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Cheap Lotos plasma cutter

Sparky45

Aluminum
Joined
Jan 20, 2020
Looking into a cheap plasma cutter and wondered if anyone has the Lotos LT5000D with pilot arc?
 
I have no idea about the Lotos, that said my welding suppler has a giant pile of cheap plasma cutters that have passed away.
When a customer brings a dead odd brand plasma into the store for repairs in most cases parts are not even available.
Sure some times guns, fans or other parts can be retrofit but the cost generally far exceeds the value of the plasma cutter.
What my dealer generally does is offer a small trade in amount for the dead plasma and the customer ends up buying a Hypertherm, Lincoln, Milller etc, that will go the distance with a good warranty. the customers cheppie plasma is then generally drug by its power cord out to the scrap pile.
 
2nd. Started with a cheap Chinese one.

Save yourself the expense of buying both a Chinese one and later a Hypertherm and just buy the Hypertherm to begin with. Even a used previous-gen Powermax will still work great.
 
Yes I have the LTP5000 and recommend that over the LT5000 because of the non-touch pilot arc. Way easy for a home guy to use since it will start the arc on rusted or painted non-conductive surfaces. Not having to scratch start the arc is a great feature for amateurs. Seems as a home guy that's just about all I EVER have is dirty metal to work with!!

Now it is about $100 or so more expensive but you definitely want the non-contact pilot regardless of which machine you get. Here is a comparison of the two models.
LOTOS LT5000D vs LOTOS LTP5000D? What's The Difference? - Fabrication Guy

Now like I said I am a home hobby guy so I don't work this machine like a commercial shop would but I have had it for several years as I went in on a group purchase thru Garage Journal to purchase it. What's nice is all the consumable stuff is generic so it's cheap and available all over the place.

But I have found that operator technique plays a big part in how long your consumables last. I purchase a big pile as I figured a cheap chinese machine would go thru them fast. But that is not the case if you can keep the tip off the surface with a guide of some kind. Free hand I always touch the surface way to much.
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Bought a cheap one on Ebay about 2 years ago for $218 + free shipping. Used it a lot for about 4 weeks on one job. At that point, its Value exceeded the Cost several times over. Still using it, still working just fine. If it dies tomorrow, I think I actually will drag it to the dumpster by it's power cord and chuck it in.Then I will go on Ebay and buy another just like it. And still be at less than 1/8th the cost of any of the overvalued "made in USA with China parts" units.


the cost generally far exceeds the value of the plasma cutter.
 
2nd. Started with a cheap Chinese one.

Save yourself the expense of buying both a Chinese one and later a Hypertherm and just buy the Hypertherm to begin with. Even a used previous-gen Powermax will still work great.

Heck, I'm still buying and re-habbing old American iron, mainly xformer units.

Had an old HyperTherm Max40, and still have a Thermal Dynamics Pak5XR.
Latest is a Snap on Ya-5555a with the newer snap start torch (no hi-freq)
The old torch (broken) was made by HyperTherm for Snap-On.

I will say this though, I drive a HyperTherm Powermax 65 amp inverter on a 4x4 table for a local maker lab.
Consumable life is fantastic, hundred's if not thousands of lineal inches of burn, all at 65 amps,
before changing tip & electrode.
 
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Well, I got a fair deal on the LTP5000 and should have it in a week. $400 TMD . If this gets used as much as my Sheldon Lathe, it'll still look new in 5 years.
 








 
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