What sort of “quality” consumables should I have on hand for my Razorweld 45.
I hate/can’t stand/loathe being in the middle of a project and then have to stop due to a “consumable problem”.
I have been through the manual, but it is lacking a little in this department.
Thanks.
I see that George is responding to you now (@mechanic416 ). He is very trustworthy and many, many people on the forum only trade with him for their consumable needs.
Here is George’s website store:
https://www.ebay.com/str/theplasmacuttershop
I would say keep 3 to 5 electrodes and cutting tips, 1 retaining cup, swirl ring and a CNC shield in stock. Then replace them as needed to so you don’t run out on a weekend or doing large projects.
I have a different cutter and have found that I will go thru more nozzles (aka ‘cutting tips’) more frequently than I go thru the electrodes. But, when you are starting out and having cutting problems you would be best advised to swap out both the electrode and the nozzle at the same time.
If you go past the critical wear point on the electrode you will potentially damage your torch, so there is no sense in risking that. As you get comfortable with what is reasonable wear you can make different decisions.
Thanks guys.
I just ordered some from George today.
But that does bring up an interesting question.
How do I know when I am approaching this "critical wear point’?
Is there some sort of “counter” in the Razor Weld 45?
Or is there a measurement that I should be paying attention to, or “signs/symptoms” from the machine?
There are 6 consumable part on your torch.
The one that wears out the fastest is the cutting tip. As it wears your kerf will start getting wider as well as start getting bevel on one side or the other and poor cuts.
The next would be the electrode. As it wears the hafnium in the center starts burning out. When the pit or hole is about 1/16’ or 0.060" deep its time to change it out. NOTE: If you over use an electrode and don’t change it in time and you see a green haze when cutting the electrode has burnt up as that would mean that the hafnium has all been used up. At that point always change the electrode, swirl ring and cutting tip as they are no longer any good for use. Also check your CNC shield.
Next would be a tossup between the CNC shield and the swirl ring. Depending on how much cutting your doing and blow back you may want to keep an eye on the shield to make sure the air holes are all open and their is no slag buildup on it. The swirl ring on your torch can have wear that may not be visible like small cracks, air holes getting bigger and wear from the electrode sliding up and down from the electrode movement on every pilot arc.
The Oring needs to be kept clean and lubed so it can seal the retaining cup properly so the air does not escape out around the top of the retaining cup. This can cause cutting troubles that is sometimes hard to figure out.
Last is the retaining cup. They can last a long time if they are keep clean inside and out a very little lube on the brass threads can also help an keep the threads for the shield clean and the shield tight. NEVER use the retaining cup with out the shield on it.
NOTE: Always use a silicon lube and grease. Never use a lube or grease that has a petroleum base.
Hope this helps.
You can also find more information on my web site under the home page. All about plasma cutting.
If it seems like the torch is having some difficulty piercing the metal, incomplete cuts, or topside dross (and I am reasonably certain that my cut height is correct) then I will suspect the electrode. Inspect the electrode. If the divot in the end of the electrode is 1/16" deep then it is toast.
But, if the only change I am seeing is a great cut with minimal dross but I see some negative bevel (undermining your work piece) consistently happening, then I will change just the nozzle. If that doesn’t fix the bevel then you have something else going on.
Great synopsis of the wear of torch parts. This O-ring thing, hmm…I had better pay better attention to this. Thanks!
I bought a Hypertherm 85 from someone a few years back that sad it would not cut properly at a verrrrrry good price. There was no oring on the torch and the consumables were shot. Installed a new oring, retaining cup, electrode, swirl ring, cutting tip and drag shield, low and behold it cut perfectly.
Was this after you told him that is couldn’t be repaired and he should scrap it??? 
Lol. We both know that person didn’t ask George for help.
Thank you sir, for your comprehensive response.
It is very much appreciated. 
And thanks to everyone else as well!!!
Since you are asking about consumable life, seems like a good time to have the scared straight talk about drying your air. There are numerous threads and posts on this site about drying strategies.
Your avatar suggests you live in a cold, possibly dry air area. However, even those on this site who reside in Canada generally have extensive air-drying equipment. Moisture can greatly shorten the life of your consumables and may also cause erratic cutting as it can facilitate arcing between the electrode and tip.
Many of us started with minimal drying hardware and continued to add until we got where we needed to be based on local climate, cutting duration/frequency, compressor type and size, …
Since this thread is about consumables and there are already several about air drying systems, I will stop here.
Yes sir, I agree that I need to do something.
I am considering a HF refrigerated dryer in line with some sort of “desiccant” system.
I also have kicked around the idea of a “homemade dryer” made from large’ish copper tubing again, inline with some sort of desiccant system; However, that idea is “less appealing” mostly because I have concerns on it’s efficiency.
I built a 60 foot “dryer” from 3/4" copper with 4 drop legs. I found it to be very ineffective at removing moisture from the air supply. I have never gotten any noticeable amount of moisture out of the drains on the drop legs. Don’t waste your money on building one.
@ds690 This is exactly what I concern myself with, especially since copper tubing is not exactly “cheap” any more.
I am leaning towards just putting that money towards something like a refrigerated system.
Sort of a “buy once, cry once” type thing.
One of the primary reasons for having some “legs” of a run, whether with copper or other tubing, is to give a chance for the air to cool a bit before it gets to the refrigerator dryer. If the air is too warm, the refrigerator dryer will not be effective.
On another aspect of drying, I found one of the best defenses against the moisture is to be sure to drain the compressor tank at least once or twice per day. That can be done on the “cheap” automatically with a timer and an electronic valve. The valve only needs to be open for a second or two. And the tank is designed to have the moisture drop out of the air.
I have both, plus an AT cooler with temp probe actuated fan, plus three particulate filters and a desiccant bead canister. I live in an area that gets pretty humid in Summer, so all this is necessary. Your situation may vary.
When you’re trying to remove moisture from compressed air, ideally you are passing the compressed air thru at least a 2row cooler of some sorts that has good airflow across it before it goes into the tank. Your first water separator should be between the cooler and the tank, ideally it’s an auto drain separator. This gives you the biggest delta T as your first step.
The tank should have a drain as well.
If you make a copper grid…you need to make something that slows the airflow way down…if you just use pipe and it travels a path only one way only then it won’t be very effective as the velocity is too high. You want a grid of some type with only one entry and exit, but multiple crossing points between your rows.
Then obviously a refrigeration type dryer may be necessary depending on your climate and RH in the air.
On my setup I have a trans cooler and extra pusher fan mounted between the compressor and tank. The auto pusher fan is ran by a 10 amp 110-240v power supply that is directly wired into the motor leads of the compressor. I’m using an old school 60 gal upright Sanborn. Contrary to popular practice I don’t drain the system each night for two reasons….its a waste of energy, but more importantly…it’s extra time that vapor can settle out in the tank and the system can cool down. I do crack the drain on the tank at least 4 x a day.
When you added the cooler pre tank how much did it increase your cycle times?
