to cut up a car?
thanks to all who contributed, regards stewart