Plasma Cutters Repairable?

[AldeanFan]

Can plasma cutters be repaired?

Two of my friends have plasma cutters that have failed.
One is a Chinese model that is being replaced under warranty for the 3rd time.
The other was bought used and only worked for 10min before it went up on smoke, not sure of the make.

I’ve been saving up for a name brand matching but don’t want to buy something that is prone to failure and unrepairable.

I only have 120v at home so I’m looking at the Lincoln 20 or the Hobart 12i.
I’d stretch the budget for a hypertherm 30 or a thermal dynamics if I thought they had a long life and were repairable.

What’s your experience?




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[Ign]

Well you'd need to ask around and see if there is anyone in your area who can do this sort of work COMPETENTLY.

We have a place that claims to work on welders etc but they are HORRIBLE

My welding instructor said this is a market in our area that is desperate for someone, and he's spoken w Miller about it. Thing is, you can't just jump into it with very little knowledge and a multimeter. Diagnosing the boards on today's machines can require expertise and experience.

Furthermore anyone who can truly do it is WORTH a good wage, meaning many consumer hobby machines would be cheaper to replace than fix.

Those Chinese plasmas have a cult following but I will always avoid them for the reasons you state.

Go Hypertherm for made in the US and tech support that will speak amereecan when you call. I have an ESAB that just won't die but when it does Hypertherm will replace it.

 

[aka Larry]

Contact this guy.

https://www.georgesplasmacuttershop.com/

 

[rlitman]

...Furthermore anyone who can truly do it is WORTH a good wage, meaning many consumer hobby machines would be cheaper to replace than fix...

This. Chinese hobby plasma cutters aren't worth fixing.

 

[RoyArms]

Can plasma cutters be repaired?

Two of my friends have plasma cutters that have failed.
One is a Chinese model that is being replaced under warranty for the 3rd time.
The other was bought used and only worked for 10min before it went up on smoke, not sure of the make.

I’ve been saving up for a name brand matching but don’t want to buy something that is prone to failure and unrepairable.

I only have 120v at home so I’m looking at the Lincoln 20 or the Hobart 12i.
I’d stretch the budget for a hypertherm 30 or a thermal dynamics if I thought they had a long life and were repairable.

What’s your experience?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It depends what your definition of repairable is. From what I've seen the name brand manufacturers price replacement boards at the point where you might as well buy a whole new cutter/welder once out of warranty.

If you mean actually repairable as in fixing the boards, I've had quite a bit of success doing so. It's not easy as the schematics are usually unavailable and it's hard to even get your hands on a service manual unless you are a service center/dealer.

They mostly seem to die from either being dirty, exceeding the duty cycle, or poor power delivery from the outlet. Make sure the wiring from the breaker to the outlet is good. As the voltage drops, the current draw increases. That current draw is what causes heat and component failure. If you're pushing the machine to the limits already, there isn't much margin of safety for the machine in most cases.

 

[AldeanFan]

Great advice as always.

So here’s two machines that I can get locally,
I expect the Lincoln 20 will come on sale for around $1,000 at Canadian Tire.

The handycut I’ve seen on sale for $500 at princess auto, they have an excellent returns policy.

Which would you buy?




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[plinker]

Great advice as always.

So here’s two machines that I can get locally,
I expect the Lincoln 20 will come on sale for around $1,000 at Canadian Tire.

The handycut I’ve seen on sale for $500 at princess auto, they have an excellent returns policy.

Which would you buy?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Of the two I'd spend the extra & get the Lincoln. Hobart may be worth looking into as well.
With the name brands you can at least get parts/consumables easily enough.

 

[The Cobbler]

I have the Pro Point from Princess Auto https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/45a-procut-45-plasma-cutter/A-p8611303e

so far it's been fine. consumables are inexpensive on ebay
I bought extended drag tips for it for some pattern trace work I did .
Nice feature that the cables all disconnect from the machine

 

[pcmeiners]

Just purchased a Hypertherm 85, one of the major buying points for me is they have downloadable schematics with pinoputs/trouble shooting guides for all models. The schematics show reference point for voltage, ohms etc. Not the greatest electronic tech but I feel confident I can fix anything which could go wrong with the powermax 85 if I have too with the documents; I would hate paying $600.00 for a 3 dollar part replacement.

.

 

[RoyArms]

Just purchased a Hypertherm 85, one of the major buying points for me is they have downloadable schematics/trouble shooting guides for all models. The schematics show reference point for voltage, ohms etc. Not the greatest electronic tech but I feel confident I can fix anything which could go wrong with the powermax 85 if I have too with the documents

.

That's awesome, I was not aware they had the service manuals on their website. I have a powermax 45 to fix after i finish up a few miller welders, and that will make the process much easier.

 

[gearhead1]

Yes, although it may not be worth it for a Chinese one.

I got a non-working Miller and then had it fixed at a local company that specializes in welding equipment repair.

Triangle Welding Equipment Services
https://www.b2byellowpages.com/comp...8-triangle-welding-equipment-service-inc.html

 

[DerekV]

One word: Hypertherm.

More than one word: they're arguably the most reliable and most reputable plasma cutting company. They have excellent customer service, after sale support, technical documents, etc.

 

[pcmeiners]

"One word: Hypertherm."

Forgot, was the line from the "Graduate" ?

 

[5ubtle]

My story is that I bought a "Northern Tools" branded Chinese plasma cutter in May 2008 for something around $600. I use it very infrequently. In June 2015, I got it out to use and just happened to notice a plastic screw head fall off of the bottom. Luckily, I took the time to tear it apart. That plastic screw was a mounting screw for an isolated transformer. There were once 3 screws and now there was 1. I bought 3 new nylon screws for $0.78 at Lowe's, reassembled, and now all is good. If I hadn't noticed that screw head fall off, or if I was just lazy about tearing it apart, that plasma cutter would have been junk.

To answer your question, "yes, anything can be repaired". The real question is, "is it worth it". Nobody can answer this until you disassemble it (at a minimum). If you buy a Chinese cutter, I would suggest that you disassemble it "AvE style" as soon as you get it home and decide for yourself whether you are brave enough to keep it.

 

[Jbullfrog]

I picked up a Miller that had a "pop" before it quit. I knew it was possibly not repairable, and paid less then the Hypertherm "trade-in" allowance for it. I used it towards a Powermax 45 and love it. If you are truly looking at using a plasma cutter, invest in a 220 unit and upgrade your shop wiring.