ESAB PCM 875....dad has one sitting there, is it worth the time?

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I was talking plasma cutters with my father and was telling him I was considering a hypertherm powermax 30air and he told me he has a ESAB PCM 875 he has never used before.  Now it is not new by any means and is covered in bird turds and mouse acid but he has never had it plugged in.  I am curious if this was known to be a good machine and if it is worth the time and work to clean it, buy some new consumables and such.  My big concern as neither of us have used a plasma cutter before is if you can drag cut with it along say a straight edge like the powermax models?  That is a feature we both see as being really useful.  I would need to upgrade my air options for this and that was one of the major considerations for the powermax air but this might be a cheaper route overall if it is a good baseline?
Reply:If you end up trying it out, it is not capable of doing drag cuts without a standoff guide (ESAB PN 21420). You'll want to maintain 3/16"-1/4" standoff from the material
Reply:If it works why buy a new one. They were pretty decent machines as far as I know. Never heard anything bad about them.
Reply:Originally Posted by Welder DaveIf it works why buy a new one. They were pretty decent machines as far as I know. Never heard anything bad about them.
Reply:Use the compressor that you have to test it. If it works then worry about the rest afterwards. See if will do the job you want it to do.Klutch 220si mig , stick, and dc tigHobart 140 AHP ALPHA 200X 2016Lotos LTP5000DSmith O/P
Reply:You can drag cut up to 40 amps, like most machines.. Hard on nozzles, but with the right technique,can be livable. The 875 was the basic design for many Esab cutters.. I used my 1125 to cut up a large oil tank with a small Emglow compressor. I added a holding tank, and it worked pretty well. You could find a cheap used compressor, Even a 120 volt model that would run the 875 just fine..Blowing out the air part way too much. You will spend $1600.00 on a 30 air, but a cheap air compress is a major sticking point? Yes test with what you have first.. If you need to move the plasma, and use on 120 volts. the 30 air makes a lot of sense to own. If in a shop, the Esab will kick it's butt.Esab/Lorch ET-220iEsab 160i caddyThermal LM-200 Lincoln feedersThermal Pee-Wee 85sThermal 60i- 3phase /RPC powered (Beast)Thermal Drag-gun 35CINE 1500 Klutch 140i
Reply:Originally Posted by Brand XYou can drag cut up to 40 amps, like most machines.. Hard on nozzles, but with the right technique,can be livable. The 875 was the basic design for many Esab cutters.. I used my 1125 to cut up a large oil tank with a small Emglow compressor. I added a holding tank, and it worked pretty well. You could find a cheap used compressor, Even a 120 volt model that would run the 875 just fine..Blowing out the air part way too much. You will spend $1600.00 on a 30 air, but a cheap air compress is a major sticking point? Yes test with what you have first.. If you need to move the plasma, and use on 120 volts. the 30 air makes a lot of sense to own. If in a shop, the Esab will kick it's butt.
Reply:With a 20 or 30 galon tank your small compressor could be used. You may need to limit the length of your cut a little but if so just use both compressors in tandem. My 60 amp plasma needs 7 cfm at 70lbs to run it. I would think yours would be the same or less.  Get a stand off guide as given in an earlier post and it should do fine.   Depending on what the amp draw is on your plasma you may be able to run both the plasma and a mid to large size 120v air compressor off your TB. Thats what I do with my 302.   I can run my plasma up to around 50 amps and still run a 120v air compressor that has a 29 galon tank that puts out 5.9 cfm at 90 lbs.
Reply:Comparing a 30 amp to a real 60 amp machine..Thousands of 875 machines out there, it's a strong cutting machine. It might be a turd because of the treatment it received. Cut .500 with both ,and see which one you think is a turd.. Get my point?   Did you know when Esab designed their first true small CNC machine for 50 amp 100% duty-cycle cutting.. they used the 875 as a starting point. It's a older machine,and will not have the advantages compared to newer torch design,etc.. What it will have is a arc that will jump a mile to the plate, and cut much faster, and thicker then a 30 air ever could. Esab's old torch designs cut aluminum really well. Fast, and thick.. Those Esab's of that time frame are fine machines. I would take one of those over a Miler/Hypertherm./Thermal dynamics of that time frame. Hand down too.Esab/Lorch ET-220iEsab 160i caddyThermal LM-200 Lincoln feedersThermal Pee-Wee 85sThermal 60i- 3phase /RPC powered (Beast)Thermal Drag-gun 35CINE 1500 Klutch 140i
Reply:I just looked up the 875. It is 60 amps and only needs 5.3 cfm of air at 65-75 lbs. You can run it off your TB with no problem. Now to run it and an electric air compressor you would need to keep it set at 45-50 amps with a 120v compressor or you could get a 220v 6cfm compressor and run it wide open if needed.  I think you have a nice plasma there, I would use it over a 30 amp any day.
Reply:Think of it this way, you could spend the money on the PM30 Air and basically only be able to cut sheetmetal, or you could spend that money on a nice big compressor, have the ESAB for cutting way more than sheetmetal, and open the door for lots of other stuff like painting, sandblasting or arc gouging.
Reply:Originally Posted by TDog78  I have two small air compressors and don't want a third.  Both my small ones are around 4 CFM so don't cut it for the ESAB.
Reply:It's a great machine, I wish I had never sold mine. Cut's great up to 3/4".Goes thru tips pretty fast, but they are dirt cheap. Get cases of them on eBay from china.And you can use the old worn out tips for gouging welds.Here's some 1/2" plate I cut. http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...ate&highlight=Just a couple welders, big hammers, grinders, and torches.Work will free you.Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it. Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Reply:They were a solid cutter. I believe they were high frequency start.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720