Air Plasmas and Water tables......

[WSS]

We just added a water table on our cutter that has a Hypertherm 1650 and have noticed shorter consumable life in both nozzles and electrodes. The torch has never been dunked but it does sit over the water at night, is this a possible spot for water contamination? What are the general thoughts on air plasma over water? An interesting coincidence is I purchased a bunch of "surplus" OE electrodes on ebay and they arrived stuffed in a box and pretty dinged, I have to check each one for nicks before installing

Thanks for any input.
WSS

[jimcolt]

Unless water is actually getting inside the torch...then it should have no effect to consumable life. The "Surplus" electrodes.....if they truly are Hypertherm consumables they will have a Hypertherm part number and date code....and on some of them, a system designation or amperage rating laser etched on them. Consumables are manufacturered to some pretty tight tolerances....nicks and scratches will affect operation and life.


Jim Colt