Alright, I have the 102i with duramax torch and hypertherm consumables, an 80 gallon Puma 3 cylinder air compressor 140psi off 120 psi on. I’m running about 15’ of 1/2” id air hose with a harbor freight air dryer. I have a new 1/2” input/output pressure regulator on the back of the 102i which replaced the unit that came with the machine. I have tried bypassing the air dryer, but pressure drop did not change.
My problem I am having is mostly during the pierce on 1/4” and 3/8” mild steel, metal shoots up at the consumables during the pierce and builds up on the shield and its no bueno. I have done all kinds of testing on pierce delay and pierce height. I have to have the air pressure set to 87 psi to see 74 psi when the torch is flowing air. If the pressure is set at 88 psi on the everlast it will go into a no torch fire mode. I have been able to trick the air system which allowed me to run 77-78 psi on the torch when flowing and the piercing was consistent and worked wonderfully. I am at 4,000 ft elevation and relative humidity is pretty steady at 15%. I know I have more than enough air compressor based on research.
Does this air pressure drop seem too much with the air setup I have?
Is there something I could check that is common that might block air flow and create the 13 psi drop when the torch fires?
My goal is to get the pressure not to drop so much upon cutting. Thanks.
Feed 100 to 120psi to the regulator. Turn the air set on and set the pressure to 70/75psi. When you turn the air set off the pressure should still be in the green or yellow the torch should fire. If not then you need to find out were your air is getting restricted as your getting pressure but not flow. It could also be the regulator as they have been known to be bad.
Thanks for the reply’s I appreciate the ideas. I see what you are saying, if there is a flow restriction than I would probably need less psi to achieve good results.
I will look into the Everlast internal air solenoid for debris.
I am using the 45amp hypertherm nozzles and cutting at 45 amps.
I’ve got 140psi-120psi to the regulator which was upgraded to a 1/2” unit from the factory unit at the back of the Everlast 102i. My pressure to get the 75 psi with air flow is 88 psi when the air flow is turned off which creates the no fire on the machine. I do believe there is a restriction somewhere, I just don’t think it is in my lines because everything is fairly new and I’ve had this problem since the whole setup was new. If there is a obstruction I think it’s in the plasma machine at this point.
It seems the piercing problem completely goes away with 78 psi when flowing. I don’t know if that is because I’m at higher elevation, but that has given me the best results with new Hypertherm consumables in the duramax machine torch.
I currently have 13psi drop with the 80 gallon tank full (140psi). Can anyone tell me the psi with airflow off that you have to achieve 75 psi while air is flowing so I can confirm my air pressure difference is out of the normal range?
Your conclusion does not necessarily clear your set-up. As George states, regulators can sometimes start out bad. Not all regulators are of the same quality.
Your pressure drop is incredible. Without adding a good quality pressure gauge to the back of the machine, you can’t rule out your line.
Still waiting for some photos of your setup (gauges, filters, quick connects, ‘upgraded 1/2” unit from the factory’, etc.). You state you are using Hypertherm consumables: please photograph. And photograph how your torch is mounted.
Check for thread tape or pipe dope, etc, in the orfices. Both my machines only drop about two psi during the cut. 125 psi supply and the machine is set for 75 psi. Anything above 78 will set an error code on the cutter panel, at least in my case.
Looks like a 5 picture max will force me to upload pics over a few different posts.
edit Issues have been ongoing since I got the system running. I started with 3/8” air line and factory regulator and added filter. From there I upsized and shortened everything an got rid of as many air restrictions as possible. I also got the new Hypertherm torch to see if that fixed the problem. The new torch sure did help, but still having the intermittent piercing issues that go away when I raise cutting psi. PSI can not be raised high enough without sending machine in to no fire condition. I know I’m repeating myself a little, just trying to be thurough. I’m currently suspecting the air solenoid might be obstructed so when I get a chance most likely on Monday I will take a look at that.
I currently have the air dryer and filter bypassed to see if that harbor freight dryer and filter was impeding flow. In fact everything has been taken apart, but I will include pictures of the components that I had working together, the pictured merlin air filter was taken out of the loop a while back to avoid the smaller air fittings.
Also the shop has been run hard lately, but that’s a good thing. It would be nice if there was enough room to push a broom in there. Please, if you have filters and regulators you prefer, let me know. The dryer does not seem to be the culprit as nothing change when I removed if from the loop.
80 gallon Puma air compressor 140psi of on @ 120psi. 1/2” output to on/off valve. Has a auto tank drain that opens every time the compressor kicks on installed on the bottom of tank.
I will not discount anything yet, I reached out to get your guys feedback and will follow the advice I get to solve this issue.
Thanks for the feedback on the pressure drop being out of the normal, definitely could be a faulty regulator. Also keep in mind the original that was supplied with the machine new was swapped out to try and get the pressure difference minimized, I don’t think it changed much.
Lucky me, turns out it was nap time (granny visiting) so I went out and pulled apart the solenoid. I don’t see a screen. I took some pictures. Would you guys recommend blowing off the inside of the machine with pressurized air while the case is off?
Thanks Bigdaddy2166 and everyone else! I just used a 5/8 wrench to unscrew the air inlet side of the solenoid and low and behold I found this! I have not identified the substance or cleared the screen yet, but it is partially blocked. Pretty tough to hold the flashlight and take a pic at the same time…
Man I sure hope so! I definitely think that’s it too. I’ll clear it out and and put it back together on Monday. It’s been such a great tool even with this problem I’ve managed to make it work. I honestly couldn’t believe how well it worked when I figured out how to fool the air system and run more pressure. Really excited for Monday. Nap time is over so it’s time to exercise and feed the family.
