Problems with plasma cutter

Machine I have is a ProCut 50 with WSD 60P torch head.

Had nothing but problems since day one. It came with 5 tips, of which I ran through several very quick. This didn't seem right so I started searching for a reason why. Came across a few threads where it said the factory filter is not up to par for filtering all of the water out. I read that the Motorguard 26 is a great filter so I plunked down $100 bucks for it and not one bit of difference. I have it set downstream of the factory filter.

When I first started using it I coiled the hose in a bucket of ice water. (In conjunction with factory filter. Didn't have the M26 yet). No noticeable difference in tip life. I would say of the five tips I got, I got less than 1 hour of total actual cutting time.


I ordered more consumables and was able to eek a bit more life out of the remaining consumables. They arrived today and still having problems. I drained the factory filter which had a fair amount of water. I also drained the compressor and started over. I let the gun run with and without consumables thinking there might be condensation in the lines. Now it won't even fire. I tried several new tips and it won't do anything.

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The above was written earlier in the day and I didn't get back to posting to the forum/introducing myself.
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Later in the day I went back out and the torch worked, but not for long. I don't believe I am hitting the duty cycle, especially since it's light gauge SS. Guessing 18/16 gauge. Can tips get wet, stop working, then dry out and resume working again? This is my first plasma cutter and I am disappointed. I don't know what I need to be looking at to get this working correctly.

Also the store I bought the Motorguard from said to run the torch for about 20/30 seconds to clear the line of condensation. Have done that a few times and not noticed any difference. Is this a recommended practice, even for a pilot arc torch?

I'm starting to hate this thing, but to be fair I don't know if it's a machine or moisture issue.

And of course I had to go and step on the connection at the machine and break the collar around the torch connection. Have I affected it in any way? Doesn't seem to, other than causing the brass fitting to spin.

Moisture is the Plasma Cutter's enemy... It creates poor cuts and destroys consumables.

The other issue usually involves the learning curve of amps/speed.

Just some things to think about.

With just reading what you have written i see a few problems with the operation.
First and fopremost as you say yourself the Factory Filter is just that it is not a dryer. It is meant to trap impurities in the line and not take out moisture. The fact that you have water in the trap and need to drain it shows you this is part of the problem.
Second you run the pilot arc torch with no electrodes /tips this is something that you should not do as it can cause damage to the torch head.
You need to have the isolator replaced , and finally how you use the torch itself can dictate how long the tips will last.
I normally find it is a bit of a learning curve that some pick up faster than others and i often se this with Customers coming to try cutters and while some have a good basic idea of hand / distance / movement speed , others tend to need a little guidance in using it correctly.
You may want to call into Tech And speak to Ray and it is very possible the torch is damaged . But speak to Ray directly and go over things with him as opposed to having some one like me trying to gues the problems and read into what you have written here.
Cheers
Duncan

Wow...that is a lot of water to get out of the particulate air filter. You don't say where you are located but if you do maybe some other members that local area can give you an idea what they use to dry the air.

How often do you drain your compressor tank? Water trapped in it could easily raise the humidity of the compressed air - especially when it gets warm from the compressor running. There are devices available that automatically drain the tank on a timed basis or every time it cycles.

When you change the Motorguard filter is it soaked with water?

Instead of running the air through the torch to remove condensation try unattaching the line right before the plasma cutter. If you have a quick connect there you can use a blowgun nozzle to clear the line. Point the blowgun close up at a cold (cool) piece of steel and see if you get a water trail.

You may need a commercial refrigerated air dryer, a large desiccant filter, or to change the Motorguard filter often.

Just running a pilot arc to clear the air of water will eat up the consumables also. Not sure if it will cause other problems. Tech support can handle that.

http://www.harborfreight.com/compres...yer-40211.html have a friend in Florida he bought one of these since he paints works good this is what i have on the bottom of my compressor so i can leave slightly cracked open to keep air dry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygi12...eature=related

what size compressor do you have and what are you using for air line piping . I leave my drain pet cock on my compressor at my shop cracked open a bit with a small hiss of air coming out that way if there is moisture on the tank walls it will dry out , I live rite next to the Colorado river were its damp and i get nice dry air that way and i use pvc schedule 40 since dose not collect moisture like metal pipe . also when running air pipe run in a slant so very end is lower with a drain on end of line to clear pipes of water . water kills air tools and really wacks out plasma cutters . find to if you just have your air hose connected rite to compressor it can cause moisture problems to since it acts like a expansion valve like a ac system and makes moisture .coiled the hose in a bucket of ice water to me that would cause more moisture. that not how a fridge dryer works a fridge dryer has a drain off How does a Refrigerated Air Dryer Works

COMPRESSED AIR CIRCUIT

* The refrigerated air dryer cools the incoming compressed air first in an air-to-air heat exchanger where the outgoing cool dry air pre-cools the hot incoming air and condenses some moisture out.

* Then the incoming air enters an air-to-refrigerant heat exchanger where the air is cooled to 38º F by the liquid refrigerant.
This process causes the moisture to condense into liquid water and it is drained away.
The out going air then enters the air-to-air heat exchanger and is warmed up to keep the outside of pipes from sweating.

REFRIGERATION CIRCUIT

* The refrigeration compressor pumps hot hi-pressure gas refrigerant (Freon) into the condenser which transfers the heat from the refrigerant gas to the ambient air as the gas condenses into a liquid.

* The liquid refrigerant (Freon) is then metered to a cold low pressure where it enters the air-to-refrigerant heat exchanger and the heat from the hot compressed air is adsorbed into the cold refrigerant (Freon).

* The refrigeration compressor then sucks low pressure hot gas refrigerant (Freon) into the refrigeration compressor and the cycle starts over again.

Sorry about that. I updated my location. Going to try to respond to everyone in one posting.

I think I isolated my main problem. I feel stupid. Pressure was 100+. I was just sure I had it set to 60 when I started. Once I dialed it down it worked better. Still doesn't seem quite right, but is better. I may need to play with the pressure/amps a bit more.

I was bleeding off the tank several times and not getting much water but would get quite a bit at the trap. Perhaps I was doing it too soon and it hadn't a chance to precipitate. Today I bled it off several times and got water from it.

I pulled apart the M26. Inlet side had some moisture. Outlet side is dry. Trap appears to catch a majority and the M26 finishes.

At this point I am wondering if I am in fact hitting the duty cycle. Doesn't seem like it cuts long before it quits. Then I switch it off, go do something for awhile and come back and I resume cutting. I don't see this model (ProCut50) listed on the Everlast site.

I have a 60 gallon compressor and I added a ball valve to it because the factory was junk. No way was I getting on my knees to drain it.

Supply line for now is a 50 foot rubber hose. PVC makes me nervous as I've heard stories of them exploding and sending shards everywhere.

As for the coil in ice water...I read about that on several forums and they had good luck with it. Most used a copper coil, but said a rubber line "would" work. The theory is it cools the air to allow it to precipitate and drop out of the air stream, at which point the trap(s) would catch it and any remaining the filter would catch.

Regarding running the torch to clear the line, I wondered if it would be bad for it, but the guy at the local welding supply said it's good to do it, even though I said it's a pilot arc, he said it's fine. I'll stop that practice. I have a quick connect just before it goes into the cutter so I'll give the blow gun a try if I find I have any more issues.

I definitely have a learning curve. Some of my cuts look like this:

__ ___ __ _ __ __ ___ ___<---hope that makes sense.

I appreciate every one taking the time to give their input as to what could be wrong.

Mark

been using pvc for over 30 years it don't burst it just splits its rated at 600 psi just make sure you use red hot cement or good pvc glue , i primer my pipe with the purple primer then use red hot , the only problem if it outside the sun makes it brittle so if you smack it it breaks I have a ac hose coming into shop then connects to my piping . My shop looks like a maze of pvc pipe since all my machine shop equipment uses air for something on the machine . . if the cuts are like its cutting then tuning of or sputtering its from moisture. hose is ok but with like 3/4 pipe it lets the moisture settle in the pipe with just a hose there no place for the water to settle since its going through a 3/8 line . I just run my cutter at 60 psi work good at that setting

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kodiak

At this point I am wondering if I am in fact hitting the duty cycle. Doesn't seem like it cuts long before it quits. Then I switch it off, go do something for awhile and come back and I resume cutting.
Mark

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Never turn your machine off when it's hot. Let it run for at least 10 minutes so the fan can cool it down. Same as any welder.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zoama585

Never turn your machine off when it's hot. Let it run for at least 10 minutes so the fan can cool it down. Same as any welder.

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Hadn't thought about that. Makes sense. Thank you.

same here after welding i alway leave mine on for 10 or 20 minutes . lol only problem is some time i forget to turn it off later . whats funny i have a habit after welding to turn the gas of then forget to turn it back on when i start welding again lol