Hypertherm plasma cutter advice.

[Web Goblin]

Your best idea would be to get a professional electrician to look at it. The cable sizing depends on the installation method, load and length of run.
Basically you are installing something with around the same loading as a 10KW shower so your consumer unit and main fuse should be able to handle it ok but you may want to be careful on what else you are using at the same time as running the plasma at full current.
Yes the plugs and sockets do start to get expensive at that rating. We used to get a specific 125A 3 phase outlet unit for some of our welding machines and they were scary expensive.
Do you need such a large current for what you are cutting? I have a smaller Jasic 45 plasma. Nice little machine with a 5 year warranty. It doesn't have the same output or duty cycle as the hypertherm but I don't use it that much but it is a lot cheaper. Just a thought.

[magicniner]

Not too expensive if you don't need waterproof RCD units -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/63-amp-2P-...-/300887701552

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/63-amp-3-p...-/261197634015

Definitely worth checking what overall current draw your household would have if you went out & fired up the plasma and the compressor kicked in whilst someone indoors put the kettle on and had a quick shower whilst the immersion heater warmed up the water for a proper soak ;-)

- Nick

[Clive S]

Very good Nick the face of doom

[magicniner]

Very good Nick the face of doom

Clive,
It's the Experience of Doom, in my youth our family never had enough money to buy tidy cars, we had to buy what we could afford and fix them so....

One cold dark winter in the late 1970s we were spending our evenings welding a new floor into dad's Mk3 Cortina in a cold garage. While we sat on the cold concrete floor using the MIG and the air tools run off the 3Hp compressor we also used several old electric convector heaters to take the chill off and make life a little more tolerable.
When we came in for tea one night mom said she could smell fish in the cellar, we could too but there was no sign of the source of the smell, after a week we discovered that the garage fuse connectors in the consumer box had generated enough heat to gradually disintegrate the 1950s thermo-set plastic casing and that was the fishy smell, the wiring was up to the job but the old consumer box had died.
We went shopping and bought the highest rated domestic consumer box we could find and I fitted it, it's still there and working fine ;-)

- Nick

[T0rnado69]

If this is in a domestic environment you might have to upgrade the consumer unit as well. I think the incoming fuse is rated at 100A but they used to be only 60A. I don't think the electric board would be happy either.

CU was done a while back, and i upgraded just a simply ring main into garage to a sub main.
as i was tripping the house's RCD sometimes when putting the lathe on.
guess kids had tv's and consoles on, maybe with washing machine etc.

so changed from having just a ring main to having a sub main CU in garage, supplied from house's CU on non RCD side on a 63amp MCB
but i dont know what the main fuse is... think it might be an 80amp

Your best idea would be to get a professional electrician to look at it. The cable sizing depends on the installation method, load and length of run.
so your consumer unit and main fuse should be able to handle it ok but you may want to be careful on what else you are using at the same time as running the plasma at full current.
Yes the plugs and sockets do start to get expensive at that rating.

my mate is an electrician, so no problems there..length of run is only about 20ft.
currently have it in 6mm T&E with 240v 32amp socket.
yes the CU is fine and i can upgrade the MCB to higher rating if required.
i only use one thing at a time. except what the kids have on upstairs if they are in.

Not too expensive if you don't need waterproof RCD units -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/63-amp-2P-...-/300887701552

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/63-amp-3-p...-/261197634015

Definitely worth checking what overall current draw your household would have if you went out & fired up the plasma and the compressor kicked in whilst someone indoors put the kettle on and had a quick shower whilst the immersion heater warmed up the water for a proper soak ;-)

- Nick

cheers for the links nick...
yes something too look into, the compressor cant come on, unless i have switched the neon spur switch for the comp...
kids dont use kettle for hot drink. as they drink squash or fresh orange..
shower yes thats possible, no immersion heater, combi boiler now..
but i get what your saying :)