Plasma cutter info

I have an opportunity to by a plasma cutter that appears to be in very good shape for really cheap money but I can't seem to find any info on it, It is an Airco PCS 43.

Trying to find out the specs on it and the operating voltage. anyone know anything about this unit?

Thanks in advance

Boy, I would skip it. Its a total orphan.

I didnt even know there were Airco plasma cutters- it must be ancient, as Airco's gas division was bought by BOC in 1978, and I think Linde picked up the equipment line- and most Airco machines date back before that. Esab then bought Linde's US welding equipment line.

And then, in 2005 or so, Linde's euro branch bought BOC- making it a double orphan.

I would imagine parts and service are just about nonexistent.

I dont know about consumables, but I would check with people like American Torch Tip
http://www.americantorchtip.com/index.php
to see if you can even get electrodes for it.
They sure dont list it, and they are one of the big aftermarket suppliers of consumables.

Without consumables, a plasma cutter is useless.

The torch on a decent (30A) machine is probably roughly half the price (about $400 for the torch). Like Ries said, without consumables, the machine is worthless.

You're not doing yourself any favors buying a plasma that old unless it comes with a hundred of each consumable part. The newer machines produce far smaller kerfs, cost a lot less than they used to, and are much smaller. You can get a 80A machine (reputable brand) for around $1500 these days.

Plasma

The others are correct. I just bought a thermodynamics Hypertherm Powermax 600 new in the box for $1500. Rated at 1/2", sever 7/8".
Brock

Is there any common rating for length of life of the consumables? my Lincoln Pro Cut 55 eats them like a hungry kid.

Consumable life varies between systems and manufacturers. The Hypertherm units are engineered for long consumable life....their consumables are not the least expensive to purchase...but when you factor in the life...then you end up with a cheaper cost per foot of cut.

I would stay away from that Airco unit....they private labeled a european product (if I remember correctly)....and it was never very successful.

Jim

Later BOC plasma cutters, the "smoothcuts" were italian, I believe- maybe the airco's were too.

Consumable life is greatly affected by a couple of things-

First- number of starts. Continuous cutting, tips will last a lot longer than much fewer inches, but with lots of starts in the middle of sheet- piercing is hard on em.

Second- but maybe more important- DRY AIR. I would recommend BOTH a regular water trap, and, downline from that, a motor guard "toilet paper" style air filter. And, on top of that, drain your compressor regularly. I have an auto drain on mine that runs once an hour.
Change the paper filter in the motor guard every month or so, and let the old one dry out for a month in a dry spot, and you can re-use em for a long time.
Wet air kills tips.

if your getting this machine for really cheap, it may be worthwhile to get a new torch for it, i think hypertherm makes an aftermarket torch to be attached to plasma machines, this will solve your consumables problem. but i know nothing about the machine your looking at.
and i'll second the motor guard dryer, its worth every penny.

This machine is actually a rebadged Esab. It uses a standard esab torch and is still supported by esab. But parts are hard to come by.

If its cheap, go for it.

If its recent enough to be an Esab, does that mean it was sold by the Airco retail stores, even after they were owned by BOC?

Cause I know that any machines that were actually made by Airco, in Montvale NJ, are OLLLD.

Much older than Esab's presence in North America.

Very odd, how some names refuse to die, even long after the company itself is dead...

I am not sure exactly why they stuck the Airco name on newer machines. Maybe its like new PC's with the Commodore name?

Machines as new as the PCM-750 and 1000 were painted red and the Airco sticker placed on the side.

Airco and Esab seem to have had a long history of intermingling machines it seems. Some older Tig machine like the Airco Heliwelder IV (I think) had boards labeled Esab inside. And these were mid to late 80's machines.

Years back I used an Airco plasma that a welding supplier gave to our factory to "try out". The fact that they never came back for the machine speaks volumes. Consumable life was aweful and the thing was run on compressed gas cylinders instead of compressed air. Plasma isn't especially low cost to operate and with cylinder costs and consumables, the Airco was one of the most expensive I have seen.

So many plasma cutters have special and hard to find parts for every model they come out with. I have a Hypertherm since they were rated highest for consumable life. It performs pretty well in a CNC table and hand cuts (torches swap in a few seconds). The parts are usually stocked in about any welding supply store.

First you really need to decide if plasma is really a cost effective process for your needs. I know some people in the $50 pre cut range and years to return on investment (maybe never). It is awesome when you can justify electric cutting, but there are lots of other ways to cut material that can be more cost effective.