PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

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SRdesign
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PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by SRdesign »

While cutting today, I noticed that randomly the air would rapidly pulse up and down about 10psi. This would occur randomly on pierces but consistent through the entire cut. On one cut the pressure would be steady, on the next couple pierces it would pulse, then the next pierce it would be steady. My air supply is clean, I always have 100psi at the regulator right behind the hypertherm when it is cutting. Not sure if anyone has had this problem before. I think I’ll call or email hypertherm and report back my findings
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by djreiswig »

Where were you seeing this 10psi difference? You said the gauge on the regulator always shows 100psi. Do you have a gauge after the regulator? Could be an issue with the internal regulator. There is a diagnostic screen in the powermax that displays the air pressure. I can't recall how to access it, or if you could see that screen while cutting.
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by adbuch »

It sounds like you have an external regulator/pressure gauge mounted at the rear of your Powermax 85. I have the same thing on mine. If this rapid pressure fluctuation is shown on this gauge, I would first consider the regulator. It could be a defective diaphragm. Try replacing the regulator and see if the problem goes away.
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by weldguy »

Sounds like an internal issue on the HT, I would give them a call but if you want to dig a little deeper you can access the diognostic screen by pressing and holding both buttons located underneath the LCD screen for a few seconds and the diog screen will appear. At the bottom of the LCD it will display the last few codes in format such as 0-21-0. See what yours says and reference the attached document I found a while ago online with some quick tests for common issues. Let us know what you come up with.
PowermaxService.pdf
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SRdesign
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by SRdesign »

Thank you guys for the replies. Sorry I was a little unclear about the 100psi wording. What I mean is I have a good supply of air to the regulator behind the plasma cutter that never drops below 100psi. Yes David, I have the external regulator behind the PM85 and that is where I am seeing the fluctuation, but it also fluctuates coming out of the torch so that’s why I was thinking it was internal to the PM85. I didn’t think about it being that regulator. I will check that when I get home today and will also look at the diagnostic screen on the PM85 too. Once again thanks you guys for the info. I always hope to narrow the possibilities down before I call for tech support so this helps.
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by weldguy »

Sounds good, curious to see what your diagnostic screen says. Hopefully it's just a bum external regulator.
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by SRdesign »

I was finally able to make it out to the shop today. I unhooked my air from the back of the PM85 and hooked an air gun to it. I cycled multiple times for about 10-15 minutes and the air never fluctuated. I pulled up the diagnostic screen, which was pretty cool to see how much info the machine tracks. There were no error codes though. I did see on the back of the plasma cutter that it is rated for 135psi max. So I turned my regulator up to 125. I haven’t cut anything else yet to see if it still happens. I will call hypertherm next week to see what they say. Thanks for the suggestions guys.
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by SRdesign »

An update. I think I fixed the problem that I created. I had a pressure regulator upstream of my air filters and it was set to pretty much exactly the same pressure as the regulator that I installed right behind the PM85. Once I increased the upstream pressure regulator another 20 psi the fluctuation never happened again. I was cutting some parts that had quite a few pierces and the pressure always stayed steady during each pierce.
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by acourtjester »

Thing are always better when you find a real reason for a problem, :Like no looking over your shoulder hopping things don't come back. :HaHa
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Re: PM85 air randomly pulses coming out of torch

Post by weldguy »

That makes perfect sense. More often than not it is something simple. Appreciate the followup for others and myself to learn from.
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