Plasma 3 in 1 combo, which one to buy?

[eou_edu]

I'm a brand new user here and excited to be here. I've spent the last several hours reading several posts on plasma cutters. I see there is very mixed feeling on chineese brands. I was looking on ebay and saw some of the chineese brands offer plasma/TIG/ARC combination in one machine for as low as $500! I am a very occasional hobby user so I don't want to spend and arm and leg. However I do really appreciate something good quality, that I can count on, not have to buy over and over, and will still work and be able to order parts 50 years from now (probably a little too optimistic). But do any of the major brands offer a 3 in 1 combo like this? If so who and how much?

[Jake_SS]

Personally I would not buy an all in one. Too many things to go wrong. You pay for what you get!
Cheers

[Zrexxer]

"If something seems too good to be true..."

[jimcolt]

The real problem with making 2 in one or 3 in one units that combine welding and plasma cutting processes is that each of these processes requires quite different power supply output characteristics in terms of voltage/amperage curves. You certainly can make these processes all work from one box....but you will be sacrificing performance in terms of weld quality and cut quality, as well as plasma consumable life.

The Chinese systems are probably adequate for the home hobbyist...and the price certainly is attractive. The issue is...and I have followed it on this and many other boards...reliability, performance and documentation (the manual) seems to leave a lot to be desired with many of these systems. They seem to be supported quite well....when a unit fails in warranty the importers seem willing to relace or repair them....but what will happen after the warranty?

The major plasma and welding system manufacturers would love to design a 3 in one system...but they likely will not do it unless it performs as well, is as reliable, and can be built in a US factory for a reasonable price, as compared to their individual systems.....and to do that will require more equipment inside the power supply....the transformers and inductors used for plasma cutting have different characteristics than the ones used for welding processes...and tig welding needs different characteristics than MIG and Plasma.

There actually was at least one combo system produced by a US company many years ago..possibly Powcon.....and it had reliability issues and was dropped.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[Hotfoot]

Personally I would not buy an all in one. Too many things to go wrong. You pay for what you get!
Cheers

Ditto! Keep it simple, eou!:)

But...here are a couple "tried and true" possibilities..

An Oxygen/Acetylene Torch Set will let you weld, braze, cut, heat/bend, weld aluminum...in fact do just about anything a home weldor needs!...no special wiring needed, and is portable.

An AC/DC "Stick" welder will weld, can do some aluminum, and can do DC TIG ...heavier duty units can run a High Frequency converter to do AC TIG.

[SundownIII]

Chinese and quality and supportability do not belong in the same sentence.

For a guy just starting out, buy a good O/A set and a small quality mig and learn to weld. Then you'll have a better idea about why quality costs money.

[eou_edu]

thanks for all the replies. I am disappointed to learn the name brand plasma cutters don't have a combo. The torch is an option for some but not for me. I need a plasma cutter, a mig, and an arc. I am restoring a 66 GTO so I need those for as many times as I plan to use it on that car, not much of any other use for it. Plus I have no intention of buying all three types of name brands. That's in the range of $3000 compared to $400 on the off brands. I hate to say this and I hate to go the cheap route because I am a firm believe in quality, but for what I'm using it for I think I'm going to go the cheap route. For the 20 times I use it for the car it will hopefully stand up. Hopefully for the random jobs once or twice a year otherwise it will still work for me.

I have a pretty good idea of how to use all three, even though it's been a while. I am by no means a pro, but I know enough to get me in trouble.

[Jake_SS]

thanks for all the replies. I am disappointed to learn the name brand plasma cutters don't have a combo. The torch is an option for some but not for me. I need a plasma cutter, a mig, and an arc. I am restoring a 66 GTO so I need those for as many times as I plan to use it on that car, not much of any other use for it. Plus I have no intention of buying all three types of name brands. That's in the range of $3000 compared to $400 on the off brands. I hate to say this and I hate to go the cheap route because I am a firm believe in quality, but for what I'm using it for I think I'm going to go the cheap route. For the 20 times I use it for the car it will hopefully stand up. Hopefully for the random jobs once or twice a year otherwise it will still work for me.

I have a pretty good idea of how to use all three, even though it's been a while. I am by no means a pro, but I know enough to get me in trouble.


OK if you want to go that way, there is a chinese brand called "Jasic". Some manufacturers/importers badge these with there brand, they arent to bad a machine, I am not sure if they do an all in one though. Over here they are sold with a 1 to 3 year warranty, can be taken to a local service guy for warranty issues.

Cheers
Jake