Questions on Plasma Cutters

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Hi All,I read as much as I could find after a "search" and still was unsure and thought some of the experts here might give some guidance. I'm not looking for cheap or an import.  I just want to make sure I only "buy it once" and don't find I have to upgrade later. After doing some research and looking at specs from the manufacturers I'm still confused about a few things;1) How important is the duty cycle? When I bought my MIG I was advised to stay up around 60%.  The majority of the units I have been seeing on the net seem to be rated around 35%.2) My compressor is rated at 5.5 @ 90 PSI.  Is it critical to stay well under that, or can the demand for the cutter get pretty close?3) I'm not looking at, nor do I need a cutter that is rated for 3/4".  If what I read is accurate, thinkness over 5/8" is best done with a O/A torch?4) The torches/consumables for Hobart & Miller are the same.  Does that mean that they are the same OEM?5) Lastly, (not to start a "board war") if were willing to spend $1,500 or so, what model and brand would you purchase?The knowledge, expertise, and willingness to share on this site is unbelievable. Thanks to all!  and BTW, I bought the BWE hood and it's great!Tim
Reply:Duty cycle is important but honestly most people cut quick and short, so unless you're cutting a 4x8 sheet of 1/4 to 3/8 i'm not so sure you'll come close to the capacity of most decent plasma's. Yes, make sure your compressor can handle the air load. No, an O/A torch will cut decently but a nice Miller 375 or 375 Extreme will slice 3/8th's very nicely. Yes, Miller is the commercial HD and Hobart is the marketed product...or publically marketed. Again, a Miller 375 can be had for a little over $1,000...you'll be happy.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Originally Posted by MicroZoneDuty cycle is important but honestly most people cut quick and short, so unless you're cutting a 4x8 sheet of 1/4 to 3/8 i'm not so sure you'll come close to the capacity of most decent plasma's. Yes, make sure your compressor can handle the air load. No, an O/A torch will cut decently but a nice Miller 375 or 375 Extreme will slice 3/8th's very nicely. Yes, Miller is the commercial HD and Hobart is the marketed product...or publically marketed. Again, a Miller 375 can be had for a little over $1,000...you'll be happy.
Reply:timm9duty cycle is only important in production setting or if you have long cuts to make, keep it in mind when shopping but dont be afrade of it just use it as a guide. in your $$ range i think the Miller 375 extream or 375 normal would likely be a great choice many on the miller board have them and like them. its my next choice, i got the 125C about 3 years ago because i did not have an air compresser in my shop. the 125 realy impressed me it is much more than i had expected. but now i have air and the need to do 1/4" so i'll be upgrading only due to my needs changing the cutter is running fine all i have done to it is add a foot controle, nothing ever went wrong with it.the basic diference between the hobarts and the Miller is the Miller is a sturdyer machine. both would likely serve you well in a hobby setting, i chose to spend the extra $$ to get miller on my MIG and plasma and have never had a problem with eather and do not regret the choice.keep in mind when chosing between the spectrun 375 and the 375 extream that the extream has a 15ft torch on it wile the standerd has a 30ft. even though the extream is lighter and easy to move around i realy like the long torch reach on my lil 125 and when i upgrade to the 375 i will defenetly want the longer reach, but that may not be the case with you, you may also be able to get a longer torch for the extream but it will be $$ to do so.from a hobby standpoint get the most you can aford, turning it down is a lot easyer then trying to MAKE it cut over its limit.riley mcmillanthe hypertherm has a good rep. but if all your stuff is miller why not stick to it? they work just as well on plasma cam as any other would. if you are happy with the service you have gotten out of your other miller stuff, why would you want to try something else out. all my Millers have served me well for that reason i stick with them because i can rely on them and sleep well knowing they will work for me tomarow just as well. might be silly but i like to stick with what works well for me.you might ask about the hypertherm on the ask andy miller site. i know some one was just having truble with his on a plasma table, pretty shore it was just the torch setup but it would be good to know what torch not to get. the cutter worked well for him though i think. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:MicroZone & fun4now,Thank you both for the excellent feeback!I have done a little more "searching" and have it narrowed down to the Hypertherm 380 & Miller Spectrum 375 (non extreme).  The extreme looks interesting but the shorter cable (good observation fun4now) and the fact that the extreme max's out my compressor, keeps me from going to the extreme.I also noticed on the page for the Hypertherm 380http://www.hypertherm.com/languages/...owermax380.phpthey have a comparison regarding consumables.  It does not indicate who the competitors are. Does any one have any input on either unit regarding consumables?Thank you again for the assistance and feedback!Tim
Reply:i know the 375 consumables were less then the ones for the 125 and they were not that bad. and as they lasted prety good it was no biggie i just got a 10 pack and reorderd at 2. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Tim,  I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that the Hpertherm 380 and the Miller 375 are the same machine. I think Miller builds the machine and gets to use Hypertherm's torch in return.  I have a Hypertherm 380 and am very satisfied with it.  I bought it used because the price was right.  It gets a fair ammount of use on mostly 1/8 -3/16" aluminum and consumable life is much better than what I had expected.  I have also used it on occasion to cut some 1/2" MS and it did exceptionably well, although I don't think it would stand up to a steady diet of that work.  In this class of machine you can't go wrong with either the Miller or the Hypertherm.  If you think that you might be in the 3/8" more often than not, than you may want to consider a larger machine like the 625.Mac
Reply:Thanks again to all for the excellent feedback!After printing out and studying the PDF.s for both the 380 and 375, I have decided to go with the Miller 375.  I'll be making calls on Monday to see who has them in stock as I live hours away from any well stocked shop/supplier.  With a little luck, I will have it by Thanksgiving!Tim
Reply:Yes, the Miller 375 Extreme has a shorter torch cable than theMiller 375, but the Extreme weighs only 18 LBS vs. 55 LBS for theMiller 375. The idea is that you simply carry the entire machine overto where you need it, assuming you have a long power cord andcompressed air hose.
Reply:The idea is that you simply carry the entire machine overto where you need it, assuming you have a long power cord andcompressed air hosethats the hole thing right there, you need to move it more. most home shops put them on carts but just the same, mine sits on a shelf alowing me acces to all my shop without moving it. the extra reach over say my MM135's torch is a big advantage. not that the extream is a bad option for some its the perfect fit and i was strongly considering it till the torch reach isue came up and less wait is far less helpfull than more reach in a shop. out in the fireld on a mobil rig where it was invented for wait is a big isue and the shorter reach would be  less of an isue. it realy depends on your use and your preferances.My TA-185 is light just as my MM135 is but in the 5 years of having my MM135 i have only picked it up and caried it about 15 times, most of the time its on its cart and gets roled to where it needs to be used, so going from 50 lbs to 18lbs would realy not matter much but if it had a 30ft torch insted of a 15 that would be a big help and would have taken proble 7 of thouse times i caried it out of the situation.for me the reach is more important than the wait savings, but that is just my opinion, for others the wait might be more important. i just wanted to bring it to his attention as he might not have noticed it and if he were to order it off the net it could be a big suprise when he got it and a lot harder to change out at that point.all that being said i still think the extream is a realy cool cutter and for some the best thing going, for me i'll save the $150 and stick with the standers 375, well when i can aford it. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:timm9congrats on the new toy to be.shoot me an e-mail if ya want a cover for it.you should be real happy with the spec.375 summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Thank you again for everybodies help!  It is greatly appreciated!Tim