my new powermax 30

[Eliotmay@yahoo.com]

Jim, I appreciate your wealth of information that you generously share with us on the welding web! As a new owner of one of your machines, and novice to plasma cutting i have a couple of questions.

1.The amp dial on the front, am i supposed to set that to match the incoming power or is that a sort of rheostat for dialing the power to match the thickness of the material?

2. do i need one of those nozzle cover caps that is included in the delux package? I didnt get that package so Im wondering if i should / can get one?

3. I tried my first cuts the other day. I used an old welding helmet and set it at setting 8 , i was unable to see my work. will i see better if i get glasses with a 5 shade?

thanks for your time, i hope i have not asked questions already answered in the forum archives!

eliot may (PA in baby heart surgery by trade, novice welding enthusiast for fun)

[snoeproe]

Have you read over your owners/user manual? I'm guessing that these questions should be covered in the manual.
Dial on fornt would be amperage or power output of the cutter.
Nozel cover caps I'm guessing is for gouging. Will you be arc gouging with this machine?
Shade 5 face shield or glasses is what you should be using for plasma cutting.

[jimcolt]

When running on 120 volts and cutting the thickest materials....the Powermax30 can draw up to 30 amps.......which will trip a 20 amp breaker after about 7 to 10 seconds of cutting. If you cut thin gauge....it probably won't trip the breaker. If you turn the amperage knob down to about 22 to 24 amps output....it works fine on a 20 amp, 120 volt circuit. If you run off 230 volts....a 15 amp circuit is fine for full output power. The amperage knob is independant of the input power.

If you are talking about the deflector shield that is designed to hold a standoff......I don't use it. At 30 amps you can drag the nozzle directly on the plate for better cuts and better visibility.

Shade 8 is way too dark for a 30 amp plasma....use shade 5 and you will be able to see what you are doing.

Thanks for buying the Powermax!


Jim Colt

[Eliotmay@yahoo.com]

Thanks Jim, very informative as usual! I spent the evening last night trying out cuts on 16 ga steel and 10 ga ss. I found that they cut well but the ss had alot of slag on the back side. How can I minimize that? It was somewhat less of a problem with the 16 ga steel. I will try to get some pix up today

[Eliotmay@yahoo.com]

here are some pix

[jimcolt]

The key to minimizing dross (resolidified metal that attaches to the part) is primarily cutting at the edge of "too fast". If you cut too slow there is more heat input which rewelds dross....too fast and you do not penetrate......so just slightly slower than too fast and you will get the best cut. Also....pierce the material with the troch held at about 1/8" standoff, and tip the torch at an angle to allow the blowback spatter to miss the nozzle (longer nozzle life).....once the pierce is complete lay the nozzle right on the plate and try to get to the edge of max speed....keeping the torch perpendicular.

I can see the varying heat affected zone in some of your parts.....when the heat shadow gets wider...it is because you are going slower. It takes a little practice....your cuts will start looking better!


Jim Colt

[Eliotmay@yahoo.com]

Thanks for the feed back. The letter "E" in my picture series looks like my speed was good on the straight edge and too slow around the tips of the "E" according to your explanation. OK i will work on that. Does stainless produce a more ragged dross or do you think it's just because its thicker material? I'd like to work with 10 ga stainless but not if i spend a long time having to grind away the dross. I do like the thinner mild steel because its easier to work with. Im going to have fun being creative with my "work". My mind is swimming with ideas! I'll post them as i do them! Thanks again, Hypertherm should be very happy you work for them because you are very informative and obviously proud of your product.

[jimcolt]

Cutting steel is a different process as compared to cutting stainless.

Steel oxidizes easily.....and since the plasma stream is a superheated gas formed with air....which is roughly 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen.....it uses the oxygen to create an exothermic reaction which oxidizes the steel, and combined with the high temperature of the plasma cuts faster and cleaner. Stainless....by design, is not easily oxidized.....so the plasma cutting process is simply thermal (melting). Stainless is not as easy as steel, but plasma is a preferred cutting process based on its speed and low operating cost.

Good luck....don't cut all of your good pieces of metal practicing!


Jim Colt



Thanks for the feed back. The letter "E" in my picture series looks like my speed was good on the straight edge and too slow around the tips of the "E" according to your explanation. OK i will work on that. Does stainless produce a more ragged dross or do you think it's just because its thicker material? I'd like to work with 10 ga stainless but not if i spend a long time having to grind away the dross. I do like the thinner mild steel because its easier to work with. Im going to have fun being creative with my "work". My mind is swimming with ideas! I'll post them as i do them! Thanks again, Hypertherm should be very happy you work for them because you are very informative and obviously proud of your product.