Parker MP Plasma cutter with Turbo Upgrade

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Cuerno Largo

Cuerno Largo

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In response to THIS thread, I purchased a Parker MP plasma cutter with the Turbo upgrade to a 50Amp unit. Total price to the door was $514.

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Today I was finally able to get it out of the box so I figured I would offer what I can as far as insight into the unit.

Overall I am pleased with the unit. You have to supply your own plug for the unit, but that was no big deal. I purchased mine from Lowe's. Plus side is it is the same end plug as my mig welder, so I will be able to use the same extension cord for the plasma cutter.

The unit comes with a water trap and regulator for the air supply. My only complaint with this is it must be some Chinese standard size because none of my fittings would work with the regulator. Thus, I had to use the supplied fittings which were hose end barb fittings and clamps. Another trip to Lowe's for some adapters will fix this though. Also, the regulator reads in kgf/cm2 rather than psi, so it took some figuring to get it set to the 70 psi range the instructions called for.

I am a newb to the plasma cutter. This is the first unit I have used so I can't give a good comparison to more expensive units. I can say it is much easier than the oxy/ace. torch.
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Here is my first cut on some 1/4 inch scrap. Don't make fun of it:flipoff2:, I will make them look better with practice. It cuts like a knife through butter.
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Hope this helps someone. For me, this looks like it will be a good unit. I am a hobbyist and the price was right for the amount that I will use it. First project it will be used on is a smoker that my friend and I will build.
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This thing sounds almost too good to be true. My brother paid over $1K for a Hypertherm and it only cuts up to 3/16". Are consumables available from local welding shops, or proprietary to Parker? I'm really tempted to take the plunge. Constantly running out of oxygen for the torch is really getting old, and I'd hate to drop $150 for another bottle. Also, at almost $20 a pop to fill an oxygen bottle it would not take long to make the economics work out.
 
Bought the Longevity combo arc, tig and plazma, 40 amp machine. Well pleased. And yes my work machines are much more costly and less capable. There is a trade off, the combo is not quite as rubustly constructed as the Millers, Hobarts, Lincolns and Esab. But with one user, one who cares they should last indefinitely!
 
Your local welding shop can carry the consumables if you ask them to..

It is amazing how east these things are ;)
 
Just got a Parker 40a with turbo. First time ever cutting with a plas. This thing rocks. Took a minute to figure out my amp and speed settings but after I did it worked great. Was a little sloppy on some 1/2" steel but it was not very clean and my technique was not all that good. I would recomend it so far.
 
Broken,
Here is a response to your question from Phil Sr.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason M
Phil, one of the guys I know that ordered a 40amp plasma seems to have problems with it starting. Clean metal, good ground, can see small sparks on the tip of the gun (between the tip and the metal).

Any ideas off hand? I have told him already to just give you a call..



Yep... that's an arc START issue... USUALLY caused by inertia (rough handling from UPS) that causes the spark-gap to become misadjusted. That is one cause. Anyway... just a toll-free phone call to Phil Jr or James should provide a fix.

BTW... their just getting back from a quick trip to Oregon... they just got back to AZ this morning (Wednesday). I know they will be their tomorrow. So... if any of you call and get voicemail... just call back OR email Phil Jr directly at parkermetalworking@yahoo.com. They'll be playing catch up for a day.

Later... Phil Sr.
 
damn good service...

Phil just called back and had a solution for me but I wasnt in front of the machine so he's calling me when I get home tonight. Pretty damn good service seeing that its about 2 hours past his regular business hours.

I love doing business with a business that takes care of their customers like these guys are. I'll post up the results.
 
brokenparts said:
damn good service...

Phil just called back and had a solution for me but I wasnt in front of the machine so he's calling me when I get home tonight. Pretty damn good service seeing that its about 2 hours past his regular business hours.

I love doing business with a business that takes care of their customers like these guys are. I'll post up the results.
Click to expand...

One of the reasons I am fully happy with my purchase.
Even buying locally I have not received the kind of service the Phil's have provided

(service makes a huge difference to me...)

china or not. I have better service from them than most of the US manufactures...
 
well I got home tonight and gave him a ring. We got it all dialed in about 10mins... works perfect. In case any one else experiences this, all you need to do is pull the cover and get these points to about the width of a nickle (as quoted by Phil). He was spot on. Works like a dream now. VERY VERY VERY impressed with the plasma and the service.

here's the points to adjust:

contacts.jpg
 
Mace said:
Broken,
Here is a response to your question from Phil Sr.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason M
Phil, one of the guys I know that ordered a 40amp plasma seems to have problems with it starting. Clean metal, good ground, can see small sparks on the tip of the gun (between the tip and the metal).

Any ideas off hand? I have told him already to just give you a call..



Yep... that's an arc START issue... USUALLY caused by inertia (rough handling from UPS) that causes the spark-gap to become misadjusted. That is one cause. Anyway... just a toll-free phone call to Phil Jr or James should provide a fix.

BTW... their just getting back from a quick trip to Oregon... they just got back to AZ this morning (Wednesday). I know they will be their tomorrow. So... if any of you call and get voicemail... just call back OR email Phil Jr directly at parkermetalworking@yahoo.com. They'll be playing catch up for a day.

Later... Phil Sr.
Click to expand...

Mace,

Your signoff to this post makes me have to ask......are you related to Phil Jr.? Or is that just you being, well,.........you :)

I'm asking because when on the phone last week with Phil Jr. to buy a 60 amp version I used your posts as one of the reasons for deciding to give away my Thermal dynamics cutter in favor of a Parker machine.

During that call Phil Jr. asked about this forum as though he was unaware of it. He mentioned their presence in Pirate and wanted to come here to offer assistance to anyone owning or interested in owning one of their machines.
 
Just me being me I guess.

I picked up three units from Parker last year (1 for me 2 for friends). Chatted with them for a while in their shop and was very impressed. Told them about mud too. But they were stupid busy at the time so I doubt that they remembered..

Pirate has a huge following for them. Cheap, and good service is a great thing.. The China part is not the greatest, but these plasmas are in the range of the typical guy. F'n cool if you ask me..

One of the problems I have with a lot of companies lately is that Service is not expected. When I find a company that actually does deliver service without the customer asking, I tend to be loyal..

That's all :)
 
My ThermaDyne, or Thermal Dynamics, was their "Cutmaster 38" model rated for severe cuts at 5/8" It was advertised as being in a 40 amp class and they've got a good rep amongst users as a company.

But the manual put the output at a max of 28 amps and the machine struggled to cut 1/4" at all, much less a severe cut. It just usually pissed me off so I got back to using my torch and had the thing parked in a corner for a year or so, unused.

now with 60 amps I've got to learn to cut all over again! I have to turn it DOWN!

Talking to Phil Jr. it was easy to see that he's enthusiastic and knowledgable about his products and that should make living with this new cutter easy.
 
Well, it IS a hobart board after all ;)

These are not the best quality units in the world. Nobody argues that. But, if I did not get it for the price I did, I would not own a plasma right now.

And my 5/8 to 1/2" cuts look a HELL of a lot better than that guy.. Although, if I freehand it and am not smooth, I can make cuts like that (40 amp, no turbo upgrade).
 
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