VVSHARE to save 5$ off VVPRO to get 5% off VEVOR Air Plasma Cutter: bit.ly/3EbrfAP Other Plasma Cutter: bit.ly/3AkERsq NOTE: The manual stated 4.5 PSI air pressure and it should have said 45 PSI. In the video I was running 45 PSI.
I just recently picked up a plasma cutter at the flea market. It rocks the casbah. Definitely a very cool tool for the shop! (Side note, just cut that 110 adapter in half and toss it. I don’t even know why they include those things, these machines need 240 to shine.)
Mark, check prices for consumables for that machine, some of the off brands use cups and shields as well as tips that can be rather pricey, depends how much you use it. Love your channel.
Hi Mark, good review. I have a small plasma cutter (50A) like this one. I had to cut a full sheet of 10mm steel plate (8x4 x 3/8) in half for my work bench. It worked well as long as I went slowly. Like you I was new to plasma cutting so it took a bit of time to get use to it.
I bought a cheap Lotus brand plasma cutter. It went through consumables like crap through a goose. The cut quality wasn’t all that great. I sold it for a loss. I am now the owner of a Hypertherm Powermax 45 XP. About $1,000 more than the Lotus but man, what a sweet machine. I’m still using the same consumables from day one.
Interesting... these machines are fairly simple. I wonder what was different that made is work better? So far the nozzle and electrode look near perfect but I have not used it much yet.
Just one point to add: your air supply must be dry, and the moisture bottle on the unit can be overcome very quickly if you have a moisture problem. Enjoyed the review, cheers!
Several have warned me about moisture but ever since I bought a compressor with an upright tank I never get water in the air. Plus it has an auto drain so that helps even more. My old horizontal tank compressor was terrible.
Nice review, Mark. Seems like a nice unit. I recently went to my place of retirement to use one of their plasma cutters to partially blast out a bleeder screw in a caliper. It had a broken piece of drill bit in it. I was then able to use a tap drill size bit and remove the rest of the bleeder screw. Someone else had made an attempt at removing it before I arrived on the scene. The plasma treatment gave me what I needed to save it, blast out that piece of drill bit. I've used plasma cutters before, so not new to me.
I just bought one and it didn't come with the screws on the back where the regulator mounts. It's like they just forgot to add those. The instructions are in black and white pictures with poor visibility. That's why I'm here. Thanks for the video.
Very informative thank you. I think your pressure gauge is reading Megapascals which is one of those weird mm type of things. One Megapascal = 145.0377 PSI.
Enjoyed Mark, handy tool to have. I suspect most of these come from the same factory and base design with different front panels and brand names. I have a very similar one. There a good home shop option on a budget to get started...
Thanks, I'm not very good at using this plasma cutter but I'm sure in the right hands it would be amazing. I always thought it would be great to make it CNC.
The manual says 4.5 PSI @ 6.0 CFM and the gauge reads in KG/cm2. The conversion chart I found said .316 which is about what I set the regulator. Maybe I need to try more pressure?
@@WinkysWorkshop I run my similar 50 amp unit at about 60 psi for most things.. If you google around for "Plasma cutter air pressure", you will see what I am talking about. 3 Kg/cm2 converts to 42 psi, so I was thinking that your instructions have the decimal point in the wrong place.
@@frenchcreekvalley Thanks for the clarification. You are correct, the manual says 4.5 PSI but it is a screwed up Chinese translation. It should me 45 PSI. The conversion of 4.5 was about .3 but I misread the dial. I had it set on 3 NOT .3 Basically my screw up compensated for the bad translation! Ha. I was running 52 PSI.
That's a very good point, as I was rolling up the hose there were little melted spots. No significant damage but never the less, a good idea to avoid the possibility!
I've had mine for over 20 years Mark. Once you get more familiar with it you will really like it. The only thing I seen you need to do is use a straight edge to drag the tip beside and slow down just a little. The only use I have for my torch these days is to use the rose bud to heat things up. They also make a pinpoint tip for them also. But you can't let the tip touch the metal. Helps you get into tight places. It will work better on 220 current and I have found its better to just run it wide open all the time. Also don't let condensation build up in the glass reservoir keep it drained.
I purchased one of those plasma cutters from Vevor. Paid full price. I did a short review on it. It was my first time using one also. My instructions were for a welder and almost useless. I found that I needed to run the air pressure at 50 lbs to get a clean cut
you don't use one of these every day but when you need it, it's great,, I just leave mine set at 50 amps on 220 volts. I am surely no expert but I really like it.. the slag stuff on the bottom is called dross, it usually just knocks off very easily. one thing I have found out is,,,, they don't like water in the air lines.. it wrecks the tips in a short time.
Interesting about the water. I don't have much issue with water unless I use tons of air for a long period of time. Two things almost totally eliminated this issue for me. First, an upright tall tank. This makes a drastic improvement!!! Second, an auto drain. Mine drains for 3 seconds on start up and again at 1 minute intervals of run time. For $35 bucks every one need one!
@@WinkysWorkshop I'm gonna check into one of those automatic drain thing. here in Mo the humidity is pretty bad and the air tank gets a lot of water in it fast.
@@MissouriOldTimer Here's a video I did. You wire it to the motor power so it only runs when the compressor has power. be sure and get the right voltage. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bVddmQ14qas.html
Plasma cutters work on CFM like your acetylene torch, MIG and TIG welders. As long as you have at least 90psi and your compressor can keep up, you can get any reasonable CFM of airflow. Just play with the CFM until it cuts clean and don't worry about it. Looks like you figured that out already! Welcome to the metric system!
Thanks, I could have done better with the metric system. It would be nice if we could all agree to stick with one system for air pressure. I understand the difficulty with other measurements but air would be a good place to start changing. I've used Bar a lot in the past but this was new to me.
@@WinkysWorkshop Yeah, pressure doesn't confuse me, bar is fine. But when you get into volume... CFM, CKGM, I get vapor lock and have to sit down and think. :)
I haven’t used a plasma cutter much but I found if you keep the pressure high enough to blow the molten metal clear it will allow you to do the thicker metals.
@@Farm_fab I need to revisit the specs. Maybe install an air gauge I can read it but the manual 4.5 PSI @ 6 CFM. Maybe a translation problem... maybe is was supposed to say 45? I have it set at what is supposed to be 4.5 PSI but it sounds more like 45.
A very fair review, you state that you have never used a plasma cutter; that stated, you did quite well. I used a plasma cutter fabricating parts for highway plows but we started out using Oxy-Acet cutting to cut plates and shapes. Your speed and torch angle are all that need be adjusted. Look at your kerf it should look like this IIIII not //// or the latter inverted , speed adjustment and doing it improves results..
These are nice to have and the prices have gone way down,I bought one of the first snap-on plasma cutters and I couldn't get it to cut a al dente noodle. I now have a Alfacut 60,you probably have a Ibt 60 torch,get some drag tips for it,you will like it better. Since I'm not CAD learned I use 1/4" plywood and make patterns and just subtract the width of the tip. You can get creative with these,I'm sure you will grow into it,not a big learning curve. 911 offroad has nice circle/radius metal stencils just need to know which drag tips you use.dry air is key,at least get a desiccant dryer,and you will be fine. I made a video on my plasma cutter and a video on magnetic straight edges too. May help.
Hello Mark great review as for amps I had to put a 50 amp breaker in for the 110 volt side of it it would trip the 20 amp breaker . You will have fun with it as you get use to it .thanks for sharing.
Love plasma torches. Hate that they put the power switch and the air regulator control at the back of the unit. Makes it a total PITA when you put it beside your mig welder in the workbench.
Hi folks, for anyone desperately interested 1 kg/sq cm is approx atmospheric pressure. Not completely accurate but think of it as 15 psi and you'll be in the ball park. It's not even an approved metric SI unit of measurement! That's really crazy - the Pascal - one Newton (Issac) per square metre. Roughly equivalent to the weight of one smallish apple per square yard ....... yup, tidily small.
4.5 psi that you mention converts to .031mpa, not even on the mpa scale on the supplied regulator, scale is 0 to 1mpa. 45psi = .31mpa that is on the scale.
On the cheaper machines the electrodes are tiny compared to standard and cost more than standard so the money you save in the front gets shoved up in the rear 😆
I just bought 10 nozzles, 10 electrodes, 2 cups and 2 standoffs for $20 bucks. I'm not saying there isn't a difference between this machine and a more expensive machine, I have not tried other machines. However, I can say that the consumables expense is not significant. So far I have not changed any parts and the cost is low.
I bought a used plasma cutter online, and it was missing the ground lead and the air regulator. I've used one before, and liked the performance of it. My boss bought one years ago, and used it to cut 12Ga copper pipe from a mechanical area at the state capitol here. It was probably the best method for cutting the pipe. They've since gone one better with an Esab.
You will love it. Up here in Canada gas bottles are real expensive so I bought a plasma at Princess auto like your harbour freight.Like others have said get some air dryers on it or tips will die often. Mine wasn't free $500 Canadtan so $375 US but China made.Like it lots.
Good job for the first time out! The dross is easy to knock off with a hammer just tap it on the edge of the cut. It is hard to grind off but because it is hardened it chips off easier.
