Recieved my updated PP205

[NRM]

Got my updated PP205 last week and have been trying all the functions (stick/TIG/PAC). I have taken a few stick & TIG classes so I have a basic understanding of how each process works. PAC is new to me and it is a lot harder to free hand a straight line or make a clean cut than I thought. I have a few questions for the more experienced users.
When I press the trigger on the S45 there is a weak arc at first but then it energizes a second or 2 later when I move closer to the piece, is this normal?
Sometimes (5% of the time) the weak arc starts then goes out and there is a popping sound with the weak arc starting again and sometimes not. I release the trigger and the post flow starts, what is causing this to happen?
When I do get the arc cutting there is a lot of slag on the underside (3/8"), what can I do to fix this problem?
Are there general amp & psi settings to cutting different thicknesses?
Where is the best place to get more consumables for my S45 as I am just a noob?

Any advice would be appriciated.
Have a good day.

[geezer]

Having dross on the underside is caused by having your cutting tip to low check out this website for a better explaination.

http://www.agelkom.com.tr/thc_vs_sensor.htm

[Tritium]

I have found S45 consumables at harbor freight but I found them really cheap direct from China on e-Bay ($1 per tip and electrode, retaining (outer) caps $4. I have just ordered them so it will be several weeks before I receive them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT 22 piece kit 1 Nozzle retaining cap 10 electrodes 10 tips 1 Wire Standoff.

Thurmond

[NRM]

Geezer/Tritium thanks for thr info/links.
What size tips (.6, .8, .9mm) come with the PP205 and are the differences in the tip length?
If not then what are the differences, if so what is the advantages of each?
Does anyone know if the ebay consumables are quality (same supplier), as good as the ones supplied with the unit?

Thanks again.

[Tritium]

I am guessing they ALL come from China. After all that is where the machine is manufactured. The kit I ordered said OEM. I will report as soon as received. Tips are .6 according to the description (PD0116-06)

Here is the link to the OEM section for the S45 http://stores.ebay.com/plasma-cutter...=p4634.c0.m322

Thurmond

[Tritium]

Ken,

The documentation on Everlast site ( http://www.everlastgenerators.com/downloads/S45.pdf ) on the Plasma Torch indicates 2 part numbers for that tip style .8 and .6 . The other tips listed take a different electrode.

.8 should be just a tiny fraction bigger than .03" .9 should be a bit bigger than .035" so a piece of mig wire should work as a gauge.

Edit: I just checked one of mine and it IS marked .9 and a piece of .030" mig wire just passes through the hole so it should be a .8 rather than the .9 it is marked. A piece of .035" wire will not pass through it.

They have a kit with .8 tips as well http://cgi.ebay.com/Trafimet-S30-S45...item5d25add9cd

Another Edit: The harbor freight tips state they are .029" which is neither .8mm nor .9 mm . I am beginning to think that there is a "range" of size where this gun will work. They do erode and the hole gets bigger.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...ips-95413.html

Thurmond

[Tritium]

I just got shipping confirmation of my stuff from China. I will report on it when it arrives. I ordered some Tig consumables for my 26 series torches as well. Size 5 through 8 Nozzles $2.50 / 3. 12 nozzles total for $10 plus shipping.

Edit: I did go to the source here http://trafimetgroup.com/en/parts-fo...asma-tips.html . They do list .6mm .8mm and .9mm .

Something I saw on my quest for Trafimet knowledge led me to believe that the bigger the hole the higher the amperage of the tip. (One sites catalog had the .8mm listed as a 20-30 amp tip)

Still looking and studying though.

Thurmond

[NRM]

Thurmond I to have seen S45 tip info stating sizes .6mm, .8mm, .9mm & 1.0mm. The electrodes for the .6mm & .8mm looking the same as what I got with my PP205 and the .9mm & 1.0mm look to be longer. I have seen 3 electrode sizes (short, medium & Long) also. I will try to find the sties again and post the links for others review. Please let us know how the .6mm tips work out when you receive them.

[powercat]

I have found S45 consumables at harbor freight but I found them really cheap direct from China on e-Bay ($1 per tip and electrode, retaining (outer) caps $4. I have just ordered them so it will be several weeks before I receive them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT 22 piece kit 1 Nozzle retaining cap 10 electrodes 10 tips 1 Wire Standoff.

Thurmond

Several weeks. Try several months! I went that route and if you don't mind the wait its ok but the shipping time for me was a month and a half. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did. Great price though.

[performance]

Not to promote another guys product, but HTP has the best quality and decent price for what you .are looking for. Weldmart.com does as well.

[NRM]

Powercat did you receive your plasma consumables yet? If so, what were the sizes and how is the performance?

[performance]

Additionally, if I read it right, that is overpaying for tig cons. They are locally available any where, the last I paid for weldcraft was just a hair over $2 a piece for cups. Less than a dollar for collets.

[yotarover]

Several weeks. Try several months! I went that route and if you don't mind the wait its ok but the shipping time for me was a month and a half. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did. Great price though.

this is one of the things i hate the most. i hate the slow boat and always wonder why they can't have these things instock here in the us if they know we order them or need them. one of the reasons i wish there was a vender for everlast here in NC that stocked parts and machines as well. i'd do the vending part myself but there's to much crap and money involved to start up

[performance]

Yota,
You have hit the nail on the head with your issues. They are the same as ours.
A company our size just can't lay out the enormous amounts of cash each order that it takes to create huge orders, in the excess of millions of dollars. Plus we order more regularly so we can keep the units turning and to actually be able to make small improvements in each order, that you never see on the exterior.

The other way of looking at it, from an economic standpoint is if demand is this high, we are selling them too cheap....That is also a factor. I figure, just from my experience, we are about 25% under priced for the market. Not saying we are going to raise prices, but definitely its my personal opinion we are leaving money on the table in each sale.

[Timberwolf]

I agree with you Mark that the units are underpriced. But at the same time if you were to jack prices up ppl would look for alternatives. You can see this alot where forum members will get together and make a huge buy on machines to make it cheap for everyone. There's numerous other companies in China that sell products like yours that are just a few hundred and are extremely low priced. However to get that low price you have to order a shipping container full. Plus then if something does go wrong or parts are needed, it turns into a huge PITA. That's when it's worth it to pay a company like everlast to step in as the middle man. Obviously too, ya'll are talking to the main company and implementing changes to help the product. In reality, it seems like you guys are really a threat to Miller and Lincoln. Majority of the people that rag on yall have never even seen or touched your product.

For me it's worth the wait and some troubles for the product I have. It's extremely smart on everlast's part to use commonly available parts as well so a customer can run down to the LWS to get consumables without having to go straight through everlast. Keep up the good work and treating customers right and ya'll really will be a contender for those other companies out there

[performance]

A little homespun story maybe, but when I was in college, my Ag Economics teacher gave a great example of supply/demand/pricing.

He said he got his first lesson in economics selling watermelons in Cordele (Crisp County) GA, the center of the watermelon industry in GA and the source of most of your 4th of July melons. He was selling for his Uncle when he was about 15. His Uncle set him on the side of the road with a pickup truck full of melons and left him to sell them( somewhere near the gates of the farmer's market, if I remember right.) His Uncle was just about to leave him with the melons when my, then young, teacher thought, hey...wait a minute... He yelled to his Uncle as he was just about to leave...." HEY ....UNC....WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SELL THEM FOR?" His uncle said: "Sell them for what you want..." The teacher thought about it for a second and realized he had no idea what to price it at. He yelled back to his Uncle "I DON'T WANT TO SELL THEM TOO CHEAP AND GET YOU MAD AND I DON'T WANT TO SELL THEM TOO HIGH". The uncle replied, still rather vaguely but made his point with this: " I'll tell you.....IF YOU COME HOME WITH A HALF A TRUCK LOAD OF MELONS....YOU SOLD THEM TOO HIGH....BUT IF YOU SELL OUT BEFORE YOU COME HOME....YOU SOLD THEM TOO CHEAP.....BUT IF YOU BRING HOME ONE OR TWO SO WE CAN EAT AFTER SUPPER, THEN YOU DID GOOD."

I'll never forget that story and it is a practical gauge for understanding basic supply and demand issues and how it relates to price. Which reminds me, I've got some melons to pick out in my garden now.

[Tritium]

Several weeks. Try several months! I went that route and if you don't mind the wait its ok but the shipping time for me was a month and a half. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did. Great price though.

I ordered my consumables and paid on 4 June 2011, They were shipped from China by China Post on 6 June, 2011. Received today 13 June, 2011 in my rural Texas mailbox. That's FAST! I rarely receive items from within the USA that fast.

Testing to follow. I will report back to this thread.

The Stand Off guide I received is for a shorter tip style. It allows the tip to extend beyond the stand off approx 37mm. I have contacted the seller asking them to send the correct stand off guide.
The one they pictured in the auction was the correct height. The hole in the tip is .6mm and is tiny compared to the .9mm shipped with my Everlast unit. I will try one as is and drill one out to .9mm to see if there is any difference in performance.
I suspect that the .6mm hole will only allow lower amperage without causing problems.

Testing reveals what I suspected. the .6mm is for lower amperage usage (25A or so). Higher amperage erodes the hole to a larger size rapidly. I drilled out the hole with a #62 drill bit (.038", .96mm) with a pin vice and it performs with no noticeable difference than a stock .9mm Trafimet tip. It would be better to use a #65 bit which is .035" (.89mm) but I had the #62 on hand. The Chinese tip is 1/100" wider at the tip end flat than the trafimet. Off hand I am happy with this source of consumables.

Attachment 2396
This entire order was $80 shipped. The Tungsten is 2% lanthinated .40 by 7" (10 pieces), The 12 tig cups (medium gas lens 26 series torch ) were $10.

Thurmond