Best Chinese Inverter plasma cutter? Your opinions please!

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy Howdy! I want to get a plasma cutter. I have demo'd several manufacturers plasma cutters at tent sales, only to find the 1,500 -2,000$ excessive for a fairly featureless machine. I have decided on giving one of the import Inverter type plasma cutters a chance. I am sure they aren't all the same, but they all look the same. I am looking in the 40-50-60 amp class, hopefully for around 600$. The 40's CAN be had for something around 400$, and the 60's go upwards near 900$. WHICH manufacturer and WHICH distributor have ya'll had good luck with? I was thinking Mitech, Riland, CUT, Giant.... but they all look the same to me. Looking to real world cut 1/2" max commonly...RARELY anything over that, but I always like to have that option, especially for just $100-$200 more.Thank you for any and all input!!! Also, I thank Hobart for the use of their sponsored message board, and I use almost exclusively Hobart filler materials. Thanks folks! Brian Lee Sparkeee27

[Teeps]

Personally I would go for the most powerful machine you can afford.

If that happens to be a 60 amp Chinese version go for it.

There was a guy selling a used Miller 2050 on here for 1300.00 that was the deal of the century if you have enough electrical service to support it.

So you may want to check for a used one too.

The 2050 would surpass your needs by double though, hah.

The consumables seem to be available and cheap enough on the chines units, even if they wear out faster (I don't know that they do) that shouldn't be a big deal.

Replacement parts are available through the Riland dealers, like Storts on here, so yo may want to talk to him about the best model to purchase for support and service parts.

If I were relying on this machine for my business to keep running, I'd probably go with a unit tht a local dealer supports and will commit to parts and service in a timely manner should a failure happen.

Just my .02

For a hobbyist it's a more difficult choice to make, and if you can wait for parts to ship (which you may have to at any dealer) then the Chinese option may prove to be just as good.

I've seen posts on here seeing cuts made by these machines, I'm sure the Thermadyne units are slightly better, and make slightly more refined cuts (possibly slightly less kurf in some instances), but the user was satisfied with the chinese unit.

If your more discerning than he was, you can always change your mind and sell it on here for a lower price, so I can try it out

[Broccoli1]

Brian,

Hotfoot did a write up on a Riland

http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/...ad.php?t=20084

[Hotfoot]

...and I'm still very pleased with it. I know the TD 38 I had SHOULD have cut the 1/4", but when I tried to cut designs out of a 1/4" thick O2 cylinder it just gouged it about 1/2 way. multiple passes made the kerf too sloppy for my taste. I've yet to run the Riland through that same "test", but its coming as soon as I finish Skeleton Chopper#4 (which I keep getting interupted on). I'm getting a lot of requests for more big gongs!

[ventureline]

...and I'm still very pleased with it. I know the TD 38 I had SHOULD have cut the 1/4", but when I tried to cut designs out of a 1/4" thick O2 cylinder it just gouged it about 1/2 way. multiple passes made the kerf too sloppy for my taste. I've yet to run the Riland through that same "test", but its coming as soon as I finish Skeleton Chopper#4 (which I keep getting interupted on). I'm getting a lot of requests for more big gongs!

I think a O2 cylinder is T1 steel, not mild steel, so that would explain why you couldn't
cut through it with 38. You need at least a 50 amp machine to slice it.

[Sparkeee24]

Howdy Howdy! SO! as always... the idea is to buy the biggest baddest cutter I can afford? I thought so! I just gotta get the $$$ together. I haven't heard anything bad about the Riland models. I may just spend the extra 100-200$ to get the Riland named models, since I haven't heard anything bad about them yet, except inexpensive, but functional torches. Cheep affordable consumables are definately a plus. sigh... I nead to save up, and get this foot fixed. humph. Thanks! Brian Lee Sparkeee27

[tomtri]

I have the riland-mitech cut 40 as well. I have tried it on 1/2in plate and it does cut through it, although it is quite an "ugly" cut.

In the machines defense, the steel did still have mill scale on it and I was kind of hurrying through. Anything thinner than 1/2in and you cut through it like butter.

[Sparkeee24]

howdy Howdy! are the riland Mitech Chiry CUT models all the same? If so, then there is several hundred dollars difference between the names on the machines, and if they are the same, I may go with a Mitech or Chiry, even though several have had great success with the Riland. Thanks! Brian Lee Sparkeee27

[chachi44089]

I just purchased a chinese plasma from homier tools...they are a company like harbor freight....it is a "speedway series" 30 amp 220v. cutter..$400...says it will cut 5/16 steel....i baught it pretty much knowing that was wishfull thinking..the cutter seems well made and does a nice job on 3/8 plate and under...also tried it on thin brass and copper and it did great..only scare i have is finding consumables in the future....homier sells them for $15+shipping, for one set "electrode, tip and ring".not sure if this is a good deal or not...i would love to find somewhere local i could buy a larger supply of them....i cant seem to find the tips anywhere but from them...not even e-bay,would like some help here...but anyway,i really am happy with the performance,size and quality of the unit..i would recomend buying one that uses a common type of consumable,and buy as much of them as you can..just in case in a year or two the manufacturer goes under or changes the design..i also liked buying it from a buisness like this cuz i was able to take it strait home and test it and if i didnt like it i could take it back the same day..no shipping delays and crap like on e-bay...any more questions feel free to ask...if you live lacal message me and try it for yourself...also check "tractor supply"they carry an off brand that says "made in usa" for $700..............later.

[Roospike]

Unless your just wanting a plasma to cut sheetmetal and you have a lot of sheetmetal to cut and or if you cant come up with the $$ for the name brand "I" would just get O/A tanks and a torch . Plasma is made more for sheetmetal and or steel plate. If you dont have a lot of these items to cut and $$ are an issue .... O/A is the way to go if you dont already have it. If you do already have O/A but dont do a lot of sheetmetal / steel plate "I" would not foot the money for a plasma cutter . Dont ask me how i feel about "made in china" stuff. I'll keep that for another thread. B.O.L .

[bigdogjoe62]

Save your money till you can buy a thermal dynamics or hypotherm, you are going to run into trouble with most of the china knock offs getting consumable for the torch etc....

[cc/cv]

this alway appears on here by the same people trying to sell chinese junk on here, must i call miller???? they wouldnt appreaciate peddling other junk on here, this isnt a flea market, and these guys arent giving good ideas to people, you get what you pay for. try a used name brand , or a demo unit form a distributor , this isnt a tent flea market, and you guys have posted this crap for years, how many times are you guys gonna say " thinking of a chinese plasma, or inverter" funny , you guys have already posted this stuff so many times its funny, most people are smarter than that, use common sense, i'll take to miller today about this ,

[Wyoming]

Must be some mighty stretched logic there cc/cv. I don't see any of the posters on this topic mentioning that they are selling the Chinese manufactured machines. I do see that some good insight has been offered by several posters about sizing and the quality issues of these plasma cutters. Others have stated that it would be a better idea to buy domestic units or not to even go down that road and stick with O/A. Perhaps if you were a bit more forthcoming as to why you view these machines as "crap" and "junk" it would help potential buyers make the decision to buy domestically produced models.

Personally, Brian Lee, I'd stick with Hypertherm. Otherwise, if cash is a major hurdle, I'd wait another year or so for the feedback to filter back to China on the current crop of plasma cutters and see if their new models aren't more developed and sophisticated.

[rmack898]

Hey Brian, Once I made the decision to buy a plasma cutter, I went shopping and looked at specs, and made a decision based on my needs. Then I realized that my wallet and my needs were not on the same page. Six weeks of dedicated hunting on Epay and Craig's list got me a like new Hypertherm PM380 for $600. The deals are out there, you just have be patient and wait for the right deal. I think you will be much better off in the long run getting a used domestic machine than getting one of the cheap imports.

[Grappletractor]

Save your money till you can buy a thermal dynamics or hypotherm, you are going to run into trouble with most of the china knock offs getting consumable for the torch etc....

There is no problem getting consumables, check Ebay.