Powermax 85 sweating

[cutnweld]

se the oring that seals the black cap to the torch body. Kind of have to just push it around the switch that senses when the cap is off. You may tell me it doesnt help thats fine, because it was a life saver for me

[acourtjester]

Sniffing around this may be the O ring he is talking about AS568A-020 7/8" ID 1/16" thickness and 1" OD.
Amazon has them about $10 to $14. for 50 to 100 with different Durometer ratings.

[caretech]

Yeah, 75 cents is probably a pretty high figure. Didn't want to over-sell, ha. I just fished something out of my box of assorted o-rings that fit, and put it in. If exact specs are desired I could measure the ring that is on my Duramax torch presently.

Just for kicks, here are pictures of a 1" job done with my pm85. I was quite pleased with this cut.

[weldguy]

Another stunning looking cut! Wow, I am impressed.

[acourtjester]

Yah sure some people are easy to please I know I would be too. Thanks for the info, now to get the O ring for my torch

[Jason@bc]

Yeah, 75 cents is probably a pretty high figure. Didn't want to over-sell, ha. I just fished something out of my box of assorted o-rings that fit, and put it in. If exact specs are desired I could measure the ring that is on my Duramax torch presently.

Just for kicks, here are pictures of a 1" job done with my pm85. I was quite pleased with this cut.

01 Top view.JPG

02 Side view.JPG

Man that's a nice cut! I will sure try to do this o-ring thing with my Hyp85, thanks a million for sharing this Caretech and cutnweld.

[ROKCRLER]

In an effort to improve cuts, I tried this on my PM85 with 45a finecuts.
Orings tried were both metric and standard from harbor freight kits.
First tried with a thin oring that would seal, making sure i was getting it around the pin.
Finecuts on 14g kept losing arc in random spots, tried on 2 different cuts, different test files.
remove the oring and put a larger one that would seal the insulator and torch body, same results.
In feeling around, i found that i could push the tip up about .0625" by hand.
Removed the oring and went back to OEM cut the same test files without issues...
Bevel and dross was the same.

Only difference was the extra movement of the tip.

Maybe I did something wrong?

[adbuch]

Rokcrler - I also use FineCuts on my PM85 with great results on anything from 11 ga. to 24 ga. When installing a new set of FineCuts, I have found that to achieve the best results set the cut height to around 0.075" to 0.080" for the first several hundred pierces, after which drop back to the recommended 0.060" cut height. With brand new FineCuts cutting at 0.060", some have experienced loss of arc and/or insufficient penetration at various places along the cut paths as you have described. As I recall, Robert Johnson was the one who first put me onto this technique.

As to adding an external 0-ring, I would expect that if this was something needed, Hypertherm would have addressed this in their original design for the Duramax torch.

David

[caretech]

Rokcrler: I don't think you'll notice any difference in thin materials. Anything you're doing with Fine Cuts isn't likely to make any difference.

I know there's some disbelief lingering here. Would be interesting to hear if anyone else experiences better cuts on 1" or up with this little hack.

Oh, I also pierce 1" with my 85. Pierce Only mode first, punch all the holes. Knock off the slag puddles, switch to normal cutting mode, and go at it. 13 IPM.

Edit -- The two cuts in the middle (orange oxidized cuts) are with my table. This 1" plate was a remnant piece purchased from a local shop with an HPR 260, and the other cuts (shiny edges) were with that unit. I can't take credit for all the edges in this pic.

[cutnweld]

I use a size -117 oring 13/16 ID x 1" OD. Maybe my torch is defective IDK. My hand torch didnt have this problem but my machine torch does, try firing the torch then check for airflow from between the retaining cap and the torch body. Mine blew a pile of air past there. Yes I do have the HT orings inside. Yes I realize HT makes good products. For me it was this. I was trying to cut 1" 2 years or so ago, the cuts were awful. out of desperation I put the oring in, and tried again same consumables. And the cuts were perfect. I have tried taking them out various times but it never works. Of course, I am not cutting paper with mine as you may have noticed in the first post. Load up some 1.75 plate and see for yourself.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

I use a size -117 oring 13/16 ID x 1" OD. Maybe my torch is defective IDK. My hand torch didnt have this problem but my machine torch does, try firing the torch then check for airflow from between the retaining cap and the torch body. Mine blew a pile of air past there. Yes I do have the HT orings inside. Yes I realize HT makes good products. For me it was this. I was trying to cut 1" 2 years or so ago, the cuts were awful. out of desperation I put the oring in, and tried again same consumables. And the cuts were perfect. I have tried taking them out various times but it never works. Of course, I am not cutting paper with mine as you may have noticed in the first post. Load up some 1.75 plate and see for yourself.

This is an interesting thread, I always wondered why Hyperthem had air ports in that part of the machine body and the benefit it provided.. On your thicker cuts are you allowing the machine to set the air pressure or are you doing a mechanical override?

O-Rings were discussed here as well:

https://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic. ... ng#p224740

This is my cut results on 1" at 105 amps
The 3/4" under it is normally cut at 85 amps:

[cutnweld]

Right, Orings were discussed. However they were the ones under the cap that belong in there, not this "hack" one.

[cutnweld]

I set the pressure to max on really thick stuff. BTW got another 1.75" thick order this morning...

[caretech]

This is an interesting thread, I always wondered why Hyperthem had air ports in that part of the machine body and the benefit it provided.

Maybe the "benefit" is for HT rather than the customer -- purposely de-rate the 85 amp machine so bigger units can be sold. Ha, I don't know.

[ROKCRLER]

I had a chance to cut something other than paper (12ga) and wanted to test this out again.

Cut some 1" holes in 1/4" and here are my findings:

At first i thought the idea was to seal all the leaks at the retaining cap and torch, so i used a 120 oring yesterday with the finecuts.

Cut one hole as a control (middle of pic) and the bevel was minimal, bottom dross flaked off easy, bigger puddle at the top at pierce.

Second cut with 115 SAE oring (right of pic) less top dross, less bottom dross, even less bevel.

I thought, lets put the 120 SAE oring in... pierced and crashed at the turn. Ran the sequence again to test, same result (lines second from left)

Went back to the 115 SAE oring and still good results like the first.

cutnweld, caretech... thanks for the tip.

BTW, these cuts were with semi worn consumables. I had THC on.

[acourtjester]

Rokcrler the image labels seem to be wrong 210 should be 120, Do you thing the 120 caused the actual pierce height to be off as the shield could not move up enough to true distance.

[ROKCRLER]

Tom, dyslexia got me again.
Yes they were 120 orings.
I think the overall size of the 120 prevented the retaining cap from screwing completely on the torch maybe.. i reviewed the pics shown by both cutnweld and caretech and saw that they were not trying to fully seal the retaining cap which is why i went back to the 115 oring.
The torch dip/crash was probably due to THC on when it made the initial turn during the cut, but i wanted to test worst case scenario so i left THC on for all the test cuts.
Funny thing, last night someone asked about the air escaping from that spot on a FB group and several said no air is supposed to escape from there then Jim Colt mentioned it was for torch/retaining cup cooling.

Big brother is always listening

[cutnweld]

I guess i never tried to see a difference on anything thinner than 3/4 inch, my biggest problem is it wouldnt cut all the way thru and if it did it was looking awful.... back when I used my hand torch on my table I didn't have this problem. It started when I put the machine torch on. My hand torch on my other machine does not pass nearly so much air there at the cap.

[SegoMan DeSigns]

I guess i never tried to see a difference on anything thinner than 3/4 inch, my biggest problem is it wouldnt cut all the way thru and if it did it was looking awful.... back when I used my hand torch on my table I didn't have this problem. It started when I put the machine torch on. My hand torch on my other machine does not pass nearly so much air there at the cap.

Looking at both of my machine torches I have a approximately a 0.035 gap vs no visible gap on the hand torch. All of the air ports look to be similar in size it is just the fitment of the retaining cap to the body that is not the same.

[SRdesign]

According to the above screenshot, Jim Colt says it’s to help cool the torch body for high duty cutting. Obviously you guys have done well beyond high duty cutting with this o-ring installed. Have you noticed any difference in temperature of the torch body? Also, how long have you guys been using the torch with the o-ring installed? Just curious. I’d love to give it a shot but I would feel more comfortable knowing it’s been installed for a while.

[cutnweld]

My last cuts I ran it at least 20 minutes nonstop before letting the power unit have a break and cool down. It was an extremely hot muggy day and I felt the torch body after a wide open, torch on full time 150 some volts according to my screen. Like I mean all the stops pulled all it would do. I could put my hand down by the retaining cap no problem. I started this idea December 2021but never bothered posting before cuz I thot it was just a flaw with my machine. Also thot some folks would think I am fooey

[arnegrant]

Nice.

[adbuch]

Funny thing, last night someone asked about the air escaping from that spot on a FB group and several said no air is supposed to escape from there then Jim Colt mentioned it was for torch/retaining cup cooling.

Rokcrler - which specific facebook group please.
Thanks,
David

[ROKCRLER]

Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2126268 ... ?ref=share

[adbuch]

Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2126268 ... ?ref=share

Thanks!