Best garage plasma cutters

My wife is sick and tired of the noise I make cutting things out by hand with power tools. No matter if its my chop saw, jig saw, die grinder, angle grinder, hacksaw or sawzall: It makes noise. It doesn't help that my vice is right next to the door leading into the house. I'd like to get a plasma cutter, but up until now the prices have been rather cost prohibitive. I am less interested in the Made in USA/import debate, and more interested in what you guys own, how has it performed... as well as any words of caution or hindsight that may be available. Maybe even what it cost you, if comfortable. I have 220 available, so power is not an issue. It comes down to this though; For the money I'm willing to spend do I buy a used name brand plasma cutter, or do I buy a new import plasma cutter?
I will be cutting steel, mild and stainless at least up to 1/4, sometimes 1/2" mild and on occasion severence cutting 1" or so mild. Aluminum wont be any thicker than around 1/2"
Opinions?

I am VERY happy with my hypertherm powermax45
store.weldersource.com/088016.html

the powermax30 is also a nice machine... probably all most garages would need.

but I always go for a little overkill.

made in usa.

Thanks for the response John T- what do you normally cut with it, and how long do the consumables last?

porchev914 wrote:

Thanks for the response John T- what do you normally cut with it, and how long do the consumables last?

Mild steel.
5/8" was the thickest steel I have cut , so far..
never tried aluminum...
use a straight edge and run the tip along it as you cut... you can make some nice straight professional cuts.
or cut some fancy patterns out of cardboard or plywood and make something creative.

hypertherm gives you extra sets of consumables... so dont buy extras.
I am still on my first set. If you use them properly, they will last a long time.
another tip,
buy a good air seperator for your compressor.

I'm just a hobbyist/homeowner.... just another expensive toy for the garage.. and whatever I happen to be working on at the time.

but when the time comes and you need it, you sure will be happy it's available.
I recently had to replace the rear leaf spring hangers on my F350
I put on the gouging tip to blast off the rivets that hold them to the frame. EZ work. I would have been there forever trying to drill/chistle them off.
might want to get a better set of goggles than the ones they give you... something darker.... the light from the cutter is very bright.

Count me in as interested in this thread. Does anyone have experience with those combo TIG/stick/50amp plasma things? You always see them on ebay and CL for fairly reasonable prices. We see this ad a lot on Houston CL: houston.craigslist.org/tls/1996322612.html
It would be nice to get a TIG on the deal, but sadly no AC TIG.

Thats not a bad price for the features Josh, the manufacturers website has that same machine listed for $950. I think that if your gonna drop the coin on a tig welder, it makes sense to get one with AC. I ordered this one: www.everlastgenerators.com/PowerTig%20%20250EX-351-pd.html and I just picked up a 150CF argon tank for cheap off craigslist.

I have read that alot of problems guys had with the import welders are the all in one machines, usually in the plasma circuit...but it kills the whole unit. Although anything bad that I have read was related to the MOSFET inverter switches used in the earlier models. The newer IBGT inverter switches are allegedly more robust. Even so, I feel safer separating the plasma from the tig :blink:

Oooh, when did you order the TIG welder? I would be really interested to see how that unit works for you. I really want a TIG.

I have heard that about the plasma cutter killing the whole unit on the imports as well. That's why I ask.

If I do get a TIG, it will have to be AC. I want to be able to do aluminum.

I pre-ordered it Friday. My unit is in customs right now, and is supposed to ship sometime this week. I "should" recieve it early next week :woohoo: With a 5 year warranty, I figured I'd give it a shot

If you do ever buy from Everlast, you can wheel and deal with them. The welder I ordered has an MSRP of $1600. I got it for $1500 shipped, tax included plus an electronic welding helmet and some tungsten rods

I am eager to see the results of your new welder. I have been eyeing those for a while now. Not too much credible info on the net as for reviews.

We have a really nice Miller Syncrowave 350 with the cooler at work. We don't employ a full-time welder any more, and it won't power up. The thing just sits there b/c nobody knows what's wrong with it. I'm secretly hoping that I can catch the boss in a weak moment and snap it up for under a grand some day. I'm sure it can be fixed. I just have to figure out where to put that monster in my garage. Supposedly he let a clapped out Bridgeport go for $500. I figure the welder is probably worth about the same to him.

Like you, I just don't have the room for one of the big transformer based machines. If you're patient, you can find a working syncrowave 250 for $1500.... so I would think $500 is fair for a non working syncrowave 350. That machine would do anything you could possibly want :silly:

I picked up my plasma cutter today. A Hypotherm Powermax 600. It's a discontinued model, but the contractor that was selling it bought it for a job, then subbed the job out and never used the machine. So it was a brand new unit, but 4 years old :laugh: All I can say is DAMN. I would have used the crap outa this thing during my build. The downside is the small amount of slag build up along the bottom of the cut, but I might just need to bump up the air pressure a bit. It's a 40amp unit, but I think it will work out fine for the vast majority of my fabrication projects Now if my welder ships Friday like they tell me, I can start causing some real damage

what welder did you get adam?