Olderisbetter
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I have a GYS 30a 10 years old still does a great job but i rarely need to cut more than 2mm, no built in compressor but i have a decent sized one in the shed
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gaz1
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i walked away from one of the expensive ones even i could buy for 100.00 for a 1500.00 machine as it was a high risk 2nd hand market
ive bought a cut50 without a plug on it but that only had a days guarantee on it enough to take home test it and if faulty return it
my advice dont buy used unless you can test it yes theres been a few on ebay
but you can buy a new cut50 from ebay
are both better together well to be honnest not in my eyes
i prefere them seperate and a 40-50 one is ample enough to cut 3-5mm steel there great on thin steel once that compressor starts unless you have the amps goning through the machine to run both you are going to stop
might as well have them seperate and run 2 extension leads a good thick extension lead will run a plasma cutter ive also run 2 wall steamers on the same extension all day for full 8 hrs worth of time
not done it yet
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Parkside do (or did) one. Mine is. And no, you probably don’t want one with a built-in compressor.
You will likely be buying more nozzles, if you don’t have some means of feeding it with dry air. The 1100W lidl air pump (with a water trap in the line) would likely suffice - but limited run times on those high speed compressors.
skotl
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TBH I'm not sure that other than a lack of warranty (which of course needs to be factored into the price paid) there's any particularly increased risk in buying a second hand unit that you've tested working before using.
If I go into the garage now my 7 year old CUT-50 will either still be working and could keep working for another seven years, or it could fail and will end up in the bin. Not sure that being 1, 5, 7 or 10 years old is necessarily a factor.
If I go into the garage now my 7 year old CUT-50 will either still be working and could keep working for another seven years, or it could fail and will end up in the bin. Not sure that being 1, 5, 7 or 10 years old is necessarily a factor.
stanbester
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I have Hypertherm Powermax 30 for sale if you're going for second hand machine
Shedendman
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At the end of the day,you'll still get the grinder(or whatever) out to clean up the edges
8ob
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Hard to answer that, I bought a Murex tradecut 20s as spares or repairs for £100. Got it home and attacked the insides with an airline, it needed a new air regulator and that was about it. Been using that for about four years now with no issues. If it needed much more than that it would have gone in the scrap.
Bob
The Mad Scientist
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I've never used a machine with a built-in compressor - I struggle with the mechanics of a tiny compressor being able to adequately supply the compressed air needs of a plasma cutter. My current machine is the R-Tech P50HF. Had a Plasma Part Cut 50 Air Start before and a R-Tech 30 Amp before that. The Cut 50 seemed OK, until I tried cutting stainless. It was hopeless on 3mm plate unless the amperage was maxxed out. The R-Tech is in a whole different league. It eats 3 mm stainless at about 25 Amps.
Plasma cutters need lots of good quality, clean, oil-free, dry air. I seriously doubt that the built-in compressor models provide this. If the air quality isn't great, you'll eat consumables. I had piston compressors before - noisy, hot, low-efficiency and spewed oil. I blew a month's pay on a Hydrovane HV02 at the beginning of this year and haven't looked back.
I'd say you want a pilot arc/HF start machine, especially if you're going to cut less than pristine metals. Amperage will depend on what you envisage cutting. A quality torch with readily available consumables is a must. You'll get through a lot of nozzles and tips, especially in the beginning, so it's best to go with an industry standard torch that is replaceble and uses readily available consumables.
hotponyshoes
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Some big name brands (including hypertherm) do plasmas with built-in compressors so they must be fairly confident in them...
The Mad Scientist
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Yes, Hypertherm's Powermax 30 Air has one, but it's only 35% duty cycle at 30 Amps and I suspect that's mainly compressor limited...... It's a lot of dough for portability. It costs almost as much as my Hydrovane air compressor, which should be good for ~100,000 hours if serviced regularly.
hotponyshoes
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That's the same duty cycle as the 30XP so I'd think the compressor is good for it.
Aggree, it's expensive for portability.
But you won't get a hydrovane for £150 and you get both compressor and the plasma for that from Lidl
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James1979
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Just to chuck in that Lincoln make a plasma cutter with a built in compressor which I have used.
I hired it in for using away from any reliable air. It was alright actually. On a 240v supply. You’re not going to be hacking ships apart with it, but for what I needed it was more precise than a grinder and a gas torch was too aggressive really.
I’d hire it again
I hired it in for using away from any reliable air. It was alright actually. On a 240v supply. You’re not going to be hacking ships apart with it, but for what I needed it was more precise than a grinder and a gas torch was too aggressive really.
I’d hire it again
finyuk2005
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never tried one of these, but i know thier mig welders are very good,
I always wondered why no other manufacturers go much above 30amp with compressors built in
hotponyshoes
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[QUOTE="finyuk2005, post: 2239935,
I always wondered why no other manufacturers go much above 30amp with compressors built in
[/QUOTE]
Lack of market demand?
I'd guess most places that want a 30a+ plasma won't be doing much mobile work or will already have big compressors?
If you go much bigger it might not be portable so not much advantage?
And power available from the one plug?
Warrior and a few others do seem to do some single phase stuff that goes higher but the majority of manafactures seem to limit themselves to 32a plugs.
I think the normal lidl plasma came with a 13a plug and the compressor version had a 16a.
I'm not sure if there is any technical reason why you couldn't just double the output of the lidl version and run it from 32a.
I'd guess lidl would rather sell to light hobby users rather than trying to target the commercial market and have to provide parts support etc.
I always wondered why no other manufacturers go much above 30amp with compressors built in
[/QUOTE]
Lack of market demand?
I'd guess most places that want a 30a+ plasma won't be doing much mobile work or will already have big compressors?
If you go much bigger it might not be portable so not much advantage?
And power available from the one plug?
Warrior and a few others do seem to do some single phase stuff that goes higher but the majority of manafactures seem to limit themselves to 32a plugs.
I think the normal lidl plasma came with a 13a plug and the compressor version had a 16a.
I'm not sure if there is any technical reason why you couldn't just double the output of the lidl version and run it from 32a.
I'd guess lidl would rather sell to light hobby users rather than trying to target the commercial market and have to provide parts support etc.
