Which compressor for use with cut 50?

[Mart63]

I am about to buy a cut 50 and as a noob to both plasma cutters and compressors I haven't got a clue which compressor to buy. Seen a lot of 24 litre machines on eBay for £70-£90 and 50 litre machines for £85-£125 that are within my budget. Should I go for a 50 litre machine or is a 24 litre one good enough. Seen lots of different makes such as Cobra, Richmond, and SGS. Does anyone recommend one make over another or are they all the same cheap Chinese machines with different badges? Any information would be gratefully received.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Some small CFM compressors may not keep pace with a plasma cutter, so the bigger the tank to the better to act as a reservoir. if you have room,

 

[Mart63]

All of the compressors I have been looking at seem to be 9.6cfm, so the larger tank will mean it kicks in less frequently and will save on wear and tear? I'm sure there are other reasons to buy one with a bigger tank, but never having even used a compressor before I really am clueless. Is the physical size difference really that much? (I'm just looking at pictures on eBay at the moment so can't really see the difference in size).

 

[gaz1]

its better to have a 40 litre air compressor than a 25 litre compressor tank

 

[gordon stephenson]

Above is true, But depends on your budget, And some degree to your electricity supply to your workshop, a larger compressor will take more supply, Is your feed able to keep both plasma and compressor going at the same time, Plus what other electrical item are being used, Lights etc.

 

[Mart63]

My workshop is in a 6th form college. Got a double socket near the back door in our resins room so I was going to use it outside to avoid a fire risk. Nowhere inside I can use it safely really. Got a lot of 3 phase equipment and as far as I know the electrics are very good.

 

[Rusty]

It's the cfm output that matters, a large tank might seem a good idea but if the pump can't keep up with the air tool you are using the useful level of air pressure will soon be used up and the pump will continue to run, you might get 10mins continuous work with a large tank but if the pump is not up to it you'll be waiting 20mins for the pressure to build up again.

 

[Mart63]

I was leaning towards the SGS one for no reason other than I like the look of it. Glad to know it's a good buy.

 

[skotl]

I started with a 25L Aldi (or Lidl...) compressor with my cut50 and it was fine except that it would keep cutting in and sometimes run continuously.
I moved up to a Wolf Dakota 90L and never looked back - cuts in far less frequently and (more important to me) is much, much quieter.

It depends on your budget - if you're just getting started then a 25L one will work. When I bought mine, it was a no-brainer cos it was about £65 but now I think they've doubled in price. So if you're going to spend £130 on a 24L or £230 on the 90L Wolf then, if you can afford it, got for the bigger one straight away.

But if you can get the smaller one for less than £130, or money is tight, or even space is tight (the 90L unit is a lot bigger than the small one) then you'll be fine for a while with that smaller one.

Think I got £80 for my little one when I sold it, so actually made a profit on it so factor in that you'll get some cash back if you upgrade at a later date.