Help me pick a plasma cutter

[raidmagic]

I am a hobbiest, let's get that out of the way. I like do small fab work I do all the work on my own cars. I also cut up scrap to help pay for my habit I recently started to looking at plasma cutters and without any knowledge of whats what in the plasma world. I have about 650 to spend and I've seen them anywhere from $400 to $3500. Clearly I am not in the category of needing a $3500 plasma cutter so what is what in the world of inexpensive ( I won't say cheap) plasma cutters? Any advise would be great. Thank you.

 

[Outlawmws]

Shop used; Deals are out there (pay attention to consumable availability)

 

[jrlp]

Hypertherm! I've had excellent luck with my power max 45. Jim colt is an engineer for them and posts here and welding Web.. I haven't had a single problem, it even survived a head on crash, bounced out of the truck and slid 50 feet down a road.. And I plugged it in, and it worked. Didn't need any work..

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[purplezr2]

Hypertherm if you can afford it, have a powermax 65 love it.

 

[fflintstone]

there is hypertherm and everything else.
the powermax 30 is just over a grand new online.

 

[92GreenYJ]

I've read nothing but good things about Hypotherm. That being said I have and run a Miller spectrum series. (model number escapes me right now) rated to 3/4" as it's severe duty. Cuts thru 3/16" and 1/4" like butter which is about as thick as I've used on my Jeep. Like any other big purchase, I always look at what I think I will need and get the next model up. Will I ever need to cut 3/4"? More than likely not but it's nice to know I could should the need arrive.

 

[blackack]

Hypertherm new or used would be my choice. I have a powermax 600 and have never had any problems with it. Hypertherm replaced it with the powermax 45 which is a nice machine, much smaller and newer technology which helps consumable life. You should be able to find a used powermax 600 or 1000 in your price range. Miller make nice units too.

 

[raidmagic]

Thanks for the info. Looking at the Hypertherm they are out of my reach new. I've been looking around for used hopefully something will pop up. I also looked at Eastwood's Versa Cut. It's gotten really good reviews and is a really affordable unit. Anyone have experience with these?

 

[Tarheelgarage]

Harbor Freight PAC is decent for the $, but consumables don't last as long as better units.

 

[Buckgnarly]

For home use Hypertherm and TD would be great, but kind of overkill. I scored a Hobart 725 on clearance from Sears a few years back for 425 to my door, down from 1800.

Look used for a Miller or Hobart or any other big name brand and you will be fine. Like stated earlier though, go bigger than you though you would need. Here's the Hobart cutting 5/8....

 

[Skyline]

Aside from the obvious name brands already mentioned, another quality machine to consider is Esab. Not all that popular in the US but huge worldwide. I have a 220v Esab machine I got NOS on eBay for $850, and it will do what most machines costing thousands will do. Unless you find some ridiculous sale, pretty much anything you can buy new for $650 is going to be Chicom junk. So I'd either up your budget, or start shopping used.

One thing to keep in mind with plasmas is that there's a big difference in the thickness a machine can clean cut vs. what it can sever.

 

[Gamble]

My next one is going to be a hypertherm.
I had a thermal dynamics drag-gun that I got for $500 used (runs on 110v, and had an internal compressor) and it worked great but only cut up to 1/8"
I then sold it and got a hobart 250ci demo model. My friend was working a show and hobart was there demoing this machine.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOBART-AIRF...ultDomain_0&hash=item1c286b207f#ht_500wt_1203


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hobart-5005...99078&pid=100009&prg=1004&rk=4&#ht_3293wt_952


I like this machine a lot. Runs off 110v, built in compressor and super lightweight.

 

[u3b3rg33k]

Did this by hand with a 50A Everlast.

No complaints.

 

[nadogail]

i have not yet used a Plasma Cutter, but at a previous employer I was tasked with repairing their Plasma Cutter; To my good fortune it was a Hypertherm, the over the telephone technical support and repair assistance made me a Hero in my employers eyes.

If I ever do spend my money on a Plasma Cutter, it will be a Hypertherm.

 

[u3b3rg33k]

i have not yet used a Plasma Cutter, but at a previous employer I was tasked with repairing their Plasma Cutter; To my good fortune it was a Hypertherm, the over the telephone technical support and repair assistance made me a Hero in my employers eyes.

If I ever do spend my money on a Plasma Cutter, it will be a Hypertherm.

on that note i'll say that Everlast's support is good. my 3 in 1 at home stopped working properly, they helped me troubleshoot and replace the HF start board when it died. I doubt you'd get that kind of service with a big box store-brand tool.

 

[dnschmidt]

I like HTP as they are great quality at a reasonable price. But, nobody has ever got fired for buying Hypertherm.

 

[Walkers]

I am a hobbiest, let's get that out of the way. I like do small fab work I do all the work on my own cars. I also cut up scrap to help pay for my habit I recently started to looking at plasma cutters and without any knowledge of whats what in the plasma world. I have about 650 to spend and I've seen them anywhere from $400 to $3500. Clearly I am not in the category of needing a $3500 plasma cutter so what is what in the world of inexpensive ( I won't say cheap) plasma cutters? Any advise would be great. Thank you.

Where do you live?

 

[bcradio]

I just bought the HF Titanium 65 amp plasma. Have only used it a few times, but works great. We shall see how it lasts...

 

[djbmw]

Im rockin' a chinesium Cut50 (my second one in 20 yrs). They are sub $150... consumables are cheap, and they get the job done. Spend a bit more and get auto arc... but for a cheap hobby setup its done me well.

 

[Willie Makeit]

Hobbist / home use look at PrimeWeld.

 

[JordonMusser]

Hypertherm is gold standard. I am using a Lotos 5500DCNC on my plasma table and it cuts incredibly well for what I do (<.25)

 

[zak77]

No doubt Hyperthem is what everyone would like but due to budgets and use, they're not always within grasp. I got a Prime Weld Cut60($700) last year and it's performed as i would've hoped. May want to look at those.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Although this is a relevant thread, this is the second time it's been brought back by a spammer.

The original question was asked 10+ years ago and the OP hasn't been back in over a decade. The plasma cutter market has chay plenty in that time.

Anyone interested in buying a plasma cutter, feel free to start a new thread, unless of course, you're a spammer.