Plasma Cutters Which One? and a few other questions

I am going to buy a plasma cutter. Most Likely it will be on of the cheaper ones from eBay. As much as I would love to be able to buy one from a well known company, I just do not have the budget. I have held off building my rocket stove because I have no way to cut the plates. Buy the time I pay someone else to cut things out, I could buy one of these cheaper cutter and do it myself. (which is what I would rather do anyway)

The Question is which one and from from who? I searched the forum here and found a post with some great videos. One shows a one of these cutter used on a DIY CNC machine. (I would love to build one of those down the road too) The Model is a "Cut 50L" But I could not find that model on Ebay. Of course, many of the models sold there look to be all the same except for the cover color.

Please let me know what experience you have had with yours. Are there any tricks or tips you can pass on?

One other question: I understand that these cheaper plasma cutters do not have a pilot arc but require the torch to touch the plate to start. That said can the torch be dragged on the plate to cut or must one hold it above the plate?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Please (and I do not mean to be rude) do not tell me I should save up and buy a good one. I want to build may stove this year, haha. I would if I could.

Thanks again,

Cburg

ive built mine with just a 4 1/2" grinder

it would help if we knew where you was from as all systems are different uk prices are dear for plasma cutters

but the new cut 50 has hf start to it

Yup. I've built lots of stuff with a grinder and cut off wheels

gadily:

I guess I have left a few details out.

I live in Western Pennsylvania.  That is in the USA.  My shop has 220 volt outlets for my MIG.

I also have cut out a few things out with a grinder, that is the reason I am looking to get this plasma cutter.   To be honest, I am always very concerned about safety and cutting this much with a grinder scares me a bit.  

You said the "cut 50" has high frequency start.  I am not sure I know exactly what that is unless that is the same as 'touch and start'.  Do you know if you can drag the torch with that unit?  To me, 'drag' means to have the torch in contact with the plate during the whole cut.

Thanks

Cburg

I have to take you somewhere else

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/the-xmas-cut-50-think-i-know-whats-wrong.52086/

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/it-lives.52417/

on those forums they quote that the r tec is better

theres alot more info via those forums about the different makes out there hypertherm and thermal dynamics but there expensive here in the uk so some do look for a cheaper alternative

yes its touch the metal pull the trigger and you can use it above the metal on the new one

gadily wrote:

I have to take you somewhere else

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/the-xmas-cut-50-think-i-know-whats-wrong.52086/

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/it-lives.52417/

on those forums they quote that the r tec is better  

Thanks for the links, I spent some time reading last night.  Lots of good info.

It still leaves me with questions:  
High Frequency v.s. Low Frequency ?  is that something to be concerned about at this level?

Is there anyone here using one of these plasma cutters?  Would you share your experiences with it?  Did the vendor you used here in the states treat you right?  Service can be as important at the machine itself.

Thanks for everyone's input

its via here t2h has one

https://woodstoves.forumotion.co.uk/t564-plasma-cutter-and-homemade-gadgets-for-it

Gadily,

That is funny.  That post is what got me first interested in this forum.  This forum has given me the insight and help to try to build a rocket stove.  So Now I guess I have come full circle.

I still hope to find more info on what to buy.  Like I said before I hope someday to try to build a CNC machine using this cutter but first I want to begin to build my stove.

Again thanks for your input!

my advice check around see if it will work on a cnc plasma machine as some will not a good place is the cnc zone i think its called

ppotty1 just sent me a note today that he purchased one and wished he had bought it much sooner than he had.

Shoot him a note as to how it is performing for him, he is very pleased with it.

Well Guys,
I bit the bullet and bought a CUT 50 off eBay.  Once I get it here, I will let you know how it works.
Thanks again to everyone who responded to my questions.

I just wanted to check in and report on my CUT 50 Plasma cutter.

When it came in I was a bit put off because the plug on the power cord was fitted with a 120 volt plug.  I had excepted not to have a plug at all.  I wanted to connect it to 220/240 power in my shop. So before I did anything I emailed the company I bought it from to see if in fact I could use 220/240 to run this machine.  Either though I bought this from a "dealer" here in the USA, the reply came back with a lot of Chinese and poor English so I figure the dealer is just a storefront and any support comes from China.  

The answer I got was the the unit will work on any voltage from 110 to 250 volts so I could just cut the plug off and put on what I wanted.

The next issue as the air lines:  Every fitting leaked.  It was simple enough to put together but I had to re-tap the treads on the regulator/separator  to US standard treads so I could use hose fittings I could by locally.  

I decided that before I cut off the 120 volt plug I would see how well it would cut as is.  So I plugged it in, put the air to it  and grabbed a piece of scrap.

This Post is already too long so I will cut to the chase ...

** This things cuts 1/4 plate like butter! ** even at 120 volts

I am the first one to say that I do not have any skill with using this thing.  Cuts I made looked like crap.  But a friend of mine used it to cut straight clean cuts though the same 1/4 stock.

To finish the post up, I will just say I am happy with what I got and for the less than $200. I have something that will cut though all that I will ever need to cut.  The only thing I think I will replace is the regulator/separator because even with the air pressure turned all the way up, It does not appear to the air flow to blow as cleanly as I think it could with a little more cfm's.  When I do that I will convert the unit to 240 volts to see if that makes a difference.

Again, Thank you to everyone who posted here to help my on my way.  I bought a sheet of 1/4 plate and hope to begin my stove very soon. You guys and this site will be my first resource .....

Stay Warm ....

Cburg

thanks for the info cburg the mig welding site has been getting some faults posted up on it with different models so if something goes wrong do a quick search could be something simple