Harbor freight plasma cutter

Dave in MS · Jan 25, 2011

A few years ago, while recuperating from a bad car wreck, I must have been eating too many pain killers because I bought a Harbor Freight plasma cutter. If memory serves, it was at or around the $900 mark. I used it to cut some 10ga. sheet metal for a mower deck patch, and it worked great. Then it went on the shelf until 2 weeks ago. Now it lights up, and air blows out of the torch, but there is no arc. I called HF tech support who quickly diagnosed the problem as a bad computer board. Of course the 92625 unit is no longer stocked or supported, and mine is way passed the 90 day warranty. I called a couple places around town and basically was laughed at. I guess I'm SOL. Should have known better. HF sells throw away tools. Leave the higher priced stuff alone.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 25, 2011

They might not have the best tech support either. If it worked fine the last time you used it, how could sitting on a shelf cause it to go bad? Did you make sure you had a good ground with the ground clamp? I've seen a couple people forget to put the ground clamp on when about to use a plasma torch. Also, most(never used a HF)plasma cutters have built in safety features that won't allow an arc if the nozzle is the slightest bit loose or the air pressure is too low etc. I think I'd be checking some more things out before I decided is was no good. Maybe an electronics shop could test the circuit board? Dave

Dave in MS · Jan 25, 2011

I noticed the electrode looked like it had a hole in it's center that appeared to be plugged. That was the main reason I called HF, to find out if air was supposed to pass through the electrode or just around it. I didn't want to chance messing the electrode up if it wasn't supposed to be a through hole. They said it was supposed to be open, but that it wouldn't cause the arc not to start. Maybe they are wrong???

old · Jan 25, 2011

Check things like a bad fuse and or a ground problem and last but not least look for where a mouse got hungry and ate a wire or 2. Things do not just go bad sitting unless they have gotten wet or some other factor has come into play and it may well be a very simple fix, things like sticking relays or corrode point in relays etc also can cause a problem

Anonymous-0 · Jan 25, 2011

The air has to come through the middle and it's a tiny hole. The arc just super heats the air(plasma) so it will cut metal. If you have replacement parts, take the torch apart and reassemble it with new parts. I used to have a lincoln and the odd time it wouldn't work, I loosened the torch and tightened it up again and all was fine. Plasma torches go through a lot of consumable parts in the torch. Also make sure there is no water in the air line. Dave

Cliff(VA) · Jan 25, 2011

From 1999 to 2007 there was a problem with some standard electrolytic capacitors. Since these are basically commodity items and the failures take a few years, many of these "bad" capacitors found their way into electronics from just about every electronics manufacturer.

I had an expensive Weller industrial soldering iron that had some of these caps, and when I got it out to use it after a couple of years of non-use, it would not work. It had been sitting in a box. Investigation reveiled that the electrolytic caps had puked.

As a last resort, before I threw the thing away, I would remove the electronics board, and do a visual inspection. Bulging capacitor cases and signs of leakage should not be present. If it is, I would replace the caps with like values and voltage ratings, and see if that fixes it.

Or find an electronic savy friend to do it for you. Caps don't cost too much, and are relatively easy to solder and desolder.

I am enclosing a link to a Wiki-pedia article on the subject. It is real. And it can happen while sitting on a shelf.

Cliff (VA)
Capacitor Plague

supergrumpy · Jan 25, 2011

thank you for the link

I had been told about chinese copying them almost right, equipment manufacturers jumped on the copies at 30% off list price and regretted it

telltale was orange dust on circuit board

big fred · Jan 25, 2011

Counterfeit issues don't just plague Chinese electronics. I've seen more than one high-dollar piece of military electronics have to be recycled when the manufacturer discovered that the components they bought from reputable suppliers were counterfeit. The electronics supply chain is so complex that it's virtually impossible, even with the best quality system, to catch everything. The big difference there is that a lot of the Chinese electronics manufacturers haven't got their quality system fully in place. When they do, (and they're catching up fast) we're in deep trouble.

Lou from Wi. · Jan 25, 2011

Dave Real good advice. He should have it checked out before considering sending it to the junk pile.
LOU

Dave in MS · Jan 25, 2011

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I have gone through all the basic checks and procedures before posting here. First thing I checked was the pressure switch and the solenoid valves, and all were OK. Oddly enough the valves are Italian, even though the machine is made in China. I wasn't sure of the air path through the torch, so called HF to find out. They said that the plugged up electrode would not keep the arc from starting, but I will try to clean it out, or replace it and see if that helps. They didn't mention the trigger switch, but that is my next thing to check, and if it's ok I'll take a hard look at the caps. One way or another, this thing isn't going on the scrap pile.

Harbor freight plasma cutter

Dave in MS

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Anonymous-0

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Dave in MS

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old

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Anonymous-0

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Cliff(VA)

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big fred

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Lou from Wi.

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Dave in MS

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