Plasma Cutters for general maintenance?

[Medium Rare]

Ended up getting the unimig razorcut 45, will try and give it a run this weekend. I have a 5.5 kva generator that I was going to atleast occasionally run it on but I misread the uninmig specs, it requires 5.5kva to run with a minimum 10kva generator - seems excessive to me I would of thought maybe 7 kva minimum size. But specs aren't always gospel so will try and run it on the genny and see what happens . I guess I can always use it at a reduced amperage on the generator.

[tmac450]

Tools, especially welders and the like, tend to spike their power consumption when under load. Sometimes more than double their running capacity. That's why the larger capacity generator is required and inverter generators don't like tools.

Also, most generator ratings will be quoted at their peak, not general running capacity, and kva is not a direct reference to wattage (ie 5,5 kva is not 5500watts, it's actually 4400w). This also contributes to the need for a higher than expected output to run certain equipment.

Yes, reducing the amperage on the cutter for a smaller generator will help. But the Razor Cut 45's specs state that it requires 5.5kva to operate which is continual supply, not peak.

That said, some generators perform above spec and you can get away with it. It's well worth giving it a crack to find out, but don't try to force the issue. You won't hurt the generator (it'll just stall out), however, you can risk damaging the cutter's electronics if you try to run it for too long without enough juice.

[Tom68]

CNC cutting looks great partly because of the controlled environment, add some paint, rust, varying distances, angles and it all starts getting pretty ugly, actually doesn't take much deviation from ideal to start wrecking cutting tips like they're going out of fashion.