My first plasma cutter: Hobart AirForce 40i or HF Titanium 65 amp?

[MelvinManiac]

I can get the Hobart for $1855 or the Titanium from HF for $1000.

Have some 1/2" to 5/8" metal I need to cut holes in and I'm sure will find other uses over the years. Won't be using professionally.

Hobart is rated at 5/8" max cut 7/8". Titanium is rated up to 1 3/16".

I don't trust HF tools very much. I had purchased a Titanium welder a few years ago everyone spoke highly of for the price...Didn't get around to using it until several months later and it was totally dead out of the box. Did not work at all. Tore it down and saw nothing obviously wrong internally. Threw it in the trash. Total waste of money.

So, obviously I'm leaning toward the Hobart...unless anyone has another suggestion. If I did get the Titanium, I would add the extra warranty on top of it, for sure...and I never buy added warranties.

Unless anyone else has other suggestions.

 

[LXCam]

You already know the answer. You’re not saving a dime if the unit $hits the bed at some point down the road regardless of warranty. HF doesn’t have a history of being able to support their products long term. Every couple of years they move on to something else. At least with Hobart you have a history of fully supported products and consumables.

 

[Rinspeed]

Slightly used Hypertherm would be my suggestion.

 

[zendriver]

If you don’t trust Harbor Freight tools, why are you even considering it?

Imo all of Harbor Freight’s plasma cutters are overpriced, considering their capabilities, so I just went with a “Chinese brand” which works fine for me

There are highly rated 65 amp plasma cutters or under $500

No input on the Hobart, it’s probably a good quality machine

 

[MoonRise]

Plasma?

Hypertherm. They know plasma. Yeah, costs more upfront but capabilites are as listed and they usually don't eat consumables like candy.

All air-plasma cutters NEED clean DRY air to run well and not quickly destroy consumables.

 

[Jswain]

Both are a pretty ****** option.. you either go cheap plasma, or hypertherm. Anything else in between is just paying extra money for questionable extra quality and probably 0 extra performance.

For a home shop diy and no interest in a plasma table, I would go cheap plasma off Amazon.

 

[Steve_P]

Lots of threads on this. For an "in the middle" option, you might also look at PrimeWeld, which is what I have for home use. I've only used it a few times, but it works great and they have a fantastic reputation for USA based customer service and parts support.

 

[Zebu Fellenz]

I have a Miller 625 on a CNC table. My brother & father both have different brands of "Amazon special" plasma cutters. Dollar for dollar if I had to replace the Miller I'd be going with the best reviewed china cutter I could find.

 

[MelvinManiac]

Lots of threads on this. For an "in the middle" option, you might also look at PrimeWeld, which is what I have for home use. I've only used it a few times, but it works great and they have a fantastic reputation for USA based customer service and parts support.

Looking into that brand... Cheaper than HF and even better reviews?? Seems like good customer service and a 3 year warranty. Might be good enough for my purposes.

 

[finn]

I have had a Miller Spectrum 375 for years, but I bought a Primeweld CUT 60 last Black Friday so I can cut more than sheet metal.

Don’t pay any attention to the Hypertherm or nothing crowd. There the same guys advocating Snapon or nothing, telling you that you’re going to die if you buy anything other than a Mohawk lift, and you need a one ton Dually Diesel to haul a sheet of drywall home from Home Depot.

 

[zendriver]

Plasma cutters are like electronic calculators (remember those) IMO

they all work.

The OP had mentioned money more than once. Rather have a $1300 or $300 unit (both fully functional) sitting in the corner of the garage?

This brand is everywhere and gets good reviews for it's welders also.

If parts are not available, pitch it if if breaks. probably costs less than one circuit board to attempt to repair something else.

https://www.amazon.com/ARCCAPTAIN-Non-HF-Plasma-Machine-Blowback/dp/B0FWQ44Z9S?tag=atomicindus08-20

It has a two year warranty.

 

[Steve_P]

I have had a Miller Spectrum 375 for years, but I bought a Primeweld CUT 60 last Black Friday so I can cut more than sheet metal.

Don’t pay any attention to the Hypertherm or nothing crowd. There the same guys advocating Snapon or nothing, telling you that you’re going to die if you buy anything other than a Mohawk lift, and you need a one ton Dually Diesel to haul a sheet of drywall home from Home Depot.

I have the Cut 60 as well. This is almost definitely overkill for me, I'll probably never test its capacity, but for a few hundred $ more vs the smaller models, it was worth it for me. I have nothing to compare it to, well, other than an OA torch, but it goes thru 1/4" plate faster than I imagined possible. The reality is that pretty much everything electronic that we've bought in the 21st century isn't made in the US, so I'm not going to pay 3X+ as much for a US name for something I use 3X a year.

 

[Rinspeed]

Don’t pay any attention to the Hypertherm or nothing crowd.

Only problem with that statement is you don't really know **** about plasma cutters, other than that it's a great statement.

 

[gimpyrobb]

My hypertherm "max40" stopped being made in 1990. It still works. I have been happy with it.

 

[finn]

Only problem with that statement is you don't really know **** about plasma cutters, other than that it's a great statement.

The point is that there are plenty of other reputable plasma cutters out there. With thousands of happy customers.

Don’t be a lemming.

Went over your head, I guess.

 

[Bert_]

Once I thought I should get a name brand. Then I saw the inside of a lower end Miller. It was just as Chinese as the rest of them.

I ended up with a prime weld 50 amp. $350 and it has a 5-year warranty.

My 50 amp has cut 5/8. But it's not something I'd want to do regularly. It's a struggle for it and doesn't leave the cleanest cut. 1/2 is no problem.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

I bought a 220V ArcCaptain for something like $200.

It works but I am really surprised at how little I have used it.

With the stuff I fool with it just seems easier to grab a die grinder, a cut-off tool, an air saw........

I am glad I didn't spend more on a higher end (more expensive) unit.

 

[Rinspeed]

The point is that there are plenty of other reputable plasma cutters out there. With thousands of happy customers.

Don’t be a lemming.

Went over your head, I guess.

I was just busting your chops.

 

[finn]

I was just busting your chops.

I’m an easy mark!

 

[Rinspeed]

I’m an easy mark!

Since day one I've always considered you one of the good guys and certainly an asset to the forum.

 

[KwikFab]

I'm just here for the comments

 

[IndyGarage]

I've had a Hypertherm I bought as a demo unit about 10 years ago. The smaller model - I think it's a 30 something.

Every time I pull it out I wonder how they can make something so good. A few weeks ago I needed to modify an impact socket so I could use it with a hitch pin. It just punched right through the thick socket wall in just seconds. The entire job was about 3 minutes. Highly recommended - find a used one, buy some new tips and use the heck out of it.