I’ve got an Ingersol Rand 120V compressor feeding my Hypertherm 30 just like yours. I originally had an automotive A/C unit just like in your picture, but the restriction was so high the air volume was too low. What worked for me was a 4-pass aftermarket aluminum oil cooler radiator (shrouded to the fan) with full length 1/2 inch copper tubing as an after-cooler, followed up with a water separator before connecting to the tank. Now I don’t get any water to speak of in the main tank as it’s all captured before it. As a precaution I also run a MotorGuard filter at the end of the run just before the plasma cutter or spray guns. I haven’t had to change the filter in over 6 months (no detectable water) and get no spatter from my spray guns so I think the system is working very well. The plasma consumables seem to last too.
Thanks for posting your setup! I do not believe I have a restriction in my setup. The tubing in the AC cooler I used is the same size as my copper, just flattened into an oval.
After installing the AC cooler things did improve but the issue has not been completely eliminated. I still believe I am getting excess water in my air even with the setup I have. The copper tube that contains the cooled air is still warm after the compressor cycles. When using air tools I do see a little bit of wetness, although I do NOT have a desiccant dryer inline with my air tools - the drier I have is bolted onto the back of the plasma/dedicated for the plasma.
@nicaDd Sorry, I didn’t see your question. The bigger the better with the desiccant dryers. Personally, I would run 1 quart minimum which is about $100 shipped on Amazon. If you have the cash to do a 2 or 3 quart, even better. It’ll last a long time without needing the gel dried or replaced. If you cut a lot with one of the smaller desiccant dryers you’ll just need to keep an eye on the silica gel and replace it before it’s saturated and stops working. One fire of the torch with moisture in the air can deform the nozzle and ruin it so it should never get to that point. If you don’t mind replacing the silica gel often, you can use a small filter and keep a gallon of beads on hand and dry them all at once when they’re all saturated.
This is the one I have.
Thanks!
So just curious, what is the difference between the different motor guard models? i see some people using the M-60, other the M-30 and i see a few other models online.
which one to pick?
The only real differences are the inlets are either 3/8" or 1/2" and some have an inlet on the top and bottom as opposed to side to side. They are all the same type of cartridge filter though, just depends on the size of your air lines and how you want to mount it.
Just know what filter element the motor-guard unit takes as they take different ones, they are not all the same.
I just received my M-60. The document that came with the filter says that M-20, M-30, M-40 and the M-60 all use the same M-723 filter element. Now, I guess there could be earlier models that don’t use the M-723(?).
Yes there is other models that use other filters. Keep about 6 on hand as you need to change them out about every 30 days or so.
i got the the m-100 which is the M-60 with 2 extra filters.
I had this happen again last night. I was experimenting with lower amps and slower speeds for 16 gauge. Intermittent not cutting all the way through. Bumped back up to specs and it happened again.
But… I had my ground clamped to the water table. I’m thinking that was probably it.
I’m still experiencing the issue as well, even with my ground clamp on the work piece itself. My settings do not change ever. I am still leaning towards wet air personally, but have picked up a new to me plasma cutter which will help eliminate one more variable once I get it installed.
I am using an older powermax 30, upgrading to a 2018 pm45.
First make sure you have at least 60psi of air. Also when was the last time you changed the air filter in the plasma cutter? Next set the torch height at about .030 to .035 The 30 was a drag plasma cutter so if the height is to high it will not work right. make sure the consumables are new or like new and run it on 240 volts at 30 amps. If you are cutting to fast this will also cause not cutting all the way through the metal.
Update on the motor guard filter - still have the issue. I am out of ideas, short of trying a different plasma machine.
So not sure if this is the same issue as we seen with the older hyper-therm hand torch. The consumables is really sensitive on the amount of tightness it has. When the torch moves from one corner to the other the torch swivels just enough that the torch will lose arc. If your right there you can wiggle the torch quick and it regains arc and continues cutting. We were cutting this weekend and if we cut a bigger sign where using most of the table it would lose arc a time or two. Does anyone know if there is a fix for this?
Make a mount that holds the torch handle not by the retaining cup. This is what we used in years past.
Thats an interesting thought on the consumables become loose/tight mid cut. I will have to see if I can test that some how.
Has anyone ever experienced this happening with impure steel? It’s really odd. I have some old scrap thats full of rust that it barely ever happens on, and then some brand new clean stuff that it is a real issue with.
Sitting here in my garage tonight after work trying to cut some orders out. Cut a few things and decided it was time to change out consumables - next cut went for a shit, had to run it at 50% speed and it still didn’t want to cut. Same sheet of steel, same file, same speeds, ground not moved at all. I even put brand new desiccant in the dryer. One of these things made my machine very unhappy.
I really have no idea on what the hell is wrong… I know its frustrating. I am going to swap electrodes again and see what happens. Could it be a coincidence? Its about time I hit hypertherm up I guess.
I tried messing with the tightness of the head when it started happening but the three or four different tightness’s (just messing around by hand) didn’t seem to make a difference.
Just asking but when was the last time you changed the swirl ring/ diffuser as Hypertherm calls it.
Never since I have owned it, not much to the thing, just a little chunk of plastic. Now that you have mentioned it, I will swap it as I have a brand new one in case I even wrecked mine.
You do know it is a consumable just like the nozzles and electrodes.