Air Compressor Questions for CNC Plasma

[WSS]

hi i just started running my machine and i have a filter at the hypotherm 1250 and a toilet paper roll filter at the compressor and was wondering if i should buy an air dryer and which ones are the best and approximately how much they are , thanks , greg

greg,

The harbor freight dryer is not the best but is the least money and has good feedback. I just put one inline with our Hypertherm 1650. No more water!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40211

[Edwardo]

Something else that helps if you dont have a air dryer is, if you can to run a 25' air line from the compressor to the paper filter, it helps keeps the filter from getting damp. Originally i had the same filter mounted close to the compressor and it would be wet within no time, i ran a rubber airline along the wall up and away from the compressor then back to the filter... made a huge difference.

EDD

[BobWarfield]

It would work even better to run hard line (black pipe, but copper would work even better as a condenser) for that 25' rather than the rubber hose.

Take care how those lines are run so you can drain them.

Cheers,

BW

[magma-joe]

Here is a PDF on air pipe layout.

http://www.tptools.com/StaticText/ai...ng-diagram.pdf

[slammedxonair]

Hello everybody, I have finally been able to save up some extrafunds for a new compressor and am now stuck in a debate. Also I am running the hypertherm 1250 which says max airflow is 6.7cfm@90psi I pretty much always run it at 40 amps for best quality parts but sometimes 60 amps and pretty much never at 80, so I have no idea how much air I am really using, don't forget the air cylinders on the Dynatorch.

#1 the compressor I was looking at and my local tool guy is trying to sell me 14.7cfm@175psi http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...8461_200318461

#2 has the same pump and motor but with an 80 gallon tank, http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...8501_200318501 tool guy said theres not really anypoint in the 80 gallon because its all about the cfm, I understand the compressor will run longer but will also have a longer fill time between refills?

#3 I can not find this compressor any where other than TSC tool guy said these have bad pumps even know they are rated at the same hours as the previous 2 http://www.tractorsupply.com/tools/a...ssor,%205%20HP

any input would be greatly appreciated. My local tool guy said he will include delivery oil and the air filter with the price which is the same as northern tool. Thanks.

[jimcolt]

Any of those compressors are more than adequate for your plasma system. Personally, I would recomend the cheapest one....then use the "left over" money towards a refrigerated air dryer! Your Powermax unit will use about 5.7 cfm when you are using the 40 amp shielded nozzle.

Jim

[WSS]

Slammed,

The AC we use in our shop looks like the one on the tractor supply link. But I think it puts out 17cfm @ 175psi. It works great. I run a 1650 at 100 amps about 80% of the time and it is running about 40% of the time while cutting. The load on the DT cylinders should not affect it at all. I bought a cheap harbor freight dryer off of craigslist (used very little) and that was the biggest improvement to our consumable life of anything we had tried. It also helped out big time on a blast cabinet that is mounted about 8' below the compressor, zero water now.

WSS

[slammedxonair]

Well I finally ordered my compressor last week and it should hopefully be here anyday. I ordered the 60 gallon in option #1 the 14.7cfm @ 175psi ingersoll rand I can't wait to get it hooked up and see how much of a differance it makes in production! next on the list will be a dryer, Im debating on the one harbor freight sells (granger also carrys it) and the ingersoll rand one which is about $500 more. But that will probably be a couple more months.

[slammedxonair]

Well I got the compressor all hooked up and ran some production today. Let me tell you how nice it was to be able to actually walk away and do something else while the machine was running by its self and not have to babysit it. This compressor is great I would reccommend these to anybody looking for one. It seems like it kicks on about roughly every 3 min or so to fill from about 120, 125 ish psi to 170-175ish psi. Never even gets close to cutting out the air flow on the cnc! And it is so much quieter than the oilless craftsman I was using.

[WSS]

Slammed,

You could get away with lower pressure and the compressor will not work as hard. Ours is set to kick on at 110psi and off at 130/135psi. You can pull the black plastic top (maybe sheet metal) and see that the arrows will show you up or down for both on and off pressures. It may cycle more often but shorter runs.

WSS

[slammedxonair]

I bought this one because it is built for higher pressures, the compressor in my truck for my air suspension shuts off at 200 psi and I wouldn't have it any other way